Introductions

[Robert Alan Black]

I'll go first. I'm based in Chicago and have evolved from a Shakespearean actor to a producer to an arts advocate and political organizer to an Internet marketer to a executive education consultant to a community organizer and educator. My "elevator pitch" is "I am a consultant, producer, educator and trainer who can help individuals, companies and communities leverage and amplify their creative assets in order to solve problems, create economic value and trigger civic engagement."
You can check out my work at www.tresser.com. You can read my manifesto in the attached PDF file.

[Richard Geer]

I moved to the Denver area a couple of years ago from Chicago, where I knew Tom. My business partner, Jules Corriere, and I are asked by communities to create performances out of the stories of their people and their place as a means of empowerment and community development. Our company, Community Performance, Inc. (CPI), works mainly in the Southeast. A good selection of our blogs can be found at http://www.communityarts.net/, right side of the page "CPI Blog."

[Petr Kadlec]

Tom,
I was eager to read your manifesto, to learn more about the creator of the social network I had just joined.
But it was embarassing to read your words suggesting that creativity is a unique and specific feature of America and Americans only. In our globalized world I wonder whether it is even possible to believe, that one country citizens are so much different in one specific feature. Does America have so much extra, which has not been brought in by millions of Latonoamericans, Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Jews, Europeans and many more in the relatively very short (not speaking for the history of native Americans in this moment) history of the country. It is amusing to read credits of the best Hollywood movies and just notice how many names are Italian, Spanish, Jewish, French or even Czech - still so easily distinguishable).
I was working for US companies for more than 15 years, travelling US frequently from coast to coast and appreciating immensely what American citizens had done in the past two centuries. But returning back to Europe was always a great pleasure for me, exciting to feel again the intellectual power, social development, creativity (yes, Tom, that's it!) and experience of thousands years of the dinstinctive culture.
This is not to say that you should not be proud of America and American citizens, but it is to say "look around, Tom, there's much more than solely America in the (creative) world and we are happy now to be able to share it easily across the cultures and continents"!

All the best,

Petr Kadlec, Prague, Europe

[kristy pennino]

i'm a graphic design educator in orlando, florida. fundamentals of creative thinking is just one of the many courses i teach. please allow me to brag by sharing some of my students creative accomplishments with you all: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vccgraphics/tags/kristypennino/

it's a pleasure to meet you all. :-)

[Robert Alan Black]

Petr Kadlec said:

Tom,
I was eager to read your manifesto, to learn more about the creator of the social network I had just joined.
But it was embarassing to read your words suggesting that creativity is a unique and specific feature of America and Americans only. In our globalized world I wonder whether it is even possible to believe, that one country citizens are so much different in one specific feature. Does America have so much extra, which has not been brought in by millions of Latonoamericans, Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Jews, Europeans and many more in the relatively very short (not speaking for the history of native Americans in this moment) history of the country. It is amusing to read credits of the best Hollywood movies and just notice how many names are Italian, Spanish, Jewish, French or even Czech - still so easily distinguishable).
I was working for US companies for more than 15 years, travelling US frequently from coast to coast and appreciating immensely what American citizens had done in the past two centuries. But returning back to Europe was always a great pleasure for me, exciting to feel again the intellectual power, social development, creativity (yes, Tom, that's it!) and experience of thousands years of the dinstinctive culture.
This is not to say that you should not be proud of America and American citizens, but it is to say "look around, Tom, there's much more than solely America in the (creative) world and we are happy now to be able to share it easily across the cultures and continents"!

All the best,

Petr Kadlec, Prague, Europe

No - I think you misunderstand my enthusiasm. I do claim that the birth of America was a profoundly daring act of creativity. We were the first country to be invented - designed, if you will. An excellent book, "To Begin the World Anew - The Genius and Ambiguities of the America Founders," by Bernard Bailyn, looks at the conditions that helped contribute to that creative birthing. I also claim that the opportunity to re-invent one self - the pursuit of opportunity - is a key feature of the American character. That's why 38,000,000 not born here are in the U.S.A. right now - so people are voting with their feet - as my own grandparents did - every year to come here and start over. I'm not saying America has cornered the market on creativity. Far from it - I believe our creative heritage is at risk and must be defended and
nourished. So other countries can foster great creativity and innovation. Absolutely. But I'm looking backward to our creative heritage in order to ask America's creative professionals to stand up for creativity. So I think creativity is an American value - but I also think it can be a global value, and in no way exclusive to America.

[ChaRene]

I own my own graphic design advertising agency in Cleveland Ohio and have been in business for 23 years. I love what I do and enjoy creating exciting and innovative marketing campaigns for my clients. Check out my web site at www.ChaRene.net to see my portfolio. I am in the process of updating my site to include samples of web design, an about us section and a blog. The blog should be linked to my web site by September of 08' so stop by and leave a comment! My first blog entry talks about branding and how our company story really does set the stage for our corporate identity and brand image. Most people just don't understand how important their story is in developing their corporate brand image!

[Robert "Alan" Black]

I store things in Athens, Georgia and base myself wherever I happen to be at the moment. Since becoming aware of the writings and work of Paul Torrance, Bob Eberle then through CPSI the work of hundreds of others I have become a "wanderer" who strives to help S.P.R.E.A.D. creative thinking throughout entire workplaces wherever, whenever, however I can while having fun meeting people: previously unknown, new and old friends alike; traveling around the world virtually and physically. My "elevator pitch" is "I am a workplace consultant who strives to help leaders and managers develop CRE8NG COMMUNITIES throughout their ENTIRE WORKPLACES from the front and back doors to the top floor!" The primary goal is to help people rejuvenate and further develop their creativity through learnable and applicable tools and traits. Please visit my website....http://www.cre8ng.com

[Andy Beckett]

I'm a Physicist by background, from the UK. I focus on Creativity and Innovation within the Science and Technology sectors, mainly working with SME's helping them to become more creative and benefit from Innovation.

As a firm believer in Alan SPREADing the benefits of creativity around the world, and as such I maintain a wiki that contains a list of as many creativity techniques as I can at http://www.mycoted.com ( or http://www.mycoted.com/Category:Creativity_Techniques if you want to go strait to the techniques page).

[Chris Barlow]

As second generation in this area of deliberate creativity, I literally learned to read on the handouts from creativity and value engineering courses. This early training certainly did NOT help my GPA ;-) (Of course it is also fun to see people in this field pitching as their invention tools and techniques I saw in the fifties.)

Although I have led almost every kind of creativity technique or lesson to groups at all levels of education around the world, my consulting focus with my partner Janet Finley at The Co-Creativity Institute is on leading large fast efforts on complex, conflicted, and complicated opportunities, whether designing a product, redesigning a manufacturing facility, helping develop business strategies, or building organizational cultures. As a college professor and "Director of Experiential Learning" for the business school at the University of Illinois - Chicago, I not only teach team leadership and creativity in my classes on entrepreneurship and business strategy, but work to upgrade the team creativity skills of MBA and business students in other project courses.

Each of my degrees had a strong focus on creativity, and my academic research focuses on cross-functional team creativity. My strongest interest is in developing theories of creativity and innovation which better describe the dynamics of complex multicultural organizations and systems dealing with real world issues and opportunities, not only for better research but for more effective teaching and leadership of deliberate creativity.

Dr. Chris Barlow
[e-mail]
http://www.cocreativity.com

[Robert "Alan" Black]

Chris

I remember you telling about coming to CPSI as a teenager but I didn't know you learned to read, by reading your dad's handouts from innovation and values engineering handouts.

I involved Jessica, who came to CPSI first time at age 8 and then again at 22, in all my research at UGA under E. Paul Torrance until she finally said....'ENOUGH, ENOUGH WITH THE CREATIVITY". She rebelled in her teens against Merry and I be striving to be 'NORMAL' not like her 'WEIRD PARENTS'.

[Chris Barlow]

We actually had a flip chart at the dining room table and used it to brainstorm and plan lots of things including Christmas presents, parties, vacations, etc. Is that child abuse? ;-)

Alan (Robert Alan Black, Ph.D., CSP) said:

Chris

I remember you telling about coming to CPSI as a teenager but I didn't know you learned to read, by reading your dad's handouts from innovation and values engineering handouts.

I involved Jessica, who came to CPSI first time at age 8 and then again at 22, in all my research at UGA under E. Paul Torrance until she finally said....'ENOUGH, ENOUGH WITH THE CREATIVITY". She rebelled in her teens against Merry and I be striving to be 'NORMAL' not like her 'WEIRD PARENTS'.

[Robert "Alan" Black]

Chris

We use to use lots of things from CPSI around our house, at least between Merry and I.

The year she was ill we did use my flipchart and lots of pads of papers often.

That year I had a real learning...."some times the answer is no!"

[Cathy]

I am based in New Zealand, in the Auckland region and out west in Waitakere City. For a great many years I have been involved as a mixed media artist specialising in textiles and yarns. Some years ago I 'found' the Creativity email list when I was looking at an American website about 'pipes' (no not drain pipes!) and saw a link.....

But now currently 08 I am studying for a BA @ The University of Auckland http://www.auckland.ac.nz/ majoring in Asian Studies (not the languages) and minoring in Art History. At the end of this year if I pass my 3 current papers I will be at the half way mark.

As a mature student, who has never been anywhere near such an institution through my life time....it has been an interesting (ad)venture! Somewhere I think it was last year I discovered I actually had a brain that worked and I 'pass' muster.

Current papers: Art History - Neo-Gothic to Art Nouveau; History - Late Imperial China; Comparative Literature - When East meets West. These last 2 are x-credit with Asian major.

I think that will do for now.....