The Work In Colour Blog is a free weekly blog covering all kinds of stuff to do with working in colour, from career tips to creative thinking ideas and much in between.http://workincolour.com.au/Tue, 15 May 2012 17:58:26 +1000http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/167/share-some-absurdity/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/167/share-some-absurdity/I came across this TED talk by a guy called Charlie Todd, who does improvisation experiences (think flash mob meets candid camera). He calls it 'The shared experience of absurdity', which is a wonderful name in itself. The talk is great, too...with some very funny footage of his improv experiences on New York subways, in shops and more.Thu, 10 May 2012 06:43:26 +1000http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/166/the-three-walt-disneys/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/166/the-three-walt-disneys/Walt Disney was undeniably a creative pioneer and equally importantly, he managed to turn his ideas into commercial as well as artistic successes. But did you know that there were actually three Walt Disneys, not just one?Wed, 2 May 2012 15:02:00 +1000http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/165/big-is-not-always-better/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/165/big-is-not-always-better/Grand gestures are rather fun, adding drama and a sense of excitement to our lives. All or nothing, no guts no glory, putting your money where your mouth is...all these clichés speak to a way of doing things that has great appeal to many people.(I like them a lot, actually...) But in business or in our workplaces, it is often useful to do things somewhat differently.Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:54:23 +1000http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/164/whats-your-inner-animal/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/164/whats-your-inner-animal/This will sound strange, but this week I have had several conversations about people's inner animals. (I told you it would sound strange..). It reminded me that many years ago, I did an experiment with a Rotary group, having them do a meditation to find their inner animal. Basically, I took them up a forest path and into a glade, and had them imagine an animal coming into the glade...what could it be?Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:36:54 +1000http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/163/baby-steps/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/163/baby-steps/I've been working with a couple of clients lately on their unquestionable, but vastly over-used, talent for procrastination (one of these clients being, tragically, me...). It seems that for most of us it's a combination of giving too much power to the inner critic, a deep fear of failure or rejection or looking stupid or [insert your fave here] - and of course the overwhelm produced by the fact that we take on far more than any human being could achieve. Some of the stuff on my wishlist would take at least three lifetimes plus some serious superpowers. So, what to do?Wed, 11 Apr 2012 13:37:15 +1000http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/162/gardening-lessons/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/162/gardening-lessons/I finally got round to pruning my much-neglected back garden over Easter. It was a mess - the neighbour's vines running rampant, weeds everywhere, delicate plants with no sunlight because of permanent shadows from overgrown toughies. Natural selection had definitely taken over, and the law of the jungle was playing out before my eyes. For all I could tell, there might even be lions lurking behind those bushes.Wed, 4 Apr 2012 15:40:13 +1000http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/161/is-it-raining-on-your-parade/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/161/is-it-raining-on-your-parade/A close friend of mine missed out on a job today - she would have been perfect, but wasn't even considered because she lacked a particular type of experience. Last week a client missed out on winning a big chunk of new business for his firm, even though he'd been working towards this goal for months. And I am still waiting for the universe to stop raining on my parade, despite all the umbrellas I've been carrying around and the positive self talk I've been doing (strange, but it seems that sometimes the clouds don't part no matter how many times you tell yourself that it's actually sunny outside). It's disappointing.Wed, 28 Mar 2012 08:28:58 +1100http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/160/what-are-your-customers-or-clients-thinking/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/160/what-are-your-customers-or-clients-thinking/I've been doing some work lately with a couple of corporate clients, on creative ways to use customer experience maps. Basically, a customer (or client) map tracks every stage of the interaction between a customer and you or your business. Whether you're an employee or a business owner, you can use a customer map from the perspective of your internal or external clients or customers, to see what it's like for them at each stage of the buying process.Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:30:59 +1100http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/159/do-you-have-a-creative-workplace/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/159/do-you-have-a-creative-workplace/I am giving a workshop in Canberra next week on creative thinking, with some new material about how to develop an innovative workplace. It's all about how you can make your office a hive of creative activity, how to get the buzz and avoid the sting...Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:35:01 +1100http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/158/are-you-a-magician-or-a-sage/http://workincolour.com.au/blog/post/158/are-you-a-magician-or-a-sage/Last year, I started some marketing work with a great agency, da Vinci Marketing. As part of our planning, they advised me one day that, whether I realised it or not, I was a Magician. Hmmm, I thought, I can't see myself at Hogwarts, or sawing women (or men for that matter) in half or even pulling a rabbit from my hat. (I can in fact juggle using three balls, but I guess that doesn't qualify.)