Boost Creativity – The key to innovation!

We all know about brainstorming, creativity circles and crowd sourcing innovation through suggestion boxes but do how much of it actually works in practice is the real question…

According to Newsweek, brainstorming sessions were discredited as far back as 1958, when it was found that the technique measurably reduces the creative output of a group compared to what they’d accomplish separately.

Switch projects. Multi-tasking might be counter-productive, but stopping one project to work on another at regular intervals has shown to help you solve difficult problems within those separate projects more quickly.

Watch less TV. One study shows that for every hour of television, kids spend 11% less time in creative activities. Three hours of TV adds up to a one-third drop in creativity.

Follow your passion. In a sense, this is common sense. Studies show you’ll do your best at things you are most passionate about. Where this runs afoul of common wisdom, though, is that it suggests you don’t need to be “well rounded” — and in fact, that corporate dictum to do a little of everything for career advancement might actually hurt your ability to work creatively.

Ditch the suggestion box. According to Newsweek, “Formalized suggestion protocols, whether a box on the wall, an e-mailed form, or an internal Web site, actually stifle innovation because employees feel that their ideas go into a black hole of bureaucracy.” The remedy: empower employees to put their ideas into practice without a lot of red tape.

Exercise. As little as 30 minutes of exercise improves “almost every dimension of cognition” for at least 2 hours. It only works on people who are already physically fit, though. For out-of-shape folks, the fatigue outweighs the benefits.

Spontaneous Idea generation is the mother of creativity. Though we don’t know what ultimately promotes the creation of a new idea, we can make every effort to create an environment that promotes idea generation.

There are the two common things that most creative people have; a mind free of rigid social controls and the unwavering desire to follow one's own interests.

The final key to promoting creativity on a personal level and also in terms of creating the most appropriate environment is consistency and practice. Creativity should be a constant rather than a sporadic event just as innovation should be a continual process which demands commitment.