Dont Stand In Your Own Way With Mental Traps; Utilities Benefit When Employees Let Creativity Flow

Are you standing in your own way? Utility employees and the companies they work for gain more if they think outside their personal box and recognize ideas and thoughts that may actually be limiting or restricting their abilities.

Dont Stand In Your Own Way With Mental Traps;
Utilities Benefit When Employees Let Creativity Flow

For Immediate Release
Sept. 17, 2003
Contact: Tom Ellis
Ellis Communications, Inc.
Phone (417) 881-5635
E-Mail tom@elliscomm.com

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Are you standing in your own way?

Sometimes, we gain more -- as well as the utility company we work for and its customers -- if we can think outside our box and recognize ideas and thoughts that may actually be limiting or restricting our abilities," says David Saxby, president of Phoenix-based Measure-X, a company that specializes in helping utilities improve their customer service and sales. Everyone benefits when a utilitys employees use their creativity to improve customer service and boost revenues."

Saxby suggests utility employees might understand the benefits of creativity if they ask themselves what if:

-- I could discover an entirely new source of profits, previously overlooked?
-- I could multiply productivity through great new ideas and solutions?
-- I and my co-workers generated so many great ideas that progress seemed almost effortless?
-- Problems never overwhelmed me because a multitude of creative solutions are easily accessible?
-- I could visualize opportunities where there appear to be none?

Saxby suggests the following may be areas where utility employees stand in their own way.

If It Aint Broke, Dont Fix It. You cant be successful today if youre only fixing whats broken, Saxby says. Find ways to turn 'good into 'great. Constantly look for ways to improve and seek out innovative solutions. Dont be satisfied with something thats simply 'not broken."

Im Too Busy to Re-invent Whats Already Working Fine. Highly successful people have learned the key to success is building in time -- every day -- to think and innovate," Saxby says. Encourage your staff to do the same."

Everybody Finds Fault With Any Different or Unconventional Ideas. Most organizations, both large and small, place the highest value on creativity and innovation, Saxby points out. Expect to be criticized at times, though. It goes with the territory. But the potential rewards are so great you cant afford to get caught in the conformity trap."

I Cant Afford to Make A Mistake. Sometimes a new idea may not end up being the best idea. View these situations as opportunities for improvement. Identify what worked well and what did not," Saxby says. Then make adjustments. Learn to welcome failure."

Finally, to help utility management assess their openness to creativity and their ability to tap into it, Saxby suggests they ask themselves the following questions with a yes or no response and then tally up the answers.

-- Do we encourage our staff to generate new ideas?
-- Do I put problems into a positive perspective?
-- Does our staff have a clear understanding of our goals and priorities?
-- Is our environment conducive to creativity?
-- Does my work group generate ideas together?
-- Do we thoroughly evaluate ideas and alternatives before committing?
-- Are good ideas moving toward reality and not languishing or on hold"?
-- Are we looking for new sources of profit or revenue?

Measure-X is a measurement, training and recognition company that specializes
in customer service and sales skills. For more information on Measure-X,
call 888-644-5499 or visit its Web site at www.measure-x.com.