So you can talk the talk. Can you walk the walk, too?

Have you ever heard someone pitch an idea about a new product or service and said to yourself, “Wow, that’s very interesting and unique, but i couldn’t see myself having a need for it?” Perhaps you just weren’t part of the target market that the product was aimed at. Perhaps you think that the service is overpriced, or could use some tweaking. However, it is much more likely that the product was executed in a way that did not appeal to as many consumers as possible, and the entrepreneur is at fault for this.

If you can grab the attention of the audience with your idea, then we already know that you could talk the talk, and don’t need to go over simple empathy techniques to make your product more enticing to potential consumers and investors. However, what we still need to do is make sure that your idea is being implemented in a way which will make people think, “This could really have a big impact on my life.”

Most firms share the common misconception that creativity is the same thing as innovation. In his article Creativity is not Innovation, Vijay Govindarajan talks about the differences between successfully innovative companies and non successful ones. He has even gone as far as making a formula for innovation, which can be defined as creativity x execution. His theory is that companies often do not put enough time and resources into the execution of an idea, which is what he claims is the more rigorous and demanding part of the experience. The creative idea itself is just the fluff, while the way that the idea is implemented is what will determine whether it will stick around in the industry.

In the article, Vijay also mentions a quote from Thomas Edison as follows; “Innovation is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” This is something that really hit home for me, and I want you to take a minute to think about what this really means to you. While my other posts talk about inspiration as a very powerful tool that drives innovation, one of the most highly renowned inventors in the world made a statement that clearly says otherwise. My interpretation of this famous quote from the legend is that if you have a great idea, and you don’t work hard to pursue it and put it into action, then that’s all it will ever be; just an idea. However, if you have the motivation to try things without fear of failure and put in the dirty work that others aren’t willing to, then you may find yourself at a place where no one has ever been before. You might just turn that innovative idea into an innovative enterprise.

Image retrieved from Biography.com

The Best of Both Worlds

Is it possible to create a work environment where creativity among coworkers is maximized? In this post we will discuss ideas from Terese Amabile’s Harvard Business Review article “How to kill creativity“. The author starts by asking managers of companies whether or not they believe there are parts of the job that they wouldn’t want employees to be creative with. While some say that there are, the ultimate conclusion is that even in areas like accounting where you wouldn’t expect much room for expansion, creativity and design thinking are necessary in order to keep innovation present. If there is no creative thinking, then it is hard to make things more efficient or less complicated for the worker. It is only through taking the time to be creative and analyzing things that we come up with solutions to problems, a.k.a innovation.

Another point the author brought up that I’d really like to hone in on is that money doesn’t drive creativity. Much like in Simon Sinek’s Ted talk, Amabile talks about the attempts and failures of entrepreneurs who seemed to have all the capital in the world, but lacked the passion that was needed to take their idea to the next level. Without motivation, expertise can only take you so far. If you add creative thinking to capital and motivation, then you have a recipe for success no matter what industry you are a part of.

Terese also talks about strategic management as far as personalities and expertise go. It is important to remember fundamental aspects of organizational behaviors if you are going to manage a team on your entrepreneurial venture. The biggest and often best ideas will all require a team at some point, that is inevitable. It is important to know how to act as a professional on the job and always practice social skills to help bargaining/negotiating in business. Having coworkers/employees in the business could be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you delegate tasks and treat them. In order to let people under you grow, you need to give them free reign in terms of creativity, while also making sure that they are completing assignments in correlation with company goals and missions. It is only through this philosophy that you can have employees with great productivity and innovative ideas, a.k.a the best of both worlds.

Image Retrieved from Wonderfest

Curiosity, Consistency, and Natural Innovation

We all have ideas that come across our minds every day where we find ourselves saying, “Hey, why can’t this idea of mine be a real thing? Why isn’t that out there already? What must i do in order to bring it to life?” This curiosity is something that can really drive an idea and make it worthwhile. If there is a lot of meaning behind an idea and the creator has a lot of emotional connection to it, then this passion will allow them to be naturally enhanced in the creative process. This high emotion can produce creative intellect with ease, as the creator feels that what they are doing is effortless and endlessly enticing.

While i have described this state of being as one that is full of grace and ease, it is the maintaining of the status quo that can sometimes be the difficult part of the creative process. We all have times where we seem to hit a bump in the road and may think that there is no way around it. In instances like these, we may be more prone to distractions that will deviate us from our work. Don’t get me wrong. It is very necessary to maintain a balance between work, relationships, and mental/physical health. Making sure that everything outside of your work is taken care of is a great way to maintain clarity of mind while you are at work. However, if these things aren’t in order, it will be harder to have consistency in your work approach.

According to the Interaction Design Foundation’s article Essential Design Thinking Videos and Methods, the Design Thinking process contains 3 essential steps; inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Taking this into consideration, we must be strategical about bringing our ideas to life. Since we know that inspiration and natural ‘high emotions’ are proven to drive ideation and provide a strong sense of clarity, we should all practice being in the moment and not being afraid to go in depth when it comes to train of thought. We must remain curious in order for both of these to occur, and always be consistent in our implementation of ideas. Remembering key aspects of the design process such as prototyping and gathering feedback will also help our ideas reach their full potential, even if they lack substance at first.

Image Retrieved from Artia Senior Living’s article “Curiosity Isn’t Just for Cats and Kids”

You are a Business

An innovative business model is essential in the modern world. With existing technology, producing a business by ones self is no longer improbable. While it is inevitable that the business will need a team if it scales to great measures, the beginning all starts with one’s self and their ability to use creativity and design thinking. Being educated about the experience of innovation is important because the philosophy behind it is proven time and time again. Being curious is great because your mind serves as your business in the modern world. Having the perspective that one’s self is a walking brand and accumulated knowledge is the measure of differentiation will enable us to progress more than those who are stagnant. This will provide a different perspective on how things work, ultimately provoking thought and helping one to grow as a human being and business entity.

In an article on The Next Web, Marcin Treder suggests the designer first and foremost think about their craft in terms of problem solving. One must consider a business model as a creative means to finding a solution. If you try to think about starting a business without having a purpose as to why, you will fail in creating something that will appeal to the consumer. If, instead, you try to think about it as solving a problem that a lot of people share, you will experience more natural innovation and change without even knowing that you’re being creative. This will enable you to generate an effective, innovative business model without even really put much effort into marketing your idea.

One important aspect of the innovation experience is the testing and prototyping of ideas. Only through trial and error can one truly encompass a nature where creativity is at its optimal level.  Divergent thinking is heavily encouraged by Treder because if you are afraid to step outside the box, then you will never know what that path had in store for you. You must have the courage to be bold and be the things you want to be; live out your wildest dreams. You are the only one that can make that happen and it takes a lot of guts, and a lot of time, and a lot of frustration. However, one day when you have achieved accomplishments that you never thought could be done, that is when you know that all of you hard work was worth it, and you have left something behind that people will recognize for years and years to come. Your journey is what sets you apart from everyone else, and you should always be proud of how you got to where you’re at.

You are a business and you can’t let anyone tell you that you are not. You have to keep that vision in your head alive by always using design thinking to plan for the future. You not only need to be creative in your ideas, but you also need to be creative in how you instill them. If you fail to prove these ideas to others in a way that really sparks they’re attention, then they will not see it as important enough to buy into. When I say buy into, I’m not just talking about buying in with money. You don’t need people to buy things from you to be super successful. Hell, you don’t even need something that is tangible to sell. All you need is a cause that people strongly believe in; enough to follow in your footsteps and let you lead them somewhere that they have never been before. Your business model should not be to make sales; it should be to persuade the mind. You must be a marketer and an accountant. You must be a engineer and a salesman. In this modern world, you are a business.

Image Retrieved from Rick Jacobi Art

Start with an Open Mind

In many instances while learning about the topics of creativity, innovation and design thinking, an emphasis has been placed on being playful and having fun. Setting this as a priority may allow one to enjoy something that they couldn’t really see themselves doing at the start of the exercise. By forming a mind set with a goal to conquer and persevere no matter what the circumstance, we allow ourselves to explore our preferences and make discoveries that often surprise ourselves.

A common example of closed minded thinking is when individuals individuals ask themselves “why should i do this?”, when instead they should really be asking “why shouldn’t i do this?”. By taking the question and flipping it on itself, you can think about a situation from a totally different perspective. By thinking about the circumstances in this manner, you may come to find that the list of reasons for not wanting to do something may be a lot shorter than you thought it was. Once you have identified all possible explanations as to why you wouldn’t want to do something, then you must try to take a step back once again, and ask yourself why others might want to do that same particular thing that you’re dreading. Once you have considered all perspectives, you must stand in the face of adversity and do the only thing you could do in order to make a change; try.

We are all believed to have a purpose in this great, big world. You may believe that you have already found yours, but the truth is, your purpose doesn’t lie in what you do. According to Simon Sinek, our purpose is truly derived from the “why” factor of what we do in our daily lives. Contrary to popular belief, in order to be a successful innovator, you don’t need money or recognition for your plan. What you really need is a cause that you truly believe in. Simon explains that even if nobody else believes in you at first, you must keep the vision alive with one thing; your passion. You must align all of your actions to correspond with this vision, and eventually you will start to find people who believe in the same things that you do.

The most successful innovators will be the ones who ask the questions of both why and why not. Why not is important to ask first because if you take chances on new things, you could come to find something you love that you never even knew existed. As author and philosopher Greg Satell wisely states “It is through traveling down unlikely paths that we end up in unexpected places.” It is then, once you have found your passion, you must ask yourself “why do i enjoy this particular thing so much?” In order to get others to believe in your cause, you must convey the answer to this question to your audience/target market. This makes an individual much more unique and interesting compared to one that directly states what they do, but does not provide context as to why this particular thing is so important. It is imperative to declare why the audience should believe in this cause with you. You must use both ideologies as to “why” and “why not”, and remember that the biggest changes in life stem from an open mind.

 

Image retrieved from Julian Devoe’s “Open Mind”

Creative Confidence

Some people are quick to label themselves as unoriginal before they even have the chance to reach their full creative potential. According to IDEO mastermind David Kelley, people are subconsciously afraid to be different because of negative experiences they have had in the past with creative thinking. When this happens, something in the brain is triggered, causing them to doubt their ability to think outside the box and feel as if they will be judged by others for releasing their inner thoughts. The CEO even goes on to define it as a phobia that people struggle with every day. If this sounds like something that effects you, then you have come to the right place. In this post we will discuss David Kelly’s proven methods to overcome this issue along with information i have gathered from my own personal experiences.

Regaining creative confidence all starts with working on things that are really important in your life. Having a genuine interest in a subject naturally helps to boost creativity and produce a high emotion. While in this state of mind, time should feel irrelevant and ideas will start to fly. Not only will you be more productive as a thinker, but these creative ideas should be more interesting to the intended audience as well. According to Kelly, being around people who label others as either creative or non creative is a bad idea, because he believes that we all have it within us to reach this frame of mind if we set out to. If you are a manager or CEO of a business, you must never put down another for sharing their creative ideas, but instead use a “yes, and” logic to get all parties involved in the process and form ideas together as a team. Being too critical can cause one’s inhibitions to be raised and lead the individual to become uncomfortable talking about whats really on their mind while in a group setting.

According to Albert Bandura’s philosophies, we can all cure ourselves of our phobias. David Kelly talks about his conversation with Albert, and how they discussed a common fear among people, which is the fear of snakes. In a series of tests designed to eliminate phobias, Bandura would actually bring these people face to face with there fears. First, he would have them look at a snake through a glass window. Then get them to build enough confidence to be in the same room as it. Ultimately, the participants become comfortable enough to touch the snake, which they would have never even thought of as a possibility at the start of the exercise. The key to this philosophy is “turning fear into familiarity”. By doing this, people totally surprise themselves and are able to put their fears in the past all together. The same idea goes for the topic of creativity. By taking baby steps, you have the ability to change your mind frame from analytical to creative, and gain your creative confidence back. Once the confidence is completely restored, one can “touch the snake”, or in creative terms, truly form break through designs.

 

 

Image retrieved from Science Magazine