One of the first things we tell participants is that our Stand & Deliver foundational presentation skills workshop has a ‘cry factor’ of about 9. (Note: All Combustion workshops have a ‘cry factor’ rating which might tell you a lot about our weird and wonderful… Read More »Even Bankers Cry (or How Finding Your Swagger Can Blow Your Mind)
Let’s face it – even a leader with a healthy ego knows he or she can’t succeed alone. Success depends a lot (maybe even entirely) on the performance of our people. So as ‘Wise Leaders’, we’re always keeping an eye on them – it’s a… Read More »Catch Them Doing Right
I’m really lucky – working with organizations all across North America I’ve seen the awesomeness that diversity (AKA differences in people) can bring. From strategies and marketing that cross ethnic and racial boundaries to inclusion and tolerance for gender and religious differences, diversity creates a… Read More »The Leadership Recipe Myth
“I know your workshop details say that this is for 10 people, but do you mind if we do it for 15?” Mind? No, we don’t mind. But it’s not about our feelings. It’s about the participants. Always about the participants. When we design a… Read More »It IS a Numbers Game
New website launch today. And everyone at Combustion is pretty pumped. After existing (in several incarnations) for about 8 years, we’ve finally figured out EXACTLY who we are – and this is our chance to sing about it. When I launched my first training company,… Read More »Flying Our Virtual Freak Flags High
Nothing is worse than coming face to face with the triggered Reptilian Brain – one part of our anatomy dedicated solely to protecting us from anything that might challenge the status quo. The scenario; you’ve been asked by some stakeholders to come up with a… Read More »3 Tricks To Protect Your Ideas from Reptile Brains
My mother and uncle bought a children’s summer camp (Camp Kennebec) when I was two years old. From that day on, I spent all of my weekends and summers surrounded by crazily creative activity and lots and lots of kids. The camp office was in… Read More »5 Things Summer Camp Can Teach You About Designing Training
Combustion just returned from a jam-packed coupla days at the Corporate Learning Network Conference in Orlando where we shared our Forward From Thinking™ concepts with L&D leaders from around the world. The room was a veritable United Nations – with participants from across Africa, Europe,… Read More »Forward From Thinking Rules!
It’s time to look at the word ‘innovation’ in a new way. For the most part, its perceived as this grand undertaking – “Ok people, we’re going to radically change something we currently create. Now get going, and make it SEXY!” But at its core,… Read More »Up the Creek Without a Creative Paddle
It’s not new news that one of the theories of creative collaboration is based on the improv technique of “yes and…”. For anyone unfamiliar with this – the basic idea is, rather than shutting down someone’s idea or imposing your own, you’re supposed to bring… Read More »There’s More to ‘Yes And’ Than Meets the ‘I’