The solutions to all your
business woes lie right above everyone’s nose
 |
| It's not complicated — just let loose the creativi-whee! |
Exactly how
much elbow grease will it take to liberate the genius that silently surrounds
you? That is dictated by institutional culture; some groups just don’t have the
history or inclination to suborn themselves to the ethereality of mind-magic.
While others,
let’s face it, are just drunk on the stuff. These are the companies that eschew
stairs in their office suites in favor of bouncy slides and fireman poles.
They’ve got massage chairs in the power-nap room, and foosball tables on the
ceiling. They reckon that a workday has to resemble a trip to Chuck E. Cheese,
if you’re to have any hope of coaxing out the elusive creative mind.
And to some
extent, you have to give them credit for success. This is arguably a proven
formula for the creatives of the entertainment industry, Silicon Valley, and,
we can assume, the wizardly boffins at ARPA and DARPA.
But what
about the rest of us? What if we haven’t the square-footage for an employee
Romper Room in our leased storefront office spaces? Are we to be denied the
fruits of creative labor just because we lack the budget or penchant for sumo
suits for everyone?
A
bouncy-slide salesman would never tell you this, but we will: Creativity isn’t
that hard to coax out. Creativity is the child gazing out the window,
desperately hoping for an invitation from the other kids in the neighborhood to
come play. It wants to come out.
Start by
fostering an environment where input and creative suggestions are universally
understood to be welcome. Ask for advice and opinions, from everyone and on
every subject. Ask lots of follow-up questions, to make them deeply examine
their own ideas and thought processes.
For your
thorniest issues only—don’t want to pull out the big gun too often—convene
brainstorming sessions, peopled with as many of your SMEs you can fit in a room. Brainstorm
your own way, there are endless ways to structure the sessions, but always
follow the two cardinal rules of the storm of brains: No ideas are out of
bounds, and no one gets criticized.
Lastly, don’t
try too hard to control the creative process. Set it in motion, encourage it to
continue…then get out of its way. Creativity will rise to the occasion, so long
as it’s not stifled by close-mindedness. Your team wants to perform; they’re
pining to put on their thinking caps. Sure, they’ll take a ride on the bouncy
slide if one’s being offered—but if not, they’ll still amaze you with their
creativity. All you have to do is ask.
The C4:
1. There are
three ways to solve any problem and to unlock any door: Muscle your way
through, buy your way in, or think your way around it. Can we all agree the
third is preferred, if only for the bragging rights?
2. Leaders
are accustomed to hogging all the thinking for themselves. That’s a habit we
need to break. Intelligent, engaged people who want to lend their brainpower to
the common cause surround us. Shame
on us if we’ve got resources like that available and we’re not using them.
3. So, foster
creativity in your workplace. Create an environment where deep thought and
unexpected solutions are not just welcome, but expected.
4. Nothing
against bouncy slides. If you’ve got the space and the budget, by all means
bounce away. Just don’t think that’s where the creativity comes from. Slide or
no slide, the creativity is already there.
