Media Quotes

"The art of creativity 'Corporate alchemist' Linda Naiman shows businesses how to nurture creativity to ensure success." Vancouver Sun feature, Aug 24, 2004

"It takes creativity to develop the radar to spot an opportunity. Often what the artist expresses is unconscious, but we can learn to decode the story by collaboratively finding the pieces to the puzzle that create new possibilities for innovation."

"Visual, metaphorical and symbolic thinking helps business people develop the visionary skills inherent in artists, inventors and entrepreneurs."

"When you're creating new ideas, you're going into unknown territory. One of the biggest obstacles to creative thinking is the fear of an idea being dismissed by bosses, which leads to a disease once described as institutional hardening of the attitudes, which can be deadly for business. We need to encourage people to take risks. You have to be innovative inside the box as well as outside. People come up with ideas but don't know how to put them into action. They still have to work within the rules and government regulations."

"Can We Talk?" Canadian Business Magazine, Sept 11-14, 2006

Much as e-mail has revolutionized office communication, it's still vital to get people out of their cubicles for spontaneous, in-person exchanges. Self-styled "corporate alchemist" Linda Naiman of Creativity at Work, in Vancouver, is hired by top companies such as AstraZeneca, BP and Placer Dome to facilitate strategic conversations. "In an environment of global competition and an increasing complexity of problems, companies must come up with new ways for people to synergize and for managers to tap into the brilliance of people. If you're going to create an environment for conversation and dialogue, then leaders and managers have to understand that it's important to do so," says Naiman. "Otherwise, people will be discouraged from talking, because it will look like they're not working." Naiman cites Progressive Insurance, the third-largest U.S. group of auto insurers, which has amassed one of the world's most important corporate art collections, with holdings of more than 6,000 pieces. "They don't just put decorative art on the wall, they like to put up provocative or conceptual art," she says. "They want to get people talking."

"Summertime, and the workin' ain't easy." Globe and Mail interview, July 13, 2005

You don't have to put in long hours to be productive, [Linda Naiman] advises. "Productivity comes from working smart and arriving at an elegant solution, the one where you get the maximum results for the minimum effort." She suggests both employees and managers loosen up on expectations of when people should be at their desks -- and what it means if they aren't. Leaving early in the summer should not be seen as a sign of disloyalty, she adds. "If employees meet the benchmarks, who cares how many hours they are at their desk?" ("Summertime, and the workin' ain't easy." Globe and Mail, July 13, 2005)

"Toxic work culture, poor health costs money" Vancouver Sun, Sept 24, 2005

Linda Naiman, founder of Creativity at Work.com, a Vancouver-based consulting, coaching and training group specializing in transformational change in organizations, said she is finding many highly motivated employees who are frustrated by a corporate culture in their workplace that simply hasn't caught up to today's realities. "What I am finding is that they are really unhappy with their workplace," she said. "It is either a toxic culture or it's a bully culture and they are not being asked to use their talents and their education." She also points to a corporate failing to "walk the talk," as a source of discontent. She points to one company where the executive teams sent out regular surveys for staff feedback. However, they never followed up on them. "It was a bully culture, with no following through, no feedback and constantly putting out fires instead of being proactive," she said.

"Igniting a spark of creativity." New Zealand Herald 2007:

[Creativity] is the first building block of innovation. Innovation is the implementation of creative inspiration.

Strategies To Develop Innovation
* Communicate your vision and mission clearly.
Staff who know what the goal is are more likely to come up with creative ways of achieving it.
* Remove bureaucratic obstacles.
Welcome open-ended enquiry and experimentation.
* Create a climate of trust and collaboration.
Encourage people to talk to each other - even those from different departments.
* Embrace diversity.
More people from different backgrounds and with different outlooks equals more original ideas.
* Celebrate success.
Recognise and reward creative ideas that have worked.
* Cultivate learning
Encourage staff to keep broadening their knowledge, whether through formal courses or by extending themselves into new areas at work.
* Cultivate outside interests.
Creative solutions often happen when people are thinking about something else. Encourage your staff to pursue things they enjoy outside work.
* Provide strong leadership and support.

Fast Company Quote of the Day Nov 22, 2006

(On Improv in business) Improvisation frees us from being perfect, being in control, thinking ahead, and second guessing. It can feel like jumping into the abyss at first, but once you jump, fear turns into excitement, and your imagination kicks in. ( "To Extemporize Is Human" Fast Company Magazine Oct 2005)

PeopleTalk Magazine:

Creativity is the power to create something new, to reach deep into our subconscious for that “aha” solution. Sometimes it happens in a nano second, and sometimes that solution can take a lifetime to reveal itself. (Peopletalk Magazine interview, Spring 2004)