Is it possible that the once and familiar business technique of brainstorming has gone stale? Could brainstorming itself be in need of an innovative makeover? Interestingly, ninety-two per cent of Americans are right handed, and consequently are primarily controlled by the left brain. So it’s no surprise that brainstorming exercises have gradually morphed into a more linear, mathematical, analytical process, proven traits of the left hemisphere of the brain. Is it any wonder why innovation, creativity and ideation are slow in coming?

Daniel Pink first sounded a wake-up call to the business world for more right-brain thinking in his 2005 bestseller, “A Whole New Mind.” Pink’s thesis is that conventional thinking needs to change dramatically in today’s conceptual age. Left- brain skills served us well through the agrarian, industrial and even information ages. No longer do they suffice, however, as breakthrough ideas are bursting through and changing the global landscape. CEO surveys list “transformative change” as the number one issue organizations face today. Yet, the same tools continue to be deployed in the hopes of producing fresh solutions. For instance, long favored “SWOT,” used for evaluating a product or strategy, was invented over fifty years ago at Stanford University. It’s now become the box that keeps management trapped into thinking “inside the box.”

The newer, “open space” concept for creating more stimulating meetings is over twenty years old. General Motors, Dell Inc. and other corporations serve as examples of legacy companies that run aground because of focus on small, incremental “don’t rock the boat” management thinking.

Innovation is still alive and well in the United States. Look no further than the familiar names of Apple Inc., Google Inc., Facebook and Amazon.com, Inc. Apple didn’t even exist before 1977 and is today one of the world’s most valuable companies. The others have created amazing value in even shorter time periods. It’s all about innovation, ideation, creativity and the relentless pursuit of “getting it right.”

What can CEOs learn from the above? Based on their own wording, it’s clear that “Transformative Change” is needed. Pink eloquently makes the case for “Why” right-brain thinking may be the answer. But CEOs, anxious for results, may wonder how they get to this “transformative change.”

Unfortunately, the business world is forty years behind the art world and thirty years behind the psychological community’s seminal book in both fields applying Dr. Roger Sperry’s groundbreaking work at California Institute of Technology on split brain research in the 1950s. Sperry ultimately won a Nobel Prize in 1981 for his discovery of the independence of brain function between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Betty Edwards taught generations of art students to draw better by learning how to “see” an image differently in her book, “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain,” first published in 1970. Dr. Lucia Capacchione taught legions of therapists and patients how to tap into the right brain to resolve psychological trauma in her book, “Recovery of Your Inner Child,” first published in 1981.

The trail stops cold, however, at the front door of the business world. With several famous notable exceptions already mentioned, not integrating the right brain into the fabric of our problem-solving and strategic-thinking processes has resulted in business doing a lot more planning than thinking. Management has thereby missed creativity, innovation and the important insights from the right brain needed to keep an organization agile and dynamic.

It’s a sobering thought to believe the whole mind is being used in the art and psychological worlds more effectively than in the business world. Worse still, CEOs tend to hire management with similar ideas, resulting in the executive ranks filled with individuals who think and act in like manner.

The CEO of a publicly traded company can learn how to tap into the right brain. The transformative experience becomes the tool necessary to provide a second opinion, offer fresh insights and produce those “aha” moments. Importantly, all this experience is now available “on demand.” Following the protocol of neuroscientists and earlier implementers, it turns out literally to be possible to get beyond the box by tapping into the right hemisphere of the brain.

Small as well as large Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries are turning to a more innovative form of brainstorming or ideation to solve the same problems addressed in earlier years. They are getting different and more comprehensive answers from employees’ whole minds to the same problems they historically faced.

Tips for the next problem solving or brainstorming session based on experienced gleaned over the past four years include invoking the right brains of the participants. Otherwise the left brains will dominate the session and the results will be predictable. Invite participants from different perspectives. Include those who can bring the voice of the customer and the employee too. Balance out the grey hairs with some of the young shining stars. (Newton, Einstein and Heisenberg each did their most important work in their twenties.)

If conducted properly, CEOs will experience one of the most productive, engaging, insightful meetings of their careers. It may also provide the transformative underpinnings to jolt the company in a new direction.

Bill Donius is a Strategist with Houston-based Endeavor Management and author of “Thought Revolution: How to Unlock Your Inner Genius.” Bill is the former Chairman & CEO of Pulaski Bank and served a two-year term on the U.S. Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C.

Listen to the final segment by CLICKING HERE that summarizes the most crucial and controversial topics on the subject of leadership from each of our panelists.

Below are the panelists and their contact information so you can find out more about each of the dynamic leaders.

Ron Ameln – CEO Small Business Monthly Magazine.
Visit the Small Business Monthly Magazine Website by Clicking Here

Bill Donius – Former Chairman, Pulaski Bank; Author – Thought Revolution, How to unlock your inner genius.
Visit Bill Donius’ Website by Clicking Here

Lauren Herring – CEO, Impact Group.
Visit the Impact Group Website by Clicking Here

Mark McLaren – Founder & CEO M2 Benefit Solutions.
Visit the M2 Benefit Solutions Website by Clicking Here

Karen McMurrey – Owner of Visiting Angels.
Visit the Visiting Angels Website by Clicking Here

Ben Newman – Author: Own Your Success.
Visit the Ben Newman Website by Clicking Here

Here’s a link: http://www.stlbizradio.com/leadership.html

In depth, one hour interview. Listen here:  http://ht.ly/jyFzs

Watch segment here: http://www.foxsanantonio.com/newsroom/daytime/videos/vid_1321.shtml

Thought Revolution: How to Unlock Your Inner Genius

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(Note:  Best selling author Bill Donius was what he would term a classic “left brain” type, before he discovered Dr. Roger Sperry’s Nobel prize winning discovery about the independence of brain function between the left and right hemisphere.  Donius, who works for Endeavor Management as a consultant, will be in San Antonio, Feb. 6 for a reception at the Omni Hotel.  I got the chance to interview the former St. Louis-based Pulaski Bank executive about his conversion process.  You can find more on his book Thought Revolution: How to Unlock Your Inner Genius here at this link.)

Matt Scherer: What inspired you to write this book?  What were your motivations
in doing so?

Bill Donius: The methodology described in the book is one that worked for me over a 14-year period in both my personal life and as the CEO of a public company. I wondered if it could work as well for others.  Based on this question, I decided to conduct research interviews. I did not plan initially to do over 200 of these. But, they caught on and I was amazed by the results. A book emerged from this process. I wish I could report it was an easy task.  As a first time writer, it took seven drafts to get to the finish line.
Scherer: To all of those classic left brainers out there, how would you help them begin the transition to embrace the right brain?

Donius: I can start with a logical (left brain) appeal. What if there was a way you could turbo charge your thought process, resulting in literally twice as many alternatives to consider?  Wouldn’t you want to try it? Especially if that process could be learned in under an hour? Still not convinced? Then how about if I play the “age” card?  I think of tapping into the right brain as a great way to avenge advancing age.

Scientists know our patterns become more ingrained and habituated as progress in age. We’re able to do some tasks faster and better.  But, when it comes to thinking differently about those same functions, it’s not easy. In fact, it’s where younger minds edge out older ones. Tapping into the right brain is the neural equivalent of getting a fresh perspective on a topic. No longer do we have to “sleep on it.” Thanks to Dr. Sperry’s Nobel prize winning discovery, we can get that thought, “on demand.”

Scherer: As a banker, you have worked in a highly regulated industry, one that has been dominated by left brain types.  How can you work within the framework of the FDIC to help financial executives within banking, insurance and other financial industries to embrace the creative elements of your right brain?

Donius: In regulated industries where we’re forced to be “inside the box” most of the time, it’s easy to surrender to left brain (linear, logical and analytical) thinking as the default mode. The few who learn how to tap into a different way of thinking will more easily be able to differentiate themselves and their companies’ strategies. They will learn to spark intuitive, creative and innovative ideas, courtesy of the right brain initiated thinking process, allowing for a true competitive advantage.  In industries awash in competition with little variation, the creative “first movers” can win big.
Scherer:   In addition to banking, the medical industry is also highly regulated and has a steep background in left brain thinking?  How can hospital administrators and doctors embrace the right brain activities that will help them stay competitive?

Donius:  All of us carry around both the knowledge and insights that come from the long-term experiences we have our chosen industry: healthcare, banking, insurance, or another industry. Instead of freeing us to have a more global perspective, we tend to think from a more confined perspective. We know what “is and is not possible” from experience. Consequently, we seldom get the flashes of brilliance or the “Aha” moments that give us a glimpse into a different approach or solution. Moreover, those flashes rarely occur when we need them–in strategic thinking sessions. In a globally competitive world, we must find ways to deliver unique, faster, better, more customized, enlightened, specific solutions.

Scherer:  The other day I was talking to a mid-level executive at a major company.  He’s charged with bringing significant innovation to his company, and his chief executive fully embraces the need for the work  his organization is doing for his organization.  Yet, in his opinion, he’s faced with some decision makers, probably people who haven’t read your book or embraced the right brain, who are resistant to change. How does someone like this foster the needed change within his organization?

Donius:  We’re all resistant to change. Some of us more than others. Our brains crave familiar patterns over unfamiliar ones. Perhaps the only thing we dislike more than change itself is the change that someone else comes up with. This can be much more threatening. A team that collaborates to create change stands a much better chance at succeeding. If that team is equally disadvantaged by learning a new skill (like learning how to tap into the right brain), then, they are  more likely to embrace both the methodology and the forthcoming results because they have a shared investment. Along the way, they may feel equally inept and initially foolish. I’ve noticed too this experience tends to bring down barriers and strengthen teams. My advice to the mid-level executive you cited: get buy in by getting the higher level execs into an innovative ideation session (one that includes the right brain methodology).

(Important disclosure:  I work as the public relations manager for Endeavor Management.  Yet, please know that I feel this information is of value to everyone who has never used their right side of the brain.)

“Check out the work of William Donius, a speaker at GO! Network. His recent book, “Thought Revolution How to Unlock Your Inner Genius,” encompasses 12 years of research, examples and success stories. Tapping the non-dominate subconscious right brain through non-dominate hand writing or drawing, can act as a direct pipeline to one’s inner truth. Check out his website at williamdonius.com and participate in the exercises to discover your inner truth.”

Link to full story here: http://www.stltoday.com/classifieds/jobs/creatively-discovering-you/article_6f6c6939-74bf-5a5e-adf2-6e4aa9c028e4.html

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