The concept of creativity is a funny thing. Many people will tell you that you aren’t creative and get nervous when you ask them to do something that would require them to use creativity. I am sure we have all been or continue to be that person at certain times. As an enterpreneur, we just don’t have the luxury of not being creative.
I watched a video recently of Richard St John on TED talks, in the video he talks about success as a continuous journey for your business. He had 8 steps to the success cycle that he listed. 2 of the steps, ideas and improvement, dealt primarily with creativity.
Not only were ideas and improvement listed, they were right in the middle of the process. They are the drivers that keeps your organization running strong. Richard talked about what happened to him when he reached a certain level and thought he had made it. Ultimately his business failed.
We discount our own creativity sometimes by assuming that we have to be Van Gogh in order to call ourselves creative. The reality is that we are all creative in certain ways and it’s important for us to cultivate that creativity. The great thing is we don’t have to remove an ear in the process. The fact that you have a business idea proves that you are capable of creating. Entrepreneurs in the beginning stages are typically the driving force behind the organization’s innovation.
To avoid discounting your creativity, don’t misunderstand how creative you need to be. You don’t have to come up with something out of thin air to be creative. Society would suggest that the only people who are creative are total nut jobs. In fact, smart entrepreneurs learn to enhance what already exists in the marketplace rather than try and create a market themselves.
Take the iPhone. Apple didn’t invent the cell phone, they just figured out how to improve the product in a way that is consistent with what their firm already does. Enhancing an existing product is a smart approach to enhancing your product line because you already know that a market exists. That’s an easy way to be creative as an entrepreneur.
How can you be more creative in your day-to-day work? How do you make sure you set aside time for creation? If you don’t set aside time why not? Do you think it’s important to be creative as an entrepreneur? I would love to hear your thoughts.