The business environment is not used to facilitate the life of those who are caught up in old methods and refuses to innovate: without creativity, you will not be able to improvise, look for a differential, reduce costs and overcome the difficulties that appear in the day to day of the company.

Therefore, stimulating creative processes among employees and incorporating that vision into practice are essential measures for business success. But how to achieve it? Here are some tips to implement that idea in your company. For no one is it a secret that creativity turns out to be elusive for many people. Fortunately, it is possible to turn it into a permanent attitude, applicable to the most diverse areas of human activity.

Creativity is today the condition that constitutes the main competitive advantage of companies. This is especially true in areas as sensitive as advertising, the creation of promotions, the discovery of business opportunities, customer service and decision making.

Some people cultivate techniques and skills that allow them to create different businesses, different solutions to everyday problems or much more complex problems … while others are amazed and just keep asking: “WHY DID NOT HAPPEN TO ME?”

Nowadays, there is a fast pace for changing in the structure, relationships and processes in the work environments of every business. With our superior change management courses, Applied Innovation is ready to help your organisation adapt to the inevitable changes it’ll be changing.

To expand our capacity to conceive ideas and solutions, we must begin by identifying what are the barriers that prevent us. Let’s see some of them.

Low self-esteem

People with low self-esteem also have creative ideas. However, their low level of self-confidence makes them think that their idea is not worth it, that it will not be taken into account, that they will make fun of him or her and his idea, etc.

These people are often astonished when they discover that another person is exhibiting the same idea they thought was insignificant and, surprise! Everyone celebrates the wonder of idea that they have just expounded!

Fear of making mistakes and making a fool of himself

Two reasons for the price of one. The absence of a culture of assertiveness and the ignorance of our rights lead to the fear of being wrong.

Our culture led us to the pleasure that “always being right” produces and to excel for it. We do not know the right to make mistakes and the power of error. The sweet pleasure of making mistakes and contributing to the error to reach what is possibly right.

Stay with the first idea

The fact of believing that the first idea is always the best is limiting. Marrying the first answer that comes to mind weakens the other options. When this happens, the subsequent ideas are compared with the first and they are discarded.

Take for granted the known

Have you ever heard the phrase “has always been done like this”? It is perhaps the most effective phrase to assassinate creativity and the desire to contribute ideas in companies.

Other phrases that go in the same direction: “That’s the norm”, “that was already tried and did not work”, “that works in other types of companies”, “the system does not allow it”, “that costs too much”, “If that were possible, someone else would have invented it”.

According to a study, a group of scientists placed five monkeys in a cage, at the centre of which they arranged a staircase leading to a bunch of bananas, so that, each time one of the monkeys climbed over it to reach them, the scientists fired a stream of cold water on those that remained on the ground.

After some time, when one of the monkeys tried to climb the others they ground it to death, until the time came when none of the five dared to give in to their instincts, despite the temptation of the bananas.

Then, the experimenters replaced one of the monkeys with another rookie who, as you can imagine, tried to climb the ladder first, an action that was prevented by the four ancients, who lowered him by force and gave him a beating, which continued to administer every time the upstart monkey tried, until the day when, learned the lesson, did not want to go up.

Achieved the above, a second monkey of the ancients was replaced. The same thing happened with the enthusiastic participation of the first rookie. And so a third and a quarter, until of the group of the first five there was none.

The scientists were left, then, in front of a group of five monkeys that, even though they had never received a bath of cold water, continued to hit anyone who tried to reach the bananas.

They came to the conclusion that, if the monkeys were asked why their behaviour was unnatural and they were given an answer, the answer would be, without a doubt, “we do not know, here things have always been a Yes”.

Limiting Beliefs

The set of ideas that people have intimately and unconsciously of themselves define their beliefs, their behaviours and their results.

Phrases like “I can never think of anything”, “I’m not witty” “creativity is not given to me” and others of that tenor speak of the beliefs that govern the behaviour of a person and therefore their achievements.

How many times do we think we cannot do something and in the long run the only impediment to doing it is ourselves!

The contempt for difference

The healthy confrontation of ideas allows to find creative options. Therefore, the difference is convenient, necessary and, going a little further, desirable.

The search for unanimity usually occurs when people do not want to appear conflictive or when there is a boss or an authoritarian leader, who always thinks he is right.

The most creative work teams are those that face the difference with maturity and summon it for the sake of creativity.

Bear in mind that here at Applied Innovation we have a team of professionals with a unique combination of leadership and experience to prepare your people to adapt to change.