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Mary Poppins describes a style of management which has for too long been hidden in many
businesses and organisations.

Think about it.

She’s “Practically
perfect in every way” - is that not what we want from a boss? Someone who is
almost brilliant at everything - yet with a hint of not being absolutely
perfect? Someone we can trust and depend on - yet who is truly human with is and falls down occasionally too?

And then there’s
the cut to the chase with, “Bert, what utter nonsense. Why do you always complicate
things that are really quite simple.” How often do we, often inadvertently (especially
the more senior an executive we are), make things so, so complex. Recently working
with a client who already had over 125 books on systems, when all they were doing
was selling things to people…

And then there’s all the fun, like…

“Of course,
you can say it backwards, which is dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus, but that’s
going a bit too far, don’t you think?”

…a satisfying ability to have fun and, I
think perhaps just a hint of a smile at yourself, Mary, in that…, as Bert says
“Indubitably.!” Not forgetting either, that if we look hard enough, with the right
viewpoint…

“In every job that must be done, there is an element
of fun. You find the fun and - SNAP - the job’s a game!”

Above all, we want to remember how easy it is to fall into the work, work,
work ethic of Mr George Banks, with his

“A man has dreams of walking
with giants
To carve his niche in the edifice of time.
Before the mortar of
his seal
Has a chance to congeal
The cup is dashed from his lips
The flame
is snuffed a-borning
He’s brought to wrack and ruin in his prime.”

You
can do it George, you can…and, of course, in the end, George does it!

In the end, like all great bosses, with their discipline, focus, vision, and above
all sense of fun, they win us all round and as we move in to greater things, like
Mary, they become loved, as they say…

“Goodbye, Mary Poppins.
Don’t stay away too long”

…”spit-spot!”…

Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide,
mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders.
He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com

…helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow…

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What do creativity managers do?

Replace the word management with the word optimisation.

That’s what creativity managers do: they optimise the quality of the idea pool (creativity) and the implementation process (innovation).

There are many methods of optimisation and the creativity leader must be aware of all of them, in other words, he or she must synthesise them for optimal effect.

Areas [within creativity] that need managing include motivation, organisational culture, organisational structure, incremental versus radical effects and processes, knowledge mix, group structures, goals, process and valuation.

Areas [within innovation] that need managing include idea selection, development / prototyping and the art of commercialisation.

It is worth noting that 4000 good ideas result in 4 development programs, which in turn results in 1 winner.

Definitions, Terms, Frames of Reference

It may not sound like defining creativity and innovation will set the world on fire, but establishing terminology and frames of reference helps set the context and build a solid foundation from which we can have an intelligent conversation about this topic.

Creativity and Innovation are very often confused. For example, one popular author recently defined innovation as any idea that generates wealth. That’s lazy thinking.

A good definition of creativity is that it is problem identification and idea generation whereas innovation is idea selection, development and commercialisation.

Within idea generation, a further definition is valuable: the number of ideas produced, the novelty of the ideas produced, the diversity of ideas produced and the frequency of their production.

Other definitions are also worthy of discussion. For example, creativity is often defined as “something original.” However, this is misleading as it implies a break with the past, with history and the timeline.

There are many more definitions that need to be explained and have implications, such as recombination, moving from an original state to a goal state etc.

The definitions themselves give us ideas as to how to manage creativity. For example, if we are looking for a diverse range of ideas, then it follows that the groups that generate those ideas should also consist of a diverse range of participants.

Learn more

Download the MBA research, learn about this topic at http://www.creativity-management.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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Download the MBA research, learn about this topic at http://www.creativity-management.com/

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Staff management is “getting things done by other people”. Although you must remember that you, as the manager have a part to play as well!

As a senior manager you have a number of roles which include, controlling stock and profits, meeting sales and profit targets and managing and mentoring staff. Treat your staff well and they will become important part of contributing to the success of the business. Remember, it is much easier to lead a stubborn mule than it is to push it!

Let’s look at some key skills you will need in order to manage your staff:

* Setting Expectations: Start with the premise that your staff will need to know what is expected from them and let them know what these expectations are.

* Task Planning: Set out your staff plan, so that you know what each member of your staff has to do over the next month in order to meet the goals, standards and targets that your department has been set. Ensure that your staff, should do it, can do it and are capable of doing it.

* Communication: Ensure that you keep your staff informed about changes, expectations and progress. Also make your self approachable so that your staff feel that they can talk to you about problems, mistakes and suggestions they have.

* Mentoring: Lead from the front, showing your staff how you want them to behave. Help any worker that you believe may be struggling a little, making mistakes or causing problems. Do this by suggesting changes, adding some changes and extra training.

* Feedback: Let your staff know when they done well by telling them so. Making your staff feel good and they will work harder. Remember happy staff are loyal and efficient staff.

The hardest problem you will have is the change that you will have to make from being part of the staff to the boss! Just don’t get arrogant or remote from your staff.

© Copyright 2006 Biz Guru LLC
Lee Lister, writes as The Biz Guru, for a number of web sites including her own sites http://www.BizGuru.us and http://www.clikks.com for all our informational products.

With over 20 year’s management and business consultancy experience with businesses large and small as well as being a serial entrepreneur, she now helps others set up, develop and market their businesses.

This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

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