Season's Greetings from the idenk team – with Chocolates, Question and Champagne offer!

We have really enjoyed 2009 and hope you have too (and see below for more on preparing for 2010).

In a number of pieces of work, we have experienced again the importance of change based on hope. Many staff and groups are looking for a great experience and a positive time. We recall a summer meeting in a provincial town. It was looking to be a tricky event where people were angry and looking to express it to, and maybe at, the idenk facilitators. We deliberately chose to ‘love the audience’ and held that hopeful state of mind as we looked at the group whilst the CEO introduced the day and as we started talking. The shift within the first five minutes was palpable – and by an hour phenomenal. Increasingly we are engaging and encouraging – with elements of challenge and confronting only when absolutely necessary. Have you a story that has shifted your practice and performance? If so, we’d love to publish it in 2010.

First offer: You may have been tracking our collection of images to make you think (see the Photos tab on our website www.idenk.co.uk/photos). If you have a thought-provoking photo or take a good one over the festive period, please email it with some text on the story behind it or the interesting idea it raises. We will post it – and award a box of top quality Belgian Chocolates for the one that makes us think the most.

This year, business has been different and we expect it to keep changing next year. We have ended up delivering more and more varied work with a bigger group of idenk partners and associates. Our Campaign Room approach and meeting recording methods have proved particularly popular. Thanks to those who have signed up to receive our twice weekly Ideas Digest (see www.idenk.co.uk/ideasdigest if you have no idea what we are on about here!).

Questions in practice…

A recent Business Briefing (www.idenk.co.uk/business_briefing/2009_sept.shtml) made a big thing about asking the right questions. Some of you have seen the idenk chocolate bars (really!) which encourage you to ask us a question – and we have promised to try and say ‘yes’. We’d like to try this philosophy out more widely with this email and see the range of questions we get asked between now and Christmas following this greeting to those we know and like to stay in touch with.

So, for our second offer, please visit our website, click on the ‘Log a Question’ button at the top and ask what you will. We can’t promise to be Santa, but we will try…and will publish the requests and our responses.

In a few weeks it will be that resolution time (again). What about this for a twist? Instead of listing behaviours to break or milestones to make, what about giving yourself a couple of questions to think deeply about during the coming months? From the lateral (“What is surprising me today?”) to the reflective (“What am I learning in my travels each day?”) to the deep (“What is my relationship with food and drink all about?” or “What does how I feel about this really irritating thing tell me about me?”). Try the question fanning technique to generate a few great questions to work on. If you come up with a gem, and are happy to share it, we’d love to know.

idenk at the movies (not quite)

And a teaser from us…we are developing a series of free videos to teach some of the key elements of our popular leadership development course (www.idenk.co.uk/structuredthinking). Have a snoop around YouTube and see if you can find the prototype video. If you find it, let us know what you think. The first ‘proper’ videos will go live early in 2010.

Chicken pie and champagne?

Finally, and our third offer, a bottle of champagne in our new strapline competition. We have used a range of straplines for idenk from “A thinking business for your Thinking Business” to “Business on the Front Foot”. Ross’s daughter recently came up with a rebrand idea (see www.idenk.co.uk/piedenk) which we might end up using if we fancy taking idenk in a completely new direction (Gordon Ramsey watch out!) How might you change the brand image of your organisation? Let us know – we will publish the offers and the winner.

We are looking forward to keeping in touch next year. Maybe you could ask us to take you to lunch - at Piedenk?

With best wishes for this festive time and a great 2010.

Phil, Ross and the idenk team