Ever sat in a brainstorming session where someone comes up with what looks like on the surface to be a really dumb idea, only to be shot down and told something like, ‘yeah right...as if that will work’.
Not only will that person shut down and most likely stop contributing but other people in the group will start to clam up as well.
Well the good news is that creativity is a safe place to take risks. In fact it thrives on them. And quite often the idea that looks like a dumb idea on the surface is often the one that leads to a gold mine.
In 1943 a naval engineer by the name of Richard James was working on a design to mount ships’ instruments with a spring-loaded base of sorts. He was experimenting with a number of different types of springs when somewhere in the process various springs fell off the bench and one of them kept falling, or stepping as it turned out, down various levels until it reached the floor.
The “slinky” had been born. Richard with his wife invested some time and money and created the James Spring and Wire Company and the rest is history.
Quite often, from out of the blue, something occurs that at first appears to be either a total mistake or a complete failure but in fact is a true goldmine if we just recognise it, if we just see it, if we are open enough and receptive enough to see it as an opportunity when it appears, if we are prepared to take a creative risk and step out of the norm.
The truth is that when it comes to thinking creatively the safest thing to do is to take risks and the riskiest thing to do is to play it safe.
We’re not talking dangerous or harmful risk by the way but the type that gets us making that shift in thinking to come up with new and unique ideas that we may not have done otherwise. To see things from different points of view and to not make assumptions.
The slinky is one of those things. From out of a failure came something magical. And I can’t help think that if Richard James hadn’t been brave enough to see the slinky for what it was – or what it wasn’t - if he saw it as just another spring that didn’t work, or if he hadn’t been receptive and open to see it as a new possibility and opportunity, we may never have had the experience of playing and tangling a slinky as kids.
I also wonder how many other slinkys are out there that never saw the light of day. How many times each of us has let a slinky slip through our fingers because we weren’t open enough to see them, or because we didn’t voice up at a brainstorming session.
So how do you create an environment where it’s safe to voice ideas? Here’re a couple of tips.
1. Don’t Dump! As soon as you put someone’s ideas down the whole creative process collapses – that includes yourself by the way. Have some fun, encourage the ridiculous and let people know it’s okay to just empty out their thoughts.
2. Don’t judge or assume anything up front. Judge the quality of ideas later in the process. Let’s not restrict the flow of ideas too early. A great way to stifle any creative thought is to start judging and assuming right from the start. Give yourself half a chance and re-evaluate later on.
Next time we’ll look at a creative framework to work within which will help get the ideas flowing.
Nigel injects creative thinking into companies through workshops and keynotes and is author of ‘Think BITS’.
More information can be found at www.nigelcollin.com.au.
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