That Little Extra Something: Harnessing Your Personal Creativity at Work

Published: Thu, 08/14/14

"We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down." -- Kurt Vonnegut, American author.

If it hadn't been for drive-thru banking, fast food would be a lot less convenient. Years ago, a McDonald's vice president was visiting the drive-thru window at his local bank when he thought, "Why couldn't this work for our restaurants?" The rest is history. McDonald's integrated the drive-thru idea into its new stores, and now lots of restaurants use drive-thru windows, including Starbucks. If a store doesn't have a drive-thru window and you're in a hurry to get a burger or a mocha latte, you probably won't even stop there.

This represents just one example of the value of unleashing your personal creativity on a work problem. It costs you nothing extra, except maybe a little brain sweat, and it can deeply benefit your organization. If you lead a team, encourage them to think of novel ways to boost the company's profit. It's in everyone's interest, it's cheap, and as with Forrest Gump's box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. Oftentimes ideas strike in the shower, while commuting, or as with the McDonald's VP, while running errands.

Give that childhood creativity you've been reining in for the last few decades a chance to come out and play! Consider these suggestions for blending creativity with your work processes.

1. Set aside some time for creativity. You may have heard of a little company called Google. Until recently, they let some employees spend up to 20% of their time working on personal projects they felt could boost the company's profitability. Results included Gmail and AdSense, and possibly Google+ (sources differ). The practice clearly produced some excellent products and earned them millions while it lasted. You may not be able to give your people a full day a week to pursue personal projects, but the occasional half-hour spent brainstorming can have a positive effect on your productivity.

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(C) 2014 Laura Stack. Laura Stack is America's premier expert in personal productivity. For over 20 years, her speeches and seminars have helped professionals, leaders, teams, and organizations improve output, execute efficiently, and save time at work. She's the author or coauthor of 10 books, most recently, Execution IS the Strategy. To invite Laura to speak at your next meet or register for her free weekly newsletter, visit www.TheProductivityPro.com.