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Have you ever thought about the expectations of your organization? Think about this for a moment. Are you expected to “hold the line?” Maintain the course? Change direction? Get out of the box? Blow up the box? (John Maxwell). Without sabotaging your organization and the good people you work with, ask yourself right now what zone are you in? At times we hear it said, “I am in the zone?” Which one?

Coasting Zone – Do as little as possible

Comfort Zone – Do what you have always done

Challenging Zone – Do something new that you have not done

Creative Zone – Think new thoughts that you have not thought

The million dollar question is how so you shift from maintaining to creating? The process is an INSIDE – OUT journey

Maxwell has identified seven mental blocks – here they are;

Find The Right Answer – There is always more than one answer

That Is Not Logical – Thomas Edison stated there ain’t no rules around here…

Avoid Ambiguity – Life is messy, contradictory and it is a paradox

Failure Is Bad – Creative people do not avoid failure

Do Not Become Foolish – Standing up for something is to stand out from something

I Am Not Creative – The only block to creativity is disbelief

Here are seven principles to apply for creativity

Build A Creative Culture – If you lead an organization or department, promote creativity. Josh Linkner gives us an example of A.P.R.I.L. to illustrate how an effective creative culture can be cultivated.

Make Everything Better – It has been stated that creativity is not the finding of a thing, but making it better after it is discovered.

Make Plans But Look For Options – Learn to plan ahead: Predetermine your actions; Lay out your goals; Adjust your priorities; Notify key personnel; Allow time for acceptance; Head into action; Expect problems; Adjust your plan; Daily review your plans.
Place High Value On Ideas – Harvey Firestone stated that ideas are the greatest asset of mankind.

Listen To Different Voices – Creativity can thrive when a subject is approached by different perspectives. Learn to ask the God who made you to keep remaking you!

Take Risks – Nick Saban’s creative risk of shifting a tested quarterback to an untested quarterback in the 2nd half of the game against Georgia. Alabama won 26-23.
Live On The Other Side of Yes – Living on the other side of YES is where abundance and opportunity lives. In short seize the moment!

In the book The Creative Priority, author Jerry Hirshberg states, “No one in an organization sets out to stifle creative thought. Yet, a traditional bureaucratic structure with its predictability, linear logic, conformance to accepted norms…is nearly a perfect idea killing machine.

COMFORTABLE……

Isn’t comfortable

Nevers gets up before dawn

Can’t get the job done

Isn’t the American Dream

Has no guts

Never dares anything great

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Leadershift by John Maxwell

Q&A – Contact me at ShepherdsAdvantage@gmail.com
Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!