Get Creativity Fit – Week of October 11, 2021
…is true to her name and makes certain she conforms and fits in, keeps her head low, follows the rules (loves checklists), stays in her lane – her territory where she is supposed to be. She does not challenge assumptions, the status-quo or why we do things the way we do. She is very boring…quite stifling in fact.
Her Resistive Powers are:
- Overemphasize the Status-Quo
- Conform to the Pressure of Rules, Traditions, Culture and Social Influences
Take these three actions this week to Get Creativity Fit, strengthen your creative thinking muscle, anchor the creative habit to be repeatable…and conquer the Resistive Powers of Chameleon!
- Disrupt Groupthink: Defined as a mode of thinking where individuals of a small cohesive group will acquiesce and accept a perceived group consensus, viewpoint or conclusion, irrespective if they judge it to be valid, accurate or optimal. Three mechanisms to counterbalance Groupthink are: 1) Implement multiple communication channels for dissent to surface in decision-making. No, silence is not golden. 2) Empower individuals to ‘stop the assembly line’ if they see an emerging problem. 3) Encourage, incentivize and reward the surfacing of countervailing ideas.
- Extend the Boundaries: The majority of novel, spicy ideas are found beyond the boundaries – at the extremes – at the exaggerations. They are not found with more-of-the-same with a slight improvement thinking. Force yourself out of your comfort zone, your nine dots and exaggerate your thinking by asking, ‘How to make this idea/concept/service/process perfect? Perfect is an exaggeration – it really is not attainable (unless you are a superhero of course). When we exaggerate and play with ideas and alternatives to make them perfect it will take us beyond our current level of thinking, our boundaries which are most often self-imposed. Be judicious with this next tactic: I dare you to produce an idea so beyond the boundaries, that when you share it with the boss, he/she will fire you on the spot, guaranteed! Try it…extend your boundaries…and keep the idea to yourself. The boss might not be ready (ever) to hear it.
- Conduct Smart Repetitions: Working in concert with Extend the Boundaries, start with a small number of repetitions to begin training and honing this technique. Add more repetitions over time, make the repetitions smart – do not simply go through the motions. With smart repetitions a training habit will begin to feel more natural. The goal is to perfect the technique! Le t me repeat that – to perfect the technique. Experimenting is a springboard to strengthening your divergent and convergent thinking skills. The outcome is to develop muscle memory where you really do not have to think about it; it has become automatic and is anchored as a repeatable, everyday habit. Now we are cooking with gas!
