Anyone Can Be Creative – Here’s How!

Anyone Can Be Creative – Here’s How!

It’s Human Nature

Creativity; it’s one of those traits you either think you possess or you don’t, right? But what is reality? According to a Forbes Councils Member contributor, creativity is for everyone! The author, Ben Plomion, talks about two kinds of creativity: Radical and Incremental.

While radical creativity is what we most associate with incredible, mind-blowing artistic or technological feats, incremental creativity is more attainable for the masses – yes, even those people who think they have zero creativity! Think of incremental creativity as evolution versus revolution. It’s the continual work put into creating a solution, solving a puzzle or moving your job/company/personal life in a new direction. It’s not about that huge “A-Ha” moment, but rather all the small steps taken to make an improvement.

Here’s the critical part – creativity is something that can’t be outsourced to a robot! So, encouraging a creative environment at work is important to cultivating not only new ideas but also attracting and retaining quality employees. And, as an employee, showing creativity could be your best value prop.

It’s a Team Effort

We can all recognize creativity when we see it. Here’s a really fun example of how a team in Sweden made taking the stairs the preferred option to the adjacent public escalator.

At Motivation Excellence, our clients rely on us to use our creativity to make travel programs exceed all expectations! We also look for how to creatively report participant activity each month driving them to their program website. Engagement mailings need to spark an interest and motivate positive behavior. It’s not a one-person job ever. Working as a team (lots of brainstorming sessions) is one of the best steps to fostering creativity.

Ed Wojtaszek is our Creative Art Director and an integral part of any design elements that go out for clients or our own marketing needs. He says collaboration is a key component to successful creativity.

“Since most of the projects I work on have a specific goal to reach or message to get across, collaboration is very important. Not so much to decide on the look, but to have all of the facts before the creative process begins. Proper brainstorming can be very useful. Listing ideas…any ideas that others may think of can supply a wide variety of puzzle pieces to use in the creative process.”

As our Strategic Marketing Manager, I personally work with Ed daily. I often say that whatever I give him, he makes incredibly better. In 2020, we embarked on creating monthly MEmes. It was truly a collaborative effort, with our company owner, David Jobes, also getting in on the creative process each month. Here’s one of my favorite examples of what I handed Ed and what he did to make it shine. I came up with the wording and a very rudimentary sketch and left the rest to Ed. It was our September MEme on inclusivity.

(To see all our MEmes and other creative content be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.)

The 1,2,3 of Creativity

For those of you who love a good step-by-step guide, you’re in luck, there are many resources available about how to be creative. Gerard Puccio heads the International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State in New York. BBC.com featured him in an article about how to learn to be creative. He shares that creativity comes in four stages: Clarifying, Ideating (brainstorming), Developing and Implementing.

There are also ways to encourage creative thinking. Being in a relaxed mood has been shown to help. Perhaps it’s because an idle mind has more time to bounce between a wide variety of thoughts and ideas. Ed says a change of location helps him, especially if he feels stuck.

“When I get in a rut, a change of scenery is the best medicine. Walking, hobbies, anything that removes me from the topic for a period gives my mind time to put all the pieces together. Most times when I re-engage with a project, the solution comes quite easily.”

One of Ed’s favorite hobbies is working on classic cars. He could be building an engine when a solution to another issue pops into his mind. Our brain’s spark plugs ignite new ideas constantly.

Try it out for yourself the next time you’re searching for how to best keep your dog out of the trash (tell me your answer please) or the best way to get a prospect’s attention. And, remember, the internet is an amazing resource. You might not be able to always figure out the answer on your own, but there’s a good bet someone out there has. Using someone else’s creativity keeps the process flowing. Maybe you’ll add to another’s idea and share it with the world too!

Get to Know ME with Dave Bunge

Dave Bunge is celebrating an anniversary with Motivation Excellence this month! Read below and watch the video to learn some fun facts about our game-loving web developer. Anyone else out there broken the same bone multiple times? We’re glad you’re all healed now, Dave!

What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?

Web Developer/Programmer, 7 years (as of 12/12/2020)

What does your job entail?

I support clients by building websites to support the programs that we run for them.

What’s your favorite part of your job at Motivation Excellence?

Relationships with coworkers.

What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?

Feeling a sense of accomplishment and pride.

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

I play various games on my PC and watch videos on Amazon Prime & Disney+.

One thing that always makes you laugh is?

Watching videos of my niece and nephews and hearing their cute laughs.

What have you done that’s helped you get through 2020?

Some of my normal weekly activities went digital through Zoom and Discord, so I’ve been able to keep in touch with people. I also joined a new Meetup group for D&D Newbies and played some one-shots with strangers.

What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?

I don’t consider any of my jobs to be unusual. I worked at Hollywood Video in high school for a while, and I worked at Culver’s. Apart from that, I’ve been working as a web developer, which I do not consider unusual.

Get to Know ME with Tina Roszak

We’re happy to give you a little inside peek at one of our Travel Program Managers, Tina Roszak! It’s teammates like Tina who make working at Motivation Excellence a happier place. Just don’t let her get you in her “sights” apparently. LOL.

What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?

Travel Program Manager. In January, it will be 17 years that I’ve been with MEI.

What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share?

The people! We care about each other and always work together as a tight-knit team.

What’s your favorite part of your job at Motivation Excellence?

(Creating) the menus and décor elements of a program.

What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?

I’m pretty good at target shooting.

What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?

Optimism that each day is a new start for a brighter tomorrow. Wanting to be a positive influence in the world around me.

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

Gardening, coloring and exploring nature

One thing that always makes you laugh is?

My husband! He always knows how to make me laugh, even after 30 years!

What have you done that’s helped you get through 2020?

Realizing my blessings and being grateful for the loving people around me.

Bouncing Back Better than Before – How You Can Learn Resilience

2020 is priming us all for a great lesson in resilience. A pandemic, job losses or burnout, hoarding at the grocery stores and isolation are a lot to deal with for anyone! Add in renewed calls for racial justice plus another contentious political climate and we all have plenty of reasons to feel knocked down. But, we can’t stay down for long if we want to ultimately rise up better than ever. That’s where resilience comes in.

“I don’t think there is any other option. If you want to be successful in your personal life, or your professional life, you just can’t give up. I think we are sometimes our own worst enemy. If we think we can’t do something, or we can’t get through a life event, we won’t.” Michelle Lien-Burdick has a lifetime of experience with resilience. She’s been with Motivation Excellence more than 20 years and is known for her positive attitude and can-do perseverance.

“I learned all about resilience from my mom. She overcame so many personal and medical obstacles in her life and she really taught me and my siblings all about not letting things you can’t control take over your life.”

Michelle had to build up her own resilience after being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 29.

“I was single, living on my own in a different state than my family and close friends. It was scary, but I was the only one who could fight to beat it. So, I mentally prepared myself for every treatment. I went back to the office as soon as I was feeling well enough. After the surgeries and treatments, part of my “bounce back” self-therapy was volunteering on a Breast Cancer hotline called Y-Me. I listened through a lot of tears on the other end of the phone, but felt the encouragement I was able to give these women (and men) would help them to remain resilient in their battle.”

Utilizing support systems, like the Y-Me hotline, is critical to being resilient according to multiple experts. PositivePsychology.com has a lengthy article on the traits of resilient people and how we can all learn to become more resilient. Knowing that resilient people are able to handle stress in a more positive manner, the author encourages easy exercises we can all do to increase our ability to bounce back.

Like persistence, which we wrote about last month, resilience is the strength to continue toward your goals despite obstacles. Robert Brooks, PhD, shares in a WebMD post that resilient people have a greater sense of control in their lives. The post goes on to also give specific steps to being more resilient.

Contributing factors to resilience include:

• Cultivating positive relationships
• Utilizing support systems
• Being realistic
• Keeping a positive attitude
• Being flexible
• Recognizing and treating stress
• Practicing healthy habits

Michelle has her own go-to steps for keeping her spirit moving forward.

“I try to keep a positive attitude. It’s not always easy, but it makes a world of difference. I do a lot of “self-talking” to encourage myself when I need it. Most importantly, for me, I pray.”

For Michelle, helping others, continues to remind her of their resilience, as well as her own.

“I became an advocate for helping those out with food insecurity. I grew up with little and knew that if food pantries were a “thing” at that time, our family would have been one of their clients. I volunteered weekly at the food pantry in my area (before recently moving) – it was amazing to see how resilient some of the clients were. They came to get a hand-up when they needed it then you wouldn’t see them for a while. They did what they needed to do to feed their families, to remain resilient to carry on.”

Whether in your personal life or professional life, look at 2020 as an excellent reason to learn resilience. We are all eyeing 2021 as a vehicle for something better, but in reality no matter what happens externally, we have to internally decide how it’s going to affect our lives. We have a choice to make, and Michelle says there’s only one option.

“We all have hardships in our lives. How you deal with them will determine the outcome. Be resilient!”

May everyone who reads this have a blessed and healthy holiday season!

Pave Your Way to Success with Persistence – 5 Steps to Get You Going

The street of success is paved with a great number of stories about persistence and perseverance.

• Micheal Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
• J.K. Rowling had 12 publishers reject her Harry Potter manuscript.
• Steven Spielberg was rejected from film school three times.
• Jim Carrey, Lisa Kudrow and John Goodman are three of many famous comedians who didn’t make the cut at Saturday Night Live.

If any of these people, or the countless others at the top of their field, had pushed their passion aside after multiple rejections our world would be a lot less dynamic; The street of success dimpled with potholes.

The mere fact they kept doggedly after their goal is an achievement in itself! How often do you find yourself knocked down and depleted of the desire to push forward again? Imagine getting knocked down 60 times, like Kathryn Stockett did after writing The Help. Her book ended up on the New York Times bestsellers list for more than 100 weeks and was made into a successful film. But 60 literary agents rejected it! I don’t have to tell you what became of Micheal Jordan, do I?

Persistence in Theory

Persistence is, in fact, one of the traits of highly successful people. How do you become persistent? Is it something that can be learned and practiced? While, some of it does come from natural inclinations, there are definitely tips and tricks you can incorporate to enhance your, let’s say, stubbornly purposeful streak.

After reading several variations of habits and traits of persistent people (see links in blog), here is a quick and easy breakdown to get you started down the road of persistence.

1. Know the what and remind yourself of the why – what’s your end game and why is it important to you?
2. Believe to achieve – if you don’t believe in yourself, who else will?
3. Adjust, adapt & repeat – when you hit a closed door, look for the key, or even a window.
4. Join the club – surround yourself with other persistent people and you’ll gain valuable insight and support.
5. Be high on habits – when motivation fails, strong habits will get you through to the next day.

Perhaps you’re aren’t hoping to write the next American novel. Instead, you want to make daily life at work more pleasant by starting a snack bar. It may not be a Nobel Peace Prize level goal, but worthy to go after nonetheless! And it might just take persistence to get it done, depending on the levels of approval you need to go after.

Persistence in Practice

Being persistent while not being annoying is also quite the skill itself. If it wasn’t, toddlers – and adults who act like them – wouldn’t be so exasperating! The lesson here is to be creative in your approach so you don’t get the “broken record” look of exhaustion. Successful salespeople have to navigate this space daily.

Business Development Director at Motivation Excellence, Rebecca Steiner, says she tries to delicately balance her desire to follow up with a client or prospect with what she thinks their needs are. “I put myself in their shoes and ask myself if I have the answer to their problem or a solution that fits their need. If I feel like I do, I keep moving forward. Having empathy for what they’re going through helps me determine my level of persistence.”

Steiner also says changing up the way she reaches out to a person of interest is important. “It can’t always be an email or a voicemail. Sometimes it’s a video message or even a coffee mug with a small package of gourmet coffee and a hand-written note. If you can key into something the person is passionate about, the touchpoint resonates more.”

Most importantly, Steiner says, it’s all about being positive. “I’m there to keep their mood up and bring solutions that will help them, not be another chore on their list for the day.”

Steiner also advises that timing isn’t always right, which makes persistence all the more important. “Early on in my sales career I reached out to a prospect. I built a relationship with him and kept in contact for years with no luck converting a sale. After 10 years, the business opened up and he turned to me and said, ‘Your persistence finally paid off!’”

Sometimes the biggest difference between someone who succeeds and someone who doesn’t, is that the former persisted and the latter quit. As you’re heading out on the road to your goals, big or small, remember that each step you take places you closer to the destination. Pave your road with persistence. It may not be the smoothest ride, but it’ll be a worthwhile journey that can take you all the way to the top!

Motivation Excellence Celebrates Back to Back Honors

It’s with great pleasure we announce being honored with the Best and Brightest Companies to work for® in the Nation distinction again in 2020! Motivation Excellence is one of 147 national winners among 1,300 applicants. We hold 2019 honors for this national category, as well as for Companies in Chicago for 2019 and 2020.

The Best and the Brightest Companies to Work For® celebrates achievement and success in empowering employees’ lives through rich heritage and culture. Its mission is “Better Business, Richer Lives, Stronger Communities.” Each winning company has demonstrated a positive impact on its employees resulting in happier and more productive work environments.

“It’s a long, all-encompassing application process that includes an anonymous survey for each of our employees to fill out. Even though it takes a lot of time to apply each year, I’m thrilled with the results! It’s great to have the outside world see Motivation Excellence the way we all see it: A wonderful place to work and thrive!” says Diane Kelly, VP Finance & Admin, who takes on the task to apply each year.

Motivation Excellence recently premiered its new corporate headquarters.

This new space was designed to embody its mission to Inspire Extraordinary Performance. The office is filled with a lot of bright color, natural light and collaborative work areas. Materials used, from the carpeting to the furniture, are eco-friendly. Due to COVID-19, employees are splitting their time between the new office and remote working.

“I can’t wait for the day that we can be at full capacity in our new headquarters, but having the flexibility for each person here to be able to work from home is a real blessing. During COVID-19 this spring when everyone was remote, our events committee worked hard to continue to engage our team with activities like virtual meeting bingo, meet my furry coworker pictures and Friday happy hours. That we all remained connected during a stressful time points to the positive culture we’ve carefully nourished at Motivation Excellence with the guidance of our senior leadership, Bob Graham, Brad Hecht, Diane Kelly and Rhonda Brewer,” says David Jobes, Owner and President.

Besides flexible working arrangements, other perks of working at Motivation Excellence include receiving two days off each year to help a favorite charity and a work anniversary holiday. Employees often comment how they see their coworkers as part of a family. Almost a third of our nearly 30 employees have been with Motivation Excellence for more than 20 years!

This is the 10th Annual Best and Brightest Companies to Work For® award announcement.

Get to Know ME with Jen Hurley

There are some people who just have a knack for numbers! Jen Hurley is one of those people who happens to work in our accounting department – how fortunate for us! Read and watch Jen tell us some inside info on the joys she has at Motivation Excellence and at home.

What’s your title and how long have you been at Motivation Excellence?

My title is Project Accountant, and I’ve been with Motivation Excellence for 6 ½ years.

What’s something special about working at Motivation Excellence that you’d like to share?

One thing that makes Motivation Excellence stand out is the unwavering support I have received.  In the 6+ years I have been here I have been through more ‘situations’ than most people go through in a decade.  Through it all, everyone at Motivation Excellence, from my co-workers to management, has supported and encouraged me. 

What’s your favorite task as an accountant for Motivation Excellence?

There are so many favorite tasks!  I’m always up for a good puzzle so reconciling accounts or programs is always fun.

What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?

I have an uncanny knack for remembering useless information and used to do bar trivia every week with friends.

What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?

I always want to make a difference.  Knowing that I can have a positive impact on someone else’s day, be it my husband, kids, co-workers or a stranger, helps give me that extra boost to get things done.

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

I’m an avid reader, I enjoy surfing around Pinterest and creating (and often failing) projects and spending time with my family.

One thing that always makes you laugh is?

I have an odd sense of humor and often laugh at inappropriate times.  Once I get going, it is really hard to get it under control.  My kids make me laugh every day without fail. 

What’s the most interesting former job you’ve had?

I’ve always worked in accounting, so every job I’ve had has been interesting!  No, really!  But, if you need an example, my first job was as a billing clerk for the trucking company that shipped Tootsie Rolls for Knights of Columbus fundraisers and Terri Lynn peanuts for Kiwanis fundraisers. So, if you ever donated a buck to the guy in the intersection in the 90’s and got a Tootsie Roll or bag of peanuts in return, odds are I had something to do with it.

Group Travel Forecast into 2022 – Plan Ahead Now

There is no doubt the travel and hospitality industries have been hit very hard through the COVID-19 pandemic. The damage ranges from critical to dire, depending on the sector.

The American Hotel and Lodging Association warned its industry is on “the brink of collapse” in an August 31, 2020 report. Among the stark realities: urban hotels are at crippling low occupancy rates and hotels in major cities across the country are struggling to stay open.

Airline travel started seeing an uptick in passengers in August, although it was still at an average of 27% of 2019 numbers. On September 27, 2020 the TSA reported screening 873,038 passengers versus 2.45 million one year earlier. That’s 35% of the 2019 passenger count. Additional airline layoffs are expected to be announced soon, possibly hitting another 30,000 jobs.

Airlines are quick to share their safety protocols to combat spread of COVID like HEPA filters and that cabin air is turned over 10-12 times per hour. In addition, mask requirements and keeping the middle seat open (only some airlines) have led some safety experts to give the green light to air travel, if necessary. Included in the link above is an interesting contrast between two international flights early in the pandemic and how the use of masks affected the spread of the virus.

At Motivation Excellence, our Manager, Supplier Relations & Sourcing, Joe Reise, keeps an eye on all the latest news concerning our industry.  He sees a boom in the future and he’s working with our clients now to get the best scenarios while mitigating risk.

Looking ahead, Reise believes 2021 will be a rebuilding year. Many hotels allowed group bookings in 2020 to move to 2021, packing the year full of moved 2020 business and already existing 2021 business. But as we get closer to 2021, group travel is starting to postpone again through the first half of the year.

“Once we have a vaccine, travelers will see an end game and demand will be explosive. If you wait until after the vaccine is released, rates will already be headed much higher. It’s best to start looking now while there is still some flexibility with rates and availability.”

Q1 2022 is already seeing bookings increase, as well as rates. Companies who’ve maintained a healthy financial status through COVID-19 are eager to book group travel as soon as it’s deemed safe.

In light of the uncertainties we’re experiencing now and into the future, here are our recommendations on how to navigate booking future group events while limiting concerns over hotel closures, increased rates and safety.

1. Avoid airport, convention and big city hotels – they are at the highest risk to close right now.
2. If you want to book a hotel in 2021 choose one that’s had a positive EBITDA/room (sign of financial health) since at least July 2020.
3. In 2020 and 2021, consider drivable locations for your smaller corporate gatherings, and look at resort properties outside of urban locations.
4. In 2022, be prepared for higher rates the longer you wait to book.
5. Whether in 2021 or 2022, get the pulse of the people you plan to gather.
   • Do they feel comfortable flying?
   • Are they okay following airline and destination-based mask requirements?
   • Is there a group size they feel comfortable engaging with?

Reise says demand for non-urban resort properties will be at an all-time high in 2022.

“Especially among financially healthy companies, once group travel is a go again, there will be a flood of demand over a very short window of time.”

COVID-19 will likely affect how we look at group travel for several years to come, but with careful planning and insight into industry information, your company can begin to plan for future events. If you have any questions or concerns, or would like help planning a future travel experience for your company please contact Rhonda Brewer at r.brewer@motivation.redefinedcreative.com.

MAXRewardsYourWay: Show appreciation for stellar work in a challenging year

Generate excitement among your target audience with customizable reward packages.

MaxRewardsYourWay allows you to select the award value, while inspiring your potential recipients to work toward an instant lifestyle upgrade! Each package is filled with great items that can be adjusted to fit the award winner’s desire. It’s all about making your most valued talent feel appreciated!

Benefits:

• The prebuilt lifestyle packages can be easily customized to your recipients’ needs. 
• There are no set-up costs. 
• You only pay for the packages your employees choose.
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It’s an easy way to show appreciation for stellar work in a challenging year. 2021 will be here before we know it!

Contact us today to recognize your top performers! me@motivation.redefinedcreative.com

Being Inclusive Leads to a Better Business

We all know that feeling of being left out, bullied, embarrassed or far worse. For some it ended in childhood, but for others it continues into adulthood.  It’s reported even bullies tend to be picked on by someone, thus learning the behavior they use to torment others in return. So, if most individuals in society have felt picked-on for one reason or another (their clothes, socio-economic status, skin color, sexual identity, name, religion, immigration status, the list really goes on and on), you’d think being inclusive would become a priority as we mature and “know better.” Yet, we face many situations where inclusivity is elusive. It shouldn’t be, especially in our work environments, where an inclusive culture leads to diversity, creativity and innovation!

Inclusion at Work; A Story of Apples and Oranges

There is a history of successful corporations recognizing the value of inclusion. Many state so on their websites and hiring pages. For instance, Apple highlights the statement “We’re not all the same and that’s a strength.” Coca-Cola says, “We are smart alone, but genius together.” Apple and Coca-Cola know the best talent out there value an inclusive work space.

Forbes published an article showing the direct path from inclusivity to diversity. In fact, the author posits that without inclusivity, diversity plummets. After all, why would you want to be an orange in a barrel full of apples who constantly remind you that you’re different, not as easy to eat and your experience as an orange is not valued? If the apples are inclusive and ask the orange its opinion, value its experience and include it in new recipes that enhance the overall flavor of the barrel more oranges will feel accepted. Maybe even a couple bananas, an avocado and a mango will then join in and suddenly the barrel is a full out fruit aisle of diversity! Who likes a fruit salad with just apples, anyway?

Join the Movement to Include

Inclusivity at work can create higher morale, job satisfaction and efficiency, but what about the rest of life? Obviously, it’s important to feel included in daily outside-of-work activities too. Special Olympics launched a five year campaign called “The Revolution is Inclusion.” They recently celebrated the global week of inclusion by highlighting individuals and companies that champion inclusion policies and behaviors.

Special Olympics published five reasons why inclusion is important to all of us in our society, especially in light of publicity surrounding social justice recently. In short, here are the bullet points.

• Inclusion fuels acceptance
• It cultivates empathy
• Allows for positive self-image development
• Drives Meaningful Change
• Makes us see the person first, not the differences

If these reasons speak to you, they encourage you to sign their Inclusion Pledge and pass it on to others in your life too!

Be Inclusive, it’s the “In” Thing to Do!

Whether in personal or work life, inclusivity ultimately leads to better policies, results, culture and ideas. We’ve heard it since we were kids – play together nicely, invite all the kids to the party; and we need reminding as adults too. Here’s your reminder.