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

IN OUR WORLD

A whole week in town, WAHOOOOOO!  I had a fantastic week without travel, allowing me to get caught up on a whole slew of projects:

• 2010 Web Site Revision:  Met with my web team to narrow down the look and feel as well as the navigation of my new web site.  Launch is still on schedule for the 4^th quarter, despite ME being the on the road most of the time.
• New Writing Opportunities:  Darren Horwitz, my new PR team member has continued to provide opportunities for me to contribute to various publications and write articles continuing the expansion of my sphere of influence.  I made the first paragraph of this article in INC:  http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/08/10-things-you-should-never-micromanage.html
• The Clarity of Teams Platform:  I was able to develop my latest program on the need for clarity through the use of simple, powerful and elegant goals.  Already have a client signed up for it!
• RSA Podcast:  A new podcast on the Repeatable Successful Acts platform will be ready to go next week.
• Conference Calls:  I had 10 different conference calls regarding various projects both confirmed and in the pipeline.

Whew, what a fantastic week!

Have a great Labor Day weekend.  College football kicks off its schedule – Go Horns and Hogs!

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Companies and organizations are all about motion, the movement of ideas and actions that connect their goals to their clients.  This is the heart of developing value in a world where the seemingly only continuity if volatility!

I hate to continually use APPLE as the key example in this foundational aspect of business, because APPLE is an anomaly, a strange and oddly fascinating company that destroys the “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” saying, BUT here I go anyway.

September marks the annual APPLE “what’s new” press conference and I will be damned if they didn’t turn the consumer and investors head again.  Imagine how tough it is to create such incredible “motion” every year.

• A new suite of hardware in the form of new and improved iPods and Apple TV.
• A “cloud” based iTunes platform.  iTunes grows by an average of 25% annually!  I kid you not!
• The App revolution:  There are now over 225,000 various apps for the iPhone with over 11,000 just for the iPad.  There have been +/- 5 billion app downloads to date.
• iPhone:  Despite the iPhone 4’s “death grip” issues it still sells like crazy and over the next three years there will be over 1 billion smart phones all over the planet.  Consumers change their smart phone every 2 years and with Verizon and others being able to sell and provide coverage, the iPhone is going to have a second EXPLOSION.

Damn and WOW.

I will end with this Wall Street quote:   “Apples growth rate will shatter any historical precedent for a mature company of similar size.”

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: The American: I have been waiting WEEKS for this Clooney thriller!

NetFlix Fans: The Big Easy:  Last night friends dropped by and the girls started talking about the hottest love scenes in a movie and this one won!

TV: Nothing and I mean nothing but the greatness of the US Open from NY.

BOOKS:  Employees First – Customers Second  – Nayar:  New business needs new focus.  I constantly preach that you can never hope to make the customer your primary focus if you have not ALREAY focused on your team!

MUSIC: Lots of people have a bunch of bad things to say about John Mayer, BUT damn he is really good.  This is a fantastic acoustic cover of Free Fallin.  Sorry for the damn ad at the beginning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Ov0cDPZy8

WEB SITES: Interesting stuff!

http://www.blueskysunburn.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

This is from the Springwise newsletter and as a beer lover I love the idea!

Beer connoisseurs like to try before they buy just as much as the next consumer; the only problem is that high-end bottles of the stuff can cost a pretty penny, making bartenders reluctant to open them. That’s where the BeerVault comes in. Designed by Australian design firm Jones Chijoff, the BeerVault gives bars a way to preserve and display their finest beers for sampling and beyond.

The innovation began when Victoria-based Jones Chijoff was hired by Melbourne-based bar Biero to solve its sampling problem, driven by the fact that some of its boutique bottles of beer can cost as much as AUD 200. Now, with the BeerVault, Biero can siphon its various bottled beers into UV-filtering clear acrylic canisters, which are backlit and suspended above the bar. There, each beer is kept under the same pressure as it was while in the bottle, thus preserving it equally well; it’s also kept cold via a clear volume of liquid glycol that surrounds it and circulates through a chiller. Bartenders can dispense quantities as small as they want, allowing patrons to not only sample Biero’s beers but also order them based on the colours of those on display. The BeerVault is currently available only for hire while Jones Chijoff readies its marketing plans.

With its preservation capabilities and capacity for creating an aesthetically engaging display, the BeerVault seems highly applicable to other beverage categories as well, including wine. Which bar in *your* neighbourhood will be first to claim this new, differentiating feature?

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

Two projects hit my bandwidth this week.

Earlier this year I developed a new program around the idea of FRAMING; your ability to expand your contributions to your company by increasing your knowledge of new business ideas happening outside of your industry.  I have been writing this program for a long time and recently had the chance to give it a test run to a large group of insurance agents.  My ever present agent, Chris Ryan, used that opportunity to invite some guests who were considering using my ideas to help their companies find new strategies.  Well, the FRAMING idea took off and on Monday I presented the FRAMING idea and its application in a customized two hour program to an elite group of retail leaders.

Today I am coming to you from my new home away from home, Minneapolis.  I now have 3 clients here.

On Wednesday I had dinner with people from a new division of my current client who were interested in the application of my educational curriculum and it looks like I might have a new division to work with.  Then yesterday I taught Interpersonal Communication skills as the second part of a three part skill enhancement program I designed for sales leaders.  Last month I taught THINKING and next month will finish with PLANNING skills.

My pipeline continues to fill with really interesting projects.

I remain honored to be able to share, teach and apply my ideas.  Thanks for allowing me to have the best job on the planet!

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Once again the economies hits the slow, stop and reverse buttons as everyone continues to look for reasons to amp up the fear factor.  OUCH.  Despite the trepidation about everything from the impact of the Euro to the decline in consumer spending, companies are still looking at tomorrow, only it’s a very unpredictable and volatile tomorrow.

My new PR person, Darren Horowitz, has been setting up a bunch of interviews for me with publications ranging from the leading business magazine in Canada to the huge internet version of Inc. Magazine.  Through these interviews I get a sense of what the business community is thinking.  Here are a few “things you should know.”

• IDEAS, IDEAS and IDEAS:  Everything from Results Oriented Work Environments (ROWE) where when and how many hours you work becomes insignificant and instead you are judged by the outcome of your work to new internet strategies, companies are actually looking at new ways to do things.  This is good news as it shows a future based thinking.

• SKILLS, SKILLS and SKILLS:  When fearful of tomorrow look for things you can impact today.  Forget about macro issues and look to control those things you CAN control.  Companies are picking up investments in training and not just industry specific training, but moving core skill sets of their teams forward.  Communication and thinking are the foundation skills I teach and I am seeing a huge bump in education spending.  Make your team better to make your client relationships better!

• VALUE, VALUE and VALUE:  Companies are asking; what can I do to further becoming the primary customer choice in my field?”  This is a critical strategy question and is becoming foundational in business planning.  My ONE LEVEL ABOVE (OLA) strategy is perfectly fitted to this strategy as I am taking more and more clients on the mapping process of all of their client experiences.  The goal is to discover areas where ONLY ONE NEW SERVICE LEVEL will hugely impact the way a client views their value relationship.

I know the negative aspect of the business folks, but I am actually in the trenches involved in retail, food and beverage, technology, insurance, financial services, pharmaceuticals and though the forward steps are very small, they create motion in the right direction.   

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:  Takers:  This looks kind of interesting and might, just maybe get my theater dollar.  A group of criminals gets together every once in a while to plan perfect bank robberies.

NetFlix Fans:   Harry Brown:  This is a wonderful little British revenge film with the ever present Michael Caine as the man who seeks some justice after his friend is murdered.

TV:    Apple is pretty close to allowing Fox to rent its TV shows for .99 on iTunes  Keep your eyes out for the new TNT series FALLEN SKIES, produced by Steven Spielberg.  It is a sci-fi show about a small group of resistance fighters taking on aliens that have taken over earth.  Hey, it’s Spielberg.

BOOKS:  Multipliers  – McKeown:  This is a really interesting about how the smartest person in the room is really the person that knows how to capitalize on the talents of the people in the room.  This turns them into production champions.

MUSIC:   I’ve been listening to a lot of Van Morrison and those covering his songs.  There are tons of covers of Into the Mystic and I love Gary and Marketa’s version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlftisKf8Mc        

WEB SITES:   Does sci-fi stuff work with real science??

http://www.howstuffworks.com/sci-fi.htm#mkcpgn=kaw1     

SOUTH OF NORMAL

This week marks the 200^th anniversary of the can.  Yep, the can.  You know that cylindrical container that houses everything from you chicken noodle soup to your beer.  When you think about it the can is one of the huge inventions of our time yet due to its overwhelming commonality it is relegated to the same significance as the fork. 

To adequately judge its impact just open you cupboards and pantries.  Take a peek in your fridge.  Take a walk through a supermarket and you will discover that the can is a BIG player.

There are countless great moments in history for the can ranging from its impact on preserving fruit and veggies to its revolutionary change in the soft drink industry, but clearly the 1978 epic event of Delta Tau Chi fraternity member, John Blutarsky crushing bear cans on his head would have to be at the top of the list.

So, lift a can in a toast to the can.

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

After last weeks whirlwind of travel, I spent a couple nights in my own bed and jumped on a flight to Atlanta to have the great opportunity to work with the support staff for one of my all time favorite clients.

On of the Repeatable Successful Acts (RSA) elements is “Attack the Second Level”.  This has translated into a unique and powerful strategy that is running independent of the RSA platform.  Organizations are pushing resources to their support staff recognizing that a well trained support staff strengthens the bottom line return on their sales teams.  I currently have three support staff initiatives that I am involved with based solely on the Attack the Second Level strategy.

Next week I have a great opportunity to be involved in a product development initiative right here in Dallas then mid-week I jump on a plane to Minneapolis and begin part two of an education initiative by teaching Interpersonal Communication Skills.

These are the types of projects that get my motor going and make my job (if you can call it that) the most fun I can possibly have!

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

I spend most of my time in meetings.  , I am intimately aware of what constitutes a good meeting and equally, what constitutes a bad meeting.

Here is the first problem, most people think of all meetings the same and though they share certain attributes, and all meetings are different.  Some are informational, some are designed to “fire up the troops”, some are educational and some are on a grand scale involving thousands of people.  With each meeting comes a responsibility – to make sure it is a worthy use of time for ALL involved.  I like you have attended literally thousands of meetings where at the conclusion I said, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT.

A meeting, at any level. Is a shared experience.  It is a use of time, valuable time.

Here are a few very basic ideas around the dreaded concept of meeting:

• SIMPLIFY:  It never fails that an agenda is developed that has 50 items.  Forget that, no one will be engaged in any topic when they feel like they are sitting under a waterfall of stuff.  Try to fight the urge to add items and restrict yourself to only critical core content.
• PERSPECTIVE: If you are planning the meeting think about the perspective of the attendees.  If you were attending and not running the meeting is a meeting you would want to go to, or that you would speak highly of or is it another waste of time?
• EXPERIENCE:  For larger company wide meetings, think experience instead of meeting.  What can I do to create an experience?  What can I do to make the content delivery unique and powerful?  What can I do to create real positive energy that can carry the participants towards accomplishing new goals?

Those are just three questions to help you focus on making a meeting something that people look forward to attending.

One of my clients schedules informal team meetings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Yep, three times a week.  But get this, the meetings NEVER last more than 3-5 minutes.  Just quick updates.  They are focused and driven with intent.

Meetings take all kinds of form, you be the driver of success and stop wasting creative time on meetings that elicit groans.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: The Expendables: Hey, I know it’s a bunch of geriatric old guys running around with guns and dodging explosions, but it was really fun.

NetFlix Fans: Kick-Ass:  WARNING – WARNING – This movie has a ton of inappropriate violence and it’s delivered by an 11 year old girl.  Now that I have that off my chest, the movie was a pretty good adaptation of the graphic novel and my demented movie going mind kind of dug it!

TV: Start marking your calendar for some of the new TV shows hitting the living rooms big screen.  On Mondays (after House MD, of course) is new crime drama called CHASE.  Early words is that it will be one of the best of the US Marshall themed shows (yeah, there are a couple).

BOOKS:  Nice Teams Finish Last – Miller:  The name of this book alone was enough to turn me off, BUT it does a good job of helping teams learn to deal with difficult issues and how avoiding the uncomfortable problem is never the right answer.

MUSIC: A fantastic very young Elton John doing one of my favorite tunes – Burn Down The Mission.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPTdSYTLA10

WEB SITES: The economy needs a boost – BUY SOME SHOES!

www.zappos.com

SOUTH OF NORMAL

I’m standing in the security line at the airport and there are two guys traveling together right behind me.  They were involved in a conversation about what a “piece of @#*&” that consultant they hired was.  They say; if you are not smart enough to run your own company you should sell the damn thing.  One of them said; “I’ve never met a consultant that was worth anything”.

I couldn’t resist engaging them.

“What business are you guys in?”

“Plastics” (I swear it wasn’t the guy from The Graduate)

“Plastic manufacturing, I asked”

“Yep and the damn guy didn’t know a thing about our business.  It was a moron that hired him.”

One of them asked what I did.  Consultant told them.  Sorry, they said.  No worries.  I asked if I could describe a scenario based on their discussion to stimulate their way of thinking.  Sure, they said.

How much do you know about the following:  Ball Bearing manufacturing, soft drink manufacturing, athletic shoe manufacturing?  Nothing they said.

What if I told you that within those other unrelated fields were ideas that would benefit your processes, your sales efforts and your idea development?  What if the world outside of plastics manufacturing contained ideas that would help your human resources, that would simplify your strategic planning process, that could be molded (notice the use of a plastics word – smart huh!) to fit your unique and successful organization without a complete disruption to your current systems?  Would that be of value?

Both paused and the younger of the two said, “Yeah, that would be valuable”.  The old of the two gave me a skeptical look and didn’t respond.

Not bad I thought, a 50% shift in thinking in 45 seconds.

As I was headed to my gate, the old guy came up to me and asked me for a card.  He told me; “I’m not sure if what you said can actually happen, but it was interesting enough to check your stuff out.  I didn’t want John (the younger guy) to think I was so easily impressed.”

Not bad, a 100% shift in thinking in 45 seconds!

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

So starts my next few months of travel.  Today I am coming to you from Minneapolis, the second city on this three city road trip.  Last night there was an unbelievable thunderstorm full of lightning, thunder, rain and hail.  I was on the 15^th floor with a perfect view.  Beautiful and kind of freaky.  Tonight I am off to Houston and then back home on Saturday, at least for two days then off to Atlanta.

Though the travel is challenging the projects are fantastic.  This trip is mostly based on my Repeatable Successful Acts sales strategy platform.  The level of engagement from both the leadership and the participants in the program has been great.  I did a keynote for about 300 and then a breakout session where I drilled down on direct applications for three of the RSA’s.  I had a full room and they had to bring in 45 additional chairs to handle the overflow. 

After the RSA programs I am scheduled to start a project on organizational transformation for one of my favorite not for profit groups.  I should have about 140 people in the audience.

I get just enough time to catch my breath then its off to Atlanta to work with the support staff of one of my favorite clients.  The focus on training support staff yields fantastic results.  Then I get to teach a full day of interpersonal communication skills to top sales professionals.

I had a great interview with interview with Inc Magazine and should have some of my ideas in their internet version this week.

I am honored to have a full schedule and each project is filled with opportunity and potential.

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

A quick few comments on presentations.  During the past few weeks I have had the opportunity to see at least a dozen major presentations by highly trained professionals.  I sat in the audience and was continually amazed at the horrific visuals that were used.  There is an elegant architecture to creating a visual journey that supports your message.  Here are a few core principles that will serve your next presentation:

• PERSPECTIVE:  Most presenters design their visuals from THEIR perspective.  They drive their message from the front of the room to the audience.  This creates the wrong direction for impact.  To gain access to the audience you should design your presentation as if YOU were a participant.  What would you want to see to drive an idea home?  I can tell you it isn’t a graph with multiple lines and 9 point font!
• FONT:  Think BIG.  Here is a fun hint.  Take the age of the oldest participant and divide it in half to get the right font size for the audience.  Despite that equation NEVER go less than 24 for font size.
• TEXT CONTENT:  If you follow the above rule you will be challenged to reduce the amount of text you have on your slides.  Look for core understanding.  You can’t cheat and use a print material sheet and just convert it into a slide.  People DO NOT WANT TO READ your presentation.  If you need strong support material print it up and hand it out at the end of the presentation.
• COMPLEXITY IS THE ENEMY:  If you subject is complex the idea is to create a method of simplifying it to appeal to the audience.  Don’t assume that they will understand your material just because they are in the same field.  I went to a lecture by Albert Holm, the Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, who took the mysteries of the universe and made them appeal to everyone from the scientists to the regular guys. 

Due your audience a favor and spend some REAL time on your presentations.  I teach a class called The Architecture of Presentations, drop me a note if you are interested.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:  Scott Pilgram vs. The World:  This is an odd idea for a movie, but the special effects are stunning and they lead to a great little heartwarming story.

NetFlix Fans:   The Ghost Writer:  This was a great little mystery thiller.

TV:    The new USA show Covert Affairs is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine.  The USA Network remains the most popular cable network with their original series,

BOOKS:  The Cleaner – Brett Battles:  This book introduces Jonathan Quinn a fantastic character.

MUSIC:   Simon and Garfunkle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od66bhNzBtE&feature=related     

WEB SITES:   Music video site.:

http://www.internetvideomag.com/Web-Sites/MusicVideosSites101.htm     

SOUTH OF NORMAL

Stanford University just finished an interesting study into retail sales and though much of the data will prove useful, the interesting aspect to me was the section called; The Waiting Customer. 

Through their research they found that if you have customers waiting outside your doors before your posted opening time that if you let them in a little early they will spend more than they had planned.  The waiting customers see the early opening as a bonus to them, as the retailer caring about the “huddle masses” waiting to access the nirvana of their retail haven.

As I waited with 5 other people to access the fitness center at a hotel while the staff sat at the check in desk visiting, I thought, wow, if they read this study they would open the doors 5 minutes early and gain the benefit of grateful customers all at the expense of a few minutes of visiting.

Those people waiting at your door are golden customers and giving them 5 extra minutes will provide a ton of benefit!

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 live from beautiful Breckinridge Colorado where the weather is a cool and wonderful, especially when Dallas is beating the 100 mark every day.

There is so much going on it’s hard to know where to start.

• I have a number of clients waiting for the next Repeatable Successful Acts podcast that the magnificent Andy Azinger is producing for Wells Fargo.  It should be soon.
• I have over half a dozen new clients that are in the “pipeline” with really exciting new projects.  Gotta thank Chris Ryan for all the work he is doing.
• I have two huge road trips the next two weeks taking me to Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Atlanta and back to Minneapolis.  WOW!
• My new web site is in full development with the fantastic John Peterson at the helm.
• New videos are coming.  I have five new videos introducing a series of new ideas.

The best of all is that my loving bride, Laura and I celebrated our 31^st wedding anniversary yesterday in the beautiful mountains of Colorado.  She is the best thing in my life.

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

I recently wrote a piece for a clients industry magazine on the ability to create impact.  I have been working on impact with clients for a very long time.  The formula often revolves around the use of time.  Time is the thief.  It robs you of impact by the way you think of it.

Time is dictated by the way you think,  If you think you don’t have any, guess what, YOU DON’T.  A lack of time takes away your ability to create impact.

Let’s start with a simple planning exercise using the ancient and venerable tool of the LIST.

• Take 5 minutes and jot down the things you have to do.  No order, just an accumulative list.
• Now create a sense of priority to those items that made your list.  It’s simple, just give them a number of importance. 
• Now look at your list.  What did you determine were the most important?  Guess what, they are your impact items.

This is the primitive starting point for understanding impact.  It leaves out some critical points such as deadlines, financial considerations randomness and so on, BUT it  is a great starting point.  It tells you how you see your work.

Imagine if you could discipline yourself to dedicate the proper energy to the most important.  That’s how impact is created. 

The list thing works to set a framework, it really does! 

If you want some simple planning templates let me know and I will send them to you.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:  The Other Guys:  Man, I hope that the best parts have not been revealed in all the previews..

NetFlix Fans:   Trading Places:  During a recent dinner the topic turned to movies and I was amazed that two of the people at dinner had never seen this epic comedy (which by the way I can do almost line for line).

TV:    WOW, shark week has been HUGE for the Discovery Channel.  The ratings are out of the roof. 

BOOKS:  The Dark River – John Twelve Hawks:  This is the sequel to The Traveler, a mystic, thriller mystery (great combination).  The author’s psydomum hides a person supposedly who live completely “off the grid.”  Way cool!

MUSIC:   In a Pink Floyd mood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wtiNzci1Wc     

WEB SITES:   Great site for science buffs:

http://www.science.gov/     

SOUTH OF NORMAL

Really interesting stuff from Robert Paetsch of the Wells Fargo Daily Advantage.

The National Football League is welcoming the noise. Maybe not that kind, but according to the NFL’s chief marketing officer Mark Waller in a USA Today story, the league is changing its stance on stadium noise. While the 40 second clock is counting down in between plays, the NFL will now allow digital noise meters and sayings like “Let’s Hear It!” or “Raise the Roof!” until 15 seconds to go. It’s an effort to improve the stadium experience for ticket holders. (I hope they didn’t use the World Cup as a litmus test for more noise equals good.) The NFL is battling against last season’s 2.4% drop in game attendance to 16.7 million from 17.1 million in 2008. And television sets keep getting nicer.

The NFL, along with the more-noise approach, has a few other tricks up its rolled-under sleeves. The Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, and Washington Redskins are taking a page out of the Dallas Cowboys’ playbook and installing large HD panels at their stadiums. All 31 NFL teams will now be able to show clips from around the league via the NFL’s RedZone Channel. If that’s not enough for the die-hards, FanVision is bringing the action within arm’s reach. It’s a 4.3 inch LCD handheld that will offer live video, replays, alternative camera angles, audio feeds, stats and scorecards, along with other features. The device works in stadiums and parking lots, and the Miami Dolphins claim to be the first team to offer it free to season ticket holders. (My couch is starting to look a little less comfortable.)

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

What an absolutely, unbelievable fantastic week.

I jumped off the plane from Southern California on Sunday; hit the ground running with a full program on a new view on creating impact.  It’s about decision making in relation to those actions that directly relate to impact.  It’s about creating a filter to identify which actions are truly impactful.  After that I had two conference calls to set projects for the 4^th quarter.  Quickly catching my breath I then jumped on a plane to Minneapolis for a full day educational workshop on “thinking skill sets” as part of a new visionary leadership program launched by a new client.

Arrived back home for a full day of meetings with 3 potential new clients.

I love the JAZZ created by the wide variety of clients I get to work within a myriad industries.  I grow every time!

Next week it’s off to Colorado.

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

This week I thought I would share some of the news stories that help me create examples for my programs.  I am constantly studying publications for trends and ideas that support or even create new ideas in my work.  Here are a couple that interested me:

• AMAZON:  With the pressure created by the iPad on Amazon’s top position in digital readers Jeff Bezo’s has gone on the attack by launching the new Kindle (an updated version of the dominate digital reader).  The new version is smaller, more powerful and lighter than the current model.  More importantly it’s a hell of a lot cheaper.  The two new models sell for $189 and $139 respectively.  With 4 million Kindles already sold and digital book sales pushing out print books, this move should add a couple of million sales by year end.  It will be interesting to see the impact a strong strategy like this has on rival digital readers like the Sony Reader and the Barnes and Noble’s Nook.

• BP & THE DISAPPEARING OIL:  The latest twist on the environmental disaster of the gulf oil spill is that it seems most of the oil spilled by the huge leak has disappeared.  Huh?  What do mean disappeared?  Apparently everyone else is thinking the same thing.  It seems the spill has rapidly shrunk in size.  No one seems to know where the oil has gone.  126 – 218 million gallons of oil has leaked from the BP Deepwater Horizon well with about 80 million skimmed, captured or burned off in containment efforts.  Dr. Aixin Hou and environmental and pollution professor at LSU credits, summer heat accelerating the biodegradation process and help of oil eating microbes.  Weird.

• PILES OF MONEY:  It seems many big companies have been stockpiling cash created by the recent upswing in various parts of the economy.  Yep, companies are behaving like us.  Many Americans have been saving up cash trying to figure out what to do with it.  It is estimated that there are billions and billions of dollars sitting with people too confused or scared to know what to do with it.  They call it “sideline” money.  Money not working for the individual or the economy.  Well companies do the same thing.  Non-financial companies in the S&P 500 could be sitting on as much as $837 billion waiting for some “sign” that it’s safe to invest in both the future and growth.  They are just like us, kind of scared to spend.  Most of the biggest holders of cash are technology companies.  They hold piles of dough trying to prepare for big event shifts in technology.  But they won’t hold on to this money forever and once they start releasing it jobs will grow.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES: Dinner for Schmucks: Funny and a wonderfully odd movie.

NetFlix Fans: North By Northwest:  Just saw a great documentary on Cary Grant and it made me think of how much I love this Hitchcock movie and how elegant Grant is in the starring role.

TV: CBS is re-booting the classic Hawaii Five-O this fall.  The cast has obviously changed, but the names will remain the same as will the driving theme song that became one of the most memorable in TV history.

BOOKS:  The Dark River – John Twelve Hawks:  This is the sequel to The Traveler, a mystic, thriller mystery (great combination).  The author’s pseudonym hides a person supposedly who live completely “off the grid.”  Way cool!

MUSIC: This song popped up on my iPod during my flight home from Minneapolis and I fondly remembered how much I loved it.  Loudon Wainwright III singing  School Days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-L8EhaKito

WEB SITES: Interesting blog for any serious or casual athlete:

http://blog.80percentmental.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

I am very interested in South of Normal thinking.  In fact I am going to brand this little corner of my universe and set up a South of Normal club you can join with logo material and all sorts of good stuff.

In a couple of the magazines I read I have seen articles about Felix Baumgartner (http://felixbaumgartner.com/index.php?id=8 ) and his goal of jumping out of a high altitude balloon and skydiving to earth.  OK, I agree, kind of death wishy is you ask me, but when you read the articles you think, OK, still kind of death wishy!

He will ride a balloon to about 23 miles above the earth’s surface, jump out in a pressurized suit and free fall through the sky.  In about 35 seconds HE will break the sound barrier and what happens after that, well, it’s all theory.

I have an interest in adrenaline junkies who seem to find their highest quality of life when their tiny little gland floods their system with this high test neurotransmitter.  Most of these X style athletes are living in the high end neighborhood of South of Normal.

Check out Felix.  I might send him the first t-shirt!

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 from what should be sunny Huntington Beach, CA, but is instead cool, overcast and even misty.  I was here about 10 days ago and it was the same.  It has been a cool coastal summer.

What an exciting week, I have had the opportunity to not only introduce the Repeatable Successful Acts platform in a keynote, but also conduct a special breakout session where I have been able to drill down on a couple highly impactful RSA’s.  Then off to UCLA where I was honored to give a keynote address to a wonderful group of 400+ teenage leaders from around the world!

In between all of that I will be launching a program called Visionary Leadership designed to build skill sets in the two foundational areas of thinking and communicating. 

Next week I get a unique chance to be involved in a new idea launch that was adapted from a previous idea,  Kind of adaption on a theme.  Then on to a flight to MN and back home by Friday.

Wonderful opportunities, full of adventurous thinking that can be measured by the impact that shows in the results.

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Almost every week I have the honor  of being involved in some sort of meeting.  Every week I am amazed at the lack of understanding demonstrated by many of the participants.  It’s almost like they don’t know why they are there.  At the heart of conferences, meetings, workshops is the OPPORTUNITY to learn something.  Something you would not have access to in your daily world.  Where else are you granted insight into business leaders, new thinkers, creative powerhouses than these type of meetings?  Yet I look around the various rooms while I am a participant  and see people using their umbilical Blackberry’s while someone is imparting a great seed of knowledge. 

They are simply not in the moment.  Their perceived or actual need to stay constantly connected can not be suspended, even for the briefest moment.    What a shame.

Now not all is bad .  I also see the connected, those who know their capacity to learn is not at an “exceeded capacity” level.  How do I recognize them?  They are doing a very specific task to allow them to engage in a learning opportunity.  They are taking notes.

This simple task of translating something you find important into a note is an immensely critical way for the information to gain relevance, to begin its journey to knowledge.

I sit in many sessions as I either wait for my program or after I have finished and EVERYTIME I write something down, I learn something, something that expands my frame of understanding.

Try this:  Turn off your electronic device, get out you pad and pen, start writing those things you find interesting.  It will create a level of engagement and allow you to grab an opportunity that you have been granted access to!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:  Salt:  A great suspense, mystery spy thriller!  It will be a good view.

NetFlix Fans:   Criminal:  A weirdly wonderful little movie about con men.

TV:    PBS is running a new series of Mystery, featuring the great David Suchet as the persnickety detective, Hurcule Poirot.   He is fantastic in the role.

BOOKS:  The Zeroes – Lanes:  A great read about how the literally psychological aspect of greed impacted the Wall Street meltdown.

MUSIC:   Here is an oldie from Jimmy Eats World.  I still like their sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyts5Qq_BYk     

WEB SITES:   Everyone should learn how to draw.  Start here:

http://www.howtodrawit.com/     

SOUTH OF NORMAL

Some interesting numbers:

• It cost $904,000 to clean up after the Mardi Gras parades.
• The development of the Grand Theft Auto game cost about $1,000,000
• To create Ka for Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas – $200,000,000
• Producing Prince of Persia movie – $150,000,000.00
• 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony – $40,000.000

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

Summer is really here in Dallas.  Damn, it’s hot!  I guess I suffer from “weather amnesia” and when we get to triple digits I seem to have forgotten from last summer that it’s normal.

This week EXPLODED into new projects and in-town client meetings.  I have a deep appreciation of the random nature of things and adjusted my weeks plan to accept the new stuff with open arms.  Good planning allows for unpredictable events.

New curriculum development, sales process work and strategic planning templates filled the week.  I added some real forward progress on the new web site design and still think we may meet the end of the third quarter launch date.  The new web site will see a complete new look and feel for the blog.

It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who read my stuff.  Last week I had some problems with the hotel internet and I thought I had posted the blog but it went into the “drafts” folder.  I had TONS of email from people wondering what happened and where the weekly posting was.  Thanks for reading!

Next week I will be in Southern California again for three separate projects and presentations.  Anything to get out of this heat!

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

How important is the attention to detail?  Where is the value in “every little thing?”

Well, it’s no surprise, it’s huge.  This one aspect of planning, understanding the impact of details is a foundation concept in the idea of simplification.  The more complex any issue, the more difficult it is to give the right amount of attention to the details.  Remember, it is the end user that get’s to enjoy your work on the details.

• APPLE:  The elegant simplicity of their devices is the end result of their attention to detail.  The endless hours of work in design and thoughtful reduction become the elegant iPad in our hands.

We have an instinctive draw towards the simple, the elegant and the powerful.

• AVATAR:  The blockbuster movie of 2009 hired Paul Frommer, a world class linguist to create the unique language of the alien characters.  Frommer created an ENTIRE LANGUAGE for a movie.  The detail developed with the characters.  It created a sense of culture that every viewer engaged in.

When planning anything, create a strategy that looks at the end user.  What detail will make the idea a separator in your business?  What will the client say about how they interface with the idea?

We recently finished a new learning initiative for a client and created a simple delivery process that had only two core parts.  It allowed us to create elegant details that immediately engaged the potential participants.  We now have a waiting list to get into the program!

Details are important.  Simplify to make sure you can see all the “i’s “ that need dotting and “t’s” that need crossing!

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:    Inception:  This movie looks so cool, I can hardly wait!

NetFlix Fans:  Daybreakers: Not that great, but an interesting take on the vampire craze.

TV: USA Network continues to produce some of the best in serial TV.  The new Covert Affairs is fantastic and the new seasons of Burn Notice and White Collar really hit their creative mark.  Check your listings and get your DVR programmed.

BOOKS:  How the Economy Grows and Why it Crashes – By Schiff/Schiff.  Want to understand the stuff that makes money important?  This is a GREAT place to start!

MUSIC: I was cleaning the kitchen and had my Jimmy Buffett cranked up to ear splitting levels when this song came on and it had me dancing around the tile floor (not a pretty sight).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DotENSHBe2U

WEB SITES: No reason you can’t work on it!

http://www.happiness-project.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

OK – Here is some more info on the explosive growth of internet stuff.  It always continues to push our brains just South of Normal.

• Europe leads in the growth of wireless broadband.
• Broadband (the ability to move data through the very air you breathe) is growing at about 71% a year.
• VoIP and IM capability is growing over 100% a year.
• Over the last 5 years the use has grown from 15 billion minutes to over 450 billion minutes – DAMN!
• Asia is the biggest user of Twitter @ 37%.  US is number 2.
• Twitter is the 12^th most popular internet site!

I am typing my blog while listening to a Jimmy Buffett interview with the British Open on in the background.  Ain’t technology wonderful!

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 beautiful and I do mean beautiful Newport Beach, CA.

Any time you can escape the heat of Texas in July, it’s a big win!

This week has been huge for Creative Ventures.  Two projects that had been residing in the pipeline are now confirmed!  Really exciting!  As soon as those two became real projects, two more filled in their place in the pipeline.  It is always amazing how business generates in my little world.  One of the pipeline projects came from a client I haven’t worked for in 10 years!

In case you missed the July newsletter, here is a link.  There is a podcast on the Repeatable Successful Acts platform in the newsletter:

http://www.creativeventures.com/Newsletter/201007.html

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

I was recently asked to define a “good manager”.  Sounds simple enough and I was tempted to just start talking, but I slowed down and asked; Why?  The client was getting ready to take a strong look at defining job descriptions.  Ah, the question was IMPORTANT.  Here are a couple of items that made up MY definition:

• Understand Priorities:  The simplest is JOB 1 – help my company achieve its goals by facilitating flow and decision making.
• Provide Tools:  A good manager provides tools/training to allow his/her team to reach their highest potential.
• Behave Like a Leader:  Be genuine in your style and open to listening at all times.

Now, the definition we created was, unfortunately, more complex as the aspects unique to the company needed to play a role, but we used these three as a foundation to begin our THINKING about the idea.

Definitions are like ideas, they have a tendency to start at a high level of complexity, but as you work through them with focus, they can achieve a level of elegant simplicity.

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:    Despicable Me:  The EXTENSIVE marketing campaign worked for me!

NetFlix Fans:  The Last Boy Scout: A great action film with Bruce Willis in great form!

TV: HBO’s Master Class is a fantastic new series about learning from creative masters.

BOOKS:  Power Friending – By Mac.  An interesting read about the connective nature of relationships.  It has a focus on three core ideas – Authenticity, Consistency and Bravery in your pursuit of the potential of impactful connections.

MUSIC: My brother-in-law, Curt, turned me on the Alpha Rev.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnEAOe2zFt4

WEB SITES: Kind of fun!

http://theoatmeal.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

During a recent study into the algorithms of search engines I stumbled upon the elegant simplicity of the search engines used by adult entertainment sites.  FIRST – I am not advocating these types of sites, just the unbelievably efficient search engines that they have designed.  I also stumbled upon some interesting facts:

• The adult industry generates more revenue than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple and Netflix combined.
• China is the number 1 viewer of adult web sites.  South Korea, which is only 26^th in the world’s population, is # 2 in viewing, followed by Japan.  The US is a distant 4^th.
• The word “sex” is searched equally by men and women.
• 17% of ALL web sites are related to adult entertainment.

With all of this, WHY oh WHY can’t other sites, like retailers learn how to develop a good search engine???  Laura was trying to find a certain light fixture and after 30 minutes just gave up!

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

You know those weeks where you look up at the calendar and it’s already Friday?  Well, that was this week.  Heck, I looked at the calendar and realized half the year was already gone.  Projects that were scheduled to launch in the third quarter seemed so far away and now their HERE!

July and August have me on the road every week with little time to repack.

I am WAY JAZZED to launch my new public relations and media plan with Darren Horwitz at the helm.  I’m looking forward to see the return of a well designed six month battle plan.

All businesses know the importance of “the pipeline”, an avenue filled with potential projects that you strategically position to generate new business.  It is a foundation for success in small businesses.  As I get ready for July I am glad to have a really full pipeline for new projects with new clients.  It gives you something to focus and work on.  Chris Ryan remains a great help in both generating and managing a lot of the pipelines potential.

This past week gave me:

• A brand new company holding their annual training day!  I had the honor of closing the meeting and received great feedback adding a bunch of people to my email list!
• Received the evaluation report from a huge meeting in Minneapolis – 94% rated my program excellent, making me the highest rated speaker of the two day program.
• Moved forward on a HUGE curriculum design project that is at the head of the pipeline.
• Had a dozen (yes, a dozen) conference calls and two big time meetings, one on existing projects and another on a brand new project with two LOCAL clients!

Next week off to California!

HEY, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER –CREATIVEVENTURE

AND ON FACEBOOK – STEPHEN HARVILL!

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

One of my conference calls this week was about a client needing help with a redesign of their sales process.  This is a mature company that has not really visited their process in a long time and wanted to update the way they do things to take advantage of new technology and a repositioning of their relationship building strategy.

This is a great idea – a meaningful visit to your sales process.  In this case, the system of steps used to generate a sale was an amalgamation of years of unplanned organic growth that resulted in success, but has become a system that is virtually unmanageable and seldom follows any sense of order.  Now I’m a big fan of the positive impact of randomness, but you do need some type of simple road or the randomness dominates your time.

When we began the process mapping part of the project it became clear that no one could really articulate or even accurately define the process.  Defining the current reality of any project is a foundation starting point and is often the most difficult part of any project.

Here are a few suggestions that should help you look at any of your strategic endeavors.  This is my ELEGANT SIMPLICITY MODEL.

CURRENT REALITY:  All and I mean ALL great planning begins with where you are.  A FIRM understanding and agreement defines the starting point.

THE BIG GOAL:  In the sales process example, the company wanted to visit their process.  That’s wasn’t the big goal.  That was the starting point for the core idea.  The reality was they knew they needed to make changes, so the BIG goal was to design a sales process that could take advantage of the current conditions and grow to meet the challenges of a shifting market place.

LEVERAGE:  Once the first two parts are done you are left with the dilemma of space.  Space as defined by distance between the current reality of their sales process and their goal of a sales system that fits and works.  You need a way to move the system forward through design and implementation.  You need to find the minimum effort that will yield the maximum return in actionable, accountable steps.  This is the plan’s road map.  Leverage changes the current reality moving the model forward.

That’s it, three steps.

Here is your starting point – in your current reality, what are you doing that COUNTS.  I mean really counts for success.

Believe it or not it is that simple, not easy (lack of effort), but simple (a lack of complexity).

ENTERTAINMENT

MOVIES:    The Last Airbender:  I am a big M. Night. Shyamalan fan.  I loved The Sixth Sense and I still get freaked out scared watching Signs.  His new one is fantasy adventure based on a video game (I know, sounds weak) but I will still be there.

NetFlix Fans:  When You’re Strange: This is another rock documentary about The Doors.

TV: Can’t wait for the Wimbledon final on Sunday morning with the traditional scones and strawberry’s and cream.  Burn Notice (Thursday nights on USA) remains an entertaining little spy series and USA still rules the world of independent character driven TV shows.

BOOKS:  Delivering Happiness – By Hsieh.  Tony is the founder of internet shoe giant, ZAPPOS and this is a great read.  Tony’s built a billion dollar empire around a team centric philosophy that then moves the customer to a new level of service.  Good stuff!

MUSIC: It’s no secret; I am drawn to the singer songwriter as my favorite form of music.  Being a natural storyteller I am amazed at the impact one person can have on your mood, your imagination and your perspective.  Ellis Paul remains one of my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvU4qCkH_iQ

WEB SITES: A really interesting guy who’s web site is all about the art of non-conformity.

http://chrisguillebeau.com/

SOUTH OF NORMAL

During one of a recent conference I attended I had the opportunity to hear Michael Shermer speak.  Michael is the publisher of Skeptic Magazine (http://www.skeptic.com/ ) and a funny, insightful speaker.  He played with a number of classic beliefs to show that a little critical thinking will show you where the path of “probable truth” (always hedging your bet) lies.

Michael’s thoughts fly in the face of both tradition and current world views. I love South of Normal thinkers.  I don’t have to agree with them, but I love the intellectual challenge they present.

You might enjoy Michaels TED speech:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/michael_shermer_on_believing_strange_things.html

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

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