The Mind Needs A Challenge
When there are no challenges in the creative process, complacency comes in, and people tend to go for the most intuitive and easy ideas rather than investing in the development of better but difficult to implement ideas.
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Constraints are viewed as obstacles. The common wisdom regarding obstacles suggests that we have to remove all constraints.
We tend to believe that by getting rid of all rules and regulations, real creativity and innovation will start to emerge.
New research suggests that managers can innovate better by embracing and working with constraints, instead of viewing them as a hindrance to innovation.
Managers may intentionally limit inputs by capping resources in corporate entrepreneurship projects, to motivate employees to challenge themselves and innovate.
Do not impose too many constraints, otherwise, employee motivation is hampered and creative ideas don't have breathing space.
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There is ongoing turbulence in the workplace due to the uncertainties provided by the new virus, resulting in a whole lot of people working from home. Normally the work-from-home policies are established in advance, and employees are trained for the same, but current circumstances are not allowing for any transition time.
- Centers on the customer process or journey and supports a clear business target.
- Involves employees from all relevant areas to find different ways of working a problem.
- Challenge participants to reimagine an existing method to try to find the most efficient way to improve the customer experience.
- Sessions start with ideas but end with a working prototype.
- Output includes a clear development path that highlights all the steps needed to accelerate production and implementation.
- The hackathon concludes with a presentation to senior leaders, including a real-life demonstration of the new prototype and a roadmap of IT and other capabilities needed to bring the final version to market.
- Once the teams agree on what to do, those responsible for execution create a virtual model that the group vets, refines and re-releases in continual cycles until the new process or app meets the desired experience criteria.
- Management prevents the dissipation of enthusiasm and energy created on the hackathon by placing new processes to sustain it.
Top business leaders and CEOs usually recommend non-fiction books, however, studies point towards fiction as an effective way to enhance the brain's ability to keep an open mind while processing information, leading to effective decision making.
Non-readers often jump to conclusions, but the ones who invest in reading are more thoughtful, creative and comfortable with competing narratives and contradictory information.