Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
by Nils Vesk
Nils Vesk Pty Ltd  nils vesk 2008
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Liability disclaimer The material contained in this e-book is general and is not intended as advice on any particular matter. Nils Vesk Pty Ltd and the author expressly disclaim all and any liability to any persons whatsoever in respect of anything done by any such person in reliance, whether in whole or in part, on this e-book. Please take appropriate legal advice before acting on any information in this e-book.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Introduction Creativity for me is a lot like hang gliding. There is both an absolute madness and absolute science to it. When you can embrace the madness while trusting the science that’s when you can utilise it to fly above your competitors as you create outstanding processes, products and services. When times are tough, clients demand more. More from the product and more from the service. Creative thinking is the most effective way of delivering outstanding results.
Just as the analogy suggests, creative thinking requires actions that will go against your instinct and everyday behaviour. It’s just after you start to change your behaviour that your feet leave the ground and you begin to soar. The good news is you’ve already been a creative pilot in the past. As a child you were fearless, investigative, experimental, imaginative and totally creative. All you need to do is relearn some of the uninhibited creative behaviours in order to allow yourself to create outstanding solutions no matter what challenges you face.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Topic 1
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Tip: Map it first. Why? Because being creative without a map is a recipe for wasting time and money.
“Deciding where to be creative�
Having a map of our customer touch points, gives us orientation and the ability to apply productive creative thinking to create outstanding results. Start by mapping the obvious activities you do each day, phone calls and email etc. Once you have created a basic map of the major touch points then you can break it down to even more detail.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Tip: Map every detail. Here's why: The more details you have on all your touch points you have the easier it is to do improve them.
“Get creative around the details”
When you’ve mapped the obvious touch points it’s time map the obscure touch points. For example mapping the touch points of a meeting when you bump into someone on the street that you know. What questions could you ask, how could you position yourself and your business in a way that hasn’t happened before?
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Tip: Look for creating touch points that start before and after your existing touch points.
“Creating new touch points”
Why? Great innovations can happen by looking beyond what you think is your line of work. Icebreaker is a clothing manufacturer for winter fleece products. They looked at their touch points and realised that if they could identify a touch point of where their fleece was coming from they could increase their sustainability message. They create a ‘baa code’ on the garments that once entered on their website identifies the sheep and farm that the fleece comes from. www.icebreaker.com
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Tip: Fix it. Here's why: Applying constructive words to touch points can prompt great ideas.
“Improving our touch points�
Constructive words include: Stop, Start, Combine, Strengthen, Reduce, Multiply, Substitute, Reverse, Speed up, Slow down, and Modify. Try applying these words to your touch points to see what ideas you generate. What if you combined a meeting with physical activity - a walking meeting? What if you could reduce the time taken in a meeting, how would you do it?
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Topic 5
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Tip: Treat it like a touch point.
“Improving a product”
Why? Whether you want to improve a product, process or service they can all be broken down into a series of touch points and then improved. ‘Yakkay’ wanted to improve the humble bicycle helmet. Frankly they thought it looked daggy. So they asked themselves ‘what if we could add something & modify it so it looked ‘cool’?’ www.Yakkay.com The result was a modified helmet with interchangeable caps that could be placed over the top of them. Funky headwear rather than a boring helmet.
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Topic 6
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Tip: Challenge it.
“Challenging the existing touch points we have”
Here's why: A touch point or part of a product is never beyond challenge, but because we use them so often we see them permanently set in stone. What would happen if you had to remove a touch point? What if you had no meeting at all? How would you get things done? What if you had to execute the items or actions discussed at the meeting itself? By asking the ‘Challenge it’ questions, we are forced to step off into the air and fly.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Tip: If you can’t remove a touch point ‘change it’.
“Changing touch points
Why? If you’re absolutely certain that the touch point cannot be removed, what could you change it with? For example could you change a face-toface meeting with a teleconference? Change a boardroom meeting with a corridor meeting? Change an agenda meeting into a brainstorming meeting? The more you look at your touch point the more you realise there are opportunities to challenge and change them to make them better.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Tip: Fight it.
“Breaking traditional thinking�
Why? We are creatures of habit, and left to our own devices we will think and behave the same way every day. Fighting this pattern can help us to create new ideas that we would not normally have considered before. The next time you sit down to think of a solution or generate ideas, start with a distraction to generate some unrelated thoughts. Once you have the fresh thoughts you can force yourself to link them to your problem.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Tip: Look around you.
“Unconventional thinking”
Write down the first thing that catches your eye. Now write down all of the thoughts that come to you when you think of this object. For example – the first thing I see is a lamp. My first thoughts are: metal, light, bright, dark, on, off, power, electricity, work and Thomas Eddison. Now link those thoughts to the topic area that you want ideas for. How can we make it ‘lighter and brighter’? Imagine there was a famous genius in the room, what would he/she bring to the meeting? Turn everyone on before each agenda item by getting people to stand and shake.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Topic 10
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Tip: Become a perve. Here's why: Great inventions, products and services exist all around you. All you need to do is look for them.
“Look for good ideas in the real world�
Rather than look for ideas from your competitors look for ideas from totally unrelated fields and businesses. When you see a great product, process or service in motion ask yourself what are the attributes that make it great. The more attributes you can extract, the easier it is to think of how to apply them to your area of creativity.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Topic 11
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Tip: Change it.
“Using the concept of a good idea”
Why? Once you have established the key attributes that make an idea great all you need to do is change it to suit your application. Dream Bank is an outstanding online savings scheme that has done just that. They liked the concept of ‘facebook’ and the concept that goal setting works best with accountability. After changing the attributes the outcome was an online savings scheme where people declare their savings goal and have a ‘facebook’ style application with friends keeping them accountable to their goal. www.dreambank.org
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Topic 12
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Tip: Clear it.
“Look at what your clients hate about you”
Here's why: We might think we’re perfect, but the reality is there will always be something that our clients dislike about us. By finding them and claiming them we can then turn them to our advantage. If a client thinks you’re too expensive how can you reduce the expense for them? Could you add more value to your offering, could you give them a discount for paying upfront? Could you provide them with ways of saving money elsewhere? List your client’s dislikes about your work & creatively turn them to your advantage.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Topic 13
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Tip: Depressed states can lead to creative states.
“Keep listing the things your clients dislike”
Why? Sounds weird but we can sometimes be the most creative when we are slightly depressed, sad and lonely. By targeting on the things our clients dislike about us we can often be more creative than when we’re upbeat and happy. Does your client think that…. Your service isn’t good enough? Your follow up is terrible? Your product looks ugly?
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Tip: Think right not wrong.
“Creating the right creative mindset when times are tough”
Thoughts drive feelings and behaviours. If we think it’s the end of the world, we start to feel that way and then we start to behave that way, which in turn makes us continue to think that way. Write down your answers to the following: Adversity- what’s the situation? Beliefs – what beliefs have you made up about the event? Consequences – what will happen as a result of these beliefs? Dispute – what’s false about your beliefs? Energised – do you feel better now?
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Topic 15
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Tip: Leave it.
“Ideas that come without working on them
Why? One of our most creative states is when we are in an Alpha brain wave state. The Alpha brain wave state is seldom achieved when working at our desk, it happens when we are chilled out, calm, relaxing and having fun somewhere away from the office. When we’re at work we’re in a Beta brain wave state which is very logical, rational, linear and frankly not very creative. So if you’ve been working non-stop trying to come up with the big idea, take a break, get outside, do something else and trust the idea will come.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Topic 16
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Tip: Use a mobile phone.
“Capturing great ideas”
Why? The mind is a weak slave to good ideas and good ideas often come to us seemingly out of nowhere at unexpected times. When an ideas come to you, even if you’re away from work, by using your phone to call your voice mail or text the idea you’ve now saved the idea. When you’re back at work and ready to make the idea a reality, simply listen or read the message.
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Tip: Create a mental map.
“Making sense from confusion”
Why? Our mind has so many thoughts that unless we map them, they take up valuable processing space that can stop us from moving on with making our ideas happen. Map your thoughts by doing the following: In the centre of an A3 sheet of paper (in landscape format) write your main thoughts in the centre. Then starting at the one o’clock position draw a branching line from the centre. Write the first sub-topic on the line and then make subsequent branches radiating for this branch with the keywords for the thoughts. Google ‘freemind’ for a free mental map software program.
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
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Tip: Visualise in order to realise. Why? Actively visualising our finished process, service or product can only help to create a superior one.
“Creative visualisation�
The more time when can spend imagining what our product or service may look like, sound like, feel and taste like, the easier it is to realise it. Spend some time imagining what it would be like if you were a customer handling or receiving your product or service. Capture any ideas that come to you when finished.
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Tip: Create a contract
“Making sure ideas happen�
Why? Accountability gets results and by having an accountability partner who asks you how your idea is coming along will force you into action. Create a contract declaring the top 3 ideas you want to realise and then sign your commitment to it and get your accountability partner to witness and sign it. Download a contract here at www.nilsvesk.com/resources
Creative thinking in a shrinking economy
Question 20
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Tip: Track it
“Creating maximum return on investment (R.O.I)�
Why? By knowing how our idea is progressing and the effort that has been involved we can objectively establish how much money and resources have been used and the R.O.I from the activity. Create a spreadsheet that gives your idea a number, tracks the time, energy and resources spent. Analyse the R.O.I during and after completion by looking at areas such as increased sales, decreased breakages, increased testimonials, repeat clients and so on.
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Conclusion Upturns and downturns in the economy and in business are a fact of life. But by using creative thinking you can at relatively minimal expense create solutions and superior processes, products and services to coast through the hard times.
Find Out More … The ideas you’ve just read are taken from part of my ‘creative thinking in a shrinking economy’ keynote, as well as from my upcoming creativity book, which will be available from: http://nilsvesk.com/showcase_books.html At our workshops or keynote you’ll learn more about how to take creative thinking and apply it to create outstanding ideas and much, much more. Find out more at www.nilsvesk.com Also sign up for my e-mail newsletter at http://nilsvesk.com/resources.html It’s free and full of great ideas on creativity.
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About Nils Vesk Nils Vesk is a leading creativity and innovation consultant. In his spare time he’s found flying his hang-glider, writing or playing his guitar. He is the author and co-author of a number of books and numerous digital publications. Nils is a speaking professional and his best selling lifestyle book Life’s Little Toolbox is available from his website: http://nilsvesk.com/showcase_books.html You can contact Nils at: Nils Vesk Pty Ltd PO Box 340 Freshwater NSW 2096 Australia Phone: +61 2 9938 3297
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Can we help you? Here are some of the things that people say about our services: “Nils led us, guided us, facilitated, challenged us, and most importantly he helped us innovate and become thought leaders. He was fabulous, his style is terrific his energy is contagious and we’d use him again in a heart beat.” Brigid Gibson, HR General Manager Commonwealth Bank. Thank you for your session it was exactly what we were looking for. Paula Spice HR Manager TB&G Telstra. “Thanks Nils- an important session for the team, they will remember” Oscar Gregory- Manager Operations Services Bluescope Steel If you’d like to work with us, visit our Web site at http://nilsvesk.com