COVER STORY: FANCOURT

Direct flights to George from all major hubs make Fancourt – South Africa’s Business Playground – easily accessible. The 115-room Fancourt Resort Hotel offers guests a luxurious, contemporary and relaxed environment. Every category of room and suite has a balcony that overlooks Montagu Golf Course or the majestic landscaped gardens.

Rediscover the business playground of South Africa

Creative problem-solving advice from Fancourt, South Africa’s ‘Business Playground’.

Innovation: It’s a buzzword in today’s business world, and it’s becoming a highly desired skill across all industries and levels of employment. But what exactly does innovation look like, and how do you achieve it within your organisation?

“Fancourt has been an industry-leading property since it was converted into a holiday and golfing estate in 1989,” said Leroy Ferreira, director of sales and marketing. “We’re currently rated as Africa’s leading resort and South Africa’s best golf hotel, as well as consistently winning awards for every part of our offering, from our fine dining to the wellness and family-friendly facilities.”

The secret behind Fancourt’s success is its ability to continually evolve. “Searching for innovative ways to meet market demands has been key not only to our longevity but staying at the forefront of a competitive industry,” Mr Ferreira added. “We have a very specific method of coming up with ideas. One such is our ‘Business Playground’ package, flexible to suit both business and leisure.”

Fancourt’s array of leisure activities allow your team to escape the pressure of the boardroom and get out to play. Those who enjoy being active can enjoy a round of golf on one of the award-winning Gary Player courses. The leisure centre offers tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, and a cinema that screens movies regularly.

As South Africa’s ‘business playground’, Fancourt delivers the optimal mix of active and time out leisure activities needed to create the environment your brain needs to spark innovative ideas.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

— Albert Einstein

Want to know the secret behind Fancourt’s market-leading successes? Keep reading…

Think outside the box

From an early age, we’re taught to solve problems in a very linear way. However, when you reach adulthood – and the corporate world in particular – we’re continually told to “think outside the box”.

Whether you call it innovation, lateral thinking, creativity, or thinking outside the box, the ability to connect seemingly unrelated dots opens a world of possibilities when tackling problems from the concept of your next marketing campaign to how to restructure your organisation after embarking on a digital transformation initiative.

How it works in the real world

The post-it note was born after one man’s search for a bookmark that would stick to, but not tear, the pages of his bible. And Tesla became a global industry leader in sustainably powered transport by factoring environmental impact into their search for increased engine power.

On the surface, many of the most innovative ideas seem almost obvious in hindsight. In reality, however, finding the optimal path from problem to solution is not always a straightforward exercise.

Do you want ‘quick’ or do you want ‘creative’?

Creativity takes time to develop and form, and innovation and long-term problem solving rely on ideas being given time to stew. In the increasingly fast-paced, instant gratification world we live, this goes against the quick-fix approach that is frequently practised to keep the lights on (Eskom permitting, of course).

Whether you’re in the initial stages of your problem-solving or ready to start creating company-wide buy-in for your new initiative, Fancourt provides the ideal space for any meeting from your core-team strategy session to 400-delegate-strong conferences.

The award-winning Spa at Fancourt, complete with an indoor heated Roman Bath and world-class treatments complements other time-out activities such as bird-watching and fishing. Conveniently situated on the Garden Route, Fancourt’s location creates the additional opportunity to play and relax at one of the area’s many tourist attractions and pristine beaches. Framed by the Outeniqua Mountains just 7km from George, the 613 hectares of pristine open space delivers the change of scenery required to break free from the autopilot routines of office life.

How to increase your ability to innovate

Do things differently

Whether you realise it or not, every human being is a creature of habit, both personally and professionally. Every morning, you perform the same pre-work rituals, navigate the same traffic, sit in the same chair, click onto the same websites, and stare at the same view. You – and your entire team – are on autopilot, relying on your reactive mind to make decisions and come up with ideas.

Your brain has walked the same route for so long that it’s created a rut that’s difficult to break free from. You need to shake things up to activate your slow, creative mind. Go somewhere different, eat something new, or do something you’ve never done before. Even small tweaks to break you out of your daily routine can spark new ideas.

Play More

Young children can create their own wildly imaginative worlds and go with the flow as they bounce their ever-evolving storylines off of each other. More importantly, this process is effortless, stress-free, and usually accompanied by bursts of laughter and enthusiasm.

Members of your core team not available for your face-to-face sessions? Get them to dial in to a virtual one. Fancourt’s meeting facilities include high-tech audio-visual and video conferencing equipment.

Fancourt’s array of leisure activities allow your team to escape the pressure of the boardroom and get out to play. Those who enjoy being active can enjoy a round of golf on one of the awardwinning Gary Player courses. The leisure centre offers tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, and a cinema that screens movies regularly.

When last did you give your imagination space to run wild?

Playing – whether that means chasing a small white ball down the fairway, indulging in a hobby or, just catching a favourite film – is a crucial component of activating your creativity.

Take time out

In today’s attention economy, you have been trained to avoid being unstimulated at all costs. You are constantly bombarded with pings, beeps, and PUSH notifications and, in most cases, they’re coming straight from the palm of your hand. There is no space between your brain and the incessant interruptions that plague it. A taxed and overworked brain simply cannot be innovative.

What this means for your team

Innovation and creative problem-solving is a mindset, and it requires a continuous and concerted effort to instil this can-do culture in your team. Your approach to meetings, conferences and brainstorming sessions needs to reflect this. By providing your team with the space and time, you’re giving them a foundation from which to build. Here are some tips to consider when tackling a challenge as a team:

Set the tone

Don’t wait until your official session to clue your team into what is required. Hold a short initial meeting to outline the problem, the desired outcome, and the parameters within which the final solution needs to fall.

Encourage individual input

Groupthink is the fastest way to achieve mediocrity. To create truly innovative solutions, every individual needs to contribute — not just simply agree with the rest of the group. Challenge each team member to come up with three viable solutions based on the outline described above.

Get out of the boardroom

Magic happens when your team is given the space to digest input on their ideas. After the initial strategy session, get out of the boardroom and partake in an activity that is unrelated to the problem at hand. Allowing every individual’s creative mind to make the necessary connections is crucial to keeping your business ahead of the curve.

The Fancourt effect

“Creativity doesn’t conform to specific hours,” Mr Ferreira advised. “Fancourt’s conferencing packages are designed to your unique specifications. From one-day to multi-day sessions, we can design a programme including venue options, equipment hire, business services, video-conferencing, accommodation, activities, and meals prepared by our world-class culinary team.”

Fancourt’s conference centre is more than a shell. Whether you are in the initial stages of your problem-solving or ready to start creating company-wide buy-in for your new initiative, Fancourt provides the ideal space for any meeting from your core-team strategy session to 400-delegate-strong conferences.

Contact details

Kick your next strategy or problem-solving session into high gear by giving your team exactly what they need to be innovative: time and space at South Africa’s Business Playground. Contact Fancourt on 044 804 0020 or groupreservations@fancourt. co.za to discuss customised conferencing options.