Creative or not? It's Your Call!

In the fall of 2022, I wrote and published globally a series of articles on what I believed were the common denominators of highly successful SMEs that I have had the honor of serving over the past 20+ years in our factoring firm. One of the most important traits I discussed was that they consistently and successfully found ways to use their imaginations in their SMEs, This results in them having an amazing level of creativity that they use to grow and prosper in the post COVID-19 era we are in today and their use of creativity has also allowed them to handle and manage the unprecedented levels of anxiety, stress and uncertainty that exist in the SME ecosystem at the present time.

In my prior article, I made the point that I believe creativity is the physical embodiment of the imagination, and that we will need to find more ways to embrace and employ creativity in the ways we run, manage and serve all in our global factoring enterprises. I asked a series of questions about this including is it even possible or plausible to incorporate creativity into the running of a SME or factoring firm and what did I mean by being “creative and imaginative?”

The best answer I found in my research to this complex question is that imagination is a cognitive ability that creates mental images and representations via creative thinking, and it allows us to explore certain ideas that may or may not exist in reality.[1] Stated in much simpler terms, creative people I believe think and see things in color, not just black and white terms or images. As a result, they see things that we miss because we limit ourselves to not being aware of or allowing ourselves to think “outside the box” for a myriad of reasons. Creative thinkers know that there is really no box unless we impose one on the situation or issue ourselves.

I did a great deal of research and reading to better understand the concepts of imagination, creativity and how to utilize them (perhaps for the first time ever) in the way I think, learn, serve and look at opportunities and challenges I face. The result of this quick study was that I learned that I need to be a lot more open to not only thinking creatively but more importantly to encourage others that I work and serve with to do so also.

[1] https://mind.help/topic/imagination