is a human resources management tool which aims to:

• integrate new employees into the company

• highlight the importance of creativity in the company

• boost a new employee’s curiosity and ability to question, and make the most of their fresh perspective to discover new ideas.

Within the first 100 days of employment, the new employee is asked to write a discovery report for the attention of his immediate superior and the head of personnel.

On his first day in the company, the new employee is informed that he will be expected to prepare a discovery report within 100 days. He should receive a practical file explaining the process.

His superiors should remind him regularly of the importance of creativity, of curiosity, and of the art of asking good (and surprising!) questions. They will suggest that he keep a discovery notebook for everyday use: good ideas disappear quickly.

The new employee provides a copy of his discovery report to his immediate superior and the head of personnel.

Ideally, the new recruit should present his discovery report verbally within seven days of delivering the written report. It is important for the immediate superior and head of personnel to value their new colleague’s curiosity, creativity and questions, and to not judge them.

As a result of the discovery report, the new employee will feel valued through his creativity, his questions and his suggestions. The company clearly demonstrates the importance of creativity from everyone, even from its most recent employees. New personnel provide the company with a constant flow of new and fresh ideas.

Green ideas improve on what already exists. They enrich the existing system without challenging it. For example, moving from model 2.3 to model 2.4.

Red ideas shake up the established order: they are totally new. They break with habits, with existing ways of thinking and doing things. They are a complete departure from what already exists.

Yellow ideas are desirable ideas which appear, in theory, to be impossible. They are the ideas about which we say it would be fantastic if one day we could make them happen. For centuries, going to the moon was one of the most extraordinary yellow ideas of humanity.

Efficiency encourages us to cultivate a portfolio of multi-coloured ideas: to have blue ideas to develop as from today; green ideas to improve what already works well; red ideas to take leadership, and yellow ideas to dream the impossible things which will one day be achieved. The impossible is temporary.

Write down the name of a creative person (Picasso, James Dyson, ...), an inspiring place (the Scala of Milan, Barcelona ...) or an emotive piece of work (a book, a painting, a concert, ...) which hold great creative value for you. It’s about finding someone or something that will inspire you for a long time to come...

Write down two creative actions that you have recently completed - ideally in the last five days. These can be small creative initiatives (it’s not every week or every month that we have moments of creative genius…). For example, an original presentation that you recently delivered, a domestic problem that you solved with great skill, some good advice that you gave to a friend who had requested your help, a situation in your daily life where you showed great boldness and confidence.

Write down three opportunities for creativity within the coming 3 to 5 days. For example, you have an important memo to write for Monday morning, an important customer to visit on Tuesday, a family event to celebrate at the weekend, a holiday to prepare for, or a particular project to work on.

Ewhen you have written your FLASH 1.2.3., return as naturally as possible to what you were doing. The potency of this technique lies within connecting you with your permanent creativity (1: anchor), recent creativity (2: achievements) and future creativity (3: opportunities). Take 5 minutes each week to write your FLASH 1.2.3. and your creativity will be sustainably maintained. It's simple, fast and amazingly powerful!