In our current economy creativity is vitally important to our sales and marketing success. Global competition and a more thought-based economy leave us scrambling to innovate and create. Getting one-up on the competition requires fresh ideas and thinking outside the box.
Whether you are trying to come up with a new marketing campaign, need to think of an attention-grabbing direct mail piece, or want to hand out a unique promotional item, you need creative thinking.
How can you encourage creativity in your office? Here are six tips.
Invite it. – Announce to employees and team members that you are open to their ideas and give them a chance to explore their thoughts.
Accept it. – The team member who suggests five new ideas and gets shot down five times is probably not going to continue contributing his thoughts. Be open and willing to give new ideas a try.
Daydream it. – Think about when your best ideas come to you? Is it when you are sitting in your office trying hard to focus on coming up with something, or when you are driving down the highway or taking a walk? Most likely it is the latter. Daydreaming is an awesome way to let your mind go to a place of creative thinking. So go ahead and give yourself and your teammates permission to do it more!
Play with it. – Play is typically the opposite of work, but don’t underestimate how important it can be to “play” with your teammates. Spontaneous fun during work-related activities lowers stress, allows the mind to function better and helps to encourage new ideas.
Reward it. – Motivate employees to think outside the box by offering rewards for creative thinking. These rewards can be tangible like giving monetary incentives or gifts, or intangible like recognition.
Mix it. – If everyone on the team has the same background, experience, and qualifications, you will have created a homogenous working environment that is not conducive to creativity. Mix it up! Keep diversity in mind when building teams within the organization and when hiring new employees.
Good luck!
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