Joe, Java, Black & Steamy

The bean buzz that gets it started.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could pour yourself a cup of creativity? Or share a mug of teamwork? How about brewing up a steaming pot of productivity?

It’s not nearly that simple, but we try, don’t we?

The coffee break, as practiced by our work-a-day culture, is really anything but a break. It’s a communal activity, a team-building retreat, one we can go on every day. And even if we really do "break" from work, for those 15 or 20 minutes, we never really leave. Problem-solving wheels are still turning and collaborative talk seems to naturally congregate ‘round the Keurig. When we return to our desks we’re amped (no surprise there), and much more able and ready to tackle the day’s challenges.

Of course, caffeine is a drug. Our legal-beagles tell us we cannot — must not! — advocate its use to anyone. It’s worth mentioning that our Keurig can just as handily brew decaf, tea, cocoa, hot cider and even soup. Sometimes it even does so.

So if you eschew coffee, well then, more power to you. We don’t really understand you — in fact, we’re not even sure you actually exist. But if you do, we respect your decision.

But sorry, we won’t emulate it. Our coffee time is magical. We hang out, serve each other, kvetch and commiserate.

And we create. Oh yes indeed we do. Sure, we share much creativity when we’re sitting at the brainstorming table or pitching for our clients. To be fair, though, there’s usually coffee within easy reach in all those circumstances.

But when we commune by the Keurig, we’re in a slightly different mindset. Somehow more relaxed, more egalitarian; just friends sharing a cuppa. We never set out to leverage those golden moments. But almost every time, without fail, someone suddenly looks up and says, “Hey! I got an idea…”

We don’t mess with that kind of success. It ain’t broke so we ain’t gonna fix it. We’ll go on seeing what gets brewed up on our coffee break tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

Speaking of which, hey look at the time. Please excuse us, we’ll be back in about 15…

The C4 (or Four C’s):

1. Coffee. We need it, man. Can’t get out of the house in the morning without it. But it’s not just a jump start. It’s a ritual. It helps build our team and fuel our creativity. If coffee had a face it’d be on our payroll.
2. Caffeine. Yes, it’s a stimulant. Yes, too much of it is a bad thing. But this isn’t just about the pep we get from a cup or 10. It’s about the time we spend chatting and laughing while the Keurig drips its precious elixir.
3. Cappuccino. We never turn down a cup of something fancy like a grande latte with soy milk, sprinkle of cinnamon and a shot of vanilla or Double-latte-foamy-half-caf-whatever. Sure, we’ll give it a try. But we think we can do just as well, and have at least as much fun, with a paper cup filled with the stuff from the gas station. The coffee supplies the jolt, and we bring the togetherness.
4. Culture. We’re not alone in this, are we? Western society was built on the back of the coffee bean, so to speak. Chances are, your workplace is just as java-centric as ours. Do you find your coffee breaks are as productive and as appreciated? Stop by sometime and let us know. We’d love to hear your story. We’ll keep the Keurig on for ya.

A Wealth of Ideas

Don’t let them go fallow.

There’s a precious business asset that is ultimately responsible for all success. It costs nothing to own, so it’s present at every startup. Amazingly, though, some businesses stop using it. They let it go fallow, forgotten.

We’re speaking of creativity, the art of ideas.

You were creative when you went into business. You must have been. You must have devised something new and untested. You thought of a new way of delivering services, or an innovative way to sell a product.

Which is laudable, of course. But how creative were you today? How creative will you be next week? You’re not sitting back and letting your earliest ideas define your future, are you?

The most creative companies — Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and others — constantly innovate because they encourage their people to constantly create. Many set aside up to 20% of their employees’ time to work on emerging ideas. A lot of those ideas, maybe even most, go nowhere. But there’s brilliance enough in the rest to make the exercise worthwhile.

We said creativity costs nothing to own, and that’s true (hint: you were born with it, as was everyone you know). That doesn’t mean it’s free to nurture, though. It takes time and care and a loving environment. It’s rather skittish. Demand it to come forth and it’ll run and hide. Be gentle and inviting and it’ll trot right up and feed from your hand.

There’s creativity permeating your organization. Everyone for whom you sign a paycheck is teeming with ideas, ideas that have the potential of catapulting your success.

All you have to do is let it happen.

The C4:

1. Creativity was the founding asset of every business, and it’s the cause of every future success. Some businesses forget this at their peril, thinking that first good idea was all they’ll ever need. That’s folly.
2. Smart businesses realize that a constantly changing world calls for constant new ideas. They foster creativity as a way of eternally reinventing themselves.
3. Creativity is free, but harnessing it for business success takes investment. Invest in the time and environment needed for a free flow of ideas, and those ideas will greatly repay you.
4. Creativity abounds. You’re a font of ideas, so are your managers and entry-levels. So is the guy who cleans the floor. There’s a wealth of this resource all around you. Harvest it.