Get Creative Juices Flowing
More great ideas are born in the shower than in a meeting. However there is an easier way to spark creativity than installing shower stalls next to your boardrooms. Here are some quick tips to get more bang for your brainstorming.
1. Schedule creativity.
A call for ideas often ends up at the end of an update meeting. By
the time you and your staff get to the item, everyone's brains are
clouded with the information presented in the 10 previous agenda items,
hindering creativity. Schedule a separate
brainstorming session at a time when your staff is alert and
productive. Let them know the topic ahead of time so they can give it
some thought and write down those great ideas that came to them in the
shower.
2. Be clear on your goals.
Vague direction will hold back your group. Be
precise by clearly defining the problem. Your definition should give
your staff a context to work within while allowing them room to be
creative and think outside the box. "Ideas for recognition" is too broad. "Ideas for recognizing our top 10% of clients over the entire year" is more focussed and will yield better results.
3. Inject creative methods.
Sitting
at a long table hearing someone say "Does anyone have any ideas?"
doesn't breed ideas, it produces silence. Sometimes after a long enough
silence a couple of ideas will come forward. Instead of waiting, mix it
up. Come prepared with methods that will spark creativity, such as 'Nine Dots' a
connect the dots exercise that requires and therefore generates,
creative thinking to solve. Often team members who have seen Nine Dots
have a hard time replicating the solution, or they can be challenged to
tackle the exercise in a new way. Want to use this with your team?
Contact us at Inquiries@kscopic.ca for a complimentary PowerPoint slide with both the exercise and the solution. Then let us know how it worked for your team!
