How to Harness Creativity for Growth

Companies Good at Creative Thinking Produce Superior Returns?

Creativity is a powerful contributor to business growth and long-term success. Or at least it can be. But creativity’s capacity to drive innovation, spur growth, boost productivity and augment agility is often overlooked. And that’s unfortunate.??

Most business leaders bank mainly on traditional skills such as finance, operations, strategy, leadership, and communications, to name a few. The thinking is typically either-or: Science or art. Left brain or right brain. Logic or magic.??

By fusing creativity with strategic thinking, however, organizations can have it both ways. Sure, conventional skills are critical for managing day-to-day operations and marshaling resources. But integrating creative skills into your cultural mindset helps convert creativity into a value-creation engine.??

Creativity becomes the beating heart of the business. And research shows that companies successful at cultivating creativity outdistance others. There’s a strong correlation between creativity and financial outperformance.?

According to McKinsey, "creativity is one of the most important qualities leaders must foster in order to achieve exceptional results." The global management consulting firm came to that conclusion after comparing performance of companies considered creative to their non-creative counterparts, as defined by McKinsey’s creativity index.

They found that 67 percent of companies with a high creativity score generated above average revenue growth, while 75 percent produced above average net enterprise value.??

Creativity is Not the Same as Innovation

One reason companies tend to underemphasize creativity is that they confuse it with innovation, creativity’s cousin. They are related, but not the same.??

Innovation is about making something better; be it a product or process. Making it cost-effective, more functional, taste better, more easily available.???

Creativity is more about fundamental changes in thinking; how the people on your team see the world. It’s not just the clichéd refrain “think out of the box.” It’s about finding entirely new boxes.??

Here’s another way to think of it: Humans create. Organizations innovate.??

As CEO of a hyper-growth consumer brand, it’s my job – along with others on the leadership team – to set the tone, timing, and direction on what those “next boxes” should be.??

To help facilitate this at Liquid I.V., we’ve normalized zigging when others zag by encouraging a kind of “rogue thinking.” Rogue thinkers are curious. They are willing to ask the kinds of thought-provoking questions that encourage our collective ability to see things not just as they are, but for what they could be.??

It’s this kind of creative thinking – and the execution stage that necessarily follows – that has helped Liquid I.V. become the leader in its category. It also gets a good share of the credit for helping us expand internationally, form groundbreaking partnerships, and move at the speed of culture.?

Essentials for Cultivating Creativity?

Creative thinking is crucial for generating the kinds of fresh ideas that fuel growth and innovation. Fueling creativity to trigger a continuous flow of ideas is even more vital in today’s world of rapid, unpredictable change. Ideas, not structure, are where everything starts. First produce the ideas. Then build structure around them.??

Alan Iny, Global Lead for Creativity & Scenarios at Boston Consulting Group, put it nicely: "The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas."??

Here are six lessons – from our experience at Liquid I.V. and other research – that can help companies of all types tap into creativity’s riches.??

1. Focus on Fostering "Home-grown" Creativity: Companies – especially big ones – often look to outside agencies as their default source of creativity. And while agencies can indeed be valuable creative conduits, companies that weave creativity into their operational fabric internally are better at advancing innovation and generating exceptional growth.

At Liquid I.V., we seek creative ideas from disparate places, both internal and external. There’s room for all to contribute. Marketing is considered the center of creativity in many companies, and at Liquid I.V. is a creative cornerstone. But it needn't stop there. Creative thinking can be beneficial almost anywhere, from sales and supply chains, to product, research and development, customer service and other departments.??

2. Beware of “Functional Fixedness”: Put simply, functional fixedness is the notion that there is only one way to interpret or approach a situation or challenge. It’s an easy – but insidious – trap to fall into. We humans are naturally prone to approaching every task or challenge the same way we have in the past.???

But every situation is different, and having a creative mindset helps avoid this trap. Functional fixedness is a big reason companies stagnate, and a major obstacle to growth and innovation.??

3. Make Creativity Customer-Centric: One attribute shared by companies at the top of McKinsey’s creativity rankings is an almost obsessive devotion to understanding their customers. These companies tend to go far beyond standard research methods such as surveys and focus groups in their attempt to understand customers and predict future behavior.??

Creative companies seek insights from multiple sources for a more in-depth and robust understanding of customers. They observe customers on their own turf to gain first-hand insights into the problems customers face and solutions they’re seeking.??

Teams with a creative mindset are more likely to develop true empathy for customers and their needs. And this, in turn, will better align your business with customer expectations. Greater satisfaction and loyalty will surely follow.??

4. Question Preconceived Perceptions: Making judgments in the absence of evidence or firsthand experience is toxic to a creative environment. Here’s where culture comes into play. A culture that encourages people to challenge perceptions is a culture more conducive to creativity. More likely to produce fresh thinking. More willing to explore alternatives in entrepreneurial fashion.?

One thing that can help you escape preconceived perceptions is to regularly look outside your own category for inspiration. Study how others see and articulate things and bring them to life in different ways.

5. Make it a Daily Routine: Creative companies constantly work to instill and maintain a mindset that values and prioritizes creativity and innovation. By promoting creativity in day-to-day operations, it becomes as reflexive as breathing or eating.?

Collaboration is a great enabler of day-to-day creativity, so encourage it at every corner. In companies where individuals collaborate early and often to share ideas, creativity blossoms.??

6. Adopt the Vocabulary of Creativity: The words senior leaders use internally with their teams also help reinforce creativity. A few to consider deploying regularly include imagination, inspiration, ingenuity, inventiveness, resourcefulness, vision, and innovation. Celebrate even small achievements that demonstrate any of these qualities.

This will help spark a virtuous cycle of creativity that can benefit your business for years to come.? ?????

Any company can get better at harnessing creativity and making it into a strategic business growth and performance driver. By staying curious, always moving forward, and looking for new doors to open, you can better your chances of transforming new, creative ideas into positive business outcomes. ?

#creativity #innovation #growth??