More Mental Oomph though Others!

Just go down diagonally... and see that without questions, targets, expectations, multiple resources and reflection, you would have stagnation,  Jared said. Stagnation's totally opposite of growth in Mita's Growth chart. Though Ellen Weber and I developed and used the Mita Growth chart extensively, we never saw what Jared saw twelve years later, just by tracing your finger through Mita's five missing steps.  And, stagnation is totally opposite of the growth you want, Jared smiled knowingly. It looked so very simple once Jared pointed it out. Why did we miss it?  Perhaps we were just too close to it...

People are more creative for others than for themselves, according to researchers Evan Polman and Kyle Emich.  The working principle is called  construal-level theory, which simply means we tend to think in more abstract terms about far-away problems (or problems belonging to people not as close to us) — and thinking in the abstract generates more creative solutions, Polman and Emich conclude.

Boost your business skill as a negotiator, manager, product designer, marketer or advertiser by:

1. Asking someone, in a coffee shop or anywhere else you might be in a line, for a solution.  
2. Naming your problem to a networked cloud online, you would have access to many remote people who will likely share a solution quite quickly.
3. Imagining you will solve the problem for someone else or coming up with words of advice for another professional in your circumstances. 

See what you get for answers.  And, while you're at it, let someone else do it for you!

After all, Jared had a very keen insight about Mita's Growth chart, and it was the first time he saw it.

Thoughts?

Six Tips to Boost Problem Solving Brainpower

What does it take for a top notch problem solver? A good guess...  When a barrier stands in the way of finalizing a project, a hunch can lead us to creative solutions.  Why?  The brain's remarkable flexibilty helps us look at context as we consider possible answers. 

Some people solve problems frequently so they've built in their brain many neuron pathways for this process.  Problem solving's a skill that can be learned.  These six tips boost the process...

Accuracy is key Define the problem. Relationships and facts are the nuts and bolts of problem solving. Good problem solvers are often compulsive about making sure they have all the facts and take time to do so. For instance, cutting edge scientists create models when working on novel product solutions. On the other hand, poor problem solvers often miss a piece.

Einstein once said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.

Remain open to possibilities Staying open-minded to see how an option might work, is key. On the other hand, if statements like, it can't work, won't happen or takes too much, come to mind or are shared by team members, it stifles the creative process. Remain focused on likely options to find what does work.

Hook what you know to mental pictures When faced with a new situation, people frequently search for relationships. Often there are several parts so it works to break the problem down into chunks. Seeing the problem through a different lens can be helpful, such as doodling, graphing it, creating a diagram. Creating a mental picture works well.

Daydream Daydreaming allows our minds to wander as our brain puts together a solution. Possibilities pop into your mind as you walk, listen to music, or even work at a routine task.

Ask others for ideas Frequently technology requires us to problem solve at the MITA International Brain Center.  Dr. Ellen Weber and I needed to participate in video conferencing last week.  There were several issues involved to make everything work.  I was able to test several technical solutions I tried in past to solve similar problems, but one stumped us.  Finally, Ellen phoned a young MBA doctoral candidate, who is talented technologically, for the final solution. 

Sleep on it During sleep the brain continues to work on problems. If you wakened with an aha in past you know how effectively it works.

If you want to build top notch problem solving acumen, just do it.   Develop solutions yourself before asking others.  You will build more dedrite brain cells each time you solve an issue.  What additional tips might you add for creative problem solving?

"Can-Do" Default to Kickstart Brainpower

Is "can do" your default when it comes to tackling a challenge that takes ingenuity, risk, and learning through mistakes? "Thinking "can do" as a default should be a no-brainer," Valeria Maltoni explains, as it relates to achieving A-Player status in social media. Her savvy tips work career-wise, too...

Paradoxically, to achieve A-player status is also a "brainer." You'll kickstart brainpower into high gear to accomplish what eludes many...

1. Keep a target in the forefront of your thoughts The more you focus on a goal, the more your brain picks up on that and brings insights to accomplish it... even while you "sleep on it."

2. Remember it's in your mind, it's not in the mind of others You're the one to follow through on ideas. Others won't do it for you. We learn through trial and error, especially when we make mistakes. "Results? Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results," Thomas Edison said concerning his quest to create the light bulb. "I know several thousand things that won't work." He had to keep at it when others scoffed.

3. Maintain a "can do" outlook When you think you "can do," you can deal with whatever comes your way. Remaining positive can be challenging in the face of cynics, naysayers and hitting a stone wall. But, you "can do."

4. Be situational in your approach Your brain leaps to the creativity of transferring a strategy from one context to another. Though solutions often elude you initially, you may experience moments of clarity when the answer to a vexing problem appears with a sudden insight as you see the connections fall into place.

An A-player perhaps needs even more of a "can do" default to kickstart brainpower to accomplish what others envy.

Ready to fire your brainpower?

Adversity and Me

Though I feel good about coming through to the end of an adverse experience, if you're like me, you do not desire to linger long on these times and places. Adversity is life's schooling. Adversity shaped me.

Seven adverse experiences:

1. Failed the Plane Geometry Regents, a New York State high stakes exam. I was a fairly good student and could hold my own in school, but math concepts were hard to grasp. My teacher spoke with the most monotonous voice I've ever listened to. My attention span was zilch. No doubt I zoned out. Though I read the text carefully, I just didn't get the logical proofs for the theorems. My teacher was very patient. She tutored me after school at least two nights a week for the whole spring semester. In addition, my mom sent me to a neighbor for assistance. He had been a Station Master for the Erie Railroad. Odd credentials to teach me geometry. One day, as I sat in his dining room and he gave explanation, I had an "aha" moment. I cannot put my finger on why his help did the trick, but it did. Lesson: Keep at a problem until you figure it out. Take advantage of help offered by others. Don't give up on yourself.

2. Early teaching experiences - difficult. At 22, I did not catch on to why students did not love literature and ideas as I did. After all, these literary treasures provided life lessons. But I soon came to realize that students thought of much of the classics as musty and stuffy. Just because you read something and understand a concept in college courses, does not mean you can translate that to the everyday world in effective ways. Then one evening, when chaperoning a group of students on a bus trip, I had an "aha" as I heard one student playfully converting his ideas to the rhythms of the poem "'Twas the night before Christmas." I wondered how he might be convinced to convert Julius Caesar to a modern inner city landscape. Don't tell anybody this, but I bargained with him to write that play in the place of his term paper. I told him it would be fun for our 11th grade classes to present his play to the whole school. Farfetched? Not at all. Lesson: I built on my learners' strengths and abilities. A focus on students' gifts and talents changed the learning experience for me and them. This paved the way for me to be open to MITA work with Dr. Ellen Weber. Assisting learners to build on their gifts and talents... to move concepts to real life is a brain-based approach.

3. In my 20's a horrible flu hit my body and landed right in my heart lining . Every fourth beat thumped and lifted my chest in a scary way. Devoid of strength, I could hardly get up from bed. The doctor sent me straight to hospital where I was put on complete bedrest with a monitor on my heart. I was there for a whole month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Times when we are set aside, give us pause to reflect on what life's truly about. I thanked God often for life and the people, who brought blessing to my life. Scared, yes... but, a realization began to capture my thoughts... I really wanted to have a child. During days in that bed, not able to move, I asked God if He would be willing to bring a child to my life. If not, I would accept that, too. Strange that I focused on having a child more than asking for healing, but that was my focus. I was released from hospital, day before Christmas, though weak. Amazingly, a couple of months following this I learned I was pregnant. A blessing of the Lord. Lesson: Take time to meditate on God and what is important to your whole life.

4. My husband and I were turned down on a home purchase offer after waiting 30 days for owners to sign. After scouring our area for a home when Carl completed college, we settled on an older cobblestone house which opened a wonderful view of Silver Lake since it was on a slight rise. The refusal delayed our quest to find a country home. So it was almost the end of summer before Carl began his teaching career. We had no home. We lived with his parents. Then I said, "Remember that old inn that needs work? I think we could fix it up because the purchase price is low. He agreed and we bought it. We gutted it. We ran new water pipes, had two bathrooms, a new furnace installed. By October we moved in. First choices aren't always the best overall. Lesson: Fashion what you have at hand into what you want. Later, we purchased the rest of the acreage that went with this century farm. Owning this land was our dream.

5. Shyness and lack of confidence held me back. I can remember mother saying my father was a shy person. Just hearing her say that, plus my genetic make-up, helped contribute to a pattern of painful shyness and lack of confidence. Here's one incident... In second grade I was too shy to ask the teacher what I had to make up after a week sick with strep throat. So I turned around and asked the girl behind me. The teacher caught me talking. She came, grabbed my arm, went to her closet, took out a paddle and whacked me in front of the whole class. I was so scared and mortified that I wet my pants.

Even more recently, when I had my interview to enter the PhD program, I lacked confidence. The interviewer did not recommend me. However, another professor in the department interviewed me and saw a raw gem in a rough stone. She approved my acceptance. I had passion for the goal I strived to accomplish. Nothing could hold me back... not even lack of confidence.

When forced to take a required course from the first interviewer, I balked. Ellen Weber gave me a plan to turn this around. She said I should smile, greet him cordially, and strike up a conversation every time I saw him. She also gave me strategies to ask good questions based on readings, which I could apply to seminar discussions. She advised me to take the risk to share my ideas boldly or I would not make it in the program. A great desire filled my heart to finish the program so I could be an asset to the MITA work. The more I acted opposite to feelings, changes evolved. Lesson: Step out and take risks. Act opposite to feelings. By doing so, you build confidence step-by-step.

6. "You need an extra course", my advisor said... just before the end of my PhD program. You learn to "eat rocks." One more course meant I had to pay out-of-pocket tuition with no work-study to defray expenses. To make the best of the setback, I elected to take a course in technology. I still reap the benefits. Without the course I'd lack technological savvy needed in many work settings. Lesson: Change setbacks to advantages. Avoid dwelling on what goes wrong, but take advantage in ways that benefit.

7. Hit black ice and totaled car when it hit a tree. As I waited in a an ice cold car, crippled on its side, windows smashed and branches poking through, I wondered if help would ever arrive. My first reaction... I am alive... God spared me for something important. I waited and waited and yelled, "help." No one heard. I prayed that someone would see the car and phone the rescue squad. This crash helped me see what I most valued.

Joining MITA was a way to help others use their gifts and talents. So I took a risky financial leap to quit my job and help launch a vision Ellen Weber began to develop 15 years prior. The Lord helped open my eyes. Soon after my mother died. Her inheritance helped tide me over to keep my feet on the ground for a bit. Lesson: Life is more than money - it is fulfilling a purpose to help others develop their unique gifts. Incidentally, no black ice had formed there in previous years I drove this road to work. "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform."

Challenges: Puzzles, challenges and problems activate the human brain, which leaps to solve them. Writing this blog was major because I am a private person and don't like to reveal what was hard. Wasn't sure I could do it, but kept seven in mind as I listened to Mozart. The stretch to complete it flowed as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Optimal Experience. Joanna Young contends that your mind keeps flowing until you meet the number challenge. Try either Robert's or Janice's writing challenge listed just below and see what happens. One benefit - the writing sharpens creativity and problem solving skills for work.

Robert Hruzek's What I Learned from... Adversity topic is his April group writing challenge. If you want to participate the deadline is tomorrow, April 12. The rules are listed on his site.

You'll note I've included seven things listed that you probably did not know about me. Janice, author of Sharing the Journey, just launched this new blog. I'd like to tag the following friends to join the meme and give Janice a link, too. Best part is you can use your creativity to shape your writing in unique and creative way. You're at the helm.

Alina Popescue at Words of a Broken Mirror

Brad Shorr at Word Sell

Jeanne Dininni at Writers Notes

Joanna Young at Confident Writing

Karen Swim at Words for Hire

Lisa Gates at Craving Balance

Paul, Cam and John at Chaos Scenario

Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

Up to the challenge?

Take Problem to Possibility

What if leaders in today's workplaces found creative ways to tap into talent when problems arise? Most dance choreographers would tell a pregnant dancer to take a leave, but not Garth Fagan. Garth retained dancer, Nicolette Depass, though six months pregnant, and featured her in "Phone Tag," to break old paradigms. Along with Norwood Pennewell, who's danced for a startling 30 years, Nicolette "danced vigorously and beautifully as ever" to premier this dance at Joyce Theater in New York on election night and again in the Rochester, NY premier.



"The special radiance of a pregnant dancer of Nicolette's quality," Garth muses, "brings new shape and dimension to dance steps old and new and celebrates my and the company's joy at the union of her and husband Bill Ferguson's superb gene pools."

The dance language of Garth Fagan draws on many sources: torso centered-movement, weight sense of modern dance, Afro-Caribbean energy, precision and speed of ballet and rule breaking precision of post-moderns.

Garth primes his working memory, plus digs from past experiences in his basal ganglia for creative approaches that lead to new possibilities.

How have you recently used a personal capability to develop a unique creation where you work?

Your Brain on Jazz

When jazz musicians improvise, their brains turn on those areas that let self-expression flow, and turn off areas linked to self-censoring and inhibition. In fact, spinning off an improvised melody's like entering another world. And, a few people experience this phenomenon at work... Perhaps you're jazzed on the job...

Do you problem solve on the fly or keep retuning to areas of high interest that bring lots of excitement? Serial entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki's, a great improviser according to David Armano. Businesses like Apple would not thrive without employees like Guy who are able to tap into deep creativity and self expression... Armano claims we are in an age of improvisation. Would you agree?

We're learning much more about composing in the moment during performance ... Dr. Charles J. Limb, himself a jazz saxophonist, describes this phenomenon...

“When jazz musicians improvise, they often play with eyes closed in a distinctive, personal style that transcends traditional rules of melody and rhythm,” Limb says. “It’s a remarkable frame of mind,” he adds, “during which, all of a sudden, the musician is generating music that has never been heard, thought, practiced or played before. What comes out is completely spontaneous.”

Limb was intrigued by what parts of the brain are activated during improvisation as the music's composed. Here're his findings...

The scientists found that a region of the brain known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a broad portion of the front of the brain that extends to the sides, showed a slowdown in activity during improvisation. This area has been linked to planned actions and self-censoring, such as carefully deciding what words you might say at a job interview. Shutting down this area could lead to lowered inhibitions, Limb suggests.

The researchers also saw increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which sits in the center of the brain’s frontal lobe. This area has been linked with self-expression and activities that convey individuality, such as telling a story about yourself.

And, the implications relate to Kawasaki, Armano, you and I as we invent and problem solve on the job...

“Jazz is often described as being an extremely individualistic art form. You can figure out which jazz musician is playing because one person’s improvisation sounds only like him or her,” says Limb. “What we think is happening is when you’re telling your own musical story, you’re shutting down impulses that might impede the flow of novel ideas.”

Limb notes that people are continually improvising words in conversations and improvising solutions to problems on the spot. “Without this type of creativity," he exclaims, "humans wouldn’t have advanced as a species. It’s an integral part of who we are.”

Is your work richly rewarding because you create new melodies on the fly?

Pictured above is Oscar Peterson, one of Canada's foremost jazz pianists.

Are You Up for Intellectual Challenges?

How would you answer the following question that appeared on a recent university application essay? Describe a picture and explore what it wants. First, please realize that your answer determines your entrance to a very prestigious university -- the University of Chicago. Does this differ from what was required when you entered university? Intellectual questions help separate applicants who can thrive in a very demanding academic environment. Here's why...

The question requires an applicant to problem solve, make sound choices, fill in perceived gaps, and include both experience and research to creatively and logically convince UC Admissions personnel that he is on target. Not a small task and much different than memorizing facts from books and organizing these into an essay. Here's why...

Interestingly, our human brain thrives on solving puzzles and challenges. "...people learn to make subtle perceptual judgements with practice because the brain becomes more efficient in extracting the relevant information for the task," according to University of Toronto researchers.

And, you might be surprised that the brain helps us see and interact with objects by filling in missing information. Here's how... Because most of what you and I see is frequently obstructed by other objects, or our eyes focus on certain aspects of a picture or painting, visual information received by the brain is often incomplete.

"If you didn't have the brain filling in all of this missing information, every time you looked at an object from a slightly different view, it would be a different object and that would be very confusing and difficult to cope with," says Patrick Bennett, associate professor of psychology at U of T. "This filling in gives some consistency and continuity to the world." Perhaps you're beginning to see the ingenuity of the question posed at UC....

The more you and I learn to find solutions to problems or to create and design, the more our brains wire new dendrites for the many nuances involved in these tasks. When new and subtle variations appear, we can make informed decisions based on what we know and our lived experience. Do you see how these skills might separate best candidates to hire as college students enter business and other professions?

Top organizations scout for new hires who can innovate, invent and creatively approach top management roles. Fact is, many of today's university students are preparing for jobs that do not currently exist, but will in future. So it stands to reason colleges scout for students who can meet intellectual challenges. How about you... up for new challenges where you work?

Why take on intellectual challenges? Perhaps it’s better to ask… why not?

Nature Stirs Insights and Connections

Our natural world can help us reframe information and ideas that bombard us at work or in learning circles. Folks gifted with strength in naturalistic intelligence easily sense patterns and make connection to elements in nature.

They're keenly aware of their surroundings and changes in their environment, even when the shifts are very subtle. People with nature smarts often possess highly developed sensory perception. They think in terms of similarities, differences and changes in surroundings. So how can naturalistic intelligence benefit you in a practical sense?

Using the natural world helps grab our attention in novel ways. Since our brain's stimulated by novelty, puzzles and challenges, the natural world can serve as an amazing stimulus...

Here's how... "When you pay attention," a Northwestern University study finds, "neurons produce stronger brain activity, as if the stimulus itself was stronger. That would mean that paying attention might make something appear more intense, and possibly distort its actual appearance." Attention to nature can facilitate your brain to work with unique results...

In many ways the natural world helps people sustain attention and process ideas and information more effectively, making the world come into sharper focus. So how might you make the most of your own naturalistic intelligence?

Walk outside with a problem you want to solve. Just observe everything around you as you walk. You literally invite nature to be your partner in problem solving. Before you know it, good ideas come to mind. While you take in the natural world your brain works on the problem you presented. Changing your environment makes all the difference in seeing new solutions.

Choose a metaphor from nature to represent a larger concept. Natural metaphors speak in ways that words often cannot. Suppose you are thinking of the environment in a building... What would you choose? A hornet, a squirrel, an ant colony, a mature oak tree... Then you help others to make links more powerfully than with words. You might find this a logical way to frame larger ideas. In essence, "It's almost like a conductor stepping in," Marcia Grabowecky imagines, "to control a large set of unruly musicians in an orchestra so that they all play together. Cells synchronize precisely to the conductor's cues."

Start a natural collection Once you perceive the infinite variety in natural collections, such as rocks, insects, you'll transfer keen skills for subtle similarities and differences to other contexts. Do you see some parallels between your collection and your next advertizing campaign? Do you see any other possibilities here?

Why not sleep on it... let your brain work out connections and links to nature as you spend more time in the natural world.

Try a nature break to focus more on the natural world today... and, let us know how it moves your thoughts and ideas!

Mike Wager Comments on Ways to Relieve "Braincramp"

Mike Wagner of White Rabbit Group says he "fishes with a net" to generate solutions and "loosen up cramped brains." Thanks for such brilliant reflection on the questions I posed, Mike, and I know my readers will benefit from your thoughtful wisdom as you explain this metaphor in depth...

Many of my business clients suffer from what could be called a "braincramp".

A physical cramp keeps us from moving at full speed and takes us out of the game.

An organizational braincramp keeps us from advancing as a group toward a successful outcome thus taking us out of marketplace competition.

When a business does not know how to generate lots of ideas around challenges that arise, it is suffering a braincramp.

Most have one or two ideas with which to run and they don't work all that well. They are hobbled and pull up lame.

I tell the clients I serve to "fish with a net" when it comes to generating possible solutions. And then I show them well proven ideation models that help them loosen up their cramped brains.

Better to have lots of fish to choose from when the time comes to fry one up!

Will think on this more but what a provocative metaphor!

Mike your comment brought deep wisdom from your business experience and a metaphor to remind us of a great strategy to uncramp brains in our circles. I appreciate what you shared.

I welcome responses from other readers. Please do check out my question: Ever had a Braincramp?

Challenge Your Brain for Productivity - 5 MITA Steps

"How do you get more productive with your creativity or stay productive and creative?"

My immediate answer's quite simple... Challenge your brain because the brain leaps to the adventure of unraveling puzzles and problems.

When folks mine rich resources of their brain to solve problems they'll be more productive! How so? They use more gifts and talents at work. Why then, doesn't that happen more?

Interestingly, one barrier is bosses or CEO's who see themselves as boosting productivity, while in reality they stifle job satisfaction. Misplaced efforts to improve worker morale tend to lessen productivity according to research at University of Michigan. The secret is to empower peoples' gifts and talents.

Amazingly, MITA strategies worked to increase my personal productivity in ways that changed who I am. Here's a brief overview with links to provide deeper insights for the five MITA steps that jumpstarted my brain and led to productivity in career and more satisfaction in personal life as well...

Question... Ask questions that connect you personnaly to problems. That process guides your brain to solutions or new opportunities. Such questions might begin "What if I..." "How might I change..." "What would happen if I tried..." You get the picture.

Target... Make a plan that initiates solutions or strategies for the outcome you have in sight. I began to work smarter and not harder by using short term benchmarks and jotting them in my weekly calendar so I kept progressing toward the overall target.

Expect... What do you expect anyway? Your expectations must be clear and not foggy or nothing gets done. I wrote down exact descriptions for best end results. Do you seek excellence as I do?

Move... What personal resources contribute to the target you have in mind? Most people automatically dip into one or two intelligences used on the job. Some leaders compartmentalize gifts and talents used at work. For instance they use verbal and logical intelligences to tackle tasks day in and day out, so they miss seeing a project through bodily-kinesthetic or interpersonal lenses. To look at your job differently is often to draw on new talents. When you tap into new intelligences to tackle old projects, watch for rejuvenated results!

Reflect...Reflection leads to growth and change that steps you back to see what's working and what isn't. That leads to adjustment opportunities along the way. Without reflection, each new flight you take traverses the same path and engages the same components. Ellen Weber, who created the MITA model, claims if reflection is left out, stagnation results. How does reflection guide your productivity?

Many folks want research evidence to know that MITA strategies work. Recently, PhD University lecturers in Ireland, began using MITA strategies as they taught and assessed university students in medical settings. Research conducted in 2006 showed that professors using MITA strategies had 5% increase in student motivation and achievement. Similar results hold true in business settings.

Whether blogging, writing articles, having fun with grandchildren, or keynoting to university faculty, I discovered MITA strategies bring productivity in all facets of my life.

Ben Yoskovitz is the originator of The Ultimate Guide to Productivity - What's your secret? He's nearing the 100 posts that he hoped to receive and I hope mine makes the list!

As I read productivity posts on Ben's web site, some of the interesting tips I took note of are:

Best Productivity Tip: Disable Your Inner-Critic by David Wahl

Ultimate guide to productivity: My tip by Julie Fleming-Brown

Choices Are Made Long Before You Decide - Productivity Tips by Jonathan

Ultimate Tip To Reach GTD Nirvana by Andrew Flusche

Productivity Hint? NO! by Annie Boccio

Chris Brown tagged me... I'm tagging

Paintsmh

Appollomemories

Dan316

SNoel

Jsbi in India

Here's Ben's guidelines to enter:

Write a post on your best productivity tips.

1. Challenge yourself by picking your single best productivity tip (although this isn’t a requirement; you can give us more if you want!)

2. Include links to other people that have written posts, or include their tips in your post with proper attribution. And be sure to tag me at Brain Based Biz.

Note: Ben's not asking that you link to everyone in the group writing project meme; pick the ones you want to connect with. You certainly can link to everyone, but it’s not a requirement. Ben likes leaving more decision making power in your hands so this isn’t just a link grab, but you’re thinking about what your audience & community wants to read about.

A link back to Ben's post is appreciated though, to help spread the word!

3. If you use Technorati Tags then tag your post “ultimate guide to productivity”.

4. Tag others in your post to spread the meme. Tag as many people as you like!

5. If you link back to Instigator Blog Ben’ll make sure to include at least 2 links back to you. But this isn’t a requirement, it just helps him keep track of what’s going on. And be sure to tag me at Brain Based Biz.

The question "What guides my productivity" was a fun challenge, Chris. Thanks! Now it will be interesting to see how the folks I've tagged add to Ben's big pot! And, if you'd like this challenge, too, just jump in!

What If You Used More of Your Gifts and Talents at Work?

Ever reached for those elusive, creative ideas at work? When workers tap more of their multiple intelligences for projects, greater problem solving, productivity and innovation result. What's behind this?...

You've likely seen the term multiple intelligences in several posts, and some people may be asking, "What are multiple intelligences and how do they connect to me?

Howard Gardner of Harvard University was the first to distinguish eight different intelligences which can be located in specific regions of the human brain. Gardner listed six specific requirements for an action to be named as an intelligence.

People're fascinated to learn that intelligence can't realistically be measured through IQ tests since they mainly measure our verbal and logical mathematical skills. Recent findings in research have changed the notion of a g-factor for general intelligence. There's so much more to how you are smart...

Through MRI's, Howard Gardner located eight distinct regions in the brain that correspond to each of the eight intelligences. Here's a brief description of ways the eight play out as they might apply to people at work. Where do you see your strengths? ...

Musical...At work you... often use the rhythm of music in the background to enhance your writing or brainstorming,...create new melodies for sales promotions,... choose music that lifts you up emotionally for iPod selections.

Bodily-Kinesthetic You... rely on gestures and facial expressions as much as words to express and receive ideas,... build mock-ups for projects,... incorporate role playing to solve problems,... run for the fun of it

Naturalistic You ... go outside at times to get inspiration from the natural world,... collect and label specimens and are fascinated by their likenesses and differences,... take leadership in green certifcation to improve facility's inside atmosphere,... conserve and revamp present resources as much as possible,... plan a healthy well balanced diet

Interpersonal You... gain most of your ideas through give and take of discussions in meetings, you enjoy the give and take of teamwork and collaboration, your value and respect for others shines through your sales, marketing and customer service.

Intrapersonal You have vision and you live out the steps to achieve it. Ethics and integrity play a big role in decision making. You may be very passionate about your work and you've learned to deal with frustrations and anger in positive ways.

Verbal-Linguistic You're the person called on to draft final copies of white papers and reports because of your skill to use just the right words. You've developed an vocabulary which you use with acumen. You are easy to talk to and your skills as a speaker shine.

Logical-Mathematical You often break processes down to steps so you can explain these to others. You're very organized since you keep a daily calendar and checklists. You like thinking about probability related to marketing and sales. Plus, you enjoy Soduku puzzles during your break.

Spatial At meetings as people speak and you listen. you doodle the essence of their ideas to remember them later. As you brainstorm, you often sketch pictures. You select icons to represent ideas in reports. The CEO often asks you to develop Media presentations for the firm.

Do you see your strengths in several of these or mainly one or two? For more depth take this Multiple Intelligences Survey for a quick overall picture. If there're intelligences that you'd like to strengthen, good news is that you can rewire your brain just by doing more activities in that intelligence on a regular basis. Intelligences are dynamic and you can grow strengths in any - at any age.

Why not take a few risks and move out of your routine approaches and tap into some new intelligences as you approach tasks? One way to start is by asking a two-footed question. No doubt you'll discover fresh vitality that takes projects over the top. The bonus... you'll enjoy work more, too! Come back and let me know...