19 October 2006
Hilton Park Hotel, Nicosia
On 19 October 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers, Performa Consulting and the Ministry of Finance organised a conference at Hilton Park, Nicosia on the Challenge of Change. For the first time in Cyprus a conference has extensively examined creativity and innovation in organizations.
At the conference there were speakers from Cyprus and abroad who demonstrated that innovation is an essential ingredient for the survival in a competitive and changing environment and examined together with the participants ways of promoting innovation in organizations. There were presentations with examples of creative organizations in Cyprus and abroad.
The participants had the opportunity to gain insights into practical aspects of creativity through brainstorming and effective teamwork, personal development and leading style in the context of the five interactive workshops.
Paul Sloane, business consultant, trainer and author of 15 books on lateral puzzles discussed the role of the leader in creative teams and presented in his workshop how someone can run the perfect brainstorming. . According to Mr Sloane ‘Most leaders recognize the need for innovation, but don’t know how to succeed. Innovation is not a matter of improvement; it is a matter of survival.’
Linda Caller who specializes on issues of creativity marketing and advertising, noted that ‘it is important to be creative in the way we think and in everything we do.’ Ms Caller addressed the issue of how organisations can be guided into creative thinking so that they can produce more innovative solutions on a regular basis. Linda Caller will lead a workshop on branding.
Oliver MacDonald added a different tone to the conference and with great energy asked the participation of all delegates bringing out their individual creative abilities. In his workshop Oliver MacDonald introduced elements for a creative climate in organizations.
Dimis Michaelides Managing Director of Perfoma Consulting explored the meaning of creativity and innovation in organisations and described its various components in practice. Mr Michaelides considers that ‘If the 80s and 90s were about productivity and quality, today we are in the era of innovation, and leaders must encourage the development of creative culture and structure. Dimis Michaelides also led a workshop on “creative teambuilding”.
Philippos Soseilos, Board Member of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cyprus, presented the “Blue Ocean Strategy” conceived by professors Kim and Mauborgne. Mr Soseilos believes that ‘The greatest barrier for innovation is in the mind of the managers. It is in their inability to invest time in new ideas.’
Noting that by most criteria Europe appears to be seriously lagging behind US, the EU in innovation, EU is now actively promoting strategies for the development of innovation as an indispensable element of long term development for facing competitiveness.
For full details, view the Conference Programme
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