DILIP'S PROGRAMS FOR THE EDUCATIONAL DOMAIN: DOWNWARD MIGRATION FROM CORPORATE PROGRAMS

[This is essentially a continuation of my earlier post, pertaining to my 'Idea Map' showing the distinctive features of Dilip's programs for the educational domain.

The 'Idea Map' has been crafted in conjunction with the recent launch of a series of new programs intended for parents as well as their school-going kids/teens, under the auspices of 'The House of Creative Brains'.

It serves as an intellectual backbone to the program synopsis for both parties.]

Just like Dilip's programs for the corporate world, under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) for more than decade, both programs for parents & their school-going kids/teens are custom-designed to help participants towards envisioning & preparing for the future.

Dilip & I believe very strongly that what works in the corporate world works in the educational arena as well.

The world out there has changed, & we must change with it. Dilip will show participants how to do it successfully.

Besides sharing corporate lessons in change mastery, Dilip will also coach participants on how to excel in pathfinding, & plotting their career path.

Fundamentally, the program for both parents & their school-going kids/teens shares (and for teachers, too, in large measures) the same distinctive themes, with the following "exceptions":

for parents & guardians (& teachers, too):

- elaboration of the technological underpinnings of Dilip's body of work, with appropriate instructional & coaching components so that, not only they can apply the tools & metholodologies in their own life, but also coaching their own kids/teens; this is based on the principle that parents are their children's first teachers!

for their kids/teens:

- straight into immediate, multiple applications with total relevance to their school life, & of course, their life after school, with some explanations as to why they are doing it your way;

Hands-on applications, under Dilip's systematic coaching, apply to both programs, interspered by short class lectures, meaningful stories, selective video presentations (where appropriate), self-assessments, discovery games, group interactive exercises, project work, etc.

[Dilip's corporate programs in SIM, renewed for 2011, will include: 'Braindancing', 'Building Business Brainpower', 'Corporate Taleblazers', & 'Strategic Visioning with Lifescaping'.

For more information about the series of new programs under 'The House of Creative Brains', please get in touch with Ms. Faye Yeoh via her email faye_yeoh@yahoo.com.]

BOOK TO TANGO with BRAINDANCING

If you are contemplating on reading one of Dilip Mukerjea's books as a preambulatory exercise, prior to signing up for his 'Braindancing' seminar under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management in 2011, I recommend the following book:



Please bear in mind that the book was written a few years ago. Dilip has in fact incorporated many of his newer intellectual creations - especially in terms of practical tools for immediate application - within the newly-revamped 'Braindancing' program for 2011.

Enjoy your reading & exploration!

[In reality, 'Brain Symphony' replaces an earlier book by Dilip entitled 'Braindancing', which was written & published during the later part of the nineties.]

ENCORE: DILIP & THE SUPERBRAINS!

Whenever Dilip Mukerjea takes a coaching class, be it 'Building Brainpower' or 'Braindancing', or 'Lifescaping', under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management, there is - always - never a dull moment from the onset, as you can see from the spiritedness of the participating group in the foregoing snapshot.

Besides making learning = fun, Dilip always shares by the end of the day many pragmatic insights, actionable ideas, powerful tools, ready-to-use strategies & practical hints to enable each & every participant in the class to take on the world... by unleashing his or her genius, so to speak... as if telling the world: "Watch out, here I come! Your butt is mine!"

BRAINDANCING INTERVIEW ON THE MAURITIUS COLLEGE OF THE AIR

Appended below, are two parts of an interview, conducted by Ms. Shakuntala Hawoldar, a noted educationist, accomplished poet & prolific author on the enchanting island of Mauritius, with braindancer Dilip Mukerjea, in July 2002, when he visited the beautiful island in conjunction with a training program for the Technology Development & Training Centre.

Because of the interviewer's penetrating & insightful questions, Dilip was able to give a very broad & yet enriching perspective about learning, creativity, management, leadership, organisational prosperity, systems thinking & sustainability, all within the time constraints (less than half an hour).

The interview was unscripted, unstructured & somewhat "open-ended", thus reflecting Dilip's spontaneous creativity in dealing with some "tight-corner" questions, so to speak.

As a matter of fact, Dilip had met the interviewer only 15 minutes earlier, after arriving in Mauritius.




To help listeners in following the interview, I would like to put forward my share-points & tips drawn from the interview:

1) Simplifying Complexity:

Looking at the Positive Qualities of a Child; The Magic Formula [please pay attention to the 7 critical elements identified by Dilip]; How Not to be a Bureau-Rat (or Moving from Bureau-Crazy to Bureau-Creative); The Status Quo Has No Status; Knowing vs. Not Knowing; Be Successful or Be a Success-Fool; The Power of Collective ‘ I’ ~ From ‘Ego’ to ‘We-Go’; All Life is Systems; Don’t Get Imprisoned by e-lectronica;

2) Understanding Management & Leadership:

Management from the Root; Everything is Connected [“If you find it, life is simpler!”]; Waste Quotient; Inspiring People with the 4 I’s [please pay attention to Dilip’s illustrations]; Understanding Leadership: Fish Rots From the Head; Oxymoron: There is NO such thing as a Bad Leader; Leaders are Leaders, You Don’t Need the “Good” In front; The 7 Characteristics of Strategic Leadership [please pay attention to Dilip’s enumeration];

3) Applicability of Creativity:

Applicable to Everyone with a Head & a Heart; Children vs. Adults: Just a Matter of Vocabulary; Legacy for Our Children;

4) Are You Busy Dying or Busy Living?:

Understanding the Fear Phenomenon; FEAR is “Forget Everything, and Run!”; Knowing the Gap between the Rut & The Grave; Wishful Thinking vs. Wilful Doing;

5) Braindancing as The Way of Getting New Ideas:

Understanding the Spirit of Learning; The True Meaning of Freedom; Embracing Paidia & Paideia; Having Fun, Laughter & Play are Disciplines; It’s Usage, Not Age, that Determines Your Brainpower;

6) Conditioning of The Mind:

Understanding the Conditioning Phenomenon; How can We Stamp it? How Can We Breakthrough?; Going Back to the Positive Qualities of the Child; Be Childlike;

7) The Power to Choose:

Making Strategic Choices in order to Effect Personal Change; Drawing from the Transformative Experiences of Mahatma Gandhi & Holocaust Victims; Our Permission to Mediocrity; Misery is also an Option; Pearls of Wisdom vs. “We are the Pearls” [Thanks to Michael Jackson for his inspiration. For the record, it didn't happen that way for Dilip. Maybe, synchronicity. I have just added it as a fun juxtaposition, as Michael Jackson's original lyrics were "We Are the World..."!]; Deep Dive to See What Pearls We Find;

Interested listeners can proceed to explore further by pursuing & reading Dilip’s latest books:

1) ‘Brain Symphony: Brain-blazing Practical Techniques in Creativity for Immediate Application’ (replaced ‘Braindancing’, mentioned in the interview, which is now out-of-print);

2) ‘Surfing the Intellect: Building Intellectual Capital for a Knowledge Economy’; (mentioned in the interview; more targeted at corporate executives);

3) ‘Unleashing Genius, with the World’s Most Powerful Learning Systems’ (more targeted at parents, teachers & students);

"The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size..." ~ Oliver Wendell Homes

BRAINDANCING: CREATIVITY & INNOVATION IN ACTION, scheduled for 12 to 13th May 2010 @SIM

Dilip Mukerjea is scheduled to conduct his foregoing popular seminar at SIM in early May 2010.

The synopsis is outlined as follows:

Introduction

Creativity is controlled chaos, or so you’ve heard but yet to experience. Then get ready to enter the eye of the creative storm with this mind-blowing programme that explores the creative process and teaches you how to make sense of this little understood and
unpredictable process.

Benefits to Participants:

Apply a range of creativity techniques in your work and personal life. Acquire expertise in converting breaks into breakthroughs.

Enhance your creative abilities, as well as boost your group intelligence. You will be able to apply the skills immediately in your life. This seminar is extremely valuable for idea generation and invaluable for enhancing flexibility in thinking.

Programme Outline:

- Generate ideas through a range of brilliantly simple but formidably-proven tools and techniques
- Prioritise powerfully in the creative decision-making process
- Dismantle mindsets and attain fluency, flexibility, and fluidity in confronting competitive creativity in a chaotic marketplace
- Learn how ideas emerge to create the advances we take for granted today
- Break out into areas of relevance and significance
- Work on the system, instead of in the system. Create constructive chaos for achieving 'chaordic' (chaos + order) relevance
- How many know about the latest software for their laptop computers but don't have a clue about the latest software for their cranial computer? Get the know-how here
- How many can surf the net but don't know how to surf their heads? Consider InterNet versus InterHead

Learning Features:

Fast-paced, interactive, and with ample opportunity to develop your skills for future integration in the workplace. Emphasis will be on practical applications.

Who Must Attend:

Executives at all levels from any discipline.

Venue : TO BE ADVISED.

Time : 8:30 - 18:00

Fee : S$963.00 (SIM Members) (Inclusive of 7% GST)

Enquiries : 62489407 exec@sim.edu.sg

For registration to the seminar, please proceed to this link.

CONCEPTUAL SYMBOL: Braindancing

This conceptual symbol from Dilip Mukerjea captures the essence of his signature corporate seminar, designated as 'Braindancing: Creativity & Innovation in Action', & held at least four times a year, under the auspices of the Singapore Institute of Management.

In a nut shell, 'Braindancing' is just a metaphor to signify the myriad of 'synaptic dances among neurons' in the brain, when one readily uses the mind productively, meaningfully & purposefully.

To share a scientific fact: Our creative brainpower is a function of the networking as well as the richness of the network of our neurons.

That's to say, in no uncertain terms: Use more of it or lose it!

From another perspective: just imagine the prancing Genie.

For a few of us, like Dilip, the light on the lamp is always flickering, with the Genie on call at will, but for many others, they got to keep rubbing the lamp just to get the fire lighted up.

In the 'Braindancing' seminar, Dilip shares numerous strategies & techniques to help you keep the fire on your lamp flickering continuously, even when the wind is not in your favour.

For more information & schedule about the 'Braindancing' seminar, please proceed to this link at the Singapore Institute of Management, or to this link under his corporate website.

SUPERBRAIN FOR YOUR CREATIVITY & INNOVATION BOOKSHELF

Very interestingly, I am glad to note that Dilip Mukerjea's debut book, 'SuperBrain: Train Your Brain & Unleash the Genius within by Using Memory Building, Mind Mapping, Speed Reading', written & published by Oxford University Press in the late nineties, but now out of print, is still available from Amazon USA as well as UK, through their resellers.

The lowest going price for the collectible is now US$107.99 in USA, & Pounds Sterling 34.99 in UK, as published.

I have designated it as a collectible because of one distinguishing aspect:

At the time the book was written, Dilip Mukerjea's initial foray into the arena was understandably aligned with the progenitor of Mind-Mapping, Tony Buzan, in the tradition of the protege to the master.

Today, with a whole gamut of books under his 'The Creative Brain Series', Dilip has moved away deliberately from that association, by charting out his own professional directions, & by developing his own intellectual creations, as manifested in his proprietary 'Braindancing' & 'Lifescaping' seminars under the auspices of Singapore Institute of Management, available about four times a year, respectively.

Additionally, working with his corporate clients, he offers 'iCAPitalism' seminars; & now making inroads into the schools, he has developed the 'inGENIUS' seminars for kids & teens to help them excel academically & professionally in later years.

This weblog of mine will endeavour to showcase many of Dilip's innovative stuff as we move along in time.

Hence, in comparison to 'SuperBrain' & even the sequel, 'Brainfinity', now also out of print, & reading - & rereading - his current books under 'The Creative Brain Series', one can get a pretty good picture of his personal evolution from just a Master Mind-Mapper under Tony Buzan, to Learning Chef & Braindancer, & of course, Managing Director, with his own Braindancing International consultancy & coaching outfit.

By the way, what follows is a personal review of 'SuperBrain', which I had originally written on 14th February 2001 for Amazon UK website:

"Content-wise, there isn't anything new in this book, when compared to what Tony Buzan had already written so far.

However, the author has very skillfully inter-weaved a wide variety of hand-drawn sketches - plus his pencil caricatures - with many brilliantly coloured clip-art images, to explain and illustrate the many functional capabilities of the human mind.

The author had also interjected many useful information nuggets, pertaining to brain performance. For beginners, this is in fact an excellent guide book. A brain user guide, to be more precise.

For any one who is interested to pursue speed reading, memory management and mind-mapping for the first time, the step-by-step visual approaches - as artfully illustrated in the book by the author - would certainly be very useful.

There is also a smorgasbord of his own hand-drawn mind maps covering a wide variety of subject matters, to cater to laymen as well as business people.

The Braintertainment part of the book at the end pages are also quite refreshing, if you spend some time playing with the games.

The Action Points in the Appendix is a good summary of the book, in terms of what readers need to do in order to boost brain performance.

On the whole, if you are looking for the first time an easy-to-read how-to guide on the brain, this is definitely a worthwhile book to be included in your personal library."

Well, all I can say right now is that this is just the beginning, because Dilip has systematically lined up a whole new series of intellectual works to be released in the not-too-distant future.

'Brainaissance' happens to be one of them. Please stay tuned!

To me, in the light of what I have written, I reckon 'SuperBrain' is a worthwhile collectible for your Creativity & Innovation Bookshelf.

PROLOGUE & INTRODUCTION

I have set up this new personal weblog with the blessing of Dilip Mukerjea, Learning Chef, Braindancer & Managing Director of Braindancing International.

As the name implies, it will showcase a constantly evolving array of tools, templates, tactics, techniques & tips to turbo-charge your creativity & innovation, personally, professionally & organisationally, with specially dedicated contributions from Dilip Mukerjea.

Besides complementing Dilip Mukerjea's own established business outfits & other ongoing professional endeavours, this weblog will also eventually function as an additional marketing avenue for the many published thoughtwares from the Learning Chef & Braindancer.

In the mid-nineties when he had just started out, Dilip Mukerjea had understandably aligned himself with Tony Buzan, the progenitor of Mind-Mapping.

Particularly in the last few years, he has deliberately moved outward as well as jumped forward to reach much higher levels of technical competence, with his own intellectual creations.

His creations are often well thought of & elegantly constructed, in sustaining resonance with his personal motto of "advancing human performance across multiple as well as multi-disciplinary domains".

Because of my personal interactions with him, & having known him since the mid-nineties, I have noticed that many of his new intellectual creations often run off-tangent from his original association with Tony Buzan's work.

In other words, which I hate to say but proud to reveal, the protege has ultimately surpassed the master, in terms of intellectual productivity, & more importantly, novel experiences & value-added benefits for his clients.

Braintales or Storycrafting, Insight & Solution Generator Matrices, Splash Maps, Conceptual Symbols, Lifescapes, Exponential Junction or Junction Dynamics, & SWOT Analysis with Venn Diagrams, are just a handful of them worth mentioning at this point in time.

Many of these products have already been openly shared with his consulting clients & seminar participants, & more will be covered in his forth-coming series of books &/or bookazines.

This weblog of mine will also, from time to time, take the opportunity to share his numerous intellectual creations with readers.

I will also extract excerpts from his books for special mention as immediate takeaways, with the view of guiding readers to maximise learning from his published thoughtwares.

As principal blogger, I will also endeavour to provide personal perspectives of his work & contributions, in addition to sharing with readers useful information about our personal interactions & professional collaborations, & to disseminating our fresh insights as fellow explorers in the field of creativity & innovation.

Please stay tuned!

[All images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]