Since moving in almost 3 weeks ago, we’ve already had several clients using our Centre. At one of these, an interesting thing happened. Thinking we had two styles of individuals, we let the group split themselves into a Creative Team (those thought to be more dynamic and creative thinkers) and a Traditional Team (those thought to be more conservative). We gave the teams a challenge, but reversed their styles, so the Traditional Team were facilitated using techniques to boost creativity (design thinking, storytelling, metaphors, de Bono 6 hats, games, etc.), and the Creative Team approached the task using more traditional problem solving methods (structured thinking, process and engineering based approaches). Guess who produced the more creative and innovative result? With the right tools and facilitation, the supposed ‘traditional’ team easily outdid the ‘creative’ team.

This helped to reinforce my belief that innovation can be a process, and can be learned quickly. Any team can deliver innovative and achievable outcomes that you may not have dreamt possible before. February 2012 will see us formally launching this into the Australian marketplace. Make sure you watch the video to learn more. In this issue you will also find a story about customer conversations and building loyalty.

Finally, on behalf of the CEC team, we wish you a safe and happy Christmas and New Year. Wishing you every success in 2012.

Season's Greetings

2011 has been an incredible year for us. Our Melbourne office has been operating for just over a year and we have 5 new clients there. We just moved into our new Sydney offices, and we’re enjoying our view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. We have worked with over a dozen brand new clients this year, and we have had a similar number of new staff join us.
We’re looking forward to 2012 and continuing to work with all of you. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Fabulous New Year to you and your families!