In business, staff are rewarded for critical thinking, careful evaluation, and risk management. Typically, new ideas are subjected to rigorous scrutiny, legal checks, market evaluation and so-on (and so on).

And that’s great for ideas that have been built into sound business propositions.

The trouble is that new ideas don't arrive as sound business propositions. They pop up while taking a shower or during a jog as half-formed scraps or vague thoughts.

The challenge, therefore is to harness these half-ideas and help employees build them into business-worthy solutions.

The latest neuroscience research shows that new ideas emerge from a part of the brain called the “Default Network”. It kicks into gear when the mind is relaxed and the individual feels positive, safe, and supported. Typically, new ideas don't arrive in the white heat of the work place!

The good news is that, having understood how creativity works, we can support managers to build behaviors and develop a culture where new ideas can flourish.

What’s more, these behaviors and structures are ones that we all know instinctively from our personal lives. After all, human beings are inherently creative and natural problem solvers.

There are five key habits that individuals can adopt to supercharge their own creativity:

• Mind wandering – allowing the mind to switch off and explore the unknown.
• Green housing – working with like-minded creatives to build new ideas without judgment
• Playing – introducing playful structures to explore a topic and develop new solutions or approaches
• Prototyping -building simple working solutions (or mimicking them) to test the idea and communicate it to others
• Story Telling – sharing the idea through the power of story
  

For leaders, the challenge is to create an environment where staff feel supported with their creativity.  This means focusing on:

• Psychological safety – rewarding and supporting staff for expressing their views without fear or judgement
• Learning – building a culture where setbacks (or successes) are treated as learning opportunities rather than failures or successes. Learning becomes a core part of company culture
• Signalling – setting times or places and structures  that support creativity (safe from the day-to-day critical evaluation of business
• Fun – encouraging staff to embrace play and joy as part of their work.
• Habit – include innovation and creative goals within business objectives and job descriptions
  

Areas Covered

• Theory – the creative brain.  All humans are naturally creative!
• Five Habits of creative people (mind wandering, green housing, playing, prototyping, storytelling)
• Top tips on building  a creative culture (psychological safety, learning, signaling, fun, habit)

Who Should Attend    

Any business person with a desire to be more agile and innovative, esp Sales, Marketing, Innovation, R&D,  and Customer/Insight managers.

Why Should You Attend

Customer needs are changing fast and the demand for innovation and creativity is growing exponentially.

But, as businesses grow, they introduce systems and processes that help organizations work more efficiently but also stifle new thinking and creativity.

Typically, staff are rewarded for critical thinking, detailed analysis, and risk management, whereas for creativity to thrive, people need permission to explore, to play, and to fail.

Fortunately, the latest neuroscience shows that the creative brain can be harnessed at work with a few simple techniques and tools that unlock the Default Network (where creative ideas are generated)

Topic Background    

Without knowing it, business procedures kill new thinking. This program shows how to develop creative habits and build a creative culture in the white heat of the workplace.