We often get calls asking for something new, something different, something creative. Right now, on the phone, any quick ideas? No pressure. Be innovative!
Teams like ours are expected to be uber creative. Sure we’re famous for our creative delivery of team building events, but we have time to think, time to plan, time to dream.
So what does it take to be creative?
Our team does meet on a regular basis and we ask ourselves those same questions – what’s the new thing, what’s different, what’s next, how can we be more creative? But I’ll be honest – most of our best ideas don’t come at those meetings. We don’t spontaneously birth a new concept sitting around the table staring at one another.
Creativity is really an attitude. It’s a perspective on life. It’s the stance we take in everything. You’re creative too, you just may not remember anymore.
Remember asking yourself the question, “What if?” when you were a kid. We ask ourselves that all the time. What if you asked yourself that question? What if your team did? Everyday?
How do you build innovative teams?
When you look at the sales process in your company, I bet there is some sort of ratio. For every 10 calls you make, you get 1 yes. For every 5 proposals we send, we get 2 contracts. Guess what? There are a bunch of no’s in there somewhere. And it’s a known part of the equation and you account for it, right?
The same should be accepted in the creative realm. What is the reaction to the failure, to the flop? It’s still a part of the process of creativity and it must be acknowledged, accounted for, even can we say, protected? Allow your teams to improvise, to imagine, to enter the state of flow. It will not always result in a big win, but if you create a safe space and allow for a variety of perspective and personalities, the new ideas and innovations will come. Allow people to ask, “what if?” in everyday conversations and provide room for experimentation and trials.
That’s one of the many things we love about team building events – it provides just that. A safe environment to have fun trying new and different ways of doing the same things. An engaging environment to practice creativity. Give it a try sometime. You may just come up with a creative idea! And, you may just develop some innovative teams along the way!