1. Making Creativity Part of Your DNA
National Recreation & Park Association Conference
September 2017
M. Michelle Bono

2. Creativity is the ability to look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary.
Photojournalist Dewitt Jones

3. Learning Objectives Learn why creativity matters
Understand the five essentials to building creativity
Practice the power of positive language
Build a creative team
Make a personal commitment to focusing on creativity

4. We all have the ability to be creative
Everyone can generate new ideas
How we get there can be different
What you see depends upon where you stand
You can learn to be more creative If you are committed to the work

5. Why be creative? It’s fun It’s challenging It gets attention
It builds confidence
It produces results

7. The Five Essentials to Building Creativity Adapted from Tina Seeling
Knowledge
Imagination
Culture and Habitat
Attitude
Resources

8. Be Knowledgeable
Read, surf the web, read NRPA s, listen to TEDTalks
Create an idea file
Be an expert in your field
Know your community
Identify thought leaders; follow and interact with them
Don’t let a title of supervisor keep you from learning from others

9. Use Your Imagination Identify what you want to accomplish
Brainstorm with creative people
Don’t include nay sayers (convince them later)
Use the “What we’d never do” approach
Look to current trends – music, news, TV shows, books, toys
Laugh a lot!

11. Build the Right Culture and Habitat
If you haven’t failed, you’re not trying hard enough
Do you have a culture that allows failure?
Do you celebrate what you learn when things don’t go as expected?
Do you have a fun environment at work?
Parks people have the best access to creative habitats – use them!

12. Have the Right Attitude
Are you a puzzle builder or a quilt maker?
Challenge assumptions – go beyond the first right answer
Value diversity
Have the drive, motivation and confidence to find new solutions
Understand the power of positivity

13. That’s Right Bob! What We Can Learn From Improv

14. Have the Right Resources
What resource first comes to mind?
What about people – on your team and in your community?
Demonstrate your effectiveness as an economic engine, health advocate, and community builder
Be a leader in your corner of the world

15. Build a Creative Team Find reasons to celebrate team milestones
Have a diverse team
Ensure you spend more time listening instead of preparing to talk
Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care

16. Michelle’s Top 10 Tips to Get Your Creativity Flowing
Surround yourself with creative people
Do something new that’s outside your routine
Never start with a blank piece of paper and expect to write down a creative solution
Create a “no judgement” rule and follow it
Capture creative ideas of others – with a photo, or a link or in an idea file (lest we forget!)

17. Michelle’s Top 10 Tips to Get Your Creativity Flowing
6. Remind yourself that you have brilliant, creative ideas just waiting to come out
7. Spend time with kids
8. Treat “we’ve never done it before,” as words to inspire and motivate!
9. Make the time to laugh
10. Creativity is a muscle – exercise it daily

19. Creativity isn’t just about vision and passion
Creativity isn’t just about vision and passion. It’s about technique and perseverance as well; a balance of emotion and intellect that springs from really caring about what you do, really caring about the people you work with and the projects you work on.”
Photojournalist Dewitt Jones

20. Contact me: M. Michelle Bono 850.264.4233
Bono Communications &
Marketing, LLC