How the Creative Stay Creative
Saturday, June 28th, 2008Courtesy a blog post by Tony Morgan, I found an article in Inc.com spelling out tips from the country’s top innovation consultants on how to stay creative. Being one whose job it is to be creative, I read through it and gained lots of valuable insight into staying creative.
For those of us with short attention spans… here’s Tony Morgan’s summary. If you’re interested in the full version, read Inc.com.
- Get multicultural. - You need to get around people that are different than you.
- Provide lots of free time to think. - Give staff freedom with their schedules, and encourage them to be “off” and dream big.
- Encourage risky behavior. - Maybe my wife will let me ride a scooter.
- Write it down. - Encourage your team to write and share their lives with others. (More blogging!)
- Hire smart. - Hire risk-takers. You need people that are willing to embrace change.
- Bring in outsiders. - Bring in outside perspective to expand your thinking.
- Be flexible. Very flexible. - The same strategy doesn’t work for every situation.
- Do it for free. - Give your team the ability to give their work away and serve others.
- Mix up your people. - Let people step into new team environments for a season.
To the readers my coworkers - Fred, Travis, Justin, David - after reading this, how can we get more creative and encourage an environment of creativity?
Link to: Tony Morgan’s post
Link to: The Inc.com article
June 28th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I think you already listed out some good steps to take. I think it is getting a bit further ahead that will make the biggest difference for us. I know I perform well under the gun, but I am not most creative then. I guess that comes with the free time and flexibility you listed.
June 29th, 2008 at 8:01 am
Travis,
Interesting, I think I perform best under the gun … but I think it’s probably because of necessity, and a very bad habit of procrastination.
I love #1 … I mean, how much time to do we really spend in a MC environment? Of course, we’re quick to say “our church isn’t very MC” … but, the reality is … maybe that’s true (and even w/ our demographic on the island, I don’t think much would change that) … but, ANYTIME we do something with a MC flavor, our people seem to respond well.
June 29th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
So what can we do to be less honky and present an attractive environment to people from all walks of life?
June 29th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Are we called to present an attractive environment to people of all walks of life? I am not saying we aren’t, I am just asking. If we ID a ‘target audience’ should we focus in on attractive environments for them specifically? If so, what is an attractive environment to 35-50 year olds?