According to news reports, A top girls’ school,WimbledonHigh School, is planning a “failure week” over the  next five days, to teach pupils to embrace risk, build resilience and learn from their mistakes.

Apparently, the emphasis will be on the value of having a go, rather than playing it safe and perhaps achieving less. The headmistress, Heather Hanbury, said she wanted to show “it is completely acceptable and completely normal not to succeed at times in life.”

Ms Hanbury’s pupils achieve some of the highest exam scores – but from Monday they will be invited to focus on failure. There will be workshops, assemblies, and activities for the girls, with parents and tutors joining in with tales of their own failures.

The idea of ‘better failure’ is to deter lazy, sloppy thinking an doing.

I would actually also extend the definition of ‘failure’ to better failure’: the key issue is both trying new and different things but crucially, learning from the experience and adapting any lessons to your new way of doing.

I would also extend the definition of ‘failure’ to embrace ‘failing to agree to mainstream dogmas and views’.

We are living ostensibly in a more tolerant age, with a tolerance marked by some welcome mainstream shifts in social mores on racism, homophobia and sexism, but a downside of greater polarity – a stronger sense of black-and-white/I’m-right-you’re-wrong in any debate or discussion.

It seems our society, I would argue, is in danger of losing its ability to be convivial, and maintain respect for each other, even if we have differing views on subjects. This perhaps caused by faster pace of change, where you have to be Yes/No before you can move onto your next decision, coupled with the nature of modern social media which can accentuate impersonal and vitriolic discourse.

In my book ‘Overcoming Stupidity’ I defined ‘stupidity’ not as being of low intelligence, but rather created by inflexible thinking without asking questions.

I also identified five levels of stupidity in people’s everyday thinking and doing.:

1 star stupidity is when you make a stupid mistake based on insufficient information, or attention to detail.

2 star Stupidity is a mistake which is correct in one context but may be less than optimum or even outright wrong in another.

3 star Stupidity is where you make less optimum decisions based on short-term interests, rather than taking into account longer-term interests.

4 star Stupidity is what I labelled ‘compound stupidity’, where one stupid idea leads to another.

5 star Stupidity – the ultimate stupidity – is repeating any 1,2,3,or 4 star stupidity: the fundamental lesson is to recognise that we inevitably will be doing stupid things. The crucial trick is to recognise, learn from, and go forth and NOT repeat the stupidity – always invent new mistakes rather than repeating old ones!

In his book ‘Adapt’ Tim Harford, aka the FT’s undercover economist, identifies three types of mistake:

There are ‘slips’, or what traders call ‘fat finger errors’ where there is insufficient attention to detail – equivalent to what I label ‘1 Star Stupidity’,

Then there are ‘violations’ – where someone deliberately does the wrong thing (which I would suggest is accommodated by what I call ‘3 Star Stupidity’ – people not taking into account the longer term punishment.)

‘Mistakes’ are things done on purpose but with unintended purposes. An idea might contain what is known as a ‘latent error’ – a problem/disaster waiting to happen. (I would propose by using a criteria between 1 to 5 star stupidity, it provides a better management tool for managing stupidity.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

So, there you have it. Failure is lurking around the corner.

By not approaching the corner you may not come across the failure; equally you will be stuck, left behind, and maybe miss out on the pot of gold around this, or the next, or the next, or the next corner.

I hope we can make ‘Failure Week’ a permanent date on the calendar: let’s create a meme of the first full week in February as ‘Failure Week’.

It may not work, but then again….

In a new talk ‘The Creativity Paradox’ – specially commissioned for the new Strategic Management series run by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations – Andy Green FCIPR explores how communicators can capitalise on new understanding of how the brain works, thinks and produces creativity, combined with new opportunities in research and planning.

The event takes place at the CIPR Centre in Londonon Tuesday February 28^th at5pm.

Andy will explore how, by realizing the creative potential of your information and insight to create or add to your brand stories, you can gain a disproportionate share of your culture.

Success however, will only come if communicators both fully understand how the creative dimension operates coupled with harnessing the revolution in new forms of data to create what he calls ‘new school PR’.

He will examine the growing importance of creative thinking at a strategic level and the explosion of activity at a micro-tactical level, with a move away from what he labels ‘middle-weight creativity’.

The Strategic Management series aims to promote knowledge sharing, knowledge gaining and to facilitate discussion on research techniques, planning in PR and measurement and evaluation – the overall process of managing public relations activity.

This series runs alongside the CIPR’s newly founded Research and Development Unit which promotes research and development in the profession and ensures a solid research foundation for future development of public relations practice in the UK and internationally.

Andy is the author of ‘Creativity in Public Relations’ now in its fourth edition and translated into eight languages and ‘Effective Personal Communications Skills for Public Relations’ both published by Kogan Page.

Tickets for ‘The Creativity Paradox’ are priced just £20 and available from the CIPR via http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/2620931276

What if you could use these keys of insight and wisdom to shape your messages?

Thus, I embarked on the task of gaining insight from the epic review of over 10,000 years plus of history by Ian Morris in his monumental historical research addressing the question in his book’s title: ‘Why the West Rules for Now’.

Despite all the complexities of historical detail, drama, and people combined with the inter-weaving of economic, social and climatic influences Ian Morris boils down the essential drivers for historical change into what he mischievously calls the ‘Morris Theorem’ which states:

“Change is caused by lazy, greedy, frightened people looking for more easier, more profitable, and safer ways to do things. And they rarely know what they are doing.”

So, there you have it. If you want your copy, your message to engage, motivate and trigger change you need to:

• Identify what makes your reader lazy, greedy, or frightened.
• You then need to identify how you can make things easier, more profitable or safer

And you need to be reassured that if the world is somehow ignoring your advice, pearls of wisdom, history shows that actually people don’t really know what they are doing.

For the next 10,000 years we may be smarter using these core motivators, but I suspect the Morris Theorem will hold good for whatever number of years we have left on this planet.

Now, how can I persuade you using laziness, greed or fright to attend one of the following training courses?

There are great, easy opportunities to catch me in action in London to transform your creative abilities, how you manage your brand story and your personal brandcasting – all will help make life easier, richer, and less fearful for you!

For the Chartered Institute of Public Relations I am offering:

Creative Writing course on Wednesday February 1^st – to transform your ability to create messages which get noticed and achieve change.

Creativity in PR on Wednesday February 22^nd offers the best introduction to how to transform your innovation and creativity skills to transform your thinking to achieve more with less.

Word of Mouth, viral and memes on Wednesday March 28^th will enable to great ideas and messages that can spread your story harnessing networks and unpaid sales ambassadors – your fans, customers and networks

Managing Creative PR teams on Thursday March 29^th covers how you can get the best out of your team to exceed performance

Further details please book at http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/training-qualifications

For the Public Relations Consultants Association I am offering two new courses:

Brand Story – on Wednesday February 8^th shares how to create a powerful, compelling Brand story – the heart and soul of your organization, its brand and its messages, 

Personal Brandcasting – on Thursday February 9^th illuminates how to manage your personal brand, and the personal brands of your clients, and your clients’ brands

To book visit: http://www.prca.org.uk/pr-training

For the Chartered Institute of Public Relations I am offering:

Creative Writing course on Wednesday February 1^st – to transform your ability to create messages which get noticed and achieve change.

Creativity in PR on Wednesday February 22^nd offers the best introduction to how to transform your innovation and creativity skills to transform your thinking to achieve more with less.

Word of Mouth, viral and memes on Wednesday March 28^th will enable to great ideas and messages that can spread your story harnessing networks and unpaid sales ambassadors – your fans, customers and networks

Managing Creative PR teams on Thursday March 29^th covers how you can get the best out of your team to exceed performance 

Further details please book at http://www.cipr.co.uk/content/training-qualifications

For the Public Relations Consultants Association I am offering two new courses:

Brand Story – on Wednesday February 8^th shares how to create a powerful, compelling Brand story – the heart and soul of your organization, its brand and its messages,

Personal Brandcasting – on Thursday February 9^th illuminates how to manage your personal brand, and the personal brands of your clients, and your clients’ brands

To book visit: http://www.prca.org.uk/pr-training

You will most likely say the brain.

But I would suggest it is your ears.

I use the word ears in plural because they are not just there to pick up sounds.

Rather, I would suggest they are your most important innovation tool for being sensitive to picking up cues, leads, feedback for new opportunities and nurturing ideas from your environment.

Also, your ears are crucial in listening to the talk, the conversation that goes on inside your head.

In my book ‘Effective Personal Communication Skills for Public Relations’ I argue the most powerful voice you have no one can hear. It is the voice in your head. This voice is not a sign of delusional behaviour. We all have it.

It is the voice that drives what you do- and more importantly what you don’t do – and will determine and shape your future success in life. Your intra-personal skills, driven by your ears, are the foundations for your inter-personal skills.

Your ‘innovation ear’ – gives you the ability to listen to your world and yourself – to generate new ideas, ways of doing, and spot opportunities around them.

The image of a lonely creative, sitting in their cave or ivory tower waiting for insight and inspiration to happen is a myth.

The outstanding innovator and creative is very much drawing upon the world around them, picking up bits of ideas, or even whole concepts, and applying them in new context and situations.

The outstanding innovator and creative is also picking up on the voice in their head, the voice that might be saying conform with the others, give in, don’t push the boundaries any further.

Rather than meekly submitting, the outstanding innovator and creative harnesses flexible thinking, enters into a dialogue, challenges, reframes, redefines the voice to support their different way of doing.

Here are five tips for managing your ‘Innovation Ear’:

1. Practice active listening ; have the underpinning belief that there are opportunities within 12ft of you, and you can spot them by exercising your sagacity.
2. Be an unlimited listener. Recognise the validity of other sources of information Respect any part of the noise of your environment as potential sources of inspiration and new ideas. Put yourself in new, different environments and situations to extend the reach of your listening.
3. Reign in your ego, counter your self-talk, and be prepared to change your worldview, point of view, opinion and knowledge from any new data you are encountering.
4. Re-affirm your listening – and again bring your self-talk to attention, by equipping yourself with a belief when embracing a new encounter: “There must be some new insight, experience, lesson to be gained from this.

Ironically, even though I might be ranked as an innovation expert my own ears sometimes require a hearing aid to boost their performance as receptors of auditory sounds.

In the same way as using a hearing aid, by using these five key guiding principles I keep my innovation ears sharp and alert. 

Now there must be something I can learn from this article.  Can I harness and incorporate anything from this in what I do. Even if I disagree with the author, or have in the past there is something I can take away from this. There must be some new insight, experience, lesson to be gained from this.

Are you… listening?

I will be talking on ‘Essential Skills in Innovation & Creativity for Management’ – the seven things you and your business need to do differently to kick-start the bi-monthlly series of lunchtime events focussing on different areas of business expertise.

The masterclasses will feature a leading expert, accompanied by the opportunity for 1:1 mini consultations, networking – as well as a free lunch.

Due to international commitments, this is the first opportunity for two years that I have had the opportunity to talk to local businesses in Wakefield, where I aim to pass on tips on how businesses can be more innovative and find new ways of surviving and thriving in these difficult times.

Andy is also a partner with award-winning digital PR and marketing agency GREEN Communications and a director of the Wakefield Media Centre.

‘Essential Skills in Innovation & Creativity for Management’ will provide local business managers and executives with valuable tips and insights on how to transform their innovation and creative idea generating skills, opportunity spotting and the ability to make their ideas spread. All delivered in my trademark style of wit, engagement and insight.

Issues addressed will include does your business need to do things differently? Is it looking for new ideas, services, products or markets? Does it need to reduce costs, improve profits and somehow also improve customer service?

The session will cover how you can improve your own innovation skills, how to nurture the creative talents of your colleagues, cleaners and chairmen, along with quick, easy-to-methods to trigger outstanding new ideas.

The  Masterclass also offers 1:1 mini consultations to address any individual business challenges or problems.

“The old adage that there’s no such thing as a free lunch is being proved wrong by the Wakefield College Masterclass series with food for thought, inspiration and practical advice to help any manager improve their performance during 2012.” said Anne Cox ,Development and Partnership Advisor atWakefieldCollege

Admission is by ticket only which are free. Places are limited and can be booked at

http://www.wakefield.ac.uk/Events/Essential-Skills-in-Management/

Looking ahead Anne Cox said: “Make it a successful year for your business. You cannot succeed by keep doing the same things. The Masterclass series will equip you and your business with the effective skills, to survive and thrive.”

Today is ‘Blue Monday – symbolically the most depressing day of the year.

What is depressing is the failure by some to recognise that Blue Monday is just symbolically the most depressing day of the year.

Yes, it was triggered into action by a PR story with a formula devised by psychologist Cliff Arnall.

Yet, I would suggest the survival of the Blue Monday meme – it comes round every year with the minimum of promotion is indicative of an underlying – as yet discovered or documented by data – truth , that modern-day life does have its dip in feeling positive at the back end of January.

Check out www.beatbluemonday.org.uk (which is a completely non-commercial site run by me) for more on this idea.

On a positive, constructive note why not use this opportunity to promote interest and discussion in subjects which usually struggle to get media space – depression, mental health and well-being.

I’m both celebrating Blue Monday and using it for social good. Wish others would do similar.

Beautiful Barry Island sunset

He’s a Brazilian drummer from Yorkshire.

He is now leading a nationwide campaign to encourage everyone to use everyday office items to create their own office samba bands to help beat the Blue Monday blues on ‘the most depressing day of the year’ on Monday January 16^th.

Claudio has produced a special video showing how to transform everyday office items from staplers, paper clips and waste bins into samba-sound creating rhythms at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngviv_37vzY .

According to Batley-based percussionist everyone has a natural rhythm and by using ordinary items, such as staplers to create a cha-cha-cha rhythm, paperclips to produce a shaking sound, and waste bins for bongos, the downbeat workplace can be transformed into a fun carnival atmosphere.

By creating a common rhythm Claudio believes the resulting upbeat sounds works as a drum therapy to help bring people together and take their minds off depressing thoughts 

A special campaign web site, www.beatbluemonday.org.uk is offering practical advice to tackle the effects of Blue Monday, the symbolic date for the low point in the year, along with a special  ‘5 stage Binge Happiness Work-Out’ programme to help people to make themselves happier.

Campaigners are aiming to reduce stigma associated with depression by talking about it and using the day as a springboard to improve quality of life by promoting and encouraging more happiness.

Blue Monday has evolved from an idea originally conceived by Cliff Arnall, formerly of Cardiff University, who created a mathematical formula to identify a number of the elements contributing to a general feeling of mid winter blues.

Commenting on his efforts to encourage everyone to create their own workplace carnival Claudio said: “I believe that if your heart beats you can play the drums. The Carnival has proved time and time again to be the greatest event for making people happy – by using both drumming and carnival we can help everyone triumph on Blue Monday.”

Claudio kron do Brazilis a percussionist, songwriter, dancer and poet from Bahiain, Brazil who came to theUK in 1996. He now performs and runs percussion workshops all over the world and works with community groups and businesses to spread his philosophy of the power of percussion to create harmony, happiness and health.

His flowing dreadlocks and ability to engage audiences into the world of drumming have become his trademarks.

Further details about how to overcome ‘Blue Monday’ and how you can do your bit to help charity can be found at the website: www.beatbluemonday.org.uk. The public is also being urged to submit their own creative ideas for beating the January blues to the site.

 Thank you Claudio

Here’s a great example from the Edinburgh Evening News on getting extensive coverage – linking the forthcoming Blue Monday with the issue of seasonal depression and the work of the Samaritans.

The reason why it is a great opportunity is that we are faced with a meme – a self-replicating idea where astute communicators can harness and ride to promote their particular story.

Blue Monday has entered the infosphere as the symbolic ‘most depressing day’. It is there whether you like it or not.

It provides an opportunity where the media can either come to you, or be more receptive to re-visiting your on-going story as it has a topicality with the arrival of the meme. (Imagine it is a bit like Haley’s Comet, arriving on the scene, generating immediate interest in what it is, represents and how it engages with people.)

Rule #1 for any Press Office should be to respond quickly and effectively to any media enquiries from journalists. 

Rule #2 for any Press Office should be identify any topicality – events, anniversaries and memes – which you can peg your story onto to gain coverage, interest and engagement.

So, if you work in promoting better understanding of mental health issues get cracking – Blue Monday is only five days away!