Tag Archives: Joseph Campbell

Finding Your Creative Core, 2nd Edition

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So happy to announce the 2nd edition of my workbook, Finding Your Creative Core, is now available. Its been a really busy Fall!  Building a creative environment within any organization starts with values – your own and the values-in-action within the organization. How often have you articulated your own values?  Even thought about them?  Something that most of us take for granted and yet, values form the foundation of almost everything we do.  My workbook provides a starting point of exploration – a personal Heroic Journey to the centre of Self.  For it is there that you will find the creative core you have always had.  I love working with the Heroes Journey – I admit my bias! Many business books have been written that utilize the idea of the Hero, but most play at a superficial level, failing to address the power of the archetype itself.  In November, I published  an article in the Integral Leadership Journal that gives a more in-depth look at why the Heroes Journey has such power to transform. Suffice to say that the Journey always begins with each of us, willing or not, ready or not. An old Roman motto says it best – the Fates aid those who will … those who won’t they drag. When you are touch with your creative core, you are better prepared for the Journey. I wish you safe passage!

2015 will be again be a busy year. I’m getting ready for the 2015 Human Resources Professionals Association national conference in Toronto.  I’ll be speaking on corporate culture and the ‘secret sauce’ of design-driven innovation. I hope to see you there! Best wishes for you and yours for the holiday season and 2015. Our journey continues.

Winning the Story Wars

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Jonah Sachs has written a great book on the proper use of story and the five deadly sins of marketing (vanity, authority, insincerity, puffery and gimmickry).  Tapping into the power of myth, Sachs speaks to empowerment marketing and what that shift would entail. The most important takeaway for me from this new offering was the importance, again, of the value system that guides individual and corporate behaviour. In short, SHOW DON’T TELL.  Any brand who has maintained its value over time has relied on clearly expressed and lived values.  Brand communication becomes sharing your values with your customers and can be expressed in the following values “bucket”:

1. Values built into the founding story

2. Values expressed by products and services

3. Values held by leadership

4. Values you believe will most deeply resonate with your audience

To Sachs, these are the building blocks of the stories you tell about yourself and your organization.  If possible, the values should align over all the categories. Hard to do, yes! Living by values is never an easy choice. But it is the most sustainable and profitable course. So your intent for your organization? If sustainability and profitability matter, then you might want to add this offering to your reference shelf. The book can be purchased now for pre-release – Winning the Story Wars will be available in July.  You can also check out the video.

Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future