Need to Get Creative? How to Create an Idea Space

Need to Get Creative? How to Create an Idea Space

Where you work is how you think. Your immediate surroundings determine your mindset, the way you generate ideas and solve problems. You can't break institutional barriers within the walls of your everyday workspace. If radical change is what you seek, create your own idea space--a discrete location away from workplace distractions where you can cultivate and share new knowledge. Think of it as a retreat, a refuge, an escape from the constraints of office culture.

An idea space is as much mental as it is physical. Idea spaces spark wild energy as like-minded people come together and brainstorm new initiatives. Dislocating from the typical task-oriented work mode helps us gain the freedom of mind and insight necessary to produce great ideas.

Hallmark is an organization that understands and benefits from the power of idea spaces. Next-door to its headquarters, the company has a giant innovation facility full of studios for crafts like glass-blowing, ceramics, and papermaking. These activities allow employees to take a break from the day-to-day grind and rejuvenate their spark. Hallmark also invites workers to take sabbaticals and travel. These sabbaticals give people the permission to try something they would not try at home--and they can return to inject some of their inspiration back into the company by initiating new product lines. The world is their office.

The development of an idea space can help you achieve any of these goals:

  • Provide a sanctuary from institutional thinking
  • Give employees a place to free their minds and develop creative thinking ability
  • Offer a 'test track' to experiment with new ideas
  • Develop communities of practice for sharing knowledge and experience

Give your space a metaphor or theme. This will shape how people use and think about the space. By calling an idea space "kitchen of the mind" or "corporate garage," you express the real purpose to an uninitiated participant. You can use the theme to develop the physical space as you would a theme restaurant.

Idea spaces come in many forms, but often fall into one of four categories:

  • Stimulation: Spaces that stimulate people's imagination through new interaction. These include art, music, and dance studios, field trips, and sabbaticals
  • Facilitation: Spaces that bring in seasoned "travel guides" to assist small groups in their journey toward breakthrough ideas and action. These include jumpstart programs and creativity coaching.
  • Experimentation: Spaces that provide a workshop or laboratory for the development of ideas into products, services, and learning. These include virtual labs, idea banks, incubators, and accelerators.
  • Education: Spaces that develop creativity competencies in individuals and groups through teaching and partnership. These include training sessions and mentorship programs.

Don't expect fast, quantifiable results. Be patient as you build your sanctuary. Remember that the predictability of routine is what you're getting away from. In an idea space, chaos is your friend.

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***NEW*** MAKING STONE SOUP: HOW TO JUMPSTART INNOVATION TEAMSis a short, fun and to the point guide for anyone launching an innovation team, leading a creative project, or developing a novel solution. It is available for now on Amazon, iTunes or www.jeffdegraff.com.

JEFF DEGRAFF is a professor, author, speaker and advisor to hundreds of the top organizations in the world. He is called the Dean of Innovation because of his influence on the field. You can follow Jeff on Twitter @JeffDeGraff and LinkedIn.

John L. Marshall

Graphic Designer. Crooner. Pretty good clapper.

10 年

Offices are creativity dampers. This includes open office spaces that are so popular with many creative companies... and don't get me started on cubicles. However, if you find yourself stuck on one of the fore mentioned office types and can't leave but want to get creative, I suggest checking out the greatest place for creative inspiration... Pinterest. Thats right. Pinterest. It's a creative inspiration gold mine.

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Gwen A.

Marketing | PR | Communications | Brand

10 年

Lovely to read this about our KC HQ! Creativity is at the heart of everything we do at Hallmark, and that carries through to our working environment take a look here https://www.hallmark-creative.co.uk

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Gary R. Jackiewicz

Senior Strategic Account Manager at Apptio, an IBM Company

10 年

Great post. Love the idea of creation spaces to help us kindred spirits find one another...

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Matt Terasaki

Senior Product Manager at Humanly

10 年

Idea space via stimulation makes a lot of sense. Gallup Research has found that 59% of engaged employees say their job brings out their most creative ideas, compared to only 3% of disengaged employees. You should take a look at TINYpulse (tinypulse.com), which works on providing that creative culture to the workplace

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Derek Bailey

Teacher/Trainer/Assessor at TAFENSW

10 年

Highly intriguing, imaginative, engaging and Wow

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