1. Fostering Creativity in Yourself and Your Team
13 Mar 2018 – Session 1
Kari S. Sanders
What if I could
Show you how to be creative
Inspire you to stop self-sabotaging your creativity
And activate you to start showing up?
Would that be of value to you?
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders

2. What Does “Creativity” Mean to You?
What is the audience trying to achieve?
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

3. Why is Creativity Hard? From Merriam Webster*:
Creativity is the “ability to create”
To create is to “to make or bring into existence something new”
Self-sabotage stories stop us from being creative
“I don’t think anyone will buy this.”
“I don’t have the skills to do this.”
“I’m not smart enough to pull that off.”
“I don’t know how to do something like that.”
“I don’t even know where to start.”
“People will think this is silly.”
And there are lots of other reasons….
* 25Jun2017
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

4. Creativity at Work
Yes, it is possible

5. Project Managers Need to Be Creative
Managing the Current Work
What are my project’s opportunities?
How can we drive efficiencies into our current work?
How can we overcome our current hurdles?
What are the root causes of issues we are seeing?
Finding on-contract growth opportunities
What products or services is our customer seeking that represent new scope? How do we best approach that discussion?
Helping to define the path for future work
What new solutions would be of interest to our customer?
How can we find solutions attractive to new customers?
Other needs?

6. Your Boss Wants You to be Creative
But:
1) Balance risk*
2) Be a good steward of company resources
3) Be able to explain your plan in concrete terms**
** This topic will be covered in depth at the PMI Mile Hi March 24 Saturday Workshop at Regis University
* This topic will be covered in depth at the PMI Mile Hi June 9 North Professional Development Workshop in Loveland
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

7. We Can’t Be Creative On Command
Create time and space
Schedule in that time and space.
From “The War of Art”* by Steven Pressfield:
“We show up everyday…
We show up no matter what…
We stay on the job all day…
We are committed over the long haul…
We do not overidentify with our jobs…
We master the technique of our jobs…
We have a sense of humor about our jobs…
We receive praise or blame in the real world”
Create time and space
Creativity isn’t an on/off faucet. You have to allow enough time and space in your day to relax enough to generate ideas.
Seriously, schedule in that time and space.
There is never going to be a time when we have more time – we have to make the time.
From “The War of Art”* by Steven Pressfield:
“All of us are pros in one area: our jobs. … What exactly are the qualities that define us as professionals?
*Pressfield, S. (2002) “The War of Art”, pp
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

8. You Own Your Balance At Work At Home
You have control over your decisions – e.g., how many hours or how much travel; but that may affect your path
e.g., I am not willing to travel 75% of the time, so there are some jobs for which I am just not a good fit
Raytheon story
Questions, Discussion
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

9. Getting Started
How to Get Yourself into the Habit of Being More Creative

10. Tips for Being Creative
Tell someone about your plan
Create a Draft
Employ tiny victories
What is the value of what you are trying to create?
What gift do you bring to this endeavor?
Kari will bring copies of Fuzzy Cat for demonstration purposes and tell the story of Fuzzy Cat coming into existence
It doesn’t have to be the next world-saving invention or NY Times best seller
Consciously stop pressuring yourself for whatever you are sitting down to do to be the best thing ever
Don’t overstate the consequences
What is the value of what you are trying to create?
Who is it for?
What about it brings you joy?
What about it will bring others joy?
What gift do you bring to this endeavor?
Think positively – what is it that you are bringing to this that no one else can or will?
Tell someone about your plan
Silence breeds self doubt
Silence removes the urge for action because no one can hold you accountable for completing the project
Find your champion and tell them what you are doing
Employ tiny victories
What steps can you take today? Tomorrow?
Create a draft
In creating a draft of what you want to create, you will put words to your questions. This means you can ask for help and get useful responses.
It doesn’t have to be the next world-saving invention or NY Times best seller
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

11. Schedules are Important
“If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.”
- Rita Mae Brown
Tell the story of writing my first book - - why it took a year and a half / had to go from being a big secret to something I talked about
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

12. Mind Mapping is a Framework for Creative Thinking/Analysis
Use Lots of Colors
One concept
Per branch
Start at the center of the page
2nd tier concepts connect to main branches
Use pictures to help tell the story
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

13. © 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

14. Take a few minutes to start a mind map of the obstacles you face to creativity
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

15. Out brief What helped you get rolling on this exercise?
What were your key findings?
Are there any themes that you came up with?
11:30
© 2018, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

16. Summary
Creativity is needed in project management for success in current programs as well as developing a pipeline of future work
Creativity needs space in your schedule
Own Your Balance
Know your audience and their priorities
Schedules are important
Tell someone what you are working on
Remember to create a draft, tell someone what you are doing, and show up.
© 2017, Kari S. Sanders karisanders.com

17. Thank you!
I hope I have inspired you to think differently about creativity. My name is Kari Sanders, and it has been a pleasure to be here today.
Kari S. Sanders