My Newsletter circulates at the beginning of each month. In it you will find a short article on a theme related to leadership, creativity and innovation. You will also find news about my own activities, events and publications.

Keep yourself and your organization in sync with contemporary leadership, creativity and innovation insights.
Subscribe to my Newsletter HERE and connect with me on social media 

Newsletters
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​AUGUST 2018 - How Innovation Impacts Work . Technology as game-changer and life-changer .  

“The job your child will do doesn’t exist yet”, said the young principal from one of Singapore’s most prestigious private schools in a conference I attended ten years ago.

Ten years from now a good number of today’s jobs will not exist, a good number of entirely new jobs will be created and ALL jobs will change, many of them in significant ways. Consultants dealing with innovation and transformation like myself, enjoy the sensational appeal of such statements. Many of us are also aware of the practical, personal and social challenges that arise as we seek to get value from new technologies.
JULY 2018  - can elephants innovate ? POSSIBLE, NOT EASY ...
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JULY 2018 - Can elephants innovate? Possible, not easy ...  

Each company innovates in its own way and there are more differences in the innovation of the more recent start-ups and that of the older established firms. Getting the “elephants” to dance is not so easy.

Who are the most innovative companies? Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Facebook, Alibaba, Tesla spring to mind. They created a new era of technology for mass markets. Uber, AirBnB and Netflix, tout their new business models, also technology based. And there’s IBM, Samsung, Toyota, Philips, Adidas and Nestle, big old elephants. All these firms made the 2018 list of Boston Consulting Group’s most innovative companies.
JUNE 2018  - HOW TO BE CREATIVE! TEN PRACTICAL TIPS
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How to be Creative! Ten practical tips

​We are creative when we imagine something new and make it happen. Thinking and action are both involved. The “new” need not be a huge breakthrough or a “first in the world”, it can be a simple improvement that adds a little value to our life. All people are creative, some more, others less. We choose to use and develop our creativity, or we lay it to rest. 
MAY 2018  - INNOVATION IS CHANGE. sMOOTH SAILING OR TURBULENT SEAS? 
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Innovation is Change
Smooth sailing or turbulent seas?  
 
Any new technology or know-how is only as good as the people who are using it and living with it. If innovation is the purposeful application of something new then by definition something, big or small, has to change. And every manager, entrepreneur or inventor knows very well that the biggest barriers to innovation are more often human than technical or physical.

Consider three levels of change – changing context, changing organizations and personal change. The accelerating pace of change in context, in practically every sphere of work and life, is an oft-repeated truism. In some areas the speed of change happens at a breakneck pace, in others it may be slower but it is still much faster than a few decades ago. Big global changes are spreading rapidly, digital transformation, new generations of road, sea, air and space transportation, from primary agricultural production to worlds of virtual reality, and an endless list of everything. No single person or entity has control of the changing context even if some of the institutional actors are more impactful than others. 
APRIL 2018 -  ​THIS EMAIL CONTAINS A LIE.  ENJOY IT ANYWAY.  GUESS WHICH ONE ?
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This newsletter contains a lie.
Enjoy it anyway.
This article is meant to be read on April 1st. Which is why it contains a lie.
Below is a list of ten thoughtful quotes on leadership, creativity and innovation. One of them is fake or misattributed. Which one?
 
  1. “The only thing that does not change is change itself.” Heraclitus
 
  1.  “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein
FEBRUARY 2018  - THE ART OF SUSPENDING JUDGMENT - A WORKING NORM AND A PERSONAL SKILL
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The Art of Suspending Judgment
A working norm and a personal skill

Alex Osborn, the father of brainstorming, proposed a problem-solving methodology in which Divergent (creative) thinking is followed by Convergent (critical) thinking. He laid out four rules for divergent thinking: Suspend judgment, Generate lots of ideas, Go beyond reason, Build on existing ideas.
What follows is about suspending judgment.

What - you’re asking me not to criticize? Why can’t I question what others are saying? Why I can’t I even comment when people say silly things? Has my education been wasted? Is my experience irrelevant?
​ 
Yes, you are asked to postpone the deployment of your critical faculties. No, nobody doubts your education, your experience or your ability to doubt. But do you mind doing it a little later?
​
JANUARY 2018 - THE FUTURE, THEN AND NOW. MOST THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT AGAIN... 
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We all see the future differently. 
A brief survey of futurism follows, closing with my own predictions for 2018.

In the Hebrew Bible greater and lesser prophets told of the coming of the Messiah - son of a virgin, son of god, son of man (depending on the source). Centuries later, some Jews, believing Jesus was the Messiah, abandoned Judaism to form a new religion. 

The ancient Greeks took their seers seriously too. “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”, Cassandra wailed as the Trojans brought the horse inside their city walls. Unfortunately Cassandra was condemned to foretell the truth but never to be believed and Troy was sacked. And everyone knows the infamous oracle from Delphi saying Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, which he unwittingly did, creating a bonanza for Sigmund Freud some centuries after. ​re asked to postpone the deployment of your critical faculties. No, nobody doubts your education, your experience or your ability to doubt. But do you mind doing it a little later?
​

Articles

TECHNOLOGY AS GAME-CHANGER AND LIFE-CHANGER - CYPRUS MAIL, juLY 29TH 2018 
READ more here



​
​Technology as game-changer and life-changer 

“The job your child will do doesn’t exist yet”, said the young principal from one of Singapore’s most prestigious private schools in a conference I attended ten years ago.

Ten years from now a good number of today’s jobs will not exist, a good number of entirely new jobs will be created and ALL jobs will change, many of them in significant ways. Consultants dealing with innovation and transformation like myself, enjoy the sensational appeal of such statements. Many of us are also aware of the practical, personal and social challenges that arise as we seek to get value from new technologies.
CAN ELEPHANTS INNOVATE? POSSIBLE, NOT EASY - CYPRUS MAIL, june 24TH 2018 
READ more here
Can elephants innovate?
Possible, not easy

Each company innovates in its own way and there are more differences in the innovation of the more recent start-ups and that of the older established firms. Getting the “elephants” to dance is not so easy.

Who are the most innovative companies? Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Facebook, Alibaba, Tesla spring to mind. They created a new era of technology for mass markets. Uber, AirBnB and Netflix, tout their new business models, also technology based. And there’s IBM, Samsung, Toyota, Philips, Adidas and Nestle, big old elephants. All these firms made the 2018 list of Boston Consulting Group’s most innovative companies. 
how to be creative: ten practical tips - CYPRUS MAIL, MAY 27TH 2018 
READ more here
How to be creative
Ten practical tips

We are creative when we imagine something new and make it happen. Thinking and action are both involved. The “new” need not be a huge breakthrough or a “first in the world”, it can be a simple improvement that adds a little value to our life. All people are creative, some more, others less. We choose to use and develop our creativity, or we lay it to rest.

The accelerating pace of change generates new challenges, many of which cannot be resolved simply with know-how and judgment. Which is why creativity is more than ever a desirable set of skills: fluency (generating lots of ideas), flexibility (generating ideas that fall into many different categories) and originality (generating rare ideas).
​
Here are some practical tips on how to be creative:

News & Events

13 novEMBER 2018 limassol
BE CREATIVE, YES YOU CAN! DEVELOPING CREATIVE SKILLS FOR YOURSELF AND FOR YOUR BUSINESS. 
​​OPEN WORKSHOP (SUBSIDISED) READ MORE here
Why is creativity important? Among other reasons, because innovation is impossible without it and because the accelerating pace of change makes it an indispensable skill. And because CEOs have identified creativity as the single most important leadership competence.
 
Contrary to common wisdom creative skills are learnable and creativity is developable at individual, team and organizational levels. In fact the systematic use of creative method has been shown to substantially improve an organization’s capacity to confront challenges and enhance employee engagement through participation in the generation and implementation of new solutions.
 
Participants will learn creative method and techniques and how to practice them alone and in teams. They will eventually design ways of promoting creativity in their own organizations.
 
This workshop will be of interest to organizations of all sectors and sizes, especially ones contemplating a serious shift in their business model or operations.  The workshop will take place in PwC Academy and will be subsidised by HRDA - Cyprus
30 & 31 octobER 2018, LIMASSOL
LEADING INNOVATION IN PRACTICE - A ROADMAP FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
OPEN WORKSHOP (FULLY SUBSIDISED) ​READ MORE  HERE



​A 2-day, fully-subsidised workshops, organised together with the PwC's Academy and the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry . 

​Dimis is leading this workshop and follows each participant with an in-house strategic training, ensuring participants develop their own organization's roadmap for innovation.  ​

The workshop will take place in Limassol and is fully subsidised by HRDA - Cyprus
16 OCTOBER 2018 NICOSIA  
ENGAGING PEOPLE IN NEW WORKPLACES
OPEN WORKSHOP (SUBSIDISED) 
 READ more here
People who love their work are happier people and if they love their workplace too they will be happier still. Companies with happy people serve their customers better and retain their key talent both of which impact competitiveness and the bottom line. However the ground is shifting fast: innovation, digitalization and artificial intelligence are changing the nature of work at a previously unimaginable pace, while “happiness at work” itself is taking on new meanings. The future will belong to flexible organizations that enhance employee engagement through participation in the generation and implementation of new solutions.
 
Participants will learn different theories of motivation and in particular the contemporary evidence-based work of the positive psychology school. They will explore the impact of innovation and change on individuals and companies and imagine how they their own organization will be like ten years from now: What will the organization chart and the physical workplace look like? How will vital people-related functions like hiring, performance management and training be managed? How can leadership truly engage people at work?
 
This workshop will be of interest to organizations of all sectors and sizes, especially ones contemplating a serious shift in their business model or operations.
The workshop will take place in PwC Academy and will be subsidised by HRDA - Cyprus
CREATIVELY CONFRONTING CHALLENGES -  31 may 2018
 READ more here
Learning how to creatively confront challenges is a necessary component of any strategy that promotes innovation. The systematic use of creative method has been shown to substantially improve an organization’s capacity to confront challenges and enhance employee engagement through participation in the generation and implementation of new solutions.
This workshop serves as the basis for projects in all business areas, including Strategy, Structure, Culture Change, People Engagement, Marketing & Sales, Product Development, Customer Experience, Client Service & Logistics and more.
 
Participants will work on real challenges, using creative method and various creativity tools and techniques, which have been shown to greatly enhance the efficacy of solving complex problems. Emphasis is given to the whole cycle of resolving business and organizational problems through teamwork: creative investigation to define challenges, creative idea generation to resolve challenges, evaluation and choice of best solutions, selling your ideas and action planning for implementation.

This workshop took place  in PwC Academy in Nicosia, and was subsidised by HRDA - Cyprus
REIMAGINING THE POSSIBLE - PWC CYPRUS ANNUAL MEETING - OCTOBER 2017
read more here
Dimis was invited to present an inspiring Innovation Keynote to PwC Leadership. Watch herebelow
10th respa annual conference - innovation in public administration - budva montenegro - OCTOBER 2017
read more here
Dimis was invited to co-design an Innovation Conference and deliver a presentation on the many innovative streaks to pursue.
"A big thank you to the team for their wonderful collaboration." Dimis
leading innovation in practice - a roadmap for your organization -  OCTOBER  2017
 READ more here
Thank you to all passionate participants for making this training such a fruitful training for all!

Academic articles published

“The Art of Innovation: a model for organizational creativity”, Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation, Entrepreneurship published by Springer, 2014, revised 2017

“The Art of Innovation and the learning organization”, article in “Innovation and Transformation Through Knowledge Management” edited by Evie Serventi, published by the ARK Group, December 2012

​“The Art of Innovation in the Public Sector”, International Journal of Innovation Science, Vol 3, No 3, September 2011 

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