How to sustain organizational success through creative thinking – a seven step model

Drake Editorial Team

How to Sustain Organizational Success through Creative Thinking A Seven Step ModelIn a rapidly changing world, business leaders are finding it difficult to keep their competitive advantage on an on-going basis. Technology and cost control are no longer adequate to sustain the lead. It is the organisation's ability to innovate through creative thinking that makes all the difference. No one questions the need for innovation in the business. Organisations recognise the importance of creativity and innovation for acquiring and sustaining success. The critical link is the ability of employees to think creatively, so that they are able to apply an innovative thinking process to the whole range of activities, including the processes and the products.

However, employees need to be passionate about what is going on before they are willing to think creatively to challenge the current processes and practices that prevent the organization form moving forward. And they need to have courage.

Courage demands commitment. When an employee has the courage to challenge what goes on, aimed at bringing out better results, it is only part of the answer for acquiring and sustaining success. You must innovate to move from the status quo, and that requires a different style of thinking. Creative thinking enables and encourages every employee to contribute new ideas that will make it possible to launch new products or services and eliminate sources of waste. In the 21st century, it is creativity through innovation that adds value. Only then you can sustain success in the market place.

What is so special about the organizations that are able to sustain success through creativity and innovation? They train their employees on creative problem solving skills and empower them so that the employees make the right decisions to put their ideas to work. There is a high degree of trust among the employees right across the organization, with minimal status differences. Employees are challenged to generate high quality innovative solutions through creative thinking. These organizations also believe that creative thinking is a transferrable skill that can be acquired in the right work environment.

Any business organization can acquire and sustain success through creative thinking by adopting the following practices in the workplace:

1. Let each employee understand about the organization's mission and vision and how they can make that mission and vision a reality.
2. Communicate enthusiastically, sharing the best practices, so that employees will continue to seek out even better solutions to take full advantage of business opportunities. In the presence of open communication, employees become passionate about the Mission and Vision of the company.
3. Train your employees on creative thinking skills so that they understand the power of creative thinking.
4. Empower the staff at all levels by getting rid of micro management styles in managing your operation.
5. Create a dynamic work environment that encourages trust and commitment across departments and work units.
6. Provide the required resources (manpower, money, methods, materials and machinery) so that the employees are able to implement creative and innovative processes.
7. Continuously work toward creating and sustaining a creative work environment so that everyone is enthusiastic about demonstrating commitment and innovation in their work practices.

In the process of attempting to create and sustain success of your business through creative thinking, remember the three C's of Innovation: Courage, Challenge and Creativity.

Reprinted with the permission of John Arul, co-owner of Centre for Creative Thinking, a training agency based in Singapore ( http://www.creativityasia.com) that facilitates training workshops on creativity and related soft skills for clients in Asia and the Middle East. As a Trainer, John facilitates management seminars and workshops in the areas of Creative Thinking, Brainstorming skills for Team Leaders, EQ Skills for Team Leaders. He also manages a blog http://lifeskills4success.blogspot.com to discuss topics related to personal and professional development. John holds an MBA and majored in strategic human resource management. He is a member of the American Creativity Association.