How would you define ‘success’? Is it being ahead of the competition or becoming richer? Increasingly these days, success means coming up with innovative ideas that can solve problems we all face or fulfill a need. In every business, creativity is extremely important for the business to grow and even survive.
According to a survey by McKinsey, 84% of executives believe that innovation is the key to success, but only 6% of them are satisfied with the creative effort of their businesses. This highlights the need to foster better creativity in business.
Here are some suggestions for boosting creativity in your business.
Redecorate
The environment plays a key role in the creative thinking process. Dull white walls and simple design can hinder creative thinking. Add a splash of color to your workplace. You can paint walls blue or green for a calmer effect, while a single wall painted in a bold color inspire the mind.
You can include a touch of nature by bringing pot plants inside the office. You can also invest in a good chair so that employees don’t suffer from back pain. You should ensure that there is proper lighting in the workplace and people prefer a quiet environment to think properly. These simple changes in the workplace can bring very positive results.
You can encourage your employees to make small changes in their office on their own as well. For example, you can ask them to bring photos of their family, artwork, lamps, or any decorative item to personalise their workstation. They can put a cool sticker on their laptop, have a nice pen holder, or simply rearrange their desk to get in the mood for work.
Brainstorm
Brainstorming opens up the mind and helps to develop new ideas. You should encourage brainstorming sessions in the office through whiteboards, lots of papers, and colorful markers that will motivate employees to think. This way, employees will be able to scribble down ideas as they come to them. Management should encourage employees to think out of the box to find unique solutions problems and challenges.
Encourage Diversity
A diverse group of workers will make your business more profitable. When people come from different backgrounds and skills, they bring in new ideas and help the business to grow. Diversity in the workplace most often fosters innovation. Encourage diversity through your hiring and HR practices.
Flexibility
Many businesses now allow flexibility in the workplace, helping employees to better focus on their work. Work shouldn’t be restricted to a set time or place. Employees should be allowed to work from remote locations like home or a coffee shop.
For creative thinking, there shouldn’t be any time pressure. Ideas flow naturally, so flexibility is important. Sometimes, employees may become tired during office hours and this will prevent them from thinking clearly. They should be given the time to think after office hours as well.
Identify Individual Effort
People often brainstorm together and some people feel shy to share their ideas in front of others for the fear of being not recognized. Whatever idea each employee comes up with, you should acknowledge them and appreciate their effort. If you like some ideas then you should implement them so that the employees know that their contributions are valued.
Allow Failure
You should embrace failure. Don’t forget that James Dyson made more than 5,000 failed attempts before successfully inventing vacuum cleaner. Failure allows us to learn new things. If you are afraid of failing, you won’t be able to take risks and without risks, good things won’t happen. Failure should be considered as a part of the creative process.
Have Fun
Google has set the example of how a workplace can be developed to maximize an employee’s potential through fun activities. They have introduced video game breaks, food catering, gym memberships, and even nap times. They have high tech sleep pods for employees to relax.
Their ‘20% Program’ is a great initiative that allows their employees to spend 20% of their time at the office doing their creative projects. AdSense and Gmail are just some of the results of this 20% Program. If employees are happy and motivated, they will be more productive. You should also have a special arrangement for entertainment within your office. This will help them to relax and generate new ideas.
Foster Collaboration
Often, ideas don’t pop into your head when you are alone. You may find you think of creative ideas after discussions with others. Collaboration in the workplace is necessary for generating creative ideas. You should encourage group discussions, sharing of knowledge, files, and resources.
In today’s highly-competitive market, whenever a new product or service emerges hundreds of similar businesses pop up trying to take the market share. So, businesses should always prioritise innovation and work towards generating creative ideas that expand their market or solve their day-to-day problems.
