Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

Today I am coming to you from the beautiful Arizona desert where I am honored to have the opportunity to work with the insurance industry on the trends that are shaping business in 2010.  Perfect weather and a great group of people.  Scottsdale hosts a fantastic art festival every year and Laura and I had a chance to go yesterday.  I have been a student of the creative process for years and to have a chance to not only see the spectacular art work, but to also watch the artists work and visit with them was a wonderful treat!

Here are a couple of things:

• It’s pretty much unbelievable to me, but I got the personal branding project for a national company with a sales force of 500!  I based my program around ignoring the product (which is as high a quality product as exists in their industry) and focus only on the unique aspect of their sales professionals.  I built my model on corner hot dog vendors and independent graphic artists.  I guess the sheer oddness of the plan was too much to resist for them.  The project launches late in the 2^nd quarter with application designs then the launch in the 3^rd quarter.  Unbelievably exciting stuff!
• My Repeatable Successful Acts platform continues to roll as I now have three clients all involved in launching different elements as part of their sales platform. 
• My new presentations on FRAMING and TRENDS are getting a lot of interest and I have bookings on the calendar. 

My March newsletter, which highlighted the FRAMING idea, has generated a ton of email and I am grateful to have so many readers!

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

I hate to beat a broken drum, BUT . . .   I continue to be absolutely amazed at the lack of focus organizations put on simple planning.  In two recent trips I saw companies winging things.  Flying by the seat of the pants.  The worst part was that these meetings were phenomenal opportunities to impact large numbers of their team members. 

I tell them wait a minute, are you telling me you have not really thought about how you can impact this meeting?  You have not really planned out the flow of ideas, the application of these new strategies, the levels of accountability everyone will face?  I swear to you it is not unusual to see the golf outing better planned than the meeting.

The loss of opportunity is staggering. 

So here is a simple reminder:

• SLOW DOWN:  Things have a tendency to speed up the closer they get to the event.  In an exponential growth cycle the biggest growth occurs near the end of the model.  As an event gets closer, close the door on input.  No last minute changes.  This forces the bulk of input to happen towards the beginning of the planning.
• NO MORE THAN 3:  You should never have more than 3 desired goals for anything, meeting, project, sales plan, ANYTHING.  Now use these 3 or less goals as a filter.  Every time something gets added to the meeting, stop, slow down and put the new item through your 3 part goal filter.  If it does not support the goals, say NO.
• CONCENSUS IS OVER RATED:  I believe in group think and getting input from as many legitimate sources as possible, but at the end of the day I believe in one person, the accountable, making the final call on a decision.  I see more time wasted in trying to get everyone to agree than almost any other aspect of team work.  Everyone is seldom right.  Get great input, and then make the call.

Try those three things and watch a great meeting result!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:  Alice in Wonderland:  Burton and Johnny Depp in all their glorious weirdness and add 3D – I’m in!

NetFlix Fans:   The Last Waltz:  Perhaps the greatest concert movie of all time.

TV:    Now that the Olympics are done, I get new episodes of House, The Mentalist and The Human Target.  Fantastic.

BOOKS:  Functions of the Executive – Barnard:  Though almost 20 years old this book still has a fantastic lesson in the critical nature of clear communication channels.

MUSIC:   “”Though some of its magic and some of it tragic, I’ve had a good life all the way.”  Jimmy Buffett from He Went To Paris – great video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMozCfz0cZM     

WEB SITES:   As the Oscars get closer thought I would re-introduce one of my favorite movie web sites (language warning):

www.aintitcool.com    

SOUTH OF NORMAL

I’m a science geek by nature and this little story made me science happy!

NASA has equipped a jumbo 747 with an infra red telescope that will be searching for signs of newborn galaxies and extraterrestrial organic matter.  The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy will start collecting data this spring, making it the world’s biggest airborne telescope.  Its 45,000 ft cruising altitude puts it 10,000 higher than most commercial flights and above 99% of the atmospheric water vapor.  This translates to a clear shot to the heavens.

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

I am coming to you live from my favorite city in Texas, Austin!  A quick client meeting and then some time with my oldest son Dylan and his girlfriend Amanda.

This week provided me with a chance to finish all the design work on two new programs launching the first week of March.

I continue moving closer to signing a project on personal branding for a sales force of 500!  The idea isolates the product from the sales force in a radical move of simplification and skill reinforcement.  It would be a fantastic opportunity and I hope it becomes a reality next week.

Next week I get a chance to introduce the new FRAMING program designed to create new paths of opportunity located outside the industry of the client.  Then off to AZ to further push the trends I see creating real and true impact in 2010.

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

I get my frustration needle redlining when I see a great idea launched within a company and then, just when the idea can be impactful, when it can gain traction, it dies for lack of action.  It drives me crazy.  Do you have any idea the number of strong ideas that could have changed the destiny of a company that simply did not happen because no one pushed? Sometimes it’s a big push that’s needed sometimes it’s small and subtle.

Ideas are seductive.  They often call to us like the Sirens of Greek mythology.  We see a new idea full of potential, we call together the decision makers, we plan the implementation strategy, and we announce it to the troops and begin a forward journey.  But then it happens.  The regular business of our business pulls us away from the idea.  We get caught in the daily reality of what we do.  The idea fought so hard for looses its momentum.  The troops that were once excited are now unsure and the idea once so full of promise is another distant memory.

This scenario is not as uncommon as you may think.

• TRAINING: This is a good idea right, I mean teaching our people to be better at what they do makes good sense.  Do you hear the Sirens calling?  Here is the standard model.  An organization teaches a course and that’s it.  The participants go back to their daily reality and maybe they apply the ideas maybe they don’t.  There is no connected strategy that reinforces the new knowledge, nothing to show the benefit of its application.  It’s like cotton candy, tasty when you are eating but devoid of any real impact.  The idea of training is a wise one, but it needs to feed a process where new knowledge is rewarded and participants are accountable for the application of the skills.

• RE-ORGANIZATION:  This is a biggy.  As the pace of the change increases we are drawn to the idea that reorganizing our structure will makes us more efficient and thus more profitable.  I am amazed at the number of my clients that shift from organizational platform to organizational platform like a Cirque Du Soleil performer.  Don’t get me wrong, I have seen this idea applied with great success as well as seen it crash and burn.  Re-organization takes boat loads of energy and a laser like focus to get all the systems related to the new way aligned.

The bottom line is that any idea needs a couple of elements to be successful:

COMMITMENT:  It is often very harmful to launch a new idea that lacks a firm commitment to implementation. This commitment is commonly found in one strong advocate who will give what is needed to create a new reality.   Cultures remember, that get a bad taste in their mouths for “another new idea” when the past ideas are still floundering.  I hear the countless stories of highlighted by; “Steve, no big deal we do this stuff all the time and nothing ever really happens.”  It makes my ears bleed!

TASKS & ACCOUNTABILITY:  Define the actual “what must be done” aspect of the idea and hold implementers accountable.

RESOURCES:  Keep in mind the level of commitment will dictate the resources necessary.  No new idea is without risk and resources drive an idea forward.

DON’T DO IT:  Believe me; some ideas are better simply not done if you are not ready to make it happen.  Making an idea happen takes hard work and a rugged determination.  I know this; I’m in the idea business!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: Cop Out: Being in Austin, I am willing to sell out my integrity and see what I am sure is going to be a horrible movie (even though Kevin Smith wrote it) for the opportunity to go to the Alamo Draft House.

NetFlix Fans:  The Natural: This baseball movie (always the best sports theme) is so elegant and beautiful that it should hang in a museum.

TV: Tired of the Olympics yet?

BOOKS:  The 1^st Rule – Crais:  Robert Crais is one of my favorite authors and his character, Elvis Cole, is as good as it gets.  This book follows Cole’s partner Joe Pike in his second stand alone novel.  GOOD STUFF!

MUSIC: Tyrone Wells singing Sea Breeze.  Good stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2rzET5JyHs

WEB SITES: Tired  of the studio vanilla movies?

www.indiefilms.com

SOUTH OF NORMAL

This is the 50 year anniversary of the first US patent for a laser.  So here are some laser facts:

• 11 people have won Nobel Prizes for laser technologies.
• The world’s largest laser tag facility is in Belleville IL and its 14,000 sq. ft.
• In 2008 the Light Saber was named the world’s most popular film weapon.
• The average LaserDisc was about twice the diameter of a DVD.
• Laser related accidents have accounted for 12 deaths in the past 50 years.  All victims were scientists working in a lab.  Still no ray-gun!

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

A great week in my neck of the woods as all my client work was Dallas based!  No plane trip for me this week.

I am finally back to whatever passes for normal for me, leaving the damn stomach flu in the not so distant past.  Nothing makes you more grateful for your health than the memory of being sick.

Most of my work this week was focused on the creative process of developing new ideas and associated presentations for clients launching core strategies in March.  This is a patterned process for me.  Research, storyboards, development of a raw deck (nothing fancy), creation of a “master deck” and then the culling of the deck down to the visually journey I will use to introduce or reinforce the idea.

I also had the opportunity to work on teams with my local clients that span industries as varied as retail, education, manufacturing and entertainment.  Thank God for a fluid mind!

Next week its back on the road again.

By the way, final count on the number of movie lists I sent out this year – 371! 

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Nothing stops an idea dead in its tracks like fear.  As Paul said in the epic science fiction trilogy DUNE – “Fear is the mind killer”.

Fear is a core issue in any decision making model.  It dictates the way people approach choice.  Most decision making models center on judgment and choice.  How do you develop your needs model for making judgment and then how do you connect that judgment to making a choice, a decision.  If you have a fear based model that buries you in uncertainty, your ability to move forward is hampered at every opportunity.

If at the beginning of a choice you have an unrealistic goal that acts as your filter for your decision making model you are very likely to shy away from decisions.  How can you make a right choice when the goal is absurd?  “The customer is always right”, is one of my favorite dumbass goals.  It is so dishonest that to make decisions with it as your primary goal filter dooms you to failure.  Everyone knows that nothing and I mean nothing is “always” when people are involved.  How can one make a good decision when foundation is wrong?  It builds a fear based model.  Try this instead – “we work towards making our customers delighted.”  Now I can make a decision that works in a direction and provides latitude for my ideas.

So what can you do to limit your fear, to forge ahead in making decisions?  Here are a couple of ideas from my decision making model:

RATIONAL:  This is the process driven idea.  Heck, it was good enough for Plato and Benjamin Franklin who used a simple Pro’s and Con’s list.   There are three parts – Assess / Decide / Action.  Take it one step at a time.  I’m not talking about simple decisions like what to have for lunch or what parking place to take; I’m talking about those big things that keep you up at night.  Try this simple idea and see if it helps you see the best choice.

INTUITIVE: You are already familiar with this model.  You often refer to it as your “gut feeling”.  There is a ton of value in this aspect of decision making.  Think about it for a moment.  Your experiences, both good and bad frame how you “feel” about an issue.  You often go through this rolodex of your past in a lightning minute.  Stop, pause, and take a little time to listen to that “still small voice”, it more than often speaks the truth!

Try the “combo special” – build your rational model, think about it and then go with your gut feeling.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: Shutter Island: Believe it or not, I’m not a huge Scorsese fan, BUT this looks like a creepy good time.

NetFlix Fans:  Slap shot: A fantastic hockey movie staring a very athletic Paul Newman.  Funny and full of action.

TV: It is ALL ABOUT THE OLYMPICS!  I love the winter games and watching the downhill, moguls, short track speed skating, the half pipe and other nutso sports is as good as it gets.  BUT, can we limit the saturation of figure skating??

BOOKS:  The Power of Pause – Guilmartin:  This book is a perfect companion to the ideas on decision making.  It deals with the need to slow down in the decision making process.

MUSIC: I’m in an Austin frame of mind and here is a FANTASTIC solo, acoustic version of the greatness of Bob Schneider with 40 Dogs (Romeo and Juliet).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xpY3vrdCZQ

WEB SITES: Want to figure out how to so something?  Check out this web site.

www.monkeysee.com

SOUTH OF NORMAL

I know the news about the economy can knock you to your knees, BUT here are a few rays of sunshine that appear South of Normal, at least South of the “New Normal” (Tom Langseth):

• John Deere has raised its fiscal outlook for 2010 as demand for large farm equipment is on the rise.
• Whole Foods Markets raised its 2010 fiscal targets with same store sales (a key metric) up over 7%.
• Housing starts rose 2.8 % in January, the largest jump since July of 2009.
• The Empire State Index (measures New York regions manufacturing activity) rose to its highest level in 4 months according to the Federal Reserve Bank.  It beat all the forecasts.

So, enjoy a few rays of sunshine.

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

Remember the advertising adage; “What happens in Vegas, stay’s in Vegas.”  Well, I guess that doesn’t apply to the stomach flu.  I brought back the worst case of the stomach yukes in history!  I was in bed for three straight days.  Even as I type this missive I still have somewhat shaky legs!  I get sick about once every 10 years, so I guess I don’t have a lot to complain about, but DAMN!

I know the Eastern part of our country has been slapped silly by snow in the last few weeks, so I feel kind of humble when I mention this, BUT when you get 20 + hours of snow falling out of a Southwest sky, it’s pretty wild.  It looks like Aspen in the metroplex.  Our city is paralyzed by a dusting, so when you get 4” you just shut the door and hunker down.

I had the great pleasure of my work this week all being in town.  So I was able to drag my sorry sick butt around town instead of getting on a plane.

It was fantastic to renew an old relationship and to kick off a new one!

I am now well past 350 movie lists sent out and will pull the little notice next week.

THE ANNUAL TOP 10 AND BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF 2009 LIST IS READY TO ROLL.  SEND ME A NOTE AND I WILL GET YOU A COPY

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Complexity is like a force of nature.  Think of gravity.  Gravity is a natural phenomenon by which objects of mass attract one another.  Complexity behaves like gravity.  Organizations are pulled to it.  Ideas are attracted to it.  It is seductive and companies often find themselves its victim.

In a series of recent meetings with a couple of clients I have witnessed this natural force attempt to take hold of two completely different strategic plans.

A company embarks on a new idea they are developing the core components that will provide the framework of the idea.  I watch and listen as layer upon layer of ideas make it into the plan until it is nearly bursting off the whiteboard.  We need to do this.  We need to do that.  If we do this, then we will need to do that.  Soon the discussion has veered away from the overriding goal and side discussions breakout over subsets of ideas.  A flipchart sheet is torn off and added to the wall of complexity.  Oh the humanity of it all.

This is not a unique story.  I see it time and time again.  Like gravity, complexity is also POWERFUL.  Think about how much energy it takes to break the hold of gravity.  Watch a jet plane take off and imagine the force it takes to move that much mass and to “break the surely bonds of earth”.

My value is often the hard fought disciplined method of thinking called THOUGHTFUL REDUCTION.  The ability to take critical thought to a process and discover what is and is not of impact to a plan, to an idea.  Here are a few simple steps to get you started.

• STOP:  Almost everyone can sense when something starts to spin out of control, but they simple don’t know what to do.  The answer – STOP. Simple stop the process.  Gather everyone’s thoughts and take a short trip down memory lane to rediscover the actual goal of the plan.
• BARRIERS:  Barriers are not always bad.  Create a barrier to the planning process.  You are all familiar with my barrier.  It’s the number 3.  Nothing gets planned with more than three parts. PERIOD.  Three is my “speed of light” number (nothing can go faster than 186,000 miles per second).

Get started with those two in your battle against the evil forces of complexity.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: From Paris with Love and the Lightning Thief. Illness knocked me out of the movie loop and I have a doubleheader on the agenda for this weekend.

NetFlix Fans:  North Dallas Forty: A friend sent me a FANTASTIC book, The Ultimate Book of Sports Movies.  I am going to give you the Top 10 during the next few weeks.  Here is their choice for # 10

TV: Being sick in bed this week I have actually had my fill of TV.  Believe it or not.  Oh, I still will watch all my favorites, but I cleared out my DVR backlog.  Try The Human Target.  It’s really cool.

BOOKS:  Y Size Your Business – Dorsey:  Lots of people write lots of stuff about the huge gaps that exist in workplace generations.  It’s interesting stuff.  There are about 80 million “Y’s” out there (folks born between 1980 – 1990).  Two key aspects of Dorsey’s definition is the search for learning opportunities and their need for challenges.

MUSIC: Here is someone new to me.  I really Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6UWwTa5yKI

WEB SITES: Another way to get computer vids to your big screen.

http://www.boxee.tv/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

One of my favorite trends to watch is “tryvertise” , where part of the add campaign is the ability to try whatever is being marketed.  Think the sample aisle at Costco, but on a more focused level.

25 Degrees Above Celsius is a Singapore based idea that combines a bookstore that sells only cookbooks with a sample kitchen and a café.  They pick a book off the shelf and try a recipe then add it to the menu in the café.  The idea has hit pay dirt in Singapore and they will be brining the idea to the US in June.  Check them out at www.25degreec.com

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

Hello Everyone!  I am coming to you live from Las Vegas where I have had the HONOR of working with one of my favorite clients at their annual production meeting.  I have been involved in about 4 of these meetings over the years and each time I come away with this unique feeling that I have been party to something that not only allows my ideas to gain traction resulting in real and true results, but more importantly changes the world.  Yep, I mean changes the world.

I have made it a policy never to mention my clients by name due to the fact I am mostly involved at the highest strategic level and this connection brings a responsibility to very specific goals that impact the performance of the company.  Please bear with me as I am committed to this policy, so this particular anonymous company will have to remain nameless.

What do I mean by changing the world?  Though they are gathered to discuss strategy, to improve their skill sets, to closely examine sales processes and to reward performance, they also have made a firm commitment to leave every community they come to meet in, better for having hosted their meeting.  They design a team building event that impacts the greater community thus combining the opportunity to forge bonds that carry to their business while simultaneously making a place better for having been there.

Through the years I have been an active participant in planning, filming and producing a unique video each of these incredible community events.  We have built bikes for unprivileged kids who would have never known the freedom that mobility brings.  I have seen 260 mostly unskilled professionals build a playground in the devastated 8^th Ward of New Orleans.  I have just finished an experience that lingers with me as I tap these keys.

In an extraordinary result of countless hours of planning, of never taking no for an answer, of the tireless work on a unique individual I saw a company, raise $500,000 for the military Wounded Warrior Program, build and ship almost 200 individual soldier care packages to be sent to the war zone, build an athletic field on a military base for soldiers who have virtually no recreation facilities, move on a goal of getting children and adults to write 3,000 cards to our warriors fighting on the front lines which resulted in over 23,000 cards.  Finishing off with inviting soldiers to a free concert.

How is the world changed?  By small, impactful steps.  By steps taking by nameless human beings who ask for nothing in return.  By Americans.  What a blessing I have been a part of the grace of perfect strangers.

THE ANNUAL TOP 10 AND BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF 2009 LIST IS READY TO ROLL.  SEND ME A NOTE AND I WILL GET YOU A COPY

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

It is often hard for people and organizations to appreciate the impact of 1.  One is a simple thing, a single digit, a thing that we see as a limitation.  I can’t have just one potato chip.  You can’t have just one cookie.  One step doesn’t get me anywhere.

It’s OK, I get it.  I understand.  It’s just to damn simple to take on a one step project.  It can’t be impactful.  It can’t be important.  It can’t matter.

Funny, we all believe the longest journey starts with one step.  Why do we find it so hard to find value in the pursuit of one powerful thing?

In our 2010 strategic attack plan for a number of our clients I have in fact, pushed the idea of one.  I refer to it as the OLA strategy or the “ONE LEVEL ABOVE” program.

I have written about this in the context of the Client Experience Map, but I want to isolate this idea for this part of THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW.

If you were to spend quality time identifying just one thing you could do that would move your model forward, which would change your model in eyes of not only your clients, but your team.  If you followed a path of thinking around the selection of this one item could you be sure that it was the right one thing.  Maybe you need some help some facilitation.  That’s OK.  Spend what you need to make sure you feel confident in the one thing.

This one thing should move your current reality up, forward towards your best.  Remember the Law of Abundance – More is not better and better is not best!  Move to best.

Thinking about one thing, one thing that everyone can focus on, one thing that moves the model that allows you to set a horizon that everyone can engage with can make all the difference in the world!

One if fact is not the loneliest number, it is the most impactful!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: From Paris With Love looks like a reasonable shoot em up movie.  I loved The Edge of Darkness.  Best of the early 2010 season.

NetFlix Fans:  Mystery, Alaska: An old Russell Crowe movie that I just saw again and remembered how muck I liked it!

TV: Hey, I like TV, but my travel schedule often forces me to find gratification in the future, a future blessed by the god’s of TV in their gift of the DVR.  So when I get back, House, The Mentalist, and Burn Notice all await me.  Of course, the Super Bowl is the big ticket this week, but check the Nature Channel for reruns of The Planet Earth in hi-def!

BOOKS:  I, Sniper– Hunter:  If you are not a Bob Lee Swagger fan, shame on you!  Start at the beginning, with Point of Impact.  For us fans, this is the latest chapter which is bound to be filled with non stop action.

MUSIC: Just heard a cover band do this classic Police/Sting song and it reminded me of the mournful acoustic version that I LOVE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_FkwK24ZYY

WEB SITES: Funny and inappropriate at the same time.  A very funny combination.

http://failblog.org/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

Just back from Las Vegas, which may be South of Normal central!  Some observations:

• President Obama has the town in an uproar when he suggested (paraphrasing), “if you don’t have the money, and please don’t gamble.”  For some reason these were fighting words for this fair town.
• No matter what the time of day (I arrived at the airport at 5:30 AM) the line through security looks like the line at a U2 concert.  It is the only airport that when you are landing the flight crew warns you to be at the airport 2 hours early.  Rightly so!
• I work out very early in the AM and I am always amazed there are still players at the tables and slots.  Are they starting early or ending late?
• Smoking is still popular???????  What is the deal? It is one of the great truths.  Smoking will kill you earlier than planned.
• More is always better.  The buffets have enough food to feed any 3^rd world country and the muffins at the coffee place in the hotel were as big as footballs.

Just a couple of observations.

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

Coming to you live from tropical Minneapolis where the temps are a balmy -3!  I am looking forward to introducing my Repeatable Successful Acts platform to a new audience!

This week was a blur of creative work and meetings.

• I finished the design and production of 7 new programs that debut (believe it or not) all at one meeting next week in Las Vegas.  I love the process from idea to production to presentation.
• I had a series of local client meetings around everything from existing strategies to brand new ideas.  I love that organizations are now pushing new ideas to the forefront in efforts to create differentiation.
• Last Friday night I held a Creative Ventures roundtable dinner party for some of my close Dallas clients and friends to give me an honest assessment of what they think of my business plan and the direction Creative Ventures is headed in.  It was a fantastic evening of open discussion filled with ideas.  A lot to digest and I will need to take some REAL and HONEST time to find what does and doesn’t fit.

I’m not sure if I am actually a film critic, but I sent out the 320^th movie list to people who have requested it.  Love the idea of fun!

Next week is INSANE for me as I have 7 new programs debuting, including a cutting edge look at TRUE impactful trends moving success in 2010.

THE ANNUAL TOP 10 AND BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF 2009 LIST IS READY TO ROLL.  SEND ME A NOTE AND I WILL GET YOU A COPY

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

I recently sat through a meeting where an organization was discussing a series of ideas that were being considered for application.  I was there to add to the strategic impact of each.

As usual, I was amazed at the level of complexity involved.  One idea involved a 17 page survey.  17 PAGES!  Another involved three core ideas (loved it), expect each core idea involved as many as 20 steps to make it happen.  I called that “the complexity disguise” where something on the surface looks simple but in reality is very complex.

The discipline that leads to simplicity is called; thoughtful reduction and it IS a discipline that requires a focused roughed determination.

To help my client continue their journey in learning the art of TRUE simplification I suggested we leave the warm confines of the conference room and go for a little walkabout of their corporate offices and campus.  Impact begins at the beginning.  Here are few ideas around the first step in a true impact strategy:

• The Client:  Take a critical eye to the actual perspective of the client first.  Do a walkabout and see things like a client sees things.  What does your greeting area look like?  I want you to see everything, because the client IS.  Does your first point of contact send the message you want to EVERYONE that comes into contact with it?  Attack an improvement plan from point of contact.
• The Team:  What does your workspace say to those who produce your work?  Your team is the only way you impact your customer.  The walkabout shifts the perspective from the buying client to the internal client.
• DO SOMETHING NOW:  Making a change to the point of contact makes an IMMEDIATE impact to everyone.  Keep the action simple, something you can do right now.  Make sure that action connects to the simple strategy of impact.

The walkabout yielded three immediate impact steps that were completed within 24 hours.  These impact ideas were simple.  They sent a powerful message and with the right accountability plan, they will gain a life of motion and impact!

Need a little help with the thoughtful reduction discipline?  Give me a shout.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: I gave The Book of Eli about a 6 on the 10 point scale.  This week I can’t wait to see The Edge of Darkness.

NetFlix Fans:  Whiteout: A murder mystery in Antarctica.  Way cool!

TV: The Aussie Open got my full attention though I made time for the new Fox series; The Human Target (which I love).  My regular shows are in full swing and though I may often miss their original air date I catch them thanks to the DVR.  These include House, The Mentalist, Burn Notice and a few others.

BOOKS:  (Re) Organize For Resilience – Gulam:  The key to being ready for change is to find ways to not only knock down the traditional silos, but to make their walls permeable.

MUSIC: Here is a blast from the past.  The great Richie Havens!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah7d-sP7rDQ

WEB SITES: A FANTASTIC site that sends you chapters of a book via internet that allows you read at your own pace.

http://www.dailylit.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

Yep, it’s still not weird enough for me!

• Think those Burger King commercials are creepy?  Just wait until they launch their first franchise in Miami the will serve beer.  Their first alcohol restaurant will open in March.
• Most trusted celebrities – Top 3:  James Earl Jones, Tom Hanks and Michael J. Fox.
• The animal rights groups have set their sites on good old Punxsutawney Phil or the weather predicting groundhog.  They want him replaced by a robotic groundhog.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

A fortuitous quirk in scheduling gave me a whole week in the office!  Boy, did I need it.  I have 6 completely different custom programs to design and produce for delivery starting next week in the winter wonderland of Minneapolis.

My design and production process is time consuming and takes a ton of focus.

I create a series of storyboards, followed by a master deck of images and content.  I then engage the critical mind, the editor, and thoughtfully reduce the content to core connection points that meet the time frame allocated.  This process is for a “presentation”, but I use similar approaches to the development of a strategic platform or an education course.

Tonight I am hosting a Creative Ventures strategic roundtable where a group of trusted advisors will meet to help me look at new ideas for the future of Creative Ventures.  This is a great process to add to your planning strategies.  It provides a reboot of your thinking and opens the door for new ideas!

THE ANNUAL TOP 10 AND BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF 2009 LIST IS READY TO ROLL.  SEND ME A NOTE AND I WILL GET YOU A COPY

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

There certainly has been a huge emphasis on change as a core element of strategic planning and process design.  I am honored to be working on a wide variety of “change initiatives” while also studying the trends that will be “real and true” players in 2010.

With the talk show wars currently being waged, I thought I would use TV as a good example of the chaotic environment we all find ourselves in.

Recently Fox decided to draw a huge line in the television sand in its dealings with Time Warner Cable.  This stance may well be painting a very clear future of our boob tube future.

For 60 years network TV has broadcast news, sports and entertainment for free, making money on advertising (those damn pesky commercials).  This model is the foundation of the big 4, NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox.

But, as change is consuming our entertainment choices, the traditional model may well be on the way out.  The choices available have fractured audiences siphoning traditional ad revenue that with a recession driven economy has potentially doomed free TV.

It’s pretty simple.  Cable, and satellite TV have two avenues of revenue, traditional advertising and user fee’s.  This is a HUGE factor in the profitability for the network.  Not rocket science right?

These user fees vary from about $.26 to as much as $4.00 for a channel like ESPN.  To give you a feel, ESPN saw revenues grow from $1.4 billion to $6.3 billion in less than 10 years!

Fox illustrates this trend perfectly.  Their standard broadcast operations dropped 54% in operating revenue but the cable side of Fox, Fox News for example grew operating revenue by 41%.

With advertisers dropping their ad sales to network TV while they search for the best bang for their buck, the traditional networks are left with a real problem.

This is a great example of the impact of change and how its ripple effects are felt through a wider and wider section of business.

Think simple but flexible planning and you will be prepared for both the potential benefits and random craziness that is bound to happen.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: :  There are lots of choices out there this week, The Lonely Bones,  Youth in Revolt, Daybreakers, but none of them will get me into the theater this weekend.  The Lonely Bones got a good review from my oldest son (the product of a movie family and thus has an experts eye for cinema.

NetFlix Fans:  Moon: A one man show with Sam Rockwell (whom I love) about an isolated worker on the moon.  A wonderful psychological sci-fi thriller.

TV: Despite the looming temptation of only watching the Australian Open (my tennis addiction knows no boundaries) I did manage to watch the new Fox show The Human Target.  It was fantastic and will be added to my DVR list.  Great characters and fun plot lines.

BOOKS:  10 Laws of Career Reinvention – Mitchell:  This book gives you a vision of your career life and provides tools for you to evaluate your work future.

MUSIC: Bottom line is that I am a singer/songwriter fan and John Gorka is one of my favorites.  This is a great video that gives you TWO high sound and video quality songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b42BEduQbOk

WEB SITES: A reminder of a good site.

http://www.trendhunter.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

The disaster in Haiti has brought about an outpouring of international support.  The need for aid is also a mother of invention for the wide variety of fundraisers that are going on:

• World’s tennis #1 Roger Federer did a quickly organized tennis exhibition at the Australian Open that raised over $100,000.  In addition to the ticket revenue many of the players opened their personal wallets and chunked in an average of more than $10,000 each.
• Now, here is a fundraiser that is right there with sports ideas.  Supermodels are playing a ping pong marathon in New York.
• Not to be outdone in out there ideas, the former Long Island Lolita, Amy Fisher will strip for Haiti.  I kid you not!

As odd as they may seem, they speak a world about the true nature of our species.  We are quick to help.

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

Coming to you live from San Francisco, The City by the Bay.  This beautiful city remains one of my favorite places to visit in the world.  Though I have an insanely busy schedule, I still enjoy being here.  Walking to meetings with 3 different clients is a treat!

Had a fantastic day of meetings where I had the honor of introducing the Repeatable Successful Acts platform.  Judging from the response this strategy received immediate traction and I hope to have the opportunity to drill down on the idea and get into quick and impactful applications.

To give you at taste of the insanity of my regular schedule, let’s look at Tuesday:

• 3:30 AM start to the day with email response and clean up.
• 6:00 AM to 9:00 workout.
• 9:30 – 10:30 client conference call.
• 11:30 – 1:00 PM  Sprint like a “bat out of hell” to a lunch presentation on the Elegant Simplicity platform.
• 1:00 PM – Apologize to the group for having to sprint out of the meeting upon the completion of my program, BUT, I have a 3:00 flight to San Francisco.
• While waiting to board my flight I run into my British clients who through the sheer coincidence of a small planet, are heading to San Francisco also.  We visit about the impact of the work we started in 09 (they showed me their notebooks and they were using the Elegant Simplicity forms for their meeting planning – a sure sign of my ideas gaining traction).
• Take a 3 ½ hour flight to San Francisco.
• Rush to the hotel and change for a client dinner from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.
• Return to hotel to answer email and watch a House MD re run.

Ta – Da !

The weirdest part is I am totally at home in a day like that!  I actually love it.

Next week will have a quick trip to Houston, but most of it will be building upcoming programs.

Thanks to almost 300 of you who have asked for my movie list.  What started out as a joke almost 10 years ago has now turned into something of value.  I wonder if I can deduct the cost of movie tickets???

THE ANNUAL TOP 10 AND BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF 2009 LIST IS READY TO ROLL.  SEND ME A NOTE AND I WILL GET YOU A COPY

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Chris Ryan (my managing agent) recently shared with me a meeting he attended where one of the speakers had just returned from touring Asia and had some observations to share with the audience.  Chris thought they were interesting and he gave me the low down.

The speaker said that while we are watching TV, using social media instead of working and allowing entertainment to replace productivity the world is kick our business butt.  HUH?  WHAT??  Put the brakes on those thoughts.  I said, hmm, interesting perspective, but kind of WRONG.

How about a few facts?

SOCIAL MEDIA

Though we are the leaders in the innovative fields of constant connection, we are not even the key player.  QZone, the Chinese version of Facebook is way bigger and more active.  They already exceed 200 million unique postings per month compared with the 175 million of Facebook and are growing at an almost exponential rate.  This is not a productivity anchor, but instead a staggering business opportunity.

TV

We waste our lives watching TV and the rest of the world is working.  Here are the hours of TV watched per country according to Neilson Ratings;

• United Kingdom  -     28 hours per week per individual
• USA                            28 hours per week per individual
• Italy                              27 hours per week per individual
• Ireland             23 hours per week per individual
• France                        23 hours per week per individual

These numbers are impacted when I watch a House MD marathon.

Thing about this – most of the other worlds TV sucks and their still watching almost as much as we are.

The entertainment industry is approaching $500 billion in business.

PRODUCTIVITY

Using a study by the Boston Globe dated 12/31/08 and the United Nations Study dated 1/31/09 here are some interesting facts;

• The United States is second to only Norway (hey, what else is there to do in Norway).
• We achieve more in an hours work than any country but those damn Norway folks.
• We LEAD the world in overall labor productivity.
• Divide the GNP of a nation by the number of people employed and factor in wealth created per hour worked and compare us to the 27 European Union Nations, Switzerland and Japan and guess what.  Yep we are #2 next to those pesky Norwegians.  Damn, I better start a Norway study.

So, I’m not sure what the speaker was talking about, but if you simply THINK you can tell when something doesn’t sound right.  So, THINK!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: :  The Book of Eli  - First fun looking movie of the year.  Why is our future always depicted as a bleak, ravished world (except for Star Trek).

NetFlix Fans:  The Brothers Bloom: Quirky but really fun.

TV: Yahoo, new season time.  New House episodes, the Human Target on Fox this Sunday night looks entertaining.  NFL playoffs are raging.  The Simpson’s 20^th anniversary show was hilarious and drew 14.6 million viewers.  American Idol is still going strong.  It was the most non-sport watched show of the season.

Wait a minute, maybe we do watch too much TV.

BOOKS:  I, Sniper – Stephen Hunter brings back Bob Lee Swagger for a new adventure.  If you are not acquainted with Bob Lee start with the first book – Point of Impact.

MUSIC: I have been listening to Greg Trooper lately and really like his sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNRHi_X87V0

WEB SITES: Looking for someplace to find real statistics.  This is a good source.

http://library.csun.edu/Find_Resources/Government_Publications/stathtml.html

SOUTH OF NORMAL

Since I spend a ton of time on the road and most hotels are kind enough to put a newspaper (remember what those things are?) on my door every morning, I get to see lots of colloquial news.  I, like Jay Leno, enjoy the occasional headline, so these are from only ONE WEEK of travel:

• Washington Blood Mobil Offers Beer to Blood Donors – way better than a cookie.
• Surgeon General Benjamin Wants A Healthier USA -  Shocking!
• Turkish Camel Wrestling Outlawed – There goes my reality TV idea.
• Chefs Create Largest Dish of Hummus -  This is news worthy?
• Boy Recovering From Chopstick Removed From Brain -  I was at a Chinese restaurant recently and saw a guy really struggling with is chopsticks so I understand how this happened.
• Country’s Only Hippo Escapes From Zoo – Those hippos are stealthy little critters.

I kid you not, all of these from one week of reading!

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

Here we go, a brand new year!  I love the opportunity it presents.

My 2010 started with a quick and very cold trip to New York where I had my second meeting on the idea of a new set of project s that would stretch throughout the year.  It would be a fantastic opportunity and forum to share my ideas around the Repeatable Successful Acts platform.    Then back home to Dallas where it is colder than New York!

My 2010 calendar is getting full and I had the first conflict on a date.

Next week I am off to San Francisco for a new project and I’m staying an extra day to touch base with my other Bay Area clients.

Wow, thanks for all the requests for my movie list.  I think I have sent out almost 200 hundred.  That’s really weird, since this whole idea started as a request I had from a client over 10 years ago.  Now I start getting requests for the list at the first part of November.  Recently at a party someone asked me; “what makes you a critic?”  I said; absolutely NOTHING.  She asked if I was paid for my opinion, that would make you a real critic she commented.  I said no, I wasn’t paid, BUT I get about 300 requests a year.  She said, DAMN, you are a critic!  Ha!

THE ANNUAL TOP 10 AND BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF 2009 LIST IS READY TO ROLL.  SEND ME A NOTE AND I WILL GET YOU A COPY

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Have you sat down and thought about this yet?  What can I do to make an impact on my career, on my company?  First things first.  I’m sure you figured out the key filter for this type of thinking;  you make an impact through the things you have a sense of control over.  Thus, market conditions are not a player in your impact decision.  You have NO control of any major bubble burst or market collapse.

There are three key measuring points to consider:

• Experience:  This is a tough one to control.  You only have as much of this as you have.  You may think of it as a time related point.  My son is just starting his career in insurance and he doesn’t have a any real experience.  But by looking for a mentor, someone WITH experience they can accelerate your learning.  Now, not only do you begin your time journey, but you have someone who can ADD their experience to your time.  Organizations that have actual mentoring programs can accelerate the experience curve.
• Knowledge: How much do you know about what you do?  Want a test?  Define what you do in 15 words.  This gives you a feel for how you describe what you know.  Now to gain more knowledge.  Some comes from experience but you can aggressively pursue the acquisition of knowledge.  Start by thinking outside your industry.  True, you need industry specific knowledge and that needs to be an element in your pursuit, but mix in some general business info.  Use Google Alerts or follow people like Guy Kawasaki on Twitter.  Build real time in your schedule to learn.
• Skills: How are your “chops”.  Do you spend time and money on getting better at what you do?  How are your communication skills?  How are your thinking skills?  Your skills are the foundation of your career and most people don’t make it a key mission in their life to just plain get better.  Take advantage of seminars offered by your company.  Go to lectures.  Make it your mission to find opportunities to learn.

Create a three part career plan for 2010 based on these components and you will have a simple, powerful leg up on the competition.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: :  We are in the typical first of the year movie phase.  Nothing to drive me to the theater.

NetFlix Fans:  The Informant: Quirky and goofy but Matt Damon does a great job.

TV: It’s football time with the NFL playoffs starting (come on Cowboys).  Most of my favorite shows resume next week.  New House on Monday!

BOOKS:  Influencer – By a bunch of authors.  This was a Christmas gift and it is written in a very readable fashion.  It is about how the power to change things.

MUSIC: The Boss doing an acoustic version of Blinded by the Light. Yep, he wrote that in 1973 (I think).  Though Dylan first recorded stream of consciousness songs, this it Bruce’s version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQoftsnFoxY&feature=related

WEB SITES: Interesting stuff, leaning to science.  You have to remember I am a scientist by education.

http://wattsupwiththat.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

One of my favorite writers is the clearly weird, odd, creative genius, Neil Gaiman (http://www.neilgaiman.com/ ).  Neil recently wrote a piece on where ideas come from.  In keeping with Neil’s kind of blunt answer he said; I make them up out of my head.”  Now that may seem obvious, but if you have studied the creative process like I have you would find that answer refreshing.

• Nobody really wants a three hour lecture on creativity.  They are simply interested in how creative people do it.  You watch a professional paint a room and you get it.  Read a riveting novel and you are thinking; how in the hell did he or she do this?
• Neil said he does not get ideas from his dreams.  Dream logic makes no sense at all.  Don’t believe me?  Ask someone to describe their dream.
• Ideas aren’t hard, it’s the connecting to a process that’s tough.
• You get a lot of ideas from being bored.  The difference is that some people actually notice the value of the thought.
• We ask questions, open ended questions – What if?  If only. . . .    I wonder what would happen?   If this goes on what next?

I loved Neil’s honesty.

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .

IN OUR WORLD

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It’s time to make sure a few of those 2010 resolutions might actually take hold.  Make your plan is SIMPLE, yet impactful.  Apply the rule of 3.  No more than 3 areas and no more than 3 goals in each.  Even that is a lot, but manageable.  Be specific.  The classic, “loose weight” is a great example.  How much and over what period?  Make it specific.  Looking for categories, how about health, fun and growth.

I hit the ground running in 2010 and am off to NY the first week to look at the application of my strategic platforms within the existing culture of a potential new client.  A very exciting opportunity.

The first newsletter of 2010 is just about to launch and I will have it posted in next week’s blog as well as on my social network sites.

I have a fantastic opportunity with one of my favorite clients to present my ideas on the key trends that will impact business in 2010 to their entire production staff.  I have already started on the storyboards.

No time to rest for any of us.  Hit your 2010 plans hard and smart.  What, you don’t have a strong 2010 plan?  It’s not too late.  Give me a call and let me help you with the thoughtful reduction process to get a simple, powerful and elegant plan ready to go!

THE ANNUAL TOP 10 AND BOTTOM 5 MOVIES OF 2009 LIST IS READY TO ROLL.  SEND ME A NOTE AND I WILL GET YOU A COPY

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

If you were to focus on ONE thing at the outset of a new year, what should it be?  The list could be a long one:

• Customer Centric Focus – Companies don’t go out of business because of the economy, they go out of business because they don’t have customers!
• Employee Skill Training and Growth – after all, what can have a bigger impact on your companies performance than team members with outstanding skills ready to apply them to your growth?
• Sales Strategies – Got to have sales and maybe a focus on tweaking your approach will yield better results.
• Ideas – Without a fresh supply of these your business becomes stale and flounders in yesterdays problems.

I believe one of the key growth areas will be defined by your focus on “connections”.  I know, you think I’m going to launch into a diatribe on social media, which by the way would not be a bad idea, but no, I want you to think about the connections that exist between you and your clients.  Take a few moments and map them out so you can see them.  Most of you will have:

• Client Facing – These are easy to see.  They are all the direct client connections you have.  Your sales force, your receptionist and anyone that comes into personal contact with your clients.
• Electronic:  Your web site, your blog, your newsletter any electronic media you use.

Take a few moments to think about all your connections.  Now that you have them listed, look for opportunities to strengthen them, ideas to increase their impact.

Connections will make things happen!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:    It’s Complicated:  Looking for a compromise movie for the weekend?  This is funny and well done.

NetFlix Fans:  Extract: Now this movie had a ton of potential, but fell just short of being great, but was still really good.

TV: Not much going on, but look for new seasons for a ton of great shows coming up in January.  Starting Sunday, HBO is again running, BAND OF BROTHERS.  If for some reason you missed this during its first run, don’t miss it this time.  It is a magnificent piece of entertainment!

BOOKS:  The Kill Artist – By Silva.  I am on my third book featuring the hero Gabriel Allon.  The Kill Artist is the first in the series.

MUSIC: A few words of wisdom for the new year from Pink Floyd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DODKTN3O2s

WEB SITES: As a new year dawns I am always driven to listen to Carl Sagan describe our existence in The Pale Blue Dot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJE_Ld-UyCk

SOUTH OF NORMAL

I don’t want to throw Tiger Woods under the bus any more than he has done himself, BUT I thought this was interesting.

Tiger WAS the perfect spokesperson, a deadly competitor, a breaker of racial barriers, a dominate world personality and many companies jumped on board.  Of course they are also jumping off with the turn of events that have not only impacted Tigers future but put a HUGE dent in shareholder value:

• An estimated $12 billion in market value has been lost to companies that had Tiger as a sponsor since his departure from competitive golf.
• The study compared overall market conditions and looked at a four year history, focusing on 9 key sponsors including Accenture, American Express, AT&T, Gillette (Proctor and Gamble) and Gatorade (PepsiCo).
• Taking into account regular market movement it was clear that Tiger was the main impact point.

Ouch!

Drop me a note with your comments at steve@creativeventures.com

Thanks for stopping by and until next time, Adios and Aloha.