Teasing the brain of the business

Tag : Hand Tool Bits

The Think Box (of brushed aluminum about 18 by 14 by 8 inches, or45 by 35 by 20 centimeters) is the latest gimmick in Crowne Plaza'sThink Tank campaign to stimulate business guests with tools andtips from "innovators and visionary thinkers." Boxes will bedistributed in hotels across Europe and the Middle East.
Think Boxes contain three items designed to overcome three keyhurdles that von Oech claims beset meetings. They are: loss offocus, lack of creativity and not achieving meeting goals.
The Inspire Boards use brain teasers to help get people focused atthe start of meetings and stimulate creative energy.
The Ball of Whacks, a rhombic triacontahedron puzzle made up of 30detachable magnetic blocks, is described as a tactile tool torelease nervous energy, prevent distraction and reinvigoratecreativity.
"The Ball can be taken apart and manipulated into a lot ofdifferent shapes," von Oech says. "Using your hands and eyestogether stimulates the brain." (Squeezing the ball in your handand showering your neighbors with magnetic shards is certainly agreat way to break the ice.)
The Think Cards contain 32 of von Oech's strategies for creativethinking and to get a new perspective on an issue. One card says,"Avoid arrogance"; others say, "Laugh at it"; "Drop an assumption";"Slay a sacred cow."
"Picking cards at random can get you off thinking in otherdirections," von Oech says. What you might call, thinking outsidethe box.
The Think Box might be great for brainstorming; but I can think ofmeetings where using it would be unthinkable. Surely it depends onthe type of meeting?
"Absolutely not," von Oech says. "There are three or four differenttypes of meeting; some where you're just disseminating information;others where you're trying to come to a consensus; making adecision; then some where you're trying to come up with ideas - tothe extreme of a brainstorming session. Some of the products can beused for a stepping-off point, or as ice-breaker. People are moreengaged, participatory, rather than being lectured at, or PowerPointed to death."
As mileage junkies know, there is no such thing as a free flight.It is easier to earn miles than find ways to redeem them, thanks toblackout dates, and no seats available for award travel on the daysyou want to travel.
Look out now for fuel surcharges on award tickets - from $50 to$100 or more, depending on class or the length of the flight.Charges can also depend on whether you are redeeming miles on theairline to whose program you belong, or a partner carrier.
Starting Aug. 15, Delta Air Lines will add a fuel surcharge on itsSkyMiles award tickets of $25 between the continental United Statesand Canada; and $50 between the United States/Canada and allinternational destinations, including the Caribbean, Latin America,Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.