One of my clients is calling this ‘the good as it gets economy’. From the predictions I’ve been reading over the holiday, 2012 isn’t going to be any easier than 2011. So business as usual is not an option. Yet paradoxically there has never been a better time to challenge the status quo!

McKinsey’s top three articles last year were: ‘Have you tested your strategy lately?’, ‘Seven steps to better brainstorming’ and ‘We’re all marketers now’  click here.

These themes continue to be intrinsic to the workshops we provide our clients. As in previous years we are also offering half-day ‘Kick Start’ sessions - or for the really time-challenged a 2-hour ‘Fast Clinic’.

The faster and more effectively you focus, align and energise your team, your customers and your stakeholders the greater your chances of enjoying a prosperous 2012!

I’ve always had issues with To Do Lists

It’s not just the discipline or even the stuff that happens after writing the list.

As David Allen, author of Getting Things Done points out, we can’t do if we don’t first think.

What outcome do we want? What is the first step?

The challenge is to find the time and space to think.

This is what I provide as a mentor and coach, and as a facilitator of workshops, offsites and forums.

Mind you, nothing beats just going for a walk. Turning off the clutter of media and noise and opening your mind.

There’s a German expression Du must loslassen, zu kommen lassen….You have to let go to let come.

Then you can write your to do list…. and do it.

All the problems in the world are caused by conversations that did not happen. I wish I could recall and credit the Danish facilitator who told me that at a recent conference in Copenhagen. These problems usually occur for one or more of the following reasons:

1. No conversation took place

2. The wrong conversation took place.

3. Insufficient thinking went into the conversation.

4. People weren’t listening.

5. Minds did not open and options were not considered

6. The right people were not present or invited

7. Insufficient time and space was given to the conversation.

Conversation requires turning things around (from the Latin versare to turn). It needs different points of view. A so called conversation where everyone is in violent agreement at the outset is unsatisfying and can lead to the problems my Danish colleague described.

One of the best conversations I ever experienced was on jury service. After five hours we were split 10:2 and left for the evening. I was sure the two who were holding out for a not guilty verdict would ’see the light’. But no! Next morning our count was 9:3. It took another five hours, but eventually we reached a unanimous guilty verdict. The conversation was of the highest quality. The commitment of all twelve of us to the decision, as we told the judge, was total.

It takes time. But that’s what it takes. There are techniques for improving the quality and effectiveness of conversations. The role of a facilitator, as that of the foreman of a jury, is no more nor less than to facilitate a conversation.

As the problems in the world, and in the workplace, become ever more complex the quality of our conversations has never been more important.

Comments welcome!

Any of us who thought that marketing and branding were recent phenomena should visit the ‘Turner and the Masters’ exhibition at Tate Britain www.tate.org.uk.

Turner is arguably the most famous artist Britain has produced. But how much of his reputation is based on branding and marketing?

Professor David Solkin, dean and deputy director of The Courtauld Institute of Art explains, Turner started by studying the competition; not just his contemporaries, but also the historical greats such as Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto and Poussin.

First he emulated them, adding his own differentiation, and rebranding himself as JMW Turner.  Having established credibility within the Royal Academy he positioned himself as a ‘historical landscape painter‘, and found a unique voice. He succeeded in securing a legacy in his own lifetime, which has lasted for over 150 years.

The hangings of the paintings also use a technique familiar to advertisers, but unusual in the art world – side by side comparisons.

Well worth a visit during Frieze week!  www.frieze.com