Reeves-Keynote On Creativity Handouts

Keynote:
How To Value, Nurture, and Encourage Creativity

by Students, Teachers, and Leaders

Participants: Leaders, governing board members, teacher-leaders

Pre-Seminar Reading and Listening:
Please share a music with a message that is particularly meaningful to you. It can be a
song you heard in childhood, instrumental music that moves you deeply, or music that
you have created. Please e-mail an audio file, if possible, or just the name of the song, to
Research@NonprofitLeaders.org.
Bonus listening:
Beethoven, 4th movement from the 9th Symphony
Mozart, Ah vous dirai-je, Maman (Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
The earliest Beatles recording you can find .

Handouts: Available electronically from the NESA site. These are published in PDF
format and should be readable on any electronic device. However, please be sure that your
device can read the handouts and if you have any problems, please e-mail
Research@NonprofitLeaders.org., and we will send you a version that is readable by your
device. If you prefer paper handouts, please print them before the seminar, or e-mail
before October 18th to Research@NonprofitLeaders.org.

.

Description:

Although there is a great deal of consensus about the need for 21st Century Skills,
including creativity and critical thinking, many schools continue to discourage creativity
among students and teachers. The principal cause is that, in an environment dominated by
evaluation, the risks inherent in critical thinking and creativity are too high for students
and teachers. The central thesis of this presentation is that creativity requires risk, risk
entails error, and a zero error environment is a zero learning environment. Dr. Reeves will
introduce the concept of B3 Leadership, representing the combination of strategies from
Bach, Beethoven, and Blues artists. Creativity relies upon the tension between formal
structure (exemplified in the music of J.S. Bach), testing the boundaries of meaning and
message (Beethoven), and on-the-spot improvisation of music, message, and form that is
the essence of the Blues.

Presenter:

Dr. Douglas Reeves is the founder of The Center for Successful Leadership. The
author of more than thirty books and many articles on leadership and organizational
effectiveness, he has twice been named to the Harvard University Distinguished Authors
Series. He was named the Brock International Laureate for his research and writing and
received the Contribution to the Field Award from the National Staff Development Council.
Doug raises money for local educational groups and other charities by running marathons.
Among those he has completed are the Boston Marathon (twice) and the Marine Corps
Marathon. Doug lives with his family in downtown Boston. He can be reached at
Research@NonprofitLeaders.com.

Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. Research@NonprofitLeaders.org
Creativity Quiz

Please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements. A
response of 1 means certainly untrue and a response of 10 means certainly
true.

1. Creativity is a natural gift. Attempts to teach creativity are folly. Mozart wrote
symphonies when he was six and he didnt go to Julliard to learn how to compose.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. The most effective group creativity exercise is brainstorming. The most
important rule is no criticism and anything goes.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. The most successful creative developments come from experts in the field. You
dont ask an engineer to be creative in education and you dont ask a gardener to be
creative in engineering.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. Creative thinking is hard work, demanding deliberate practice, feedback, and lots
of mistake. Its not the burst of inspiration that many people think.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5. The contemporary emphasis on creativity for students is overblown. What
students actually need more of is discipline and boundaries, not using creativity as
an excuse to do their own thing.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6. Creative thinking requires out of the box thinking and rejecting previous
guidelines and boundaries.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. The most creative thinkers often have delicate egos, so it is essential to foster an
environment that avoids negative feedback and requirements for redoing work.
Every creative attempt must be valued and praised.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. The best way to improve creativity for students is to have a creativity
curriculum with a creative thinking class.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9. If students really want to learn more about creativity, they can take an art class.
When were trying to prepare them for high-stakes tests, we dont have any extra
time in the core curriculum.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10. Creativity is primarily the action of one exceptional individual. The person
makes the culture, not the other way around.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Creativity Development Matrix

Self-Assessment Tool

Creativity
Essential:
1. Mistake-
Tolerant
Culture
2. Rigorous
Decision-
making
Systems
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
The culture
requires
compliance.
Success is
equated with
avoiding
mistakes.
Weve worked
too hard to get
to where we are
to mess it up
with any new
ideas.
Initiatives are
more
characterized
by
announcements,
labels, and
speeches not
substantive
changes in
professional
practice. The
culture
declares
victory and
moves on
rather than
expose new
ideas to
systematic
evaluation.
We listen to
presentations
from competing
vendors and
come to a
consensus
about what to
decide.
Within the past

year you can
think of at least
two specific
ideas that were
welcomed as
potentially
worthy,
subjected to
rigorous
experimentation,
and then
rejected all
without negative
consequences to
the bankers of
those ideas.
Learning
mistakes
errors that test
hypotheses and
found them to be
wrong are
visibly
celebrated. We
have the bone-
deep belief that
a zero mistake
zone is a zero
learning zone.
We consider at
least two
alternatives and
use the best
available
evidence from a
variety of
sources and
methods.
We always
consider at least
two mutually
exclusive
hypotheses and
test them with
data. We know
what works and
doesnt work
because we test
alternatives.

The leader
decides and the
team
implements.
Creativity
Essential:
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
3. Culture that We are a high-

nurtures
reliability
creativity
system. We
know what
works and we
deliver that
product
student learning
in a
consistently
effective way
based upon
decades of
experience and
research.
When we make
changes, we do
so around the
edges. Our
fundamental
mission, vision,
and values are
untouchables
whatever
changes we
make must be
made without
violating our
sacred
traditions.
We can identify
a significant
change which
was studied,
debated,
implemented,
tested, and that
stood the test of
time through
constant
rigorous
assessment.
4. Leadership
Models and
Supports
Creativity
Leaders are
masters of the
rhetoric of
change. They
have posters on
the virtues of
innovation and
creativity in
their offices and
return from
conferences
with lots of
futuristic
thinking,
typically framed
in vague
phrases and
evidence-free
predictions.
Leaders know
that creative
ideas will lack
credibility
without visible
leadership
support. There
are at least a
couple of
examples in the
past year when
the leader
personally
modeled a
change before it
was
implemented
throughout the
organization.
We might try
some initiatives,
such as new
technology
implementation,
but thats for
the Geek Squad,
not busy
leaders. When
its all working
perfectly, the
leaders will take
a look but not
until there is no
risk of public
embarrassment.
Level 4

We have many
case studies,
modeled on
well-recognized
creative
successes in
music, art,
engineering,
teaching,
learning, and
leadership. Our
students and
staff have the
discipline to
start with
repetition and
the courage to
experiment
creatively with
new ideas.
Leaders are
actively engaged
in
experimentation,
including
flipping agendas
for board
meetings and
personally
engaging in
alternative
learning and
teaching
strategies.
Leaders openly
talk about their
biggest mistakes
and what they
learned from
them.

Creativity Tool Kit Challenging Assumptions

EXAMPLE

Identify a specific challenge in leadership, teaching, or learning that you face right now. This should be
something that is critically important for you and your colleagues.

A significant number of our students appear to be disengaged in class. This observation is
corroborated by observations of teachers and administrators and surveys from students and parents.
Disengagement is strongly related to lower performance by students and lower satisfaction by parents.

Identify the assumptions that now prevail and consider an alternative assumption.

Present Assumptions
Alternative Assumptions
1. Its not our job to entertain students 1. Students can be engaged by being
sometimes they need to just work at it,
competent, and that requires practice
even if its boring thats good
that is frequently boring. But if the result
preparation for life.
engages them, they put up with a lot of
frustration and repetition look at them
with a new video game or social media
application.
2. The curriculum is crammed with
2. Students dont learn content by
content, leaving little time for more
coverage but by self-testing with
engaging interactive activities.
immediate feedback, and then honing in
on the areas they need to learn.
3. The hyper-connected lives of students
3. Cognitive ability significantly increase
leaves them disengaged unless they have when students are absorbed in nature and
multiple activities going on.
disconnected from technology. Moreover,
focus is a critical success skill.
4. If we tried to add engaging activities,
4. We will only know which engaging
such as self-designed assessments, multi-
activities are linked to student success if
media presentations, etc., then we would we conduct a rigorous experiment not
be criticized for not adequately covering by avoiding them.
the curriculum.

If the alternative assumptions are true, what are two new solutions that you could consider in response
to your greatest challenge?

1. Two departments that have identical pre-assessments and end of semester finals
have agreed to an experiment. By flip of a coin, teachers will either continue the
coverage model from the previous semester or participate in the engagement
model. The specific engaging activities will at least double quantity of engaging
activities compared to the coverage model and, as a result, there may be less
coverage of curriculum in the class. At the end of the semester, we will compare the
gains from the pre-assessment to the semester finals between the two groups, and then
reassess the impact positive or negative of increasing engagement activities.
2. Two other departments will experiment with a minimum of twenty minutes of
fully focused time (that is, work directly on the relevant curriculum in whole-
class, individual work, or small group work, all without technology assistance).
Administrators will make at least 20 observations at random intervals during the
semester to observe the percentage of students engaged during fully focused time
compared to traditional connected time.

Creativity Tool Kit Challenging Assumptions

Identify a specific challenge in leadership, teaching, or learning that you face right now. This should be
something that is critically important for you and your colleagues.

Identify the assumptions that now prevail and consider an alternative assumption.

Present Assumptions
Alternative Assumptions

If the alternative assumptions are true, what are two new solutions that you could consider in response
to your greatest challenge?

1.

2.

Sources:
Aldridge, R. L. (2009) Parables: A symphonic oratorio. New York, NY: C.F. Peters Corporation.
Buch, E. & Miller, R. (2013) Beethovens ninth: A political history. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996) Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York,
NY: Harper Collins.
Govindarajan, V., & Trimble, C. (2010) The other side of innovation: Solving the execution challenge.
Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.
Kandel, E. R. (2012) The age of insight: The quest to understand the unconscious in art, mind, and brain.
New York, NY: Random House.
Keeley, L., Pikkel, R., Quinn, B., & Walters, H. (2013) Ten types of innovation: The discipline of building
breakthroughs. Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons.
Kleon, A. (2012) Steal like an artist. New York, NY: Workman Publishing.
Kyung Hee Kim (2011) The creativity crisis: The decrease in creative thinking scores on the torrance tests
of creative thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23:4, 285-295.
Hofstadter, D. R. (1985) Variations on a theme as the crux of creativity: Metamagical themas. New York,
NY: Basic Books.
Mueller, J.S., Melwani, S., & Goncalo J.A. (2011) The bias against creativity: Why people desire but reject
creative ideas. [Electronic version]. Retrieved September 30, 2013, from Cornell Universiy, ILR School
site: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/articles/450/
MacDonald, J. R. (2010) Working beyond borders: Insights from the global chief human resource officer
study. Somers, NY: IBM Global Business Services. [Electronic version] Retrieved September 30, 2013
http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/gbe03353usen/GBE03353USEN.PDF
Nussbaum, B. (2013) Creative intelligence: Harnessing the power to create, connect, and inspire. New
York, NY: Harper Collins.
Ownes, D. A. (2012) Creative people must be stopped: Six ways we kill innovation (without even trying).
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sawyer, R. K. (2013) Zig zag: The surprising path to greater creativity. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Keynote:
How To Value, Nurture, and
Encourage Crea8vity
by Students, Teachers,
and Leaders

Douglas B. Reeves, Ph.D.
The Center for Successful Leadership
www.ChangeLeaders.com
Research@NonprotLeaders.org
Overview
Separa+ng myths and facts about crea+vity

Good and bad news about crea+vity
What crea+vity is not
S+mula+ng crea+vity for students, teachers,
leaders, and governing boards
10
Why Crea+vity is Essen+al for

Society and the Planet
11
The Good News:

We Know the Value of Crea+vity
Crea+vity was the most demanded trait
companies were looking for in their
workforce, according an IBM survey of 1,500
CEOs.
Crea+ve skills are going to be increasingly in
demand as automa+on takes over more of the
work force, according to a new study out of
Oxford.
12
The Bad News:

Crea+vity is Systema+cally Devalued
The most crea+ve students were the least
popular with students; the least crea+ve were
the most popular (Skidmore, 2012)
There is a dis+nct bias against crea+vity,
nding the pressure to be crea+ve associated
with high levels of anxiety (Cornell, 2012)
13
More Bad News

Emula+ng crea+vity (such as Googles 20% of
free +me) is incredibly dicult when people
already have full-+me jobs.
Evalua+on systems punish the errors that are
an inherent part of crea+vity and risk-taking
Prejudices against crea+vity are bolstered by
research that associates crea+vity with mental
illness
14
How to Assess Crea+vity?

Torrance Tests of Crea+ve Thinking the most
widely used crea+vity test in the world
40 languages
Systema+ze assessment of validity the
rela+onship between student scores and later
adult crea+ve produc+on, over four decades
Dierent from IQ tests or assessments of
ar+s+c talent
15
Whats Happening to Crea+vity?

Crea+vity assessments must include crea+ve
poten+al, not merely ar+s+c expression. The
best assessments include art, literature, science,
mathema+cs, architecture, engineering, business,
leadership, and interpersonal rela+onships.
Validity of assessments are based on the
rela+onship between assessment results and
later independent assessments of crea+ve work.
16
Crea+vity is Declining for Individuals

Crea+vity among students has declined
signicantly in the past 20 years.
Biggest decline is in crea+ve elabora+on the
ability to develop and elaborate upon ideas and
detailed and reec+ve thinking and mo+va+on to
be crea+ve.
(Source: Kyung Hee Kim, College of William &
Mary, aeer analysis of almost 300,000 American
adults and children based on the The Torrance
Tests of Crea+ng Thinking (TTCT), October 2010.)
17
Crea+vity is Declining for

Organiza+ons
Fewer than half of copmanies surveyed said their
corporate culture robustly supports their
innova+on strategy, even though culture was the
strongest single variable +ed to innova+on
performance.
Culture change requires a burning plaiorm the
demands change. But most organiza+ons make
decisions based on avoiding misstates rather
than embracing risk and innova+on.
(Source: Booz & Co., Global Innova<on 1,000,
2013, Innocen<ve.)
18
Crea+vity is Not. . .
19
Crea+vity is Not mysterious and

immune to study and analysis
The Torrance Test has successfully
been able to predict crea+ve
tendencies in longitudinal studies.
Using MRI scans neurologists have
begun to pinpoint specic areas in
the brain which trigger right before
crea+ve solu+ons are uncovered.
20
Crea+vity is not the absence of

constraints.
Guidelines enhance the crea+ve
process.
21
Picassos Blue Period.
22
The Book
Uses Only 50 Words.
Theodore Geisel made a bet with his

editor it couldnt be done. It is the 4th best
selling childrens book of all +me.
23
They are:
24
Crea+vity is Not Mere Originality

What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is
nothing new under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 1:9
25
Crea+vity as Theme and Varia+on

Careful analysis leads one to see that
what we choose to call a new theme is
itself always some kind of variation, on a
deep level, of earlier themes.
- Douglas R. Hofstadter From
Metamagical Themas - Variations on a
theme as the essence of imagination, 1985
26
27
Just because we keep telling the same

story, doesnt mean it isnt worth retelling.
- The Odyssey
- Star Wars
- Lord of the
Rings
- Harry Pooer
- Beowulf
- Charlooes
Web
- The Fall of
Hyperion
28
"It is better to take

what does not
belong to you than
to let it lie around
neglected."
~ Mark Twain ~
29
Crea+vity is Not Something Some

People Have and Some People Dont
"Each of us is born with two contradictory sets
of instruc+ons: a conserva+ve tendency and
an expansive tendency made up of ins+ncts
for exploring, for enjoying novelty and risk--
the curiosity that leads to crea+vity belongs to
this set. ... the mo<va<on to engage in
crea<ve behavior is easily ex<nguished.
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
30
Creativity is merely a
Creativity is merely a
plus name for regular
plus name for regular
activity. Any activity
activity. Any activity
becomes creative
becomes creative
when the doer cares
when the doer cares
about doing it right, or
about doing it right, or
better.
better.
- John Updike - John Updike -
31
A Working Deni+on of Crea+vity

The process of experimenta<on,
evalua<on, and follow through which
leads to a signicant discovery,
insight, or contribu<on.
32
Stop and Consider: If you want more

crea+ve thinking by students, teachers,
and leaders then . . .
We must
encourage . . .
We must
discourage . . .
33
Crea+v+y is not the result of

unltered brainstorming
Invented by Adver+sing Execu+ve
Alex Osborn in his book Your
Crea+ve Power published in 1948.
The technique was debunked as
decreasing crea+vity in a 1958 Yale
study and other subsequent research
through the 21st Century..
34
Crea+vity Myth: Crea+vity Cant Be

Directed
Pressure forces us to be more creative.

35
The Crea+ve Process in Five Steps

Prepara+on
Incuba+on
Insight
Evalua+on
Elabora+on
Knowledge and Exper+se of the

Domain
Not ac+vely working on the solu+on
The Aha Moment. Arrival at
Solu+on.
Is this idea any good?
The enactment of the idea. 99%
Perspira+on.
36
Step 1 Prepara+on
Innova+on by deni+on has to be compared
with what went before. You have to have
knowledge of the expected before you create
the unexpected.
Prevents people from reinven+ng the wheel.
Novelty without deep knowledge is just
randomness.
37
Step 2 - Incuba+on
Seung down the crossword and taking a walk.
The Importance of recess and naps (for
students and adults)
According to a 2012 Lancaster study, subjects
were beoer able to crea+vely solve dicult
problems aeer taking a break and undergoing
the REM cycle of sleep.
38
Step 3 - Insight
That glorious moment when it all comes
together.
Archimedes in the bathtub.
A moment of inspira+on that is oeen
accompanied by a state of intense focus, loss
of +me, and euphoria.
39
Step 4 - Evalua+on
Wherein you take prior knowledge of the
domain to evaluate whether an idea is worth
pursuing.
Does this have value? Has this been done
already? Is this possible?
It is vital in this process that there is a clear
delinea+on between idea and person
origina+ng the idea.
40
Step 5 - Elabora+on
The Implementa+on of idea:
Wri+ng the essay.
Conduc+ng the experiment.
Chiseling the marble.
Wri+ng the code, etc.
The process is recursive. There are many

crea+ve decisions throughout elabora+on,
and the process repeats in many stages.
41
Failure as part of the process

EXCELLENT graphic perhaps dieren+ate by
color and by dashes for one, line for the other,
and insert text bars for This has great
poten+al! and I sure didnt expect that and
Aeer learning from failure . ..Make it come
alive. The success aeer failure bar should
drama+cally break through the even bar.
42
Failure is an Expected Part of the

Process
80
60
40
20
0
-20
-40
Flunk him!
Fire her!
-60
Wunderkind
Actual Crea+ve Process
The Crea+ve Assump+on

For every ten ideas you come up with, one of
them will actually be any good.
But in order to come up with the one, you
have to come up with the ten.
If you want to have ve good ideas then you
have to come up with ey.
Its a con+nual process of genera+on and
edi+ng. Thats the key consistent innova+on.
How to Foster Prepara+on

Good
Cases
The Results of other experiments, or

art projects, or math problems
Look for
Paoerns
Teach them to be cri+cal of other

works so they can learn to be cri+cal
of their own process
Trick the Dont spoon feed. Prick their interests

Incurious and then give them the tools to
become autodidacts.
How Schools Discourage Incuba+on

Punishing students if they try to cross
disciplines.
Doodling is not a crime.
Connec+ng the dots FOR students instead of
leung them connect ideas for themselves.
Fostering Incuba+on An
Interdisciplinary Approach
Using Math to Teach Art
Elementary School Level Using ra+os to scale
both two dimensional and three dimensional
artwork up and down
Middle School Level Finding Illustra+ons and
Design in Geometric Proofs
High School Using Trigonometry and Physics to
design and construct three dimensional sculpture
Using Humani+es to teach History
Elementary School Level Collabora+ng on a
graphic novel to illustrate the founding of a state.
Middle School Level Wri+ng short c+on set in
the +me period of study.
High School Analyzing literature through the
poli+cal lens of the +me.
Using Music to teach Science and Math
Elementary School Level Using the experimental
method, allowing students to construct their own
instruments, learning how dierent paoerns
construct dierent tones
Middle School Level Learning basic harmonic
theory trough the ra+os of Pythagoras
High School Looking at the science of tone,
+mbre and harmony
The Process of Crea+ve Evalua+on

Review
Review the provided
possibili+es.
Genera+on
Valua+on
Generate Solu+ons to
Missing Parts.
Evaluate them. Look at

Pros and Cons.
Edi+ng
Remove Ideas or
sec+ons that dont work.
Crea+ve Evalua+on - Review

What ideas were generated?
Review Thoroughly
Example: Problem Low Use of Technology
Poten+al
Solu+on 1 Increase Remedial Tutoring
Solu+on 2 Increase Extra-Curricular Support for
Literacy Enhancing Programs
Solu+on 3 Give Each Student a Free Laptop
How Do Students Really Use

Technology?
Crea+ve Evalua+on Cri+cal Thinking

Are these ideas feasible? Have they been
done before? What are the pros and cons?
Con+nuing our example:
Ques+on 1 Is that just geung a larger bucket
instead of plugging up the leak in the boat?
Ques+on 2 Is there evidence to suggest that this
solu+on works? How can we conduct an
experiment?
Ques+on 3 How can we provide real-+me
feedback on eec+ve use of technology?
Crea+ve Evalua+on - Edi+ng

Saying No to bad ideas.
Trimming the Fat
Con+nuing our example:
Laptops are nothing but the ballpoint pen of the
21st Century its the thinking, not the machines,
that maoer
Students people of any age drie to the
comfortable, not the challenging unless there is
guidance and support
Crea+ve Evalua+on - Genera+on

Back to step one of the Crea+ve Process Its
a loop.
Some+mes Ideas Need More Fleshing Out
Con+nuing Example:
Which ac+vi+es should we promote?
How should we promote them?
How do we measure the tangible eects of this
experiment?
How We Discourage Crea+vity

Among Students
Judging and ra+ng their rst aoempts.
Focusing on facts over nuance.
Spoon feeding tested trivia and expec+ng
regurgita+on.
How We Encourage Crea+vity Among

Students
The no eraser rule VALUE mistakes and
the thinking process behind those mistakes
Encourage students to nd problems not just
nd solu+ons.
Assign mul+ple draes of work leading to
expecta+on that the rst eort is not the best
or last one
How We Discourage Crea+vy Among

Teachers
Shut out teacher feedback in the curriculum
process.
Discourage taking risks and failure.
Punish feedback and dissent.
Use the average in mul+ple teacher
observa+ons.

Teachers
Clearly dis+nguish evalua+on from
observa+on and feedback
Highlight, recognize, and reward learning
mistakes
Model appropriate risk taking by sharing
leadership learning mistakes
How We Discourage Crea+vity Among

Leaders
Annual (or end of contract) performance
reviews
Strategic plans that elevate execu+on over
crea+vity
Micromanagement
Unclear job descrip+ons

Leaders
Results-oriented goals, with great exibility on
how to achieve those goals over +me
Beyond test score accountability, including
evidence of teacher and student crea+ve
thinking
A culture of learning leaders in which
administrators and governing board members
do not have all the answers but engage in
collec+ve learning
How We Discourage Crea+vity Among

Policy Makers and Board Members
Standardized agendas
One administra+ve recommenda+on
submioed for up-or-down votes
A culture of congeniality over discussion and
debate

Policy Makers and Board Members
Construc+ve conten+on
Decision disciplines, including a minimum of
two alterna+ves, each with advantages and
disadvantages, for every major decision
The Double-Edged Sword

of Sociability and Mistrust
The norm for a sociable and get along board is
the absence of conten+on or considera+ons of
alterna+ve points of view. This devalues cri+cal
thinking and examina+on of assump+ons.
Toxic boards, which district every presenta+on,
challenge the personal integrity of the
administra+on rather than the intellectual
content of the recommended decisions.
You cannot expect cri<cal thinking in

the classroom or faculty room if
there is not cri<cal thinking in the
board room.
Hypothesis: Boards Address Cri+cal

Issues in order of their Priority and
Impact
Reality check: What is the most
important le4er of the alphabet?
Why?
Invert the Agenda

The rst edi+on of the Encyclopedia Britannica
contained three volumes. Volume 1 was A-B;
Volume 2 was C-M, and volume 3 covered the
rest of the alphabet. A was given 511 pages and
M-Z were given 753 pages.
Star+ng with A is as silly as star+ng with the
minutes, treasurers report, and other
informa+on-delivery wastes of +me.
Whats the risk if you literally turn the agenda
upside down, focusing on the last items rst?
More on Board Crea+vity

Invert the agenda start with the last item the one
that normally has the least opportunity for discussion.
Flip the boardroom that is, informa+on
presenta+ons, including reports, PowerPoint, and any
other one-way communica+on are posted on-line
before the board mee+ng. Reserve precious board
+me exclusively for delibera<on, not for presenta<ons.
Welcome distance technology par+cipa+on change
the bylaws if necessary to legi+mize votes by Skype,
text, GoToMee+ng, or other technology-assisted
communica+on.
Crea+ve Success Requires Deliberate

Inclusion of Outsiders
Innocen8ve global leader in crowd-
sourced innova8ons
Intractable innova8on challenges that had
been stuck for years, despite billion-dollar
research budgets
40% of problems solved within 6 months
Not a lack of exper8se, but dierent
exper8se, bridging elds of inquiry
Applica+ons of Deliberate Inclusion

of Outsiders in Educa+on
Iden+fy a specic challenge on that has
important implica+ons for your school and
that has been vexing you for several
months . . . perhaps years.
Who are two or three outsiders you could
invite to a discussion of this challenge?
Art is Thee
Pablo Picasso
Immature poets imitate; mature

poets steal; bad poets deface what
they take, and good poets make it
into something beoer, or at least
something dierent. The good poet
welds his thee into a whole of
feeling which is unique, uoerly
dierent from that from which it
was torn.
T.S. Elliot
It is beoer to take what does not

belong to you than to let it lie
around neglected.
Mark Twain
I emulated Buddy Holly, Liole

Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis. We
all did. We only started wri+ng own
own songs as a way to avoid other
bands being able to play our set.
Paul McCartney
Discussion and Ques+ons

www.ChangeLeaders.com
For a complete copy of the
presenta+on, please e-mail
Research@NonprotLeaders.org

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Keynote:

How To Value, Nurture, and Encourage Creativity

Copyright 2013, The Center for Successful Leadership. Research@NonprofitLeaders.org

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Creativity Development Matrix

Within the past

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3. Culture that We are a high-

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Creativity Tool Kit Challenging Assumptions

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Separa+ng myths and facts about crea+vity

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Why Crea+vity is Essen+al for

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The Good News:

The Bad News:

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More Bad News

How to Assess Crea+vity?

Whats Happening to Crea+vity?

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Crea+vity is Declining for Individuals

Crea+vity is Declining for

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Crea+vity is Not mysterious and

Crea+vity is not the absence of

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Picassos Blue Period.

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Uses Only 50 Words.

Theodore Geisel made a bet with his

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Crea+vity is Not Mere Originality

Crea+vity as Theme and Varia+on

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Just because we keep telling the same

"It is better to take

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Crea+vity is Not Something Some

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A Working Deni+on of Crea+vity

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Stop and Consider: If you want more

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Crea+v+y is not the result of

Crea+vity Myth: Crea+vity Cant Be

Pressure forces us to be more creative.

The Crea+ve Process in Five Steps

Knowledge and Exper+se of the

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The process is recursive. There are many

Failure as part of the process

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Failure is an Expected Part of the

Actual Crea+ve Process