Zenzi Client, AmyK, has made 600+ presentations worldwide on leadership and sales.  She draws on Master’s experience at John Hopkins University to help business managers capitalize on how the brain and human perception filters work to be more effective in business and life and offers up these tips for thinking outside of the box.

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Innovation begins with a phenomenon known as the Eureka! effect. When a connection forms between brain cells that have never “talked” before you get a new idea – a Eureka! When this creative moment is nurtured in an environment where free thinking is fostered and disparate connections are encouraged, the result can be game-changing…the result is the Eureka! effect. Think iPod, bio-fuel, and making donations via SMS – these phenomena are complete game-changers. And, the creative ideas behind each of them didn’t simply stay in someone’s head, they were energized in environments of intellectual curiosity.

Ever have a “great idea”, only to have it fade away in the mist of your mind? What would be the power in capturing your great idea and creating a Eureka! moment?

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2 Techniques to Energize Eureka! Moments:

1. 20%. – the amount of time your brain needs to spend in theta mode. What’s theta mode? The opposite of go-go-go mode. Most of us live 80 mph lifestyles, but it’s when we slow down and reflect on what’s going on that we get our best, most innovative ideas. Google allows their employees to spend 20% of their time NOT working on assigned objectives and tasks. So what are these employees doing essentially 1 day out of the work week? Exploring their environment, virtual and real, and “playing” with new ideas together and on their own.  Google’s 20% time culminated in a new $240M division. That’s innovation & productivity!

2. Mix up your brain cells. Literally…sort of.  When you have a challenge or opportunity, first engage your brain by asking it a question. The brain is naturally curious and drives to answer your question.  When you have that BIG question in your head, let it go. Literally…really. Drop the pursuit of an answer and go cycling or surfing (something physical), then read a chapter of a biz book, next spend at least 20 minutes drawing, painting, sketching (with “real” media or with software) and then go back and ask the question again. By forcing your brain to “play” with distinctly different activities, you require different cells to connect creatively. Disparate connections will form and Eureka! moments result.

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Want to move that Eureka from moment to effect?

3 Questions to Grow Your Eureka! to Innovation:
1. What skills, information and knowledge do I need to make this idea happen?
2. Where will I find the resources, help, assistance or collaboration I need to sustain my momentum?
3. What are the first five things I need to do to put this idea in motion?

ZENZI HELPS COLORADO BUSINESSES ‘BE KNOWN’ AND ‘BE FOUND’

-Highly effective integrated agency opens office in Boulder focusing on digital marketing-

San Diego, CA, and Boulder, CO, February 1, 2010—Zenzi Communications, an award-winning agency that combines traditional marketing and PR with search engine optimization and social media for maximum impact, has expanded operations to Boulder, Colorado. Veteran marketer Anke Corbin will lead a local team focused on the digital aspects of helping companies ‘Be Known’™ and ‘Be Found’ through a creative and results driven approach.

Headquartered in San Diego, Zenzi is one of the city’s fastest growing companies and specializes in working with technology, B2B, consumer and hospitality clients. Among those on the firm’s roster include Boulder-based Parascript LLC, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, Fresh Express Artisanal Salads, San Diego Botanic Garden, Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism, California State University-Northridge, Bank of Nevada, Mushroom Networks, Sandvine, Business OnLine, BeneTrac (a division of Paychex), and more.

Zenzi means crescendo, the culmination of carefully crafted notes, harmonies and dynamic sounds. Formerly SZPR, Zenzi is a full-service integrated marketing and PR agency whose sole mission is to help our clients thrive. Our ability to garner media attention, reach customers online and offline through media relations, social media, staging events, and generating buzz with grassroots publicity stunts is unmatched in San Diego, Boston or San Francisco.   We are experts at both traditional PR and marketing as well as Web 2.0, social media, and SEO using the ‘New PR’. Recruiting the attention of target markets at a variety of touch points makes a sound your customers will hear loud and clear.   Our marketing and PR expertise includes sampling products on college campuses, increasing brand awareness via media tours in New York with editors, creating viral internet buzz in social media, and getting publicity from feature stories in Business Week, Oprah or wherever you want to be. Zenzi has a track record of success, our media connections and marketing & PR expertise will help your brand BE KNOWN.

Many of today’s top business leaders are successful at getting media coverage simply by stating their opinions of the market.  They talk at length with reporters about industry trends and make predictions about what the future might hold, but they never pitch their new product or company specifically.

It’s a Subtle PR Ploy:
The fact is, these executives are promoting their companies, just in a very subtle manner.  Positioning a company as a thought leader can enhance credibility and establish a reputation as an industry expert.