Creativity is not just the domain of a talented few. We are all creative. It is highly likely that your creativity has been diminished by social norms and life experience, but it can be fostered and revived. You may not even think you are creative, but that is not true. Creativity is our birth right, it is part of what makes us human.
Like any new skill you want to learn, becoming more creative takes time and effort. If you want to become more creative and establish a creative business culture, you will need to become familiar with the business literature about creativity, learn about the creative process, maybe hire some consultants, look at other companies and their experiences and, of course, make it up as you go. The payoff is a company that is vibrant, easier with the constancy of change, has the commitment of an energized workforce and a greater chance of being successful.
The following techniques are offered to get you started by experiencing first hand the power of consciously evoking your creativity. However, building a creative business takes more than using some techniques now and then. Creativity must become part of your culture, how you interact with and see the world and how you relate to each other.
When you’re having trouble coming up with a fresh approach or need some new ideas, the following two very simple exercises may intrigue you enough to explore creativity further.
When using techniques, let your mind free associate and don’t bring in judgment until you are finished generating ideas. Judgment is reactive to what exists and is a very different process from generating ideas. Judging too soon is one of the most common ways to shut down your creativity.
Use a Metaphor
Metaphors, comparing your situation to something else, is one of the easiest techniques to get ideas flowing.
Let’s say you want to increase sales and are having trouble coming up with any good strategies. If you choose to use the metaphor technique you might ask how is selling my product or service like doing stand up comedy or baking a cake. You will be amazed how quickly you arrive at some innovative solutions.
Choose an object or an action. Metaphors depicting an action are usually more evocative and activities you have some emotional relation to, whether it’s good or bad, are even more powerful. If you have a hard time coming up with an idea for a metaphor, try one of the following examples: going on a diet, doing stand-up comedy, running for political office, riding a bike, running a day-care center, courting a woman, disciplining a child. But remember anything will do, don’t get hung up on trying to get the best metaphor.
Having done this exercise many times, I am always impressed with its power. Give your self or your team a few minutes to look through magazines and tear out images that speak to you. You could pose a question first or after you have made the collage. Create a collage of your images. You can paste them to a background or just arrange them on the surface in front of you. Go around and share your thoughts and associations as they pertain to the issue at hand. This doesn’t have to take a long time. Allowing 10-15 minutes for this can produce many new possibilities.
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