Getting Creative
When you read the word creative in a business context a few questions usually spring to mind. First, why bother getting creative at all?
There are a lot of creative organizations and people out there who do that sort of thing. For the average decision maker isnt it better to leave the creative process to the experts and take the conservative and safe path? Well if you want my honest answer NO!
In todays business climate creative thinking is more important than ever. The company or individual who can come up with new ways of doing and looking at things places themselves way ahead of the rest of the pack and becomes far more valuable to their clients and the marketplace. Are your clients demanding innovative and unique solutions from you?
Second, just what does Creativity mean?
Isnt being creative all about easels, paintbrushes and smocks? Isnt creativity for the artists of this world? Again the answer is No definitely not!!
In business, being creative is all about thinking differently and looking at the world from a different perspective. Its not about being the next Picasso but rather finding out-of-the-box and unique solutions. Its all about your ability to look at things from a totally different point of view and headspace - at the end of the day its all about seeing things in unique and creative ways.
Finally - when you talk about creativity often the response is something like yeah yeah I understand all of that but Im just not the creative type.
Well again I disagree and I dont even know you.
Like learning to play piano or learning to sing, anyone (and I mean anyone) can learn to think creatively. Now I admit some of us will learn to be better piano players than others some may even end up in the concert halls of Vienna and, yes, it is true that some people do possess nature ability and talent. But if you practice your scales and do your finger exercises youll end up a better pianist than you were before you started.
I believe that thinking creatively is the same thing. It is a process that be learned and it will pay enormous dividends.
Here are some starters to get you into the right zone and into a creative space. Below is a summary of a 3-step process which begins with getting your objectives clear, blue-skying ideas and then filtering which ones work best for you.
BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT YOUR OBJECTIVES
Be really clear about what it is you are trying to achieve. Know your objective and your purpose - and know it really well. We know you have heard that before however, it is really important because knowing what it is you are trying to achieve sets the scene and gets your brain ticking over in the right direction. A great idea without any purpose is a useless idea. If you can get the brief down into one sentence (which is hard to do by the way) it forces you to start clarifying your thoughts and makes things clearer.
Once your have those parameters the rest becomes easier. One of the reasons people get blocked when coming up with ideas is that they are not really sure about what it is they are coming up with ideas for.
BLUE SKY
This is where you get to play. Blue-skying is that part of the process where you simply let ideas flow. Do not think about them, do not worry whether they are any good or not, just go to town and think of as many ideas as you can. This is not the time to judge the ideas we will get to that later.
Remember when you are clear about your objectives, you will be thinking in the right direction.
BEWARE!!! - Assumptions and Judgements
A word of warning chances are you will start making assumptions and start placing restrictions on yourself. Please dont. Whatever happens just let loose and brainstorm your head off.
THINK BITS
So, just how do you come up with the ideas? This can be the tough part but fortunately there are a number of creativity tools and devices to help and force you into a different and more creative headspace. I call these Think BITS. There are too many to mention here are a few helpful ones to get you started.
Your time starts now. Write down as many ideas as you can in 60 seconds dont think just write and dont stop once youve finished review your list of ideas and then expand and build on them.
SUNSET SHOT
Get rid of your favourite idea and replace it with something else we all hold on to our favourite ideas so get rid of it and replace it with something else. This forces you to come up with different solutions.
DAY BREAK
Get up before dawn and work on your project it puts you in a completely different headspace.
BRAINSTORM
This is one of the best and under utilized creative devices known to man. Get a group of people together and brainstorm as many ideas as you can. Remember dont judge them just keep them coming.
ASK A CHILD
We all see the world differently and children see it from a totally different point of view than adults. So put your question in simple terms to a child a see what they say
FILTER
Once you have blue-skyed, it is time to look at what you have got and to start filtering which ideas are the most suitable, which ones are complete garbage and which ones have potential, (this is why getting your objectives simple and clear up front is so important). From the short list of ideas you now have you can then go back and expand on them or even blue-sky them once again. Often an idea that looks irrelevant or stupid at first can lead you onto something really amazing.
Remember the goal of creative thinking is to let go of any assumptions and approach projects and opportunities from a completely different perspective.
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