The Marketing Message Blog

Creativity -Great Minds Do Think Alike Part 2.

In Part 1 of this post, I talked about how very creative people seem to share similar work habits.  They don't consciously plan to execute in a certain way, it just happens.  To demonstrate the point, I referenced a guest column in Fortune Magazine by Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO who talked about his Moleskine notebooks and other tactics for solving problems.

In Part 2, let's look at the second tactic Tim refers to in his column.  It's one I see used all the time by people who want to innovate.  He says, "try to stage accidents."  He refers to a small library he frequented that had no real stacking system. Books were lined up next to each other based on absolutely no order.  He would find completely different topics next to each other.  He said those juxtapositions fostered rich answers. 

I heard the same idea expressed by Alvin Toffler in a C-Span Book TV interview about his book Revolutionary Wealth.  He described himself as "a reading machine" as most creative people do.  But he credited his creativity with the fact that he reads wildly different books and articles at the same time.  He said he shifts timeframes, points of view and location.  He says these differing views and ideas create connections he never would have thought of otherwise.

So what's the conclusion to draw from these comments?  I think it's simply that artists work their ideas.  They don't cling to one idea and reuse it constantly, afraid that they'll never have another.  They let their ideas flow.  They pummel them, shape them and pair them with other good ideas to create synergy.  That's a good idea for anyone who does marketing for their business.  Let the ideas grow and combine and don't be afraid to make them work.

Creativity -Great Minds Do Think Alike Part 1.

The cliche 'great minds think alike' does seem to be true when it comes to creativity.  There are several tactics that creative people use that I see repeated again and again.  A case in point is the guest column from Tim Brown CEO, IDEO in the November 12th issue of Fortune.

In it he talks about two tactics I see very often:

1. 'Stages' Notebook:

The first is that he keeps what I call a 'Stages' notebook.  I write about this in my upcoming book about social media marketing for Sourcebooks, Inc.  A stages notebook is one of several notebooks that creative people use to develop their ideas.  The first notebook has early stage ideas.  Ideas that are worth developing are moved into a second stage notebook and worked on.  Then a third stage notebook receives the ideas that are worth taking further.  That way good ideas are not lost and can benefit from the incubation process.

Tim Brown refers to his moleskine notebooks where he says he "goes through the finished ones and highlight the big ideas so they don't get lost.  Dancer Twyla Tharp does the same and talks about it in her book "The Creativity Habit.  She says that even though Beethoven seemed very undisciplined, all his ideas were carefully documented in a variety of notebooks with ideas in stages.

I'll detail the second tactic in Part 2.

More Ideas, More Profits?

Check out this interesting article in BusinessWeek by Marketing Guru Doug Hall, called "Ideas to Grow On."  He talks about a study done by his Eureka! Ranch of small and medium sized companies. The results were intriguing.  Those who brainstormed and worked on many ideas for growth grew 5.8 times faster than those with only a few options.

Interesting, since we usually hear that too many choices can cause confusion and inaction.  His study showed that the wealth of ideas caused small businesses to flourish and employees to be more optimistic about the future.  A good example of this would be Google, who has employees working on a wide variety of new ideas.

Take this lesson to heart.  If you only have one new idea you may convince yourself it's good.  If you have several, you can afford to throw some out and rework them until they're great.

New Year, New Trends

Your customers, colleagues and vendors should be the source of new business and marketing ideas. If you need a how-to, check out Romanus Wolter's article Sharpen Your Edge in Entrepreneur Magazine, October, 2006.  He offers 4 steps worthy of your attention.

1) Set specific investigative times: If you don't schedule time to focus on emerging trends, you won't do it.  Speak to customers and friends who are active online and see what they are doing.  Learn what's new and think about how it effects your business.

2) Make trend spotting part of your daily routine: Trends are happening around you.  Be alert to things that change in your normal day.  Are you offered new ways to do things? Do you see people buying differently? 

3) Persistently investigate competitors: Make sure you know what your competitors are offering on a daily basis.  It's hard to tell if they are doing better than you at a micro-level, but be focused on WHAT they are doing and how that will change your customer's expectations.

4) Make reporters part of your research team: Read magazines, news articles, set Google alerts for important topics, set up a Bloglines account and monitor blogs.  With all the tools out there you can have the media come to you.

Don't be lazy about doing this research or act like it's a waste of time.  Things are moving too fast for you to be at a dead stop.

What Kind Of Genius Are You?

According to David Galenson, (see reading list) interviewed in the July issue of Wired, there are two types of creativity—quick and dramatic or careful and quiet.  Galenson, an economist with admittedly wide interests, conducted a detailed study of well-known artists, writers and film-makers; he found that their "genius" fell into one of two groups.  They either did their best work at a very young age, like Pablo Picasso, or in their later years like Frank Lloyd Wright.  Late bloomers rejoice!

He called those who peaked early "conceptualists" and those who peaked later "experimentalists."  He believes that this theory can be applied to business as well.  Small business owners can begin to understand their own innovation styles.  Conceptualists know what they want and proceed in a straight line until they find it.  Experimentalists succeed through trial and error and almost never feel they have come to the end of their search. 

Once you understand your own style it will be easier for you to strengthen your business plan and manage others.  Some business owners find the one right solution and stick with it.  Other are constantly revising and changing. Which are you?

Technorati tags: marketing management+style creativity design small+business

Does Writing Web Content Foster Creativity?

Today, eMarketer reports on a new Pew Research study on "Home Broadband Adoption." It says that over 48 million American adults, (35% of US internet users) have created and posted content online.  Further, they theorize that "the Internet may actually foster creativity ."   Intuitively, I think that's true, the Internet allows  you to effortlessly communicate with words, pictures and audio to people around the world.

I recently saw an interview with futurist Alvin Toffler about his new book "Revolutionary Wealth" (see reading list). It's a great read about how future wealth will be created and tracked. He talked about how he fosters his own creativity.  His comments were enlightening. 

Like most creative people, he is a voracious reader— "I'm a reading machine!"   Ok, nothing new here, everyone knows that reading is an essential way to keep your mind open and sharp.  But what he stressed is that by reading several very different books and articles at the same time, he sees connections that never would have occurred to him if he were not reading them simultaneously.

Information about history, international news stories and current web trends all make the cut.  He shifts timeframes, points of view and location.  I read several books at once, but they are all pretty similar in topic and timeframe.  I'm going to focus on this approach and see if new connections and ideas are created.  If you try it, let me know how it works for you.

Technorati tags: web+content creativity

Use Creative Tools for Effective Website Redesigns

Redesigning your website to take advantage of new opportunities and solve problems can be challenging. Different political groups jockey for position and new ideas get shouted down or lost due to employee popularity or ranking. A technique that can strip away these “human” factors can make a big difference when planning and strategizing.

In the late 60’s Tony Buzan developed a technique he called “Mind Mapping” to make use of the latest in brain research. His goal was to help people use all their cortical skills, i.e. word, image, number, etc. to learn and problem solve. This technique has grown and developed over the years as brain research becomes more sophisticated.

This method works very well in corporate setting where the audience has diverse skills. Rather than focus on skills, you focus on ideas. People feel they are on firm ground and are more likely to share ideas and look for solutions. This is exactly the kind of atmosphere you want to create when groups congregate to solve business problems.

In my work with Internet clients, I have adapted this method to take advantage of different creative skill sets among staff members. The marketing group has their way of looking at things, the developers theirs, and management, still another. When mind maps are applied to internet planning (or any business plan) it removes the barriers and helps each group apply its best creative knowledge.

There are four main advantages to using a mind map in an internet setting. The first is that it’s non-linear. This makes all ideas important and eliminates ideas chosen by employee rankings. When there are open spaces on the map branches, the brain wants closure. Everyone wants them to be filled in. This promotes teamwork.

The second is it provides a look at the “big picture” and the details at the same time. This helps managers focus on their concerns while those tasked with the details can focus on their part of the puzzle and everyone can see the whole.

The third is it highlights omissions. When you follow the same process and look at the same lists you forget or “don’t see” what’s missing. Looking at the material in a new way helps you analyze it.

The fourth is it stimulates everyone’s creativity by using pictures and colors, lines of different widths and spaces. Programmers use their special skills and designers and managers use their unique skills.

When you redesign your website, your main goal should be to make it easier for your customers to find information and buy products. This tools makes it easier to achieve success.

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