Creative Thinking in Business and Idea Contest 2.0
Knowledge about how to start, run and succeed in business has never been more plentiful. In other words, the basics are now available to everybody, with little or no cost. People in business are quickly realizing that what will soon be pivotal is not just doing the basics well. That will be the norm for any business that wants to merely survive. It is, and shall be necessary - but it is increasingly becoming apparent that it will not be sufficient for significant business success. The differences in the means and quality of production in top businesses are becoming indistinguishable, or at least, not significant enough to give any business a competitive advantage. An example is washing detergents that by now have become so similar in technological efficacy that the marketing people are obliged to present us advertisements with scientists that take us down to the atomic level of clothing so we can notice what their detergents do “different” because it is hardly distinguishable with the naked eye. With the aims of most products having been technologically accomplished (e.g. detergents clean very well) something more will be required to give companies their competitive edge. What will that be? I believe the answer has been staring us in the face for some time: a constant source of Creative Ideas.
One or two ideas from inspired employees might do the trick for a while, but in today’s rapidly changing business environment, modern businesses cannot afford to wait for sudden epiphanies from employees whose jobs mainly consisted in being able to produce consistently uniform results. Innovation requires change, and unchanging people cannot bring change. A new kind of employee is needed: a transformer, innovator, revolutionary. An employee who makes it his business to not just come up with single creative ideas. For creative ideas that are isolated resemble notes without a melody. In themselves, they don’t mean much. What is needed is someone who is able to put together creative ideas into a melody of creativity. I believe he would deserve to be called a creative thinker.
In the past a businessman had to do everything himself: finance, management, marketing, accounting etc. Modern businesses grew by dividing their labor and assigning specifically trained people to each post, thereby tremendously increasing the overall efficiency of the business. Perhaps it is time to create a new position for the people who make it their job to be creative - the creative thinkers. They might not know how to staff a business, do the marketing, or balance the books. But they would know how to think creatively, and just as a screenwriter does not know the science behind the cameras, does not know all the administrative skills that are required to produce a movie, nor does he have to be a great actor himself to produce a brilliant screenplay, so the creative thinker should not have to burden himself with skills and responsibilities other than the ones conducive to great creative thinking.
Nor should he limit his horizons and think of innovation only within a very narrow domain. He should let his mind think about diverse subjects, and engage in games that supply it flexibility. A stagnant lake has never been creative. A creative thinker should brainstorm in the sea of ideas. Challenge himself with difficult problems. If smooth seas never made skillful sailors, how could easy problems ever make creative thinkers?
With these thoughts in mind I created and organize Idea Contest 2.0. To encourage brainstorming about difficult problems and help people discover and improve their capacity for creative thinking. But also to have fun in playing with our intelligence and creativity which often results in surprisingly innovative ideas. Click on the link to be taken to the event’s site. I hope I’ll see some of you there brainstorming away in one of the teams.
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