I was on the phone last night with Joe Miguez, (an authority on the use of Labyrinth’s as a creative tool).  Joe was pitching an idea at me and it was fun the give and take we  had talking about it. Ultimately, he didn’t sell me on the idea, but as I hung up the phone I was smiling and I had warmth in my heart.

Such is the chemistry between some idea people, even when you disagree, you don’t argue so much as you explore possibility.  That’s not so easy to do all the time is it?

Is it your experience that some people are great natural, organic idea people?  And some people are totally not?  It sure is mine!

Joe is certainly a natural organic idea guy now, but really, Joe might not have been one at the age of say, 25 or 30.  Joe has studied the principals of creative effectivness for years, and has put them into his daily life, practice, and even casual conversations.  So, while it seems he is an organic idea man, it’s really the result of training and practice. Cooperative creative thinking is a flow activity, and it takes practice to get into a flow with other people.

Let me make a blunt statement: if you’ve never had any creative training (and I’m not talking about art) — such as training in Osborn-Parnes CPS, or TRIZ or Synetics, etc. then you are walking through your career with an unsharpened sword in your scabbard.  Take my advice, Just Go To CPSI in June (It’s on 21-25 in Buffalo, NY) Use this code — CPSIBLG10 — a 10% discount until June 1–when you register TODAY.  CPSI is the annual Creative Problem Solving Institiute.  This year they are featuring Disney maven Tony Baxter (VP of Creative Development). But Tony, as good as he is, is the cherry on top of a rather rich banana split of offerings — check out the flexible program — it’s pretty amazing.

Now, a few weeks ago I wrote a somewhat controversial piece about creativity conferences.  Perhaps I put too fine a point on it — I was trying to make the distinction between conferences that are oriented towards creativity in the personal development sense — and corporate innovation.  I’m not backing down on that, there is a difference. The point I might have made stronger however, is the direct link between the two.

The thing is, even if you are a terribly hard-nosed and bottom-line centric corporate innovator, one of the richest things you can do to improve your potential in that arena is… developing your personal creative capacity!  If you haven’t done this type of training, trust me, you need it. If you think you aren’t creative, please, start shuffling off to Buffalo RIGHT NOW.  This is a conference where you can truly learn to be more creative with regard to everything you do.

And…as my friend Joe reminded me last night (when we were discussing my controversial blog post) it has a lot to do with Intention.  Go to CPSI with a clear intention of what challenges in your life you want to solve, and with a determination to do something when you return.  I guarantee you, you will find answers for your challenges, be it personal, professional, or both. I’ve told about 5 people in my life to Just Go, and do it because I said so, of the 5, all 5 have thanked me.

That’s a percentage I’m confident of maintaining.

Check out what these other bloggers have to say for more perspective on CPSI:

“Filed Under Missylaneous” by Missy Carvin – www.missylaneous.com

Cynthia Rolfe, http://Seven-wheels.blogspot.com

Amy Basic, http://segami2.blogspot.com/

Pablo Munoz, http://blog.latercera.com/blog/pmunoz/entry/d%C3%B3nde_entrenar_la_creatividad_2a (In Spanish)