"You've got to gut it out," says Stephen Harvill, the founderand president of Creative Ventures, during one of the presentationshe has made on the topic of how leaders should deal withchange.

Mr. Harvill offers the advice on a video replay of one of hiseducational sessions that's posted on his Web site. But whetherit's a video of him teaching one of his corporate clients, aposting on an Internet blog entry, or an article reprint, themessage he often delivers is one that may make some leadersuncomfortable.

Stop, wait, let the problemsit--are common themes of Mr. Harvill's teachings, no matter whatthe medium.

NAPSLO members got an introduction to Mr. Harvill for a fewminutes at last night's opening reception. Tomorrow, he willmoderate a panel discussion with four leaders of the surplus linesindustry. The session begins at 8:45 a.m.

The founder and president of Creative Ventures, Mr. Harvillprovides organizational learning and strategic planning programsfor some of the world's largest companies and for smallprofessional and business organizations as well.

Since 1989, he has worked as a speaker, educator and what hisWeb site biography describes as a "catalyst for change," bringinghis special brand of strategic thinking to business leadersoperating in chaotic times.

"Dynamic multimedia presentations and workshops designed tocreate energetic interaction are his trademark," according to hisInternet biography, which also reveals that his programs are basedon "powerful original ideas and actual case studies."

The case studies, no doubt, are gathered from his experienceswith clients that have included the likes of American Airlines,IBM, American Express, Wells Fargo, Samsung and ING.

A recent blog item provides a recount of strategic planningmeetings with two unidentified corporate clients, painting apicture that may be all too familiar to many leaders of E&Sinsurance companies and brokers.

"I watch and listen as layer upon layer of ideas make it intothe plan until it is nearly bursting off the whiteboard... Soon thediscussion has veered away from the overriding goal and sidediscussions break out over subsets of ideas."

"A flipchart sheet is torn off and added to the wall ofcomplexity. Oh the humanity of it all," he wrote on his blog,warning readers that complexity, like gravity, is a powerfulforce--and preaching a disciplined method of thinking he refers toas "thoughtful reduction."

"Simply stop the process. Gather everyone's thoughts and take ashort trip down memory lane to rediscover the actual goal of theplan," he said.

To help clients learn the art of "true simplification," headvises them to "leave the warm confines of the conference room andgo for a little walkabout" of their offices. Walk into the greetingarea to see the company as your clients see it. Tour the workspacesof internal clients--your employee teams--to discover what yourworkspaces say to those who produce your work, he advised in asecond blog entry.

Attendees at his live corporate workshops may see him hammerhome such leadership lessons with one or more props-- a roll ofduct tape, a model airplane, a phonograph record, a chain ofinterconnected metal rings or even a bagel.

Readers of his articles will find him sharing his philosophy byreferencing the life experiences of creative geniuses as differentas Pablo Picasso, the Wright Brothers and Albert Einstein.

No matter how the messages are presented, common themes stressthe need to deal with causes rather than effects, and to cutthrough complex systems that corporations devise to deal witheffects.

Some of his ideas include the following:

o You have two jobs as a leader. The first is to create moreleaders. The second is to deal with cause and not effect.

o Be good at what you're good at and manage what you're weakat.

o Everything starts with communication.

o You must be able to rise above the panic associated witheffect and deal with cause. That's the job of a leader.

For more samples of Mr. Harvill's insights, access to his blogand articles, or information on him or his workshops, visit the Websites www.stephenharvill.com andwww.creativeventures.com.