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How_Creative_Intelligence_Alliances_Can_Help_You_Grow_Your_Business
| How Creative Intelligence Alliances Can Help You Grow Your Business
Who do you report to when you are the boss? How do you deal with
unmotivated days, or those times when you feel overwhelmed?
Successful people have known how to deal with these pressures
for a long time.
In the early 1900s a man named Napoleon Hill studied the highest
achievers of the day and discovered their secret: a network of
other success-oriented people who kept them focused and on track.
He called this phenomenon a "master mind" because the calibre of
ideas produced by the group were greater than the ideas produced
by the same individuals on their own. If you've experienced
being in a group of people who run with the ideas of others and
take them to the next level, then you know how it works.
Corporations, especially creative ones, use this idea in brain
storming sessions. You can use this kind of creative
intelligence to help grow your business.
A "Creative Intelligence Alliance" is a group of like-minded
people who meet on a regular basis to generate truly creative
ways to reach a specific goal. In business, this can be a vital
resource, and even more so for small business owners.
Your alliance can be structured in a variety of ways - each
having different names depending on the format.
Benefits of a Creative Intelligence Alliance
Feedback and Brainstorming It's always easier to come up with
ideas for someone other than yourself. Your alliance can help
you come up with ideas that you may not be able to see.
Accountability If you say, "This week I am going to finish up
the copy for three brochures," you should expect to tell your
team members that you are finished by the next meeting.
Support Your meetings will get you out of your workspace on a
regular basis, improve your morale and renew your sense of
commitment. They will also expose you to people who have gone
through many of the same experiences and who can provide advice
and reassurance.
Networking Sometimes you will find that you need an introduction
to a person at a particular company, and the best way to get
that introduction is to find someone who knows that person.
Testimonials Nothing carries more weight to a potential customer
than the positive opinion of someone they know and trust.
Demonstrate your services or products to your alliance partners,
and let them become champions of your cause.
Types
Master minds are the original Creative Intelligence Alliance.
Usually, people building a master mind try to assemble a group
of people who are already at the level of success they are
aiming to achieve, because they can give them a "hand up." Of
course, if you are going to invite very successful people to
join your master mind, you will have to figure out what it is
you are offering them in return, other than just the flattering
sense that you value their opinion.
Other people prefer to have an Advisory Board. This tends to a
group that focuses on one specific business in the group, though
if all the members are in complementary fields, they can all
benefit from participation.
Success Teams - these groups are not always focused on business;
they are about the unique goals of the members. "Success Teams"
usually use the Barbara Sher principles, explained in the book
Wishcrafting.
Other types include: Neural Nets, Brain Trusts, and Referral
networks.
Getting Started Figure out what it is you hope to gain from
belonging to a Creative Intelligence Alliance and then match the
people to the team. Send them invitations to join you in an
exploratory meeting to see if the personalities mesh well, and
go from there. There are tools to help you set up the right kind
of alliance for you and the other team members - simply do a
quick search at any search engine for "starting a creative
intelligence alliance" and you will get the help you need.
Don't delay, what could you achieve with the power of a Creative
Intelligence Alliance behind you?
About the author:
You can find more information about Creative Intelligence
Alliances at http://businesspartnerships.ca and general business
information at http://allaboutbusiness.ca Gisela is a Founding
Director of pixcode Inc., a Canadian company that specializes in
creating and managing profitable Internet properties, including
Business Partnerships Canada and All About Business Canada.
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