Article Contributed by Karen S. Sieczka

Think creativity is only for artistic types? Think again; your livelihood and organization may depend on it.

Why bother with creativity at work? Why should you encourage it from your staff? For one thing, promoting creativity at work has many benefits and an organization’s continued survival may depend on it. Most importantly, ideas= $$$$$!

Technology has made the world small. We are all part of a global marketplace calling for constant innovation and reinvention to keep pace with the demand for new products and services. Things change fast, often in the blink of an eye. What worked yesterday and today might not work tomorrow. Success is no longer measured by profit and inventory but through human, intellectual capital.

Today, fresh solutions to problems and inventing new products and services for an ever-changing market is how businesses survive, thrive, and grow. Ideas are the intellectual capital that gives a competitive edge. Embracing creativity allows organizations to find new connection and insights, spot opportunities, and then act on them.

Human talent is the new working capital. The imagination and creativity of the human mind can’t be outsourced. Even old-school Fortune 500 companies have realized human talent is an important asset and are tapping into this resource.

How can doing things the same way as they have always been done lead to different results? Answer: they DON’T! Creativity, ideas, and innovation comes from the introduction of something new or different or changing and refining a process by injecting creative inspiration. It is a fresh way of looking at common issues and a willingness to take some risks.

Just like building muscles, practicing creativity increases problem solving skills and helps ideas flow more easily. If a business doesn’t use its machinery to its full capacity, they are losing money with them. Encourage creativity and use it to a competitive advantage. Ponder this: What human capital does your organization have available? Are you using it to its best potential?

About the Author
Karen S. Sieczka is a training consultant and founder of Growing Great Ideas.com. Her latest training program is Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing Creativity at Work. The program generates ideas, enthusiasm, and teamwork and can be customized to address particular organizational issues or challenges. This article was excerpted from the book Growing Great Ideas: Unleashing Creativity at Work, now available at LULU.com for download or print version.

• 2 Comments

  

Comments

Unfortunately, most organizations are annoyed by creativity and resent the time it takes to evaluate suggestions, ideas, process changes, etc. This is not to say there are not a few organizations that to actively foster creativity.

In the main, as an individual, I have found that my primary motivation for creativity at work has been that is it fun.

 Posted by: Nik Nikkel at December 22, 2008 8:14 PM

I think a lot of it depends on whether or not the organization you work in needs creativity. Sometimes the last thing a business needs is something new to chew on. On the other hand, a business may need innovation when it hits a speed bump - creativity yields innovation.

For some business ideas go to http://biz-eydeas.blogspot.com

 Posted by: Andrew birkholz at January 16, 2009 5:05 AM

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