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Use Diversity to:
Involve people quickly in your meetings or workshops while they get to know each other in a high energy activity Explore the similarities and differences in thinking style preferences that are available in the group Facilitate a discussion of the group's thinking style strengths and potential blind spots Lead people to discover that mental preferences are not "right" or "wrong"-they just are Build understanding and appreciation of those with different thinking style preferences Introduce a dialogue about ways to use the group's strengths productively and their differences synergistically Introduce the concept of diversity in an interesting non-threatening way Quickly arrange people in small groups within a larger workshop or meeting group that are either homogeneous or heterogeneous in thinking style. You can use Diversity as an activity in your meetings and training programs or as the focus of an entire workshop. Diversity has been translated into French, German, and Spanish.
Diversity is based on the Whole Brain Model developed by Ned Herrmann. Ted Coulson, Ph.D. and Alison Strickland, M.Ed. originally developed it as an ice breaker for their creativity/innovation workshops to quickly introduce the concept of thinking style preferences as people get to know one another. Participants often asked if they might borrow the game to use in staff meetings and training programs to help increase team work, productivity, and creativity. At the same time, Ted and Alison discovered that the game worked equally as well at the beginning of creative problem solving meetings and in large corporate events. Positive feedback from the people who originally experimented with the game and extensive field testing over several years led to new applications and the game's commercial development. The Herrmann Whole Brain Model: The Herrmann Model upon which Diversity is based provides a metaphor for how the brain works that divides mental processing preferences into four distinct clusters. Research on brain function clearly establishes different modes of thinking in the right and left hemispheres. This "double brain" gives us contrasting ways of processing and understanding information. Within each hemisphere are two different brain systems-the cerebral and the limbic that also function differently. These four parts of the brain provide the basis for four different thinking style preferences: Why Play Diversity: The core purpose of Diversity is helping individuals and groups discover their unique ways of understanding and interacting with the world. Our experience with creative problem solving groups shows that work groups with diverse thinking styles outperform groups of people who think alike. Diversity quickly gives groups a picture of their mental preferences and avoidances and provides activities that invite people to talk about ways they might work together more effectively and synergistically. Then everyone's strengths can come into play and differences become an asset, not a liability. Many major corporations use Diversity in diversity training sessions. Mental diversity causes the same kinds of misunderstanding and conflict in groups and organizations that other more obvious differences do. Diversity offers a way to introduce this concept in a way everyone immediately understands because differences in thinking style preferences cross the traditional boundaries of race, gender, age, cultural, sexual orientation, and handicaps. People who appear to be the same discover mental differences. People who appear different often discover they have common thinking style preferences. From there, people go on to explore the possibilities a rainbow of mental preferences offers as they work together. Organizations also use Diversity in visioning sessions, company retreats, management/employee staff and quality meetings. Consultants use Diversity in team building, conflict management, and meetings that include employee's families. Organizations Using Diversity: Here are just a few of the organizations who have used Diversity. AT&T, Allstate, Amoco, Avon, Bell Atlantic, Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, Covey Learning Center, DuPont, GE, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Kraft Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Levi-Straus, Lucent Technologies, Merck, NASA, P&G, Pacific Bell, Smithsonian Institute, Starbucks, UNUM, Unisys, Washington National Insurance, and Xerox. How many people can play and how long does it take? Up to 25 people can play Diversity. Play it with larger groups by purchasing additional games. As far as we know, the person who reported playing with 500 people holds the record. Playing time varies from 45 minutes to half a day. As the facilitator, you make the time decisions based on your objectives. What's included in each game? Each Diversity game includes: What does it cost and how might I order? Diversity sells for $99.95 you may place your order by calling 727-391-5080, faxing us at 727-391-0347 or ordering online by clicking below and ordering over our secure server.
If you need to submit a purchase order, send it to us at:
P.O. Box 3641 Seminole, FL 33775-0641 Applied Creativity
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DIVERSITY energizes people as it helps them learn to recognize and quickly understand their own unique thinking style preferences and those of the group playing the game.
How Diversity was Developed: 
