Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .
 

IN OUR WORLD:   When I started this blog, the idea was to have a simple way to communicate our ideas to a wide variety of people who could read it when ever they had time.  I figured our clients would enjoy it, but I had no idea the blog would spread as it has.
 

Last week, due to my travel schedule I was late posting and the next thing I know is that I have emails from people as far away as England and Madrid wanting to know what the heck is going on.
 

This week was full of design, as we created five customized presentations for clients that will be delivered by specific leaders to a wide variety of their employees.  I love these challenges as we take the information from interviews and turned it into dynamic, visual, SIMPLE multi-media presentations.
 

Next week starts the busiest month of the year for CREATIVE VENTURES and Stephen Harvill Presentations as we start a series of coast to coast trips for over half a dozen clients.
 

I will endeavor to keep the blog posted!
 
 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:  There is so much going on in the business community that I thought I would use a “scatter-shooting” format and give you some interesting bullets:
 

• The University of California (Cal) is now offering 250 free hours of education via Google Video.  This is a progressive approach to leveraging video with education.  The idea expands their core learning culture to a wide variety of people, who in turn look to Cal as their new source of opportunity.  They have the ability to share this curriculum on multiple devices and links to it are available to serve as attachments to emails.  Video IS the future of communication and the internet is making it available to everyone.
  
• The power of video via the internet is directly connected to the explosion of broadband in US homes.  Recent statistics now have more than 50% of all home computer users connected to broadband capability with the number leaping to 70% by the end of 2007!  Yahoo video had over a billion hits in a single month and YouTube averages over 1.5 million hits a day!  Video should be a key discussion point in your strategic planning.
  
• The use of email on the run as offered by the seemingly ever present Blackberry devices is on the rise again.  Shares of Research In Motion (RIMM) recently jumped 19% with earning rising 32% or .74 a share.  They opened over 600,000 new accounts bringing users to over 6 million.  The need to stay in touch, to remain connected is increasing with the frenetic pace of change.
  
• In similar news Finland just finished the annual Mobil Phone Throwing World Championships with the winner tossing one of those damn annoying devices 292’.  I was behind a person in line at my bank recently who was talking so loud about personal issues on their cell phone that I damn guarantee you I could have easily thrown that phone 300’!
  

 

 

 

 

MOVIES:   Clint Eastwood has done a great job of bring an inspiring book to the silver screen with his World War II epic, Flags of Our Fathers.  It is well worth a visit to your local cinema. 
 

NetFlix Fans:  Try a World War II theme with The Thin Red Line which is a favorite of Forrest (one of our brilliant tech guys).
 

 
BOOKS:  At CREATIVE VENTURES we are always looking at thinking about the creative process.  CAFFEINE FOR THE CREATIVE MIND by Mamaw and Oldfield is a great book filled with exercises that are designed to kick in the creative process.
 

I am completely immersed in the Repairman Jack series of novels by F. Paul Wilson.  As you may recall, I picked one up at an airport, not realizing it was a series, and started on book 6!  I went to Amazon and ordered the remaining five books (the used book section had them for about $3 apiece!) and am on book 2 now.  I highly recommend you meet Repairman Jack!
 

MUSIC:  I am a big John Haitt fan and just picked up Buffalo River Home for .99 from iTunes.  I also added When I Look To The Sky by Train (though my youngest son told me Train is a “chick  “ band.)
 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL:  The gang at Forbes magazine must have a lot of time on their hands as they just published a really weird but interesting list; The Top Earning Deceased Men and Women.  Yep, the best paid dead folks.  Here is the Top 5:

5. Albert Einstein:  I know this because I launched a learning initiative with Einstein at the core of the idea.  The amount we had to pay to use his image was staggering!  I love that a physicist makes the list.
   

4. John Lennon:  A Beatle, of course.  I believe that in 100 years he or      McCartney will be on this list.
   

3. Charles Schultz; The creator of the legendary sad sack kid, Charlie Brown.  In today’s world of medicating kids, Charlie would have been on anti-depressants.
   

2. Elvis:  Yep, Elvis was bumped from #1 which he has held for 5 years.  The Elvis cult still longs for a rise from the dead of this cultural icon.
   

1. You will not guess this guy.  My brilliant wife, Laura, could not come up with him even after a series of hints.  He virtually started an entire genre of music.  He was a cultural slob (important to the image of his craft).  He was a lefty.  He was from Seattle and NO it was not Hendrix.  Number one goes to Kurt Cobain, the original grunge rocker.  His widow, Courtney Love recently sold 25% of the rights to his image and music for $50 million.
   

The unifying element is the marketability of dead person!
So, South of Normal has a whole new earning class!
 

Blow up your TV.  Throw away your papers.
Move to the Country.  Build you a home.
Eat a lot of peaches.  Learn to find Jesus on your own.
John Prine
 

Drop me a note with your comments at creativeventures@nova1.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 the capital of the great State of Texas, Austin.  Austin is my favorite city in Texas and I love coming down to work with clients.  I usually bring Laura and we get a visit with our oldest son, Dylan, who never left Austin after graduating from the University of Texas. 
 

I finished a great workshop, teaching critical thinking.  We debuted a number of new exercises we have designed to give participants the opportunity to apply our concepts.  When you get new information, it is really only through applying those ideas that we create knowledge.
 

In Austin, I met with clients to work on planning upcoming meetings and strategic initiatives we are getting ready to launch.
 

Great trip, but after a week on the road, I am ready to get home!
 
 

 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:  Organizations that have, at their core, the idea that improving quality is an ongoing process, a process that needs constant attention, find themselves at the forefront of their industries.  We are blessed to work with a number of companies that have committee’s or divisions with the sole purpose of constantly examining the quality of their business.
 

In today’s USA Today, they highlighted Hackensack Medical Center where for the past 7 years (yep, 7 years)  they have been steadily working to improve their quality and are now at the leading edge of a nation-wide movement to dramatically re-design health care.
 

The medical industry is not alone in this level of commitment, it can be found in the chemical industry, the financial services community, every where you look there are people working on quality.
 

The problem is not the effort, it’s the focus.  Most companies embark on rather random plans to bolster their service status.  They don’t apply firm thinking to the process.  They start a number of initiatives within the organization in a rather “throw it on the wall and see what sticks” strategy.
 

It’s not about the amount of programs, it’s about the RIGHT programs.
 

Focus is everything when increasing your sphere of service influence.  Here are three aspects of the type of thinking that will help you in the pursuit of excellence:
 

• Thoughtfully Reduce:  This is a great exercise.  Start with a Grand List.  Jot down everything, every idea.  From that data, start to think about each item and begin grouping or eliminating.  Use the “value proposition” as your filter.  Can you define the value this idea will bring to your mission of quality improvement?
  
• See It:  The brain operates at its most efficient when it SEE’S.  Use flip charts, sketch images, do what makes the most sense, but you must see it for the brain to really get to work.
  
• Organize:  Now that you have your thoughtfully reduced list, organize the ideas around action.  What can really be done?  More importantly, who will do it?  Remember, people make things happen.
  

 

How effective is it to focus on quality?  Hackensack’s quality initiatives have made the hospital more efficient and have even boosted revenue.  They are a leader in the “pay for performance” program that rewards on the 33 standards of care.
 

An effort worthy of all of us.
 

 

 

MOVIES:   Just back from seeing The Prestige and it was pretty good.  Great performances, especially from Christian Bale.  The story was about perfection and obsession and they used turn of the century magic to tell the story.
 

NetFlix Fans:  The Family Stone is a pretty good rental, though I can see why guys might think of it as a chick flick.  Still entertaining.
 

 
BOOKS:  Abraham Lincoln is a huge hero of mine and I thought I had read just about everything on the man, but, one of my clients just sent me The Words Lincoln Lived By, by Gene Griessman.  A wonderful little book with the 52 timeless principles to light your path!
 

I am 1/4 through with Hit Man by Lawrence Block and what to my surprise is that I start to recognize the story and realize I have read this book!  So, it was good enough for me to by TWICE!
 

MUSIC:  Here is a .99 treasure – Billy Joel’s, Summer Highland Falls.  Make sure you get the LIVE version.
 

 

SOUTH OF NORMAL:  Imagine you are in the rapidly approaching $1.5 billion after market of iPod stuff.  You know, the covers, speakers, car adaptors, all those things that support the way cool music machine.  Now remove yourself from the imagined position and you would find yourself in somewhat of a nightmare.  You see Apple never and I mean never announces anything about new iPods, before their splashy unveilings.
That’s a big problem.  How can you have new covers or whatever ready for the new devices when you have no idea what the new device will be?
You have to engage in South of Normal thinking and be ready to react on a moments notice. 
When Apple introduced their video iPod, it had a bigger screen and the old covers no longer worked!
Digital Lifestyle Outfitters have developed a lightning quick systemic approach to fast design and manufacturing.  In the case of the video iPod, they were able have a new case ready to roll in 2 DAYS!
It took a weird set up between designers in the US and a manufacturing base in Taiwan. 
South of Normal thinking saved the day.  Risk often has its rewards!
 

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery.
None but yourself can free your mind.
Bob Marley
 

Drop me a note with your comments at creativeventures@nova1.com.
 

 

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

 

Hey everyone, here we go. . . . . .
 

IN OUR WORLD:   And so it starts . . . . . .
 

October kicks off our fast and furious 4^th quarter and this week starts the travel schedule.  From Arkansas to Atlanta, from Austin to Richmond, heck that’s just week 1.
 

Road warriors all have their own way of preparing and handling the rigors of travel.  I will give you a couple of mine and hope their application might make your journeys a little easier:
 

• TIME:  Most travel stress comes from rushing.  Sprinting to a cab or a flight is the perfect way to start the stomach acid churning.  ALWAYS give yourself plenty of time on both the front and back end of travel.  I arrive for every flight at least 90 minutes early.  It gives me plenty of time if the airport is crowded.  If I breeze through all the layers of the airport requirements, I grab something to drink and read the paper.  No sweat!
  
• ENTERTAINMENT:  Get your iPod and create a travel play list.  Nothing is better than music.
  
• READING MATERIAL:  I always read fiction when I travel and save my professional reading for when I’m in town.  Fiction allows you to engage in a story.  I also bring my general interest magazines.
  
• THE DEEP BREATH MENTALITY:  Every trip has a few blips.  Think about taking a deep breath when the flight is delayed or your hotel room is not ready or traffic is backed up.  Just relax; by obeying the first rule of TIME, you should always be OK.
  
• CLUB SANDWICH, PLEASE:  Those of you who know me well, know that I am a fitness nut (Laura calls me a body Nazi – directed mostly at tennis).  I eat very light and avoid fatty, spicy food that could make me sick.  Most of the time I am the chief presenter and I can’t be off my game.  I eat TONS of club sandwiches, which no one can mess up.
  

There you go, five rules of Harvill travel.
 
 

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:  As you have read, we have been developing a strategic focus for a number of our clients on their various levels of service.  I thought I would give you a few elements that you can apply to your business:
 

• What are your customers saying about you?  Do you ever ask?  Silence does not mean satisfaction, in fact, unhappy people seldom say anything, they just take their business some where else.   Find ways to engage your customers.  Get feedback.  It is better to know than sit in ambiguity.
  
• Watch your point of contact (POC).  These are service hot spots.  Each contact (in person, by phone, via email) are opportunities to connect.  Don’t waste them.  Develop strategies that leverage these gems, every time.
  
• The problem with problems:  Every service business creates problems.  It is a way of life when human interactions occur.  In fact, problems are really opportunities.  Customers develop great connections to business that have exceptional recovery strategies.  Make a great recovery and the damaged customer is more likely to gain a HIGHER level of loyalty than before the crisis. 
  
• What do they want:  When was the last time you did an expectation inventory?  This is a great exercise.  Take an empathetic approach and list what you believe your clients expect from you.  This creates a “value baseline”.  The next step is to find the leverage in your list.  How can you ADD value.  How can you exceed the expectation?
  

At the end of the day, EVERYONE IS IN THE SERVICE BUSINESS.
 

MOVIES:   I’m not sure about this one, but the up and down performance level of Robin Williams always makes me nervous.  He was fantastic in Good Will Hunting (Oscar) and The Dead Poets Society (break out dramatic role), but then he does a series of absolute stinkers.  I am going to try Man of The Year with the knowledge it’s a crap shoot.
 

NetFlix Fans:  X-Men – The Last Stand is out with tons of great features.  I love comic book movies.  Hey, they cast Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man!
 

BOOKS:  Some just sent me E=mc2, The Great Ideas That Shaped Our World, by Pete Moore.  It is a great compilation of ideas on nature, science, engineering and a wide variety of accomplishments.  You can read it one story at a time!
 

They are shooting the movie for one of my favorite all time books, Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter.  The movie is called Shooter with Mark Walberg playing one of the great fictional hero’s, Bob Lee Swaggart.  Find this book and you will not be sorry (except for the sleep you will loose because you won’t be able to put it down).
 

MUSIC:  Yes, it’s true, Jimmy Buffett has a new CD and I am all over it.  For clever, melodic songs, he is one of my favorites.  Hell, just spend $9.99 and get Take The Weather With You.
 

SOUTH OF NORMAL:  The Sundance Channel has done a good piece of South of Normal thinking in creating their Iconoclasts series where they pair two famous, but very different thinkers to give you a great interaction filled with creative connections.  Here are just some of the couples:

• Surfer Laird Hamilton and rocker Eddie Vedder.
  
• Director Quentin Tarantino and singer Fiona Apple.
  
• Dancer Mikhail Baryshinikov and chef Alice Waters.
  
• Comedian Dave Chappelle and poet Maya Angelou.
  

Check your listings and mark you calendar.  This will definitely generate some healthy South of Normal thinking!
 

If they were right, I’d agree, But it’s them they know not me.
Cat Stevens
 

Drop me a note with your comments at creativeventures@nova1.com.
 

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