Simple ways to stimulate creativity… genius!
I attended a fantastic one day workshop for directors of PR companies on Friday, which was put on by the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).
The day was full of fabulous information and inspiring thoughts about pricing, measurement, human resources etc but the most interesting and entertaining session of all was by a company called Inventium – an innovation company that aims to link science to creativity in order to help organisations generate better solutions.
Anyway, the presenter passed on a few great tips for thinking more creatively that I thought small business owners could benefit from. It certainly helps us in the game of PR where creativity is a key factor in gaining recognition for the brands we represent.
The first tip was about assumptions. The presenter explained that if you are facing a problem or having a brainstorm about how to solve something, write down everything you assume about the topic and then crush the assumption. This will be the basis for a lot of out-of the box thinking.
The example they gave was about a business whose assumption was that the business could only make money from the hours they worked. They crushed the assumption by saying the business could make money while they slept and came up with a technology solution that allowed for a passive income.
The second idea for being more creative is also incredibly simple but extremely effective. The next time you are brainstorming to come up with a solution or an idea how about inviting a completely objective outsider into your brainstorm. It could be your local coffee barista, your gym instructor or the local postie. It can be absolutely anybody in actual fact.
You can rest assured that an outsider will bring in ideas that you may not have thought of and have a completely fresh perspective on whatever you’re working on.
The last tip is really easy because you don’t need to rely on anybody else to do it. Simply clench your left hand into a fist for two minutes before your next brainstorm. Doing this activates a circuit on the right hand side of the brain that when activated ‘switches on’ creativity.
Give it a go and see what happens.
Happy brainstorming!
I attended a fantastic one day workshop for directors of PR companies on Friday, which was put on by the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA).
The day was full of fabulous information and inspiring thoughts about pricing, measurement, human resources etc but the most interesting and entertaining session of all was by a company called Inventium – an innovation company that aims to link science to creativity in order to help organisations generate better solutions.
Anyway, the presenter passed on a few great tips for thinking more creatively that I thought small business owners could benefit from. It certainly helps us in the game of PR where creativity is a key factor in gaining recognition for the brands we represent.
The first tip was about assumptions. The presenter explained that if you are facing a problem or having a brainstorm about how to solve something, write down everything you assume about the topic and then crush the assumption. This will be the basis for a lot of out-of the box thinking.
The example given was about a business whose assumption was that the business could only make money from the hours they worked. They crushed the assumption by saying the business could make money while they slept and came up with a technology solution that allowed for a passive income.
The second idea for being more creative is also incredibly simple but extremely effective. The next time you are brainstorming to come up with a solution or an idea, how about inviting a completely objective outsider into your brainstorm? It could be your local coffee barista, your gym instructor or the local postie. It can be absolutely anybody in actual fact.
You can rest assured that an outsider will bring in ideas that you may not have thought of and have a completely fresh perspective on whatever you’re working on.
The last tip is really easy because you don’t need to rely on anybody else to do it. Simply clench your left hand into a fist for two minutes before your next brainstorm. Doing this activates a circuit on the right hand side of the brain that when activated ‘switches on’ creativity.
Give it a go and see what happens.
Happy brainstorming!
