Channeling Your “Inner Child”: How Going Back to Basics Can Spark Innovation

Despite more than 30 years as a marketing professional weaving strategy, products, and marketing together in breakthrough ways, I still occasionally find myself at a standstill—facing a mental roadblock that many will know familiar. In these moments, finding new ways for a brand to stay innovative and relevant in an ever-evolving global landscape can be arduous, even for veteran marketers.

The trick to getting past this mental roadblock is to change your frame of mind and come at your problems from a different perspective. Personally, whenever I am at a crossroads, I block out extraneous noise through meditation and Tai Chi. Another, more universal way to break through is to go back to basics in quite a literal sense, drawing inspiration from an unexpected source: children.

As we get older, our adult minds are trained to remain poised and follow a specific structure, which can keep us from reaching our true potential. Children, on the other hand, are full of boundless exploration, fearless imagination, and unbridled ambition – qualities that allow them to embrace and make unfiltered connections. This unfiltered state can lead to some amazing things, so brands, and the marketers behind them, that channel their “inner child” will find it easier to push boundaries and achieve success.

Encourage exploration

Children are inquisitive by nature. Their brains are wired to ask questions, regardless of how outlandish they might be or how clear-cut the answers seem. This level of curiosity is essential as brands re-evaluate their purpose and marketing strategies while navigating a dynamic, global market.

Fostering a safe space, driven by curiosity, enables employees to embrace an innovative mindset. It has become part of our company culture to reward those who take risks as seen through the first global ‘hackathon’ virtual event we completed last month, which generated dozens of innovative ideas.  It is imperative to promote an environment for your team where no question is too small and no idea too big to share. One way to do this is by encouraging employees to ask stimulating and provocative questions that break through the pre-conceived assumptions that stands in the way of originality.

At Lenovo, we are always asking ourselves, “How can we make this better? What limits can we push?” We acted on these questions by overhauling our own retail model in China and adopting a new, intelligent retail solution. Leveraging our store fronts and e-commerce to complement one another helped bridge online and offline retail shopping. Through encouraged exploration, we drove traffic and re-imagined our experience, and proved that inside innovation leads to outside opportunity – especially as we adopt a new business strategy and undergo our fourth transformation.

Teams that aren’t afraid to pose the unimaginable and defy convention are setting the stage for innovation to flourish. Marketing professionals must welcome radical thinking and embrace the unknown territory that comes with it.

Pursue fearlessly

Another unique trait that we as adults grow out of is a fearless pursuit of exciting ideas that take us out of our comfort zone. However, the unique nature of the last year has forced many of us back into that mindset as we navigated the post-pandemic landscape in our professional and personal lives. Diving head-first into the uncomfortable will be critical as we continue our transformation from a global devices company to a technology leader in global devices and solutions, services, and software.

In our work we saw a challenge to the traditional ways in which companies communicate with key stakeholders – both internal and external. This is not, however, a bad thing. Unexpected obstacles yield new opportunities for a reset or re-evaluation of what can be done differently. We aren’t living in a moment where the status quo is needed, but rather a moment when companies need to embrace fearless solutions.

Adopt a youthful ambition

As marketing professionals, we sometimes shy away from fully pursuing our ideas whenever external factors threaten their execution. Because of this, we can also learn from a child’s innate ability to go after whatever it is they want without fear of risk or failure.

Our ‘We are Lenovo’ culture began as a bold, emphatic vision for our company to drive change in everything we do as we transform into a solutions-driven company. We reiterated this in our business strategy update at our global employee kickoff events in April. Lenovo’s approach reminds my colleagues and me that thinking differently isn’t only encouraged - it’s what keeps us moving toward a more innovative, smarter future.

Those who decide to harness a youthful sense of imagination and creativity will reap the benefits – for themselves and the brands they represent. So, the next time you or your team find yourselves in a creative rut, I invite you to channel your “inner child.” At best, you’ll uncover new avenues, unique concepts, and exciting ways of reaching your audience. At worst, you will have enjoyed living without a care in the world, again, for a moment in time.