Are You Fueling Your Business With Creativity?

Do you feel burnt out after starting something with great enthusiasm to begin with? You could be an entrepreneur, a student or just any professional…loss of interest in something that sounded like a very good idea to begin with is something that plagues everyone at some point of time.

Stop and think…what happens when your car runs out of fuel? You refuel, right? That’s exactly what you need to do whenever you feel burnt out. You need to refuel.

Are you fueling your business with creativity?

Creativity in home office

Creativity is a Resource

When people talk about resources for business they tend to list them as men, money, machinery and materials. Sometimes people do talk about time as a resource (but that is the subject of another post) but we forget how important novelty is to human existence and that turns out to be our biggest downfall in business.

Here’s some food for thought…“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” — Edward de Bono

Now think about why you look for the latest trends when you shop, get a haircut or buy a new car. Think about why you reach out for that new shirt instead of an old one and why you can’t wait to sample the latest ice cream flavor in the market.

It’s alluring because it’s new and represents something you’ve never tried before. Creativity adds that magnetic effect to products and services because buying is applied psychology. It is about breaking out of the mould, offering convenience, embracing new technology and trends and exploring new markets and market segments.

Your business could be burning out because you aren’t unleashing the most important resource, you are not tapping in to the creative potential that you and/or your employees have. You are doing things the same old way and expecting new results. How can that be possible?

The first step is…to recognize the importance of creativity as a resource and then look for ways to apply experiment and turn things around!

A guy with a bright business idea
photo credit: Bryan Rosengrant / Flickr

Creativity is not One Thing

Creativity is not one thing, it is a number of things and you just have to find what works for you. I think this quote says it beautifully, “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook.

The most successful products and services are the result of constant experimentation. While “invention” is the most common connotation of creativity, it isn’t always the case. You have to go through a process of trial and error…it’s like experimenting in the kitchen to come up with the perfect dish.

Creativity is also about taking risks…kicking up a well paying job to start your own venture, scrapping a product because it won’t work. It is also about breaking rules…who says airlines have to cost a bomb? That led to the birth of the low cost fliers.

It is about making mistakes…cutting up an outfit because it doesn’t look right. It is about having fun…laughing at your mistakes instead of dwelling on them.

As a business owner, you have to find what works for you…what creativity means to you? Is it fashion jewellery created out of hardware supplies? Is it a traditional craft reinvented? It is recycling scrap?

What is creativity to you? How can you apply it? Are you applying it…pertinent questions to fuel business success I would say?

What’s your take on this?