FREE online courses on Building a Winning Team - The Growth Phase -
Stimulate Creativity
In
the 1960's, traffic congestion, sky-rocketing fuel prices, and the need for
smaller cars was a design challenge for Alex Issigonis,
who simply decided to mount
the engine sideways in the engine compartment, with Macpherson-strut
suspension and front-wheel drive. The revolutionary Mini surpassed all its design parameters by
wide margins, became one of the most loved and enduring cars of all time,
revived the flagging English motor-car industry, won Issigonis a knighthood, and
spawned a design-revolution and a host of
derivatives that continues till today.
That's what creativity can do.
Creativity is about gaining new
insights by daring to contemplate the impossible. It is not the same as intelligence. It is seeing things
from an unexpected viewpoint, unfettered by the constraints of assumption.
It has elements of a capacity for surreal thought. Can routine
managers be creative? Yes, provided they can unshackle themselves from the comfortable
boundaries of conventional thinking. Too often have we heard in childhood
the despairing cry from an adult figure, similarly conditioned: “Why can't you be like others?” Soon, the child learns about the
premiums that reward compliance.
Unfortunately, you cannot reverse the process by repeating
the mantra backwards, to program creativity back into people. However, we can
all try the following:
a.
Select people with track records of some creativity
b.
Create an environment for creativity
c.
Try inducting fresh blood from unlikely places, irrespective of age, past
environment or job
d.
Expect staff to be creative
e.
Look for people who have a background in academics where analysis and thought is
essential
f.
Give people time and resources for experimentation
g.
Arrange regular brain-storming sessions
h.
Don't be afraid of fun; it opens mental doors
i.
Encourage creativity even in small routine jobs
j.
Be enthusiastic about their work
k.
Encourage thinking
Ideas, once accepted, should be followed-up,
with full support to staff to demonstrate your commitment, or you'll lose their
response next time.
QUESTIONS:
1.
What is the relevance of creativity to an organization? Explain with a
detailed example showing all the pros and cons.
2.
What steps would you take to foster creativity/ originality in an
organization? Can a person be
taught to be creative?
