I have just finished running a course called Creativity & Innovation @Speed in Shanghai.
The participants were a mixed bunch of managers and leaders from marketing, R&D and new product development from various industries.
I asked the group:
When and where do they do their best creative thinking?
Their responses i thought were interesting — here are a few:
– Early in the morning or late at night
– In the shuttle bus traveling to and from work
– When i am alone either at home or in a cafe
– On a plane
– Before i go to bed and i can dream about a new idea or solution.
Notice anything?
Not one person mentioned at work.
Yet most leaders want greater creativity & innovation in their organisations yet no-one it seems believes they can think creatively at work.
Why is this the case?
Participants mentioned aspects such as their current work load, they are time poor and the fact they are often interrupted by others and have other pressing emails and meetings to attend to.
But surely managers and leaders shouldn’t have to wait till they are on a plane or in a bus for example to think creatively?
It begs the question.
Is it possible to do any creative thinking at work at all?
Well the answer i suspect is that not with the current tools we have.
Brainstorming for example takes time to organise, it is slow and requires a group.
What we need is a new time efficient tool that can enable people to engage in creative thinking when and wherever they are.
This is in all modesty what Ideas Blitz is all about.
You only need a few minutes and you can Blitz by yourself or with a few people.
It may not produce the deep, insightful ideas that come from reflection and meditation but it will in my experience always produce a tangible, useful set of ideas and solutions that can help you and your team make progress on any time-pressure challenge.
Ideas Blitz is like a quick mental creative sprint.
You cannot do it all the time but it can give you a great burst of creativity and energy –everyday.
What’s more anyone can learn and start using it within a short period of time.