The Toll Men

Do you have to be a bad guy in order to win?

Have you looked at the news lately and felt disgusted? The headlines of today’s
news confirm what we all feel and know in our gut. The headlines I am talking
about are those of CEO’s going to jail for running their corporations into the
financial rocks; ignoring the lighthouse that is beaming it’s light for safe passage
and to fiscal responsibility. All the while it is not the captain (CEO, CFO, etc..) that
goes down with the ship. It’s the crew (workers and their pensions) and the
steerage passengers (the investors). How did it get to become this way? What
happened to the feel good years where it was common to hear “What’s good for GM
is good for the country” is that era long gone? While I have no answer as to why the
Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, and the slew of other corporations stole, lied and cheated; I
can say that I feel that these fiascos have their root in greed.

“The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better
word, is good.
Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence
of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of it’s forms - greed for life, for money,
knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed - you mark my
words - will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation
called the USA. Thank you.”
- Gordon Gekko, from the movie Wall Street, 1987

Does art imitate life or is this a case of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Did Dennis
Kozlowski (Tyco’s Chairman & CEO) watch Wall Street 1 time too many? Maybe he
did, perhaps he felt that it was the right thing to do. The sad thing is that he’s not
alone. Other CEO’s share in this greed is good mentality. For all the bigwigs that
have been caught, there are thousands of others that haven’t. Where are the
headlines condemning these men, who have shipped jobs overseas not because of
patriotism but for profits, theirs. If you don’t think this is so look at the rustbelt, go
to Pennsylvania, where are the manufacturing jobs? Personally, I don’t think it
needs to be this way. I believe that I can be happy without having more than my
neighbor. In the very least I don’t need to put or climb over my neighbor in order to
get ahead. My personal feeling is that if I can make a dollar while I help you out
than I have done good for my society. Doesn’t that sound like providing a good
service and or a quality product? Build a better mousetrap and they will come. The
basis of the free market system is competition, which drives innovation.

“One man can completely change the character of a country, and the
industry of its people, by dropping a single seed in fertile soil.”
- John C. Gifford

I have been called a dreamer, that I am unrealistic a nonconformist; All badges that I
wear proudly! Why not reject the current state of affairs and lead by example. Be
the change. Whether you are a clerk in a large corporate machine be the best clerk
you can, excel at your job. If you are a small business owner than provide the best
possible service that you can. At the end of the day you’ll reap the benefits of a
repeat customer, good word of mouth and the positive feelings that you have sowed
from that fertile soil. While you might never be the richest man in the world
monetarily does this mean that you are not a affluent man? The golden rule “treat
others as you’d want to be treated” is my business philosophy. It’s simple yet
obtainable. If I can do this so can you. Imagine that everyone followed our lead,
what would the media outlets report about then?

Every man is the architect of his own fortune.
- Pseudo-Sallust: Epist. de Rep. Ordin. ii. 1.

http://www.myhiss.com H.I.S.S. Home Inventory Service Specialists is headed up by
CEO: Richard Berroa; a producer whose background is in live T.V. production and
documentaries. At HBO, NBC and PBS; Rich was responsible for gathering all the
information for the shoot (the who, what, when, where) and putting them to insure a
successful production (the How). That skill set is now put to work for your own
H.I.S.S. catalog; which is a mini production itself. The same commitment, attention
to details and meticulous organization will now work for you. We are a company set
up to serve an under served need; the fact is that all insurance companies tell their
clients to make an inventory but they do not provide this service to their customers.
WHY? Maybe it is because it’s simply is not in their (the insurance company’s) best
interest. Empowering you the customer is our priority. We are insured; currently we
service the entire east coast but we are willing to travel beyond on a per case basis.

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.

There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.

There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted.

Confidence through Competence

Blocks can be categorised into two general categories: First, evaluation apprehension and second, structural impediments - such as lack of finance or access to decision makers.

Of the first set, lack of confidence is often related to task incompetence. It follows then that task competence increases confidence. A good example is screenwriting - initially screenwriters take inordinate amounts of time to complete a screenplay, but, following a few completions and even successful sales, they are able to trot them out as quickly as ideas come to them - the words-on-paper-first-draft at least.

Competency (and therefore idea flow and confidence) is increased by:

a) Engaging in the task and thereby refining knowledge, methodology and process.

b) Incrementally setting goals and achieving small successes regularly. Graham Green, the famous author, regularly wrote 500 words a day.

c) Completing the task.

d) Refining the task.

e) Successfully commercialising the task.

f) Engaging in another similar task.

g) Having a set of successful experiences.

The above process is inherent in the expression, “you have to write a million words before you write anything good.” It gradually strips away the subconscious inhibitors that prevent productivity.

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com/

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Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com/