Thinking creatively, learning faster and leading change, these abilities are at a premium in a highly-competitive global business environment. What if you could call on history’s greatest genius, Leonardo da Vinci, to be your personal mentor in cultivating these highly prized elements of human capital? Anatomist,
architect, botanist, city planner, chef, humorist, engineer, equestrian, inventor, geographer, geologist,
military scientist, musician, painter, philosopher and raconteur, Leonardo da Vinci, helped bring the Western world out of the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance. Now, as we move from the Bureaucratic/
Industrial Age into the Information/ Imagination Age, his approach to optimizing human potential is more
relevant than ever.

The da Vinci principles are:

• Curiosita – An insatiable quest for knowledge and continuous improvement
• Dimostrazione – Learning from experience
• Sensazione – Sharpening the senses
• Sfumato – Managing ambiguity and change
• Arte/Scienza – Whole-brain thinking
• Corporalita – Body-mind fitness
• Connessione – Systems thinking

This dynamic, highly-interactive program brings da Vinci’s genius to life through fascinating biographical and historical information, setting the stage for an introduction to seven principles for thinking “a la Leonardo.” Participants are then guided to apply the principles, through a proven series of practical exercises, to your organization’s greatest challenges. Leonardo invented the parachute before anyone could fly! Imagine what your organization could accomplish with that kind of innovative thinking.

Objectives:

• Learn 7 essential principles for a more creative life.
• Measurably improve memory and problem solving ability.
• Apply the principles to generate greater creativity and innovation in the workplace.

Thomas Edison is history’s greatest practical innovator. Beyond his invention of the phonograph, motion pictures and a system to light the world, Thomas Edison invented the rigorous, disciplined process of innovation.

In addition to creating the world’s first Industrial Research and Development laboratory, Edison was also a master at promoting a culture of innovation. Moreover, he understood that the principles of personal success and organizational innovation go hand-in-hand. Personal success and fulfillment requires you to learn how to think like an innovator; and, for your organization to be successful, innovation is now more important than ever.

This program introduces Edison’s Five Competencies of Innovation™. They are:

• Solution-Centered Mindset
• Kaleidoscopic Thinking
• Full-Spectrum Engagement
• Master Mind Collaboration
• Super-Value Creation

Each competency will be brought to life with specific, practical “take-home” applications. This program is
readily adaptable to specific organizational challenges. It can also be combined with “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci” to focus on optimizing creativity AND innovation.

Objectives:

• Learn the 5 essential competencies of innovation.
• Learn Edison’s strategies for setting and achieving goals.
• Learn a collaborative approach to creative problem-solving.

In recent years, the best thinking on leadership and organizational performance has shifted away from the idea of managing time to recognize the importance of managing energy. Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, authors of the New York Times best-seller The Power of Full Engagement, explain “Leaders are stewards of organizational energy.”

They emphasize:

• “Energy is the most important individual and organizational resource.”
• “Positive energy rituals—highly specific routines for managing energy—are the key to full engagement and sustained high performance.”

The sages of Chine came to these same conclusions five thousand years ago. Now we can apply this ancient wisdom to meeting the demand of our contemporary lives. Creative energy is our ultimate resource. Throughout history geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, etc. had an intuitive understanding of how to connect with this energy.

This program guides participants to generate and express creative energy using simple, elegant, evidence-based methods. These techniques, based on ancient wisdom and validated by contemporary science, are combined with an understanding of how to adopt a creative mindset and apply the most potent methods of the creative process. The result is a unique, energizing and transformational program.

Objectives:

• Learn the 10 elements of a creative mindset
• Understand the 5 phases of the creative process
• Discover 3 practical methods to raise creative energy

In the last 30 years, the scientific evidence supporting the notion that your mind can improve through the years has become overwhelming. Clearly, the question is no longer whether your mind can improve with age, but rather how you can optimize your mental powers as you get older.

This program presents practical, evidence-based information on improving your mind throughout life.

Topics include:

• The New Paradigm: A Whole New Brain
• Think Counterclockwise: Adopting the Most Adaptive Attitudes
• Be a Life-Long Learner: How to Improve Your Memory and Learning Ability
• Exercise for More Brain Power: The Most Beneficial Activities
• Mind Your Diet to Nourish Your Mind: 7 Simple Elements of a Brain-Friendly Diet
• How to Create a Brain-Enhancing Environment
• Investing in Your Social Wealth: Cultivate Healthy Relationships (and Stay Sexy!)
• Sleep, Naps and Meditation: Rest Peacefully to Delay Resting in Peace
• Applied Neuroplasticity: The Brain That Changes Itself

Objectives:

• Learn and apply the research-validated practices that prevent dementia.
• Understand the new paradigm of neuroplasticity.
• Develop an immediately applicable, practical strategy to improve performance with age.

Communication is your most important life skill and the key to effective leadership. In order to develop this essential competency you must learn to apply creative thinking to interpersonal interaction.

Societal and organizational megatrends make innovative communication an imperative.

In this compelling program you will learn:

• How to understand different levels of motivation/awareness and how they relate to generating “buy-in” to change
• The paradoxical, universal truth you must apply to build relationships
• The art of accurate empathy
• Style-Flex: How to appreciate and leverage cultural and thinking style diversity to get results
• The SMART approach to give and receive feedback
• How to recognize and overcome resistance to innovation and change
• Creative conflict resolution strategies based on the martial art of Aikido
• Creative strategies to invent options for mutual gain

Objectives:

• Improve relationships
• Develop practical, proven strategies to resolves conflict
• Learn how to champion innovative ideas and projects and overcome resistance to positive change

This program creates a fun, cooperative learning environment. Participants coach one another in the art of juggling, and pick up the balls for each other as they drop! In the process, everyone learns the core principles of accelerated learning and organizational high performance.

Participants will learn how to:

• Manage complexity and thrive on chaos by gracefully keeping a number of things “up in the air” at the same time.
• Approach mistakes creatively as you learn to “let the balls drop.”
• Use teamwork to create a cooperative learning environment.
• Learn anything you want to as well and as fast as you can.
• Apply the principles of accelerated learning to become a more effective coach for your colleagues, subordinates, family, and friends.
• Juggle!

Objectives:

• Develop teamwork
• Learn how to learn
• Learn how to juggle