What Can Be Done About Workplace Stress?
Modern offices are all too often filled with tension and pressure, which leads to stress-filled employees. And when stress runs rampant in the workplace, morale suffers and productivity declines. With missed deadlines, unmet goals and shortened tempers, motivating employees becomes a monumental challenge.

Our new workshop, ""Conquering Workplace Stress," provides leaders with the skills and strategies needed to restore office morale and boost productivity. Participants will lean how to distinguish between "busy-ness" and productivity. Other topics covered include techniques for setting goals that motivate employees and tactics for measuring results and rewarding employees. In addition, strategies for promoting employee health and managing stress will be included. For more information visit www.keygroupconsulting.com/veo_leadership.htm.

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Is American innovation dead?
The 20th century was filled with dramatic examples of American ingenuity.  Revolutionary inventions such as Model T cars, televisions, refrigerators, transistors, hand-held calculators and personal computers have transformed the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the globe. But does America have what it takes to continue our string of innovation into the 21st century? I'm not sure.

We know that global competition is really heating up. At the same time, our schools are increasingly coming under the gun as our students struggle to keep up with their peers worldwide. Combine those facts with the challenge American organizations face attracting and retaining talented employees, and the picture begins to look bleak.

We have to ask ourselves, "Are American organization's losing their competitive edge?" If so, then where can we look for help? How can we reverse this trend? In a word, leadership! From the executive suite down to the assembly line, the key to regaining America's competitive edge is leadership.

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"Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."       -- Apple Computer Founder Steve Jobs

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Unleashing Creativity
Too often organizational managers and leaders see their role as "traffic cop" or taskmaster. In reality, a leader's most valuable contribution may simply be unleashing the creativity that lies dormant within employees. Sadly, most people don't realize the creative energy they possess.

One of our favorite workshops here at KEYGroup is "Enhancing Creativity in the Workplace." It's a lot of fun watching participants discover through hands-on exercises just how creative they really can be. And it's really inspirational for participants when they discover how greater levels of creativity can make the workplace a high-energy, stimulating and rewarding environment!

Look, most employee surveys show that your workers probably feel underutilized and uninspired. As their leader, it's up to you to take steps to reinvigorate your staff with creative energy. For more information on our Creativity workshop, visit www.keygroupconsulting.com/veo_leadership.htm. Also, if you're looking for invaluable tips on inspiring your employees to greater heights of creativity, check out The Keys to Motivating and Retaining Talent at www.keygroupconsulting.com/veoproducts.htm.

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"Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow."       -- William Pollard

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The Power of Persistance
Sometimes leadership for innovation means having the persistence to push your vision until others come to share your goals. One of my favorite stories about innovation involves Art Fry, the man who invented the Post-It Note. Fry was a researcher with 3M, one of the most innovative American companies of the 20th century. Fry was frustrated because scraps of paper kept falling out of his hymnal, so while working on a new repositionable adhesive he hit upon the bright idea of making notes that could be easily removed.

3M's reaction? They hated the idea! Fry couldn't persuade top management to give the new product a try, so he waged his own campaign.

"I gave away repositionable notes to secretaries and other key people in the company, and I kept track of usage and feedback. Within a short time, everyone realized how much they'd come to rely on those notes: They had become addicted to them." (Quoted in Fast Company magazine)

In time, 3M management came to embrace the concept and product history was made. But the real lesson in this story is that 3M, a company known for innovation, initially rejected a multimillion-dollar product. Even 3M had to learn to listen to the creative voices in their own organization. Are you prepared to hear the creative voices of YOUR employees?