Wake Up the Creativity of Your Team

Lacking a good dose of creativity? Is your team suffering from low creative output and is everything ho-hum? Unlock yours and their creativity by using these proven tools that will have everyone thinking outside the box and into the future.n n If you’re wondering whatever happened to your creativity and the creativity of your company, don’t despair. Be comforted by the idea that it hasn’t left although it’s dormant. Maybe new ideas and trends, and innovative ways of doing business were once the status quo but no more and you’re worried. You know that to get ahead in this ever-changing technological and quantum physics world, you have to be at least a step ahead to keep up.

And of course you want to do more than just keep up, you want to lead and glide successfully to the top. And more than that wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could have fun doing it? Checkout these tips to wake up the creativity of you and your team and let your company make its mark on the cutting edge of business. n n Where’s the Fun?
Neglecting a good laugh can cost you. I’m not joking. If some of the fun or goodwill is missing from your company, it’s affecting the output of new ideas. When your team members can take their minds in playful directions new ideas will pop-up almost effortlessly. So introduce some fun activities both on and off the job. They can be in the form of sports events or teams like volleyball, golf or tennis that your company sponsors after-hours. On the job they can be as simple as setting up brainstorming sessions.

And if you like, make them fundraisers and family gathering events. Often employees respond favorably to events such as picnics and barbeques when they can bring their families and socialize. And they will be happy to contribute to the event’s success. Supporting the family-oriented company model can serve you. Employees like the idea of being a part of something and working in an atmosphere that’s friendly and caring.

Look Outside the Company: n Consider looking at your business from new angles or from outside of the company or better yet outside the industry. You can get ideas from some of the most unlikely sources so don’t always aim for narrow focus because it may not work all the time. Instead study another industry and see how you can apply their ideas and business sense to your own. Sounds hokey? Not really. Many creative geniuses such as Sigmund Freud, Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein did just that. They relied on other forms of information and other fields to help them think differently. And it worked because their work stands apart from the many others in their respective fields.

New Ways of Looking:
So you’re stuck on a company problem that seems almost impossible to solve.
Looking at something differently can stimulate a host of new ideas and also open up alte
ate ways of seeing. Try examining the problem backwards or use unlikely associations to get everyone thinking unconventionally. Or look at the problem from a new angle or use visual cues. Creativity is sharpened when we see what’s before us in new ways because it not only forces us to see differently, it opens up new channels of thinking.

Mind Mapping:
Use images and diagrams and different organizational and ordered patterns as a company problem-solving method. They will stimulate the brain and eyes to see differently and come up with novel ideas. Mind-mapping is one such visual technique that works and is used a lot in boardrooms. Thoughts are represented as bubbles of key words that form a web of connecting lines from the center outward in all directions. In this way, new patterns and associations can emerge from a single thought and generating even more thoughts creative ideas.

Talk to Your Customers and Consumers:
It’s not just about getting your customers to purchase your products or services, getting feedback from them can be so much more. Your clients can tell you what they need and what they’re not getting in a product or service, so listen closely and not defensively. Have their conce
s written down and share them with your team. Their needs and wants can prompt innovative thinking and inspire new methods of meeting the challenges. You will also go on record as a business person and company who care enough to find out what their customers think. That alone can lead to an increase in sales.

No matter what techniques you use, strive to keep your curiosity high and your relating strong. Fostering good overall communication and positive relationships in the workplace can keep creativity flourishing and new ideas flowing.