Why CREATIVITY is Important to Business

Is business focused on investing in their company’s greatest superpower?

Not exactly…emphasis is mostly placed on enhancing technical and analytic skills, getting that spreadsheet done accurately and on time and driving those KPI’s.

Welcome to the left side of our logical analytical brain. 

Often when we think of creativity, we don’t consider ourselves as part of the sum, we identify creativity with the marketing folks. 

Creativity and innovation are critical because business challenges require inventive solutions and we can all participate. 

Creativity not only combats stagnation but facilitates growth and innovation. 

4 Benefits of Creativity in Business:

1. Encourages Innovation

2. Boots Productivity

3. Allows for adaptability

4. Foster growth mentality

Takeaways: Innovation can’t exist without a component of creativity. Creativity provides the space to work smarter not harder which increases productivity. Change is inevitable in the business world, and creative solutions are vital to adapting to it. One of the main hindrances to a business’s growth is cognitive fixedness, or the idea that there’s only one way to interpret or approach a situation or challenge.

If a business’s leaders don’t take the time to clearly understand the circumstances they face, encourage creative thinking, and act on findings, their company can stagnate—one of the biggest barriers to growth.

How does creativity pair with design thinking and how do we encourage it in our workplace?

4 Stages of Design Thinking:

1. Clarify 

2. Ideate

3. Develop

4. Implement 

Takeaways: Although the operational world and innovation world are equally important to a business’s success, they’re separate. Business leaders must be ambidextrous when navigating between them and provide environments for each to FLOURISH.

Creativity should be encouraged and innovation fostered. The design thinking process is an excellent way to leverage both worlds and provides an environment for each to succeed.

The operational world is the implementation of the innovative world, and innovation can often be inspired by observations from the operational world.

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

2. Don’t Punish Failure

3. Provide the Resources Necessary to Innovate

4. Don’t Try to Measure Results Too Quickly

5. Maintain an Open Mind

6. Foster Collaboration

7. Encourage Diversity

Getting people to step outside their comfort zones is an effective way to encourage innovation.

Create an environment of risk tasking, While it can be tempting to simply tell your team to innovate, creativity is more than just a state of mind. If your colleagues have the opportunity to be creative, you need to provide the resources to promote innovation. Whether that entails a financial investment, tools, or training materials, it’s in your best interest to invest in your team to produce innovative results.

Harvard Business School
www.hbs.edu