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A question of creativity

Too many people believe that they to have shortcomings when it comes to
creative thinking. It is often said: “I’m not creative”, as if creativity were
a gift from God that has been bestowed only on the most fortunate. Of
course there are unusually creative people. Training is not going to turn
me into a Mozart or a da Vinci, but we all have more neural connections
than there are atoms in the universe and we are all capable, although not
necessarily equally capable, of being creative. Much has been claimed by
the “let my people go” school of empowerment about the “wellspring of
creativity that is released when you take off the shackles”. Such claims are
not without foundation for some, although the experienced businessper-
son might question where that newfound creativity is directed in the real
world. Creativity without direction is anarchy. So the serious executive
needs to find ways to encourage creative thinking in everyone without
giving licence to some while paralyzing others.

n Do we need more creativity?

n Can we afford a little chaos now and again?

n Do we have the information, resources and time to be creative?

n Are we on target to achieve all our most stretching goals?

n Are our markets static or changing?

– Are they growing, declining or stable?

– Are we hurting the competition or are they hurting us?

n Do customers beat a path to our door?

– Do those customers that come to us stay with us?

– Are the customers who stay with us worth serving?

n Are most of our problems deviations from norm or are they new?

n Do we encourage people to recognize that, in a changing world
“similar to” is not the “same as”?

n Are we training our people to use proven techniques to increase
creativity?

– Do we, through peer coaching and supervisor coaching,
encourage people to use those techniques?

n How can we enable our people to relax more without slacking?

n Is there a non-bureaucratic mechanism through which the good
ideas of people can be assessed and developed?

n Are we able to rise to Tom Peters’ challenge that we must learn to
“manage our people’s imaginations”?

n What can we do today to re-assure people that we don’t expect
them to “leave their brains in their lockers” when they come into
work?

Forget your problem – give me your solution 121