What is creative thinking?
It’s an intensity and power of your imagination which you use in any a specific context to either gain something or solve something or creating something which has never been done before. If people get success in it and bring something in reality, we call it creative approach, innovative idea, innovation or creation or “something new”.
Why it is needed the most
It’s in huge demand in every segment of life be it Education, be it corporate to run the business or simply living stress free, life demands creative approach towards it. Creative thinking is exclusively a choice to adapt in the business dealing. Connecting Creativity and thinking with business front, it primarily reflects in your offering/services and the way you deliver it to end consumer. The whole creative process lies between these 2 statements. It’s up to the business leaders and their decisions on how much value they want to go ahead with in the market as that decide the creative process in any organization specifically in current competitive era.
How one can think like that?
As it’s a choice one need to make, and, human being by birth possesses creative brain, its easy for anybody to learn it and apply it in their dealing. Let’s explore the process. You need thinking all the time primarily to run the business but if we put situation then here are those situation where you need to pour creativity into thinking:
– When coming up with new product or service
– When you make big decisions where many people are going to affect or P&L will be impacted
– When business is facing problem especially if its related to survival or moving towards growth from stagnant point
– When there is crisis –operationally or strategically
The first and foremost required thing in this process is how powerfully you can connect the dots. People say that bringing great solution on the table has to do something with thinking in holistic connection as it leads you to the bigger picture. What is holistic connection here?
Everything which you feel not connected with your business/situation from your surrounding; try connecting with. It means that your product connections with completely opposite industry which technically on ground has nothing to do with it. Odd connections many times bring innovations. If Apple and Nike haven’t thought this way then the idea of introducing the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit wouldn’t have come front which enabled Nike shoes to communicate with an iPod for tracking steps. If we try to see connections of our business in odd or even linkage with the world; things may turn out to be new in creation.
The second important aspect is how powerfully you can observe and understand what you see. Technically without observation, one can’t make connection holistically and see bigger picture.
Observation helps one to identify the need of people at current moment or will be in future. It shows gap which required the bridge. Many creations in the market have taken place because of this. Leaders observed and understood that in tomorrow’s world people will need another planet altogether and SpaceX came in the picture with their creation of bringing people to Mars.
And the last thing is continuous exploration of different people to know their perspectives and self-involvement into different experiments of the industries standards. Exploring people helps you learn how world looks like or your product looks like in their eyes. And involving self into your industry at a regular frequency to know what start-ups are up to OR coming up with new flavours OR what top leaders are doing to be sustainable and innovative.
These steps give any leader an arena to be creative thinker and always come up with something new.
What are the hindrances in the process-?
It’s clearly proven time to time that if human kind not able to do something then it’s not because of lack of things like money, brain, knowledge or intelligence .The hindrance is “I”/”myself”-as a limitation of mind-set. It has always been and will be for people to stop walking on the path of creative thinking because of their thoughts-i.e.-
– I want creative work but not able to do it creatively
– I have never done this before
– I can think this much only
Ultimately, how you are channelizing your WILLINGNESS and Eagerness to produce new things decide your ability to create something successfully and surely it’s a philosophy as it contains many choices but if you chose to walk on the Path firmly; creative thinking become science which you can learn step by step.
Author
Keyuri Patel, an engineer who has mastered refining cultures and leadership, is associated with Jagdish Hirani & Associates as a Project Manager. She is consistently improving the conversion of strategies from design boards to ground team. She has a wide experience consulting organizations in the fields of BFSI, Education, Textile, Outdoor Media, Technology, Garments, Architectural Hardware, Travel and Event Management. Apart from contributing to the consulting projects she is also leading people initiatives at J.Hirani.
Success Mantra “Don’t say “yes” if you are not convinced”. Understand that ultimately it’s your team (not machines, technology, money or product) who drives your organization.
About J.hirani: J.hirani is a Strategic Transformation team which works as a growth partner for different organisations in various industries by providing services like Agile transformation, Scenario mapping, Strategic alignment, Balance scorecard, Digital transformation, Incubating new ventures, Operation excellence and Aligning human capital.
©J.hirani, Creative Thinking-Philosophy & Science, August 2020. All rights reserved.
