Eureka!

by Danny Summers

At first glance, you might think of the word Eureka as referring to a city or town. There are 4 or more in the US alone. But this message is intended to challenge you to think about the word as an exclamation:

Eureka [ yoo-ree-kuh, yuh-]
Interjection - an exclamation of triumph on discovering or solving something.

The first use of the word:
Relating to the expression "eureka" as "I have found it!" ... is credited to Archimedes, an ancient Greek mathematician, who, after long study, discovered a method of detecting the amount of alloy mixed with the gold in the crown of the king of Syracuse.

For us today, the word Eureka should quickly bring to mind those important words... I have found it or triumph or discovery.

Looking back at recent GROUPtalk blog messages and also eList conversations we can see we have had topics where the word Eureka could have easily been used. Here are just a few:

The Group Knowledge Experience, Collaboration, Be the Inspiration, The Strength of Group Sharing, Just Imagine, The Power of Connection, Collaborating for New Marketing Ideas, and many more.

I cannot think about this message without remembering one of my favorite graphics. While the one above depicts brain power creating new ideas (in a light bulb) the one below I have used several times for different messages and it too shows the power of Eureka! What better way to emphasize new ideas to the level of Eureka as through the creative, unrestrained eyes, imagination and skills of children.

What can Eureka mean for You, Your Center, Your Team, and even Your Guests?

Possibly everything!

Moving toward The Fall Event 2023... in the coming weeks you will see more discussions emerging around this theme of Eureka. We will be asking each Center and staff to share areas of both abilities, talent and interests. This will help set the stage for our first day of The Fall Event 2023 as well as other sessions and breakouts.

Driving Your Eureka!
with Maggie Nichols and the Eureka! Ranch Team

On Monday afternoon, Maggie Nichols, CEO of Eureka! Ranch, will introduce us to the framework for Driving Your Eureka! With over 20 years of experience inventing and testing new products, services, and systems, Maggie Nichols has a wealth of practical knowledge and hard data that will motivate us to think more creatively and innovatively about the growth and success of your center.

Eureka! Ranch was founded more than 35 years ago by Doug Hall. Doug was at Proctor & Gamble (P&G was founded and is based in Cincinnati) and got a record number of innovations shipped in a short period of time with a tiny staff and budget (9 products in 12 months with a team of 3). He did this by using a systems approach because of his knowledge of the work of Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the inspiration for Lean, Total Quality and Six Sigma. Doug left P&G and founded Eureka! Ranch and started helping large companies like Nike, American Express, and Disney create big, disruptive ideas, which it continues to do today. In fact, their client list reads like a Who's Who of worldwide businesses.

And now the Eureka! Ranch Team will be helping us! We can't take you all to the Eureka! Ranch, so we're bringing Eureka! Ranch to you!

This session will be the catalyst to taking The Group's DNA of sharing to a much higher level. And its not just to share current concepts, ideas and approaches that are working today, but to ignite the synergies and creative skills through the "Group Experience."

What can we envision, solve and create together? It may be a shorter list to ask, "What can't we envision, solve and create together?"

I can't wait. Stay tuned and be ready. Oh, and make sure your calendar is marked for September 25-28, 2023. You'll be busy, out of town and at The Fall Event 2023!

Watch for full program, registration and hotel information coming soon!