Creating creativity – implementing innovation.

 I am finding more often at the moment that many businesses have reached the limit of what they can do and are still struggling to compete. They have run out of time and resources to cope with new challenges. Most are clinging on to their present state in the belief that they can do no more. Many are pushing themselves to the limits of their endurance in their efforts to work harder.

           

The real challenge, though, is not to work harder but to think differently. We don’t discover new things by digging the same hole deeper but by digging in a different place. So if have already exhausted your ideas try simply redirecting the talents you have.

For example: Think of a situation last week that did not work out as you had hoped. You might have been depressed for a period of time, compromised one of your values, got involved when you should have delegated, procrastinated when you should have taken action. Make a list of your own.

Now, given that behind every action is a resource that can be used positively in other areas, take one of the actions from your own list and consider the skill you used for that result. If you were fed-up all week you were skilled in maintaining a consistent state. If you procrastinated, you were using your skill of resisting pressure to take premature action. If you compromised a value you were being flexible.

What skill did you unconsciously use for the behaviour you demonstrated? How did you do it? What did you imagine? What did you say to yourself? What were you feeling?

Having identified those factors, how can you use them for more positive results? If you maintained a steady emotional state, you might choose to remain calm or positive when things get tough. If you compromised a value, you might choose to be flexible in negotiations with customers or suppliers.

What other area in your life can you apply this skill to achieve a more beneficial result? Think about how things would be. How are you feeling when things are as you would wish? What are people saying? What are you and they doing? How does applying the skill in this way benefit other people in your workplace?  As you read this column now, be aware that you can create that positive situation if you choose to do so.

Charles Darwin did not say that only the fittest survive. He said the species with the most adaptability will survive.  Flexibility equals choices and the more choices we have the more empowered we are. Given that the coming year is likely to be as challenging as the last, businesses must be prepared to experiment, copy, adapt and learn in order to do things differently rather than doing the same things better.