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Author: David_Marshall, Contributing Editor
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A Workbook On Developing the Creative Process CONNECT ™ - The Power of Working Relationships, grew out of my frustration with the communication process that I found inside corporate America, that I was feeling within myself and what I observed around me. My experience working for companies was one that was frustrating and full of stress. I soon found out that everything that came natural to me in terms of communicating was not the way communication was to be conducted inside some corporations. I decided that I could best serve companies as a contracted communications service. In my career as a designer I needed to find a way to “connect” to the company I was contracted by and to identify with who the people were that worked for the company. I needed to know the culture of the company so, I developed an interview process that would help me understand the people of the company - how they think and what was important to them. It didn’t stop there. The senior level management whom I interviewed were so inspired by the interview process that they asked me to interview other employees in their company. It didn’t stop there. Inspiring people and wanting to focus on the communication process became my passion. I developed this program out of the results of that interview process. Today I am taking this program to creative people around the globe. It wasn’t about being the best designer, it was about evoking emotions in others. Igniting inspiration in others inspired me to create this program. So here we are. Your road will be unique - what is consistent is this; take the first step and don’t stop. Follow that road that will lead you to your destiny and it will take care of you along the way. |
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| This workbook is designed to help you develop a creative process that will ensure consistent highly creative results in everything you do.
You will be able to take advantage of a new creative process that will effectively identify creative outcomes and allow for results that are both new and exciting. This workbook will help you identify the creative process for every aspect of your creative career, what you want to accomplish creatively for any project, meeting or role that you are responsible for. This process will demonstrate and outline a strategic plan, why you want it and how to go about achieving it. This workbook is intended for you, the creative person, who is interested in regularly measuring and assessing your creativity and communication effectiveness. This workbook is structured to help you develop your Ultimate Result that can then be used to identify strengths and weaknesses, develop improvement plans, monitor progress in meeting project goals and achieving a creative solution on a consistent basis, I call this process Your Ultimate Result Action Plan. Because this process is for all creatives in any medium across the arts, I will use the “project” when I refer to that which you want to accomplish. Whether you are a dancer getting ready to perform to a large audience, a musician, a fine artist, a photographer, etc., you have “projects” that you are working on, that you want to work on and that you dream of working on. If you are in the arts on any level – you have projects, achieving your ultimate vision for that that project is what this workbook is about. I cannot count how many times I have sat down to draw because I was just in this mood to draw. I had this desire to just draw only to become frustrated and disappointed with my effort. I realized that even though I had the desire to draw I had no clue what it was I wanted to achieve. I hadn’t used my inspiration to get clear on the emotions I wanted to illustrate. I didn’t clear on what I wanted the viewer to know, think, believe, value, achieve, or be able to do after seeing my work. Regardless of the type of artist you are or the medium you prefer to convey your voice, you want your audience to feel something and probably you want them to feel what you felt the moment you were inspired to create it. The ultimate form of communication. So let’s get started. |
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| SECTION 1
Why develop a Creative Performance Program? There are many reasons. If this “workbook” seems too formulaic – it is because it is meant to be. If you don’t figure out the magic of your creativity and how you achieve it how then will you ever be able to recreate amazing result over and over again? There is a process that will help you achieve Ultimate Results over and over again. I understand and appreciate that “systems” tend to go against everything you think being creative is about, believe me I did too, but if you think about it. If you want to make it as an artist you of all people better figure out what it is that makes you unique, what drives you, what inspires you and you better be able to call upon it at will. Making a living, as an artist is an amazing privilege, waiting around for inspiration to strike can make for a very unrewarding career on many levels. So take control of your gifts and creativity. You were given them for a reason and the reason was to give to others your own unique way of looking at life. Take charge of assessing your own creative communication effectiveness and you live your dreams. You can decide what areas of the creative process to monitor, why you communicate the way that you do, how you will measure your creative results as you become a CREATIVE MASTER, and how you will use the transformation to create your own Ultimate Result Action Plan for any project or outcome you define. No longer being driven and reacting to the project you can now drive and control the creative process of any project. Identify strengths and weaknesses Strengths can be celebrated and built upon, and once weaknesses are discovered you can then truly start getting excited because you are about to have a Breakthrough! Often, what you find is that which was once a weakness becomes your celebrated strength. Gather evidence of what creative communication strategies are working and which ones are not. Over time, a creative communication strategy produces results that enable you to asses whether understanding is moving in the direction you expected. With this system, if you find creativity is not improving, you can determine why. What kinds of outcomes can you expect from this program? By following the steps in this workbook, you will develop an Ultimate Result Action Plan for your projects. Your Ultimate Result is what you want your project, and/or career to be about. The Ultimate Result Action Plan, however, is designed to conform to your particular creative communication needs. Instead of heading into a job, a project, or a presentation without understanding why - or attempting to measure everything that is possibly relevant - you will first decide what you want, then why you want to achieve that result and finally an action plan for yourself and/or your project. Ultimately, the information you uncover should provide you with a plan that is relevant and important to your distinct purpose and circumstances within any project. Developing your Ultimate Result Action Plan This workbook describes a four-step process for establishing an action plan that supports continuous improvement. I. BRAINSTORM - ideas, wants and needs II. IDENTIFY - outcomes, purpose, actions III. COMMIT - time, resources and responsibilities IV. SCHEDULE IT - assign dates and times to each action V. REWARD YOURSELF These steps are outlined in more detail and throughout the workbook. We first look at a detail description of the Ultimate Result Action Plan and the logic and process behind this new and exciting approach to ensuring creative results. Then we breakdown the process into a simple outline format so that you can quickly and easily access the process in the future. |
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| STEP 1. Beginning With BRAINSTORMS
Any result should drive an Ultimate Result Action Plan A project will happen over a period of time. You know you have a project when many outcomes are required to achieve the Must Result. A project consists of several activities that are all related to the Ultimate Result you want to produce or achieve. This process and workbook focuses first on “brainstorms” which are your needs, wants and ideas that are most relevant and important to your project. You are encouraged first to brainstorm ideas, wants and needs that you are striving to achieve, before deciding specific outcomes that you want to produce. If outcomes are not rooted in ideas, wants and needs then the brainstorms themselves may become the default goal, and an end in itself which leads into no-mans land. The inspiration that made you sit to create to begin with is lost. What do you want for yourself, your project, and/or audience to know, think, believe, value, achieve, or be able to do after experiencing your project? These questions are the foundation for your Ultimate Result for any project. This section helps you brainstorm what you want to serve as the focus of your Ultimate Result Action Plan. Examples of Brainstorms Some examples of brainstorming initiatives are provided below. You may agree with these brainstorms or have very different ideas about what brainstorms will best serve your purpose. This example serves only as an illustration; • to create for understanding: to prepare myself for the world of creative living, to develop my potential fully; to make sure that I master core knowledge of this process. • I will master a limited number of essential skills and areas of knowledge • To increase presentation skills and communication skills in order to deliver inspirational presentations • By the year 2002, I will be working as a source of inspiration for others • To become the creative called upon by creatives TARGETING OUTCOMES As the preceding examples illustrate, brainstorms can vary in purpose and form. Brainstorms provide a broad vision for results, while others are written in narrow terms and may specify a specific result, other brainstorms pertain to the overall process, what you want to experience, what you want others to experience. I used myself as an example when writing the preceding examples. Nevertheless, all of the brainstorms in the preceding examples target your individual outcomes, which drive the projects process. It is important to be clear about the project outcomes you are striving to achieve. This workbook will help you keep your creative practices in focus on the Ultimate Result. Step II. Will help provide you with the opportunity to examine the relationship between brainstorms and outcomes. |
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| Step II. Identifying Outcomes
• An outcome is meaningful if it is clear and produces something of value towards the project. • An outcome is complementary if it contributes to your Ultimate Result. Any outcome that conflicts with others should be reexamined. • Because limited resources may prevent you from pursuing all outcomes simultaneously or with equal attention, you should set clear priorities among your outcomes. • An outcome is measurable if it specifies the level of performance that is expected You may have already established some project outcomes. Sometimes outcomes are formed as part of other Ultimate Result initiatives. 1. Have you already established project outcomes? If so, what are they? 2. What do you want your project to convey. What do you want the viewer to know, think, believe, value, achieve, or be able to do after seeing your work. Assessing Project Outcomes Whether reviewing and revising existing project outcomes or establishing new ones, you will be asked to assess your Ultimate Result according to the criteria below. These criteria help ensure that your project outcomes will be effective in bringing about the Results you want. 1. What are the results/emotions I am after? 2. What do they really lead to? 3. What are the most important outcomes/emotions or results I must produce? Setting Priorities Among Your OUTCOMES When you are ready to assess your Ultimate Result or project outcomes the following criteria described here will help you; revise or eliminate any problematic outcomes; then set priorities among the remaining ones. Limited resources may prevent you from pursuing all outcomes simultaneously or with equal effort, or may require you to phase in outcomes. Starting with the most important outcomes may be a better strategy for success than tackling all of your outcomes at once. Setting clear outcome priorities at the outset will help you organize your efforts. 1. Is the meaning of the outcomes clear? Will the outcomes yield something of value? If so, what? 2. Can the outcomes realistically be achieved over time? 3. Do the outcomes contribute to the Ultimate Result? Do any of the outcomes conflict with others? 4. Can you foresee how you might measure progress toward achieving the outcomes? Will it be possible to establish an action item for each outcome? (It is not necessary to set these actions at this time.) |
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