Celebrate Good Times (Come on!)
I recently celebrated a birthday, and I am in the thick of planning the Peak Academy Awards (our team’s big way to celebrate innovations throughout the city over the past […]
How the Fear of Diminished Value can Sink your Team’s Engagement
At our best, we employees can be incredibly thoughtful, creative, passionate and driven. We volunteer for extra duties, offer to help our overwhelmed teammates, and bring great ideas to our […]
A City of Denver soil reuse practice avoids landfills and saves millions
To give an example of how much was being hauled away from City projects to landfills, imagine an 18-wheeler truck that is filled to the brim with soil. Just about 4,100 trucks worth of soil would have been disposed of this year, if not for Diane’s brilliant idea: create a Soil Reuse Guidance Document and include it as a standard in City development contracts.
Peak Tools: Visual Thinking & Communication
Why draw or use visual language to do anything professionally? According to all of the experts I could find, anybody can draw. Visual thinking and communication are simple. Visual thinking […]
The Top 5 Ways for Leaders to Leverage Innovators on Your Team
Innovators can be found in the workplace just about anywhere, but what does innovation really mean? The definition of an “innovator” is anyone who attempts to make a positive change […]
Peak Book Summary: Everybody Matters – The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family
“Everybody Matters” by Bob Chapman (CEO of Barry-Wehmiller) & Raj Sisodia (Coauthor of Conscious Capitalism), is one of the best books I have ever read. Broken into […]
Peak Tools: The Idea Tree
Even before I joined the Denver Peak Academy, I was in love with the concept and abilities of the Idea Tree; one of Denver Peak Academy’s most powerful tools. It is one the fastest, most dynamic, and effective ways to gather and keep brainstorming ideas.
Bright Spots: Leading with Heart
Innovate or… How do you know when it’s time to make a change? The concept of innovation and continuous improvement doesn’t always emerge from having the right amount of time, […]
nudge me just a little BIT
nudge /nej/ verb Prod someone gently in order to draw their attention to something. Nudge. You’ve likely nudged, and if you’ve ever been a kid who was slow to […]
Peak Book Summary: Peak Performance
In the book Peak Performance by Brian Elms (Innovation Practice lead at Change and Innovation Agency) with J.B. Wogan (Journalist at Governing Magazine), we investigate the new science of success […]
How Data Driven Decisions Inspired Empathy at Public Health Inspections
Yes, data can inspire empathy. In fact, it was the end result of a Peak partnership for the Residential Housing team at Denver’s Public Health Inspections division. In January of […]
From Boards to Riches: Developing Clarity through Organization
By Joel Drahos, Associate Recruiter, Denver Office of Human Resources – January 2018. Track, track, track, this is what they tell us – in leadership books, at the Peak Academy training, […]
Conference Room Scheduling Innovation in Denver’s Wellington Webb Building
Everyone knows the story; a few years back, after Eric Wolf, a Business Data Analyst with the Denver Department of Finance, took Denver Peak Academy’s Black Belt Training, he started […]
Peak Book Summary: Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
In the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, there are six principles presented to help you craft and effectively […]
Innovation on the Road: When Black Belts Vacation Together
By Sarah Moss, Strategic Programs and Government Affairs Manager, Denver Fire Department May 2017 In early May, I set out from Denver on a road trip to the Great Sand […]
Hiring the Best Talent in Less Time
Hiring the Best Talent in Less Time The Department of Human Resources’ Talent and Acquisition Team (OHR-TA) believe that good processes can always be better processes. Their mission is to […]
