A company’s most important asset isn’t raw materials, transportation systems, or political influence. It’s creative capital—simply put, an arsenal of creative thinkers whose ideas can be turned into valuable products and services. Creative employees pioneer new technologies, birth new industries, and power economic growth… If you want your company to succeed, these are the people you entrust it to. That much is certain. What’s less certain is how to manage for maximum creativity.*
Creative management is a complex process, but mastering it is imperative for those who want to deliver true value.
Besides various other things, creativity is the use of imagination. It is a new way of solving problems and crafting value-adding solutions.
Creativity, by its very nature, is contextual, solution-focused, and futuristic. In creative arts, it transforms words into stories, drama, poems, and songs; canvas and colors into beautiful paintings; and stones into valuable sculptures. In a commercial context, creative thinking may be viewed as a mindset—an innovative solution-seeking mindset.
Management has been defined by its originators as a focused discipline of controlling processes, people, and materials. In the world of business, resources are expected to enhance commercial value.
I visualize creative management as a creativity-driven, customer-focused, and disciplined value creation process that transforms innovative ideas into profit-generating products and services. Thus, it may not be wrong to say that creative management is the genesis of value-creating sustainable commercial enterprises.
innovative ideas and creative management
Creative management is the prime mover of innovative idea-driven entrepreneurship. The transformation of idea into positive cash flow generating products is a multi-functional, dynamic, customer- focused, value creating journey.
In a firm, creative management includes proactive assimilation of required creativity from different functional areas—integration of contextual entrepreneurship to ensure commercial viability, and for sustainability, amalgam of the perspectives of different strategic business partners.
Curiosity, contextual thinking, and questioning as well as learning, unlearning, and relearning are also integral parts of the creative management processes.
why creative management
The present ecosystem is often described as volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. What next is a perpetual question.
This story is from the September - October 2018 edition of The Smart Manager.
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This story is from the September - October 2018 edition of The Smart Manager.
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A Mandarin Narrative
“Understanding the China effect on global innovation will be essential for companies that wish to compete in China, take advantage of China’s innovation capacity, and adopt Chinese approaches to innovation to improve their own performance. The overall effect is that more innovation will originate in China—from both Chinese and global companies—and more companies would adopt the Chinese style of innovation.”*What has helped many Chinese firms make remarkable strides—not just in the realm of innovation—is their swiftness in reformulating themselves, eschewing hierarchical structures, and adopting a customer-centric approach
A Positive Delay
According to Professor Adam Grant, Wharton School of Business, “We shouldn’t be afraid to start early, but equally we shouldn’t be afraid to be slow to finish… procrastination might just improve the end result.”* When used sensibly by leaders, procrastination is a powerful management strategy.
What Is Your Script?
While Freud and most other psychotherapists took the rather simplistic approach of asking the patient about themselves, Berne took an alternate approach to therapy. Berne felt that a therapist could learn what the problem was by simply observing what was communicated (words, body language, facial expressions) in a transaction. So instead of directly asking the patient questions, Berne would frequently observe the patient in a group setting, noting all of the transactions that occurred between the patient and other individuals.Although rooted in psycho therapy, Transactional Analysis has a profound role to play wherever interactions constitute the core. In an organizational setting, it can help build strong cultures.
Be A Change Leader
In an interview with The Smart Manager, John Knights, author of Leading Beyond The Ego said that adopting a style beyond the traditional is more suitable in a world of continuous transformation.* The hierarchical, managerial, male-dominated, and authoritarian leadership style of the 20th century has to undergo a drastic change as organizations are becoming more democratic, inclusive, employee-centric, and open to feedback from all ‘rungs of the ladder’.
A Measured Step
Employee turnover is expensive. Replacing an employee who quits costs, on average, 21% of their annual pay. While it’s tempting to dismiss turnover as a fact of life in today’s fast-moving job market, new research shows otherwise.* Compensation could be a strategic tool for talent retention, especially when the going is tough.
Bridging The Gap
Pam Didner, author of Effective Sales Enablement, shares her perspective on how sales needs to treat marketing as a hidden sales force, while marketing can leverage sales as another marketing channel.
Become Leadership Fit
Leadership is a concept shrouded in misconceptions. Timothy J Tobin, author of Peak Leadership Fitness: Elevating Your Leadership Game and Vice President, Franchisee Onboarding and Learning at Choice Hotels International, unveils a clearer picture.
Purposeful Mission, Profitable Opportunities
In his book, Master Opportunity and Make it Big, Richard M Rothman says, “The success of your career, your business, or any other important aspect of your life, is enormously influenced by the opportunities you choose to pursue. In fact, these decisions are among the most important you will ever make in your life. In choosing these, you choose your fate.” Enabling innovation and growth in an organization comes from choosing the right, lucrative opportunities that are compatible with its vision and mission.
Power Of Data
When it comes to using data to drive business, organizations such as Google or Facebook are iconic… When they started in 2007, big data was not what it is today. All four Vs that define big data—volume, variety, velocity, and veracity—were at lower levels. But perhaps more importantly, there was not much previous experience of working with big data and using it to drive decision making in organizations. At that time, the question was still out as to whether having all that data is useful. Today, the feeling is that the value of data has been proven, and it’s more of a question of how to get it.1Diligent businesses are those that ensure data privacy and security while leveraging its multiple advantages.
Create Not Pools, But An Ocean
Innovation is a relentless pursuit for every successful organization, cutting across geographies and industries. And many are driving disruptions by promoting intrepreneur teams too. Doug Hall argues this is a flawed approach, benefitting only a select few. Innovation needs to operate in a broader realm—one that encompasses all and promises a level playing field.
