In advance of a meeting, frame a problem or issue to address. Ask each person to bring, at least, one new idea or suggestion about the problem as their ticket of admission to the meeting.Social cognitive learning theory definition have the people write their ideas on index cards and collect them at the door. No one gets in without a ticket. Start the meeting by reading everyone’s contribution.Social cognitive learning theory definition

Stagecraft counts for a lot in today’s fast-paced, visual world. Think of your meeting as a theatrical production – with sets (colorfully decorated classrooms), props (well-designed materials), and plot lines (theme) with the manager as the director.Social cognitive learning theory definition as the director, the manager manipulates the participant’s perceptions. The director prods, provokes, challenges, inspires and challenges the people who feel stuck and stymied.Social cognitive learning theory definition for example, in a workshop for sales supervisors, the sales manager wore a football jersey and carried a football. When he asked a question, the manager would throw the ball to the person that he wanted to respond.Social cognitive learning theory definition when the manager wanted to change the topic, he would blow a whistle and make a change. The walls were decorated with goal posts displaying quotes from successful football coaches.Social cognitive learning theory definition at the end of the meeting, participants received a miniature football as a reminder that they now had to carry the ball into the field.

Just like in the movies, in meetings, music can help set the tone and heighten the experience for participants.Social cognitive learning theory definition for example, play soft classical music when the group is brainstorming or light jazz during coffee breaks. The sound track doesn’t have to be music.Social cognitive learning theory definition you may want to use the sound of roaring crowds to cheer people on, laugh tracks to loosen people up when they get uptight, jungle noises when someone becomes too negative, bells and gongs when a consensus opinion is reached, bombs blowing up when ideas are discarded, and so on.Social cognitive learning theory definition the possibilities are endless.

Sometimes, it takes a five-alarm wake-up call to jolt people out of their complacency. At the beginning of the meeting, ask the participants to imagine that they are “fired.” now ask them to reapply for their own jobs.Social cognitive learning theory definition this will shock and force them to rethink about their knowledge and competencies and, most importantly, what they need to do to improve. Or, print an imaginary newspaper of the future that announces your company’s bankruptcy.Social cognitive learning theory definition then ask the participants to imagine why the company had gone bankrupt. It’s the element of shock that makes us wake up to see, hear, and experience our world anew.Social cognitive learning theory definition

Ask each person to write a current job-related problem or concern on a blank sheet of paper. Examples: “how can I get better cooperation from our warehouse employees in fulfilling orders on time?” “how can we overcome the low price and discount program of our competition?” after allowing a few minutes to write out the problems, ask each person to pass his or her problem to the right.Social cognitive learning theory definition that person reads the problem just received and jots down their responses. They are given 60 seconds to respond to the individual sheet. Keep the process going until each person gets his or her sheet back.Social cognitive learning theory definition then share and discuss the ideas.

Children do most of their important learning while playing with toys. It’s no wonder that toys have a liberating effect in meetings.Social cognitive learning theory definition they are not only fun, and a disarming way to break the ice, but they are also a deceptively powerful way to break down the barriers of conditioned thinking and responses.Social cognitive learning theory definition bring a box of toys to the meeting. Just having toys in the room will change the feeling in the room and invite people to be more open and playful.Social cognitive learning theory definition have the participants choose a toy and give them time to explore it. Then ask them to compare the problem or issue under discussion with the toy.Social cognitive learning theory definition

For instance, a group of employees were brainstorming for ways to improve customer service. Each participant chose a toy from a pile of toys – a pail full of legos, a yo-yo, a toy dog, and so forth – to find the toy that represented their customer service best.Social cognitive learning theory definition the typically serious, driven employees erupted in laughter as they took turns standing in front of the group comparing the problem to a lump of play dough.Social cognitive learning theory definition the playfulness of the exercise, however, allowed them to be more bold, truthful, and perceptive about themselves and the problem than they probably would have been with a more traditional approach.Social cognitive learning theory definition

Write the alphabet vertically on the chalkboard. Then ask for names of famous (real or fictional) people for each letter: A=neil armstrong, B=alexander graham bell, C=charlie chaplin, D=leonardo davinci, E=albert einstein, F= fred flintstone and so on.Social cognitive learning theory definition have each person in the group pick a random letter. One might end up with albert einstein or david letterman. Then have each person think about how the famous person might approach the problem.Social cognitive learning theory definition finally, have the group share their perspectives. How, for example, would william shakespeare improve office morale?

In this approach, people turn around to find out what it’s really like to be someone in a different position.Social cognitive learning theory definition for example, to help its salespeople improve their selling skills, a realtor sent his salespeople to car dealerships. Posing as customers, they walked through the entire sales process, recording particular behavior, words, and actions that critically affected their attitude as “buyers.” at the sales meeting, they shared their experiences and talked about ways they could improve their own selling skills.Social cognitive learning theory definition it was an eye-opening experience – proving the point that it is one thing to talk about what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes and another to actually do it.Social cognitive learning theory definition

Storytelling is one of the oldest ways to teach and transform. Such devices as parables, personal experiences, and metaphors allow people to think about things that would be difficult to approach any other way.Social cognitive learning theory definition storytelling, for example, can help people envision the future they want and how to achieve it. Tell each person to imagine that he or she had been voted employee of the year.Social cognitive learning theory definition then, have each one give a speech to the group, telling what they did and how they did it to earn the honor. Or, ask each person to write out their most ambitious goal for this year.Social cognitive learning theory definition then, imagine that the goal has reached or surpassed. Again, ask each person to give a speech on the specifics of what they had to do to achieve it.Social cognitive learning theory definition

With this approach, ideas and solutions come by looking for ideas in unrelated fields. As a pre-exercise for a marketing meeting on strategies and tactics for selling luxury boxes for a NFL football franchise to corporations, sales and marketing employees were sent out to observe marketing and sales in unrelated retail operations such as designer-fashion stores, computer software franchises, fast-food restaurants and bookstores.Social cognitive learning theory definition they came back with long lists of ideas and suggestions that could be applied in their own business.

In our daily lives, a regular rhythm propels us along and tells us what to expect next.Social cognitive learning theory definition but if the rhythm goes on too long, it dulls our imagination and we stop paying attention to the world around us. Consequently, we need to break the rhythm.Social cognitive learning theory definition in meetings, breaking rhythm can be as simple as being contrary to a group’s expectations. For instance, in one meeting, managers watched a video that showed what they assumed were positive examples of how to motivate employees.Social cognitive learning theory definition what they saw instead was a series of bloopers that were plausible enough so that they nodded in acknowledgment. Sure, I do that! By the time they realized that they were examples of don’ts rather than dos, they had been disarmed into recognizing their own mistakes, and they became more open to change than they might have had they just been shown what to do.Social cognitive learning theory definition

This is a technique that fred stryker used to create daily plots and stories for “the lone ranger.” he created a chart that consisted of the major parts of the story: good characters, bad characters, kinds of crimes, different kinds of weapons, locations, etc.Social cognitive learning theory definition then he generated long lists of variables for each category and numbered them. Each day, he would ask a colleague for a series of random numbers (one per category).Social cognitive learning theory definition then he looked up the items corresponding to the random numbers chosen by colleagues, and began writing a new story based on those items. You can do the same with any challenge.Social cognitive learning theory definition separate and list categories and write possibilities under each category. List a dozen or so different possibilities for each. Then randomly combine them and brainstorm the possibilities.Social cognitive learning theory definition

Divide the group into left-brain (rational) thinkers and left-brain (intuitive) thinkers. Ask the left-brainers to come up with a practical, conventional and logical idea; ask the right-brainers to come up with a far-out, unconventional and illogical idea.Social cognitive learning theory definition then bring the group back together and combine the left-brain idea with the right-brain idea to see what you get.

The obvious way to plan a project or think through a process is to start at the beginning and work through it logically step by step.Social cognitive learning theory definition but by shaking up the accepted sequence of things, people see processes in a new light and become open to new approaches. For example, a computer company set out to rethink its process for software rebates.Social cognitive learning theory definition it looked at every step in the sales process out of order, then reordered all of the steps. The startling result was that it was able to shorten to two days what had been a five-day process in processing rebates.Social cognitive learning theory definition

Announce the theme of the meeting, and then invite everyone to identify a related issue for which they’re willing to take responsibility. When someone suggests an issue, he or she becomes the sponsor, writes the issue on a large sheet of paper, and posts the sheet on a wall.Social cognitive learning theory definition the process continues until all of the suggested issues have been posted. Next, have participants take part in an “idea marketplace” in which each person signs one or more or the large sheets to discuss the issues.Social cognitive learning theory definition the sponsors get together with their groups in private to discuss the issues and record the ideas.

Post sheets of flip-chart paper around the room, one per participant.Social cognitive learning theory definition participants stand silently and write their ideas on the sheets (one sheet per person) for 10 to 15 minutes. Then the participants are allowed 15 minutes to walk around the “gallery” and look at the other ideas and take notes.Social cognitive learning theory definition now, using the other ideas to stimulate further thought, participants return to their sheets and add to or refine their ideas. After about 10 minutes of additional writing, the participants examine all the ideas and select the best ones.Social cognitive learning theory definition another option for the gallery technique is to ask participants to draw or diagram their ideas instead of listing them. For example, how many windows are there in your house?Social cognitive learning theory definition diagramming your house allows you to go inspect and count the windows. Creative insights sometimes occur as a result of drawing or diagramming a problem, because they help us notice certain features that may be overlooked.Social cognitive learning theory definition

When we compare problems to something unusual, we tend to have a need to understand it. Consequently, we break it down and analyze the different parts to see if this will allow us to understand it or make it somehow familiar.Social cognitive learning theory definition when this happens, we form new links and relationships that may lead to breakthrough ideas. For example, years back, a group of designers were looking for ideas for a new light fixture.Social cognitive learning theory definition they compared a light fixture with a “monkey” and imagined a monkey running around a house with a light. This thought led them to conceive track lighting.Social cognitive learning theory definition ask metaphoric questions to stimulate the group’s imagination. For example:

Each participant silently writes three ideas on the tops of sheets of paper.Social cognitive learning theory definition one idea per sheet. The sheets are passed to the person on their right. That person is asked to write down an idea that improves on the one listed at the top of the sheet.Social cognitive learning theory definition if participants have difficulty improving on the idea, ask them to list new ones. Do this for all three ideas. After five minutes or so, the idea sheets are again passed to the right.Social cognitive learning theory definition continue the process until all members receive their original papers.

Have each participant construct a paper airplane. Each participant writes down an idea on the airplane and sends it flying to another participant.Social cognitive learning theory definition upon reading what’s been written on the airplane, he or she writes down a modification or improvement of that idea, or an entirely fresh possibility and then sends it flying to someone else.Social cognitive learning theory definition continue the exercise for twenty minutes and then collect and categorize the ideas.

Creative people frequently say that inspiration hits when they are doing something else.Social cognitive learning theory definition to the extent that your “else” is limited, so are the odds of a stunning insight. Repeated encounters with an alien realm of experience open you up to provocative new viewpoints.Social cognitive learning theory definition A sales manager recently told me that she recently joined a sculpture class. After she finished shaping her first mound of clay on a swivel tray, her instructor advised her to turn the sculpture around and look at it from several different viewpoints.Social cognitive learning theory definition the idea of looking at something from all sides was a revelation to her. Now whenever she works on a sales problem, she looks at it in as many different ways as possible.Social cognitive learning theory definition