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No surprise that creativity manifests itself in many ways, but until yesterday I hadn’t heard that creativity manifests itself in four personality types: the explorer, the artist, the judge, and the warrior. All four types are needed for an organization to bring a new idea to fruition. Melanie Schmidt, founder of the Timpano Group, spoke about ‘Creating Creativity’ at yesterday’s meeting of the Madison IABC. I wish we’d had another hour with her. We had fun, and I came back with some ideas to implement. For example, I need to learn to ‘embrace the box’ before I can really begin thinking outside it.

Yesterday members of IABC Madison enjoyed our annual Rite of Summer: networking on the pier at the Edgewater Hotel, overlooking Lake Mendota. The weather was threatening and turnout was a little light, but there were some new faces, and we were joined by a member from another chapter who was in town for another conference.

Gathering people’s stories and cultivating a story telling culture can improve communications and business results, says Lori Silverman, who spoke at today’s lunch meeting of the IABC-Madison chapter.

Encouraging employees and business clients to tell their stories creates a powerful bond that improves workplace morale and leads to repeat business, she said.

Silverman drew from her experience as a business strategist, keynote speaker, and owner of Partners for Progress, a management consulting firm, as she shared examples of how stories have made a real difference. She said organizations are becoming more knowledgeable about using stories in marketing and branding, employee engagement, strategy deployment and internal and external communications.

She is author of  Wake Me Up When the Data Is Over: How Organizations Use Stories to Drive Results.

Chicago-based communications consultant Julie Baron, principal of Communication Works, discussed better employee communications at today’s meeting of the IABC-Madison chapter. Drawing from her experience at Motorola and NEC, she emphasized that communication professionals must become more than information disseminators and should act as strategic partners with the organization’s leaders.

Put an empty fish bowl on your desk.
The fishbowl represents your life; 83 years total, plus or minus.
It has capacity, but it’s finite.
Now, decide the five most important things to you.
Health? Fun? Family? Work? Learning? Health? Spirituality? Marriage? Friends?
Now find five rocks, one to represent each of your priorities.
Place the five rocks in the fishbowl.
After they’re in, then you can start filling in all the spare spaces with gravel, sand, water.
But make sure to put the five rocks in first.

That’s strategic planning. And it applies to personal life and to business as well.

Today the IABC-Madison chapter heard Joan Gillman tell about choosing her five rocks. Joan is Director of Special Industry Programs, Executive Education, for the UW-Madison School of Business.

Joan’s office acts as a conduit between University resources and the business community. Part of her role is co-hosting a daily radio show, “On Air with In Business,” focusing on local business issues. Joan’s career is one of her five rocks. She loves what she does.

Joan was formerly Director of Madison’s Small Business Development Center, which serves 15,000 businesses (and those thinking about going into business) by offering counseling and courses in the areas of marketing, management, finance, and business feasibility.