Creative Inspiration

Too often people believe creativity requires locking themselves in a room (or even worse a conference room) and randomly brainstorming with others. Truth be told, that doesn’t accomplish much of anything. You end up relying on others for an original idea or you rely on your own past experiences too much.

Do me a favor. Try a new technique this week. I’m sure you need to think of something new and exciting. Here are a few things that may kick-start the creative juices. I’m not saying it’s the be-all and end-all in your creativity journey, but it could help inspire you to greater ideas.

1) Walk away from your desk. Discover a new place or environment. It’s important to place yourself in an area that is conducive to relaxation and stress-free thinking. This also takes you away from the norm.

2) Go to the movies, visit a museum or an art gallery. Take mental note of new, different and out of the ordinary. Most creativity starts with a visual spark. You can always go back to your rational self … I promise. But, you need to tap into your visual — and somewhat irrational — side.

3) Spend a few hours with a child. Put the smartphone away and pay attention. Watch how they interact with the rest of the world. Enjoy their curiosity and then mimic it!

4) Ignore your country for a week. For one week, stop being a U.S citizen or a French citizen or an Argentinian. Learn about trends in another country. Design trends —music, art, architectural, behavioral trends. Now use that information to create.

These are just a few techniques to kick-start creativity. The point is to rebel against the norm when you create., To do this, you must stop living in the norm.

What Recession?

Well, it's interesting to see how companies are reacting to our current economic condition. It's not hard to tell which companies will increase market share and brand health and which companies will fade away. Great companies push their creativity to the limit. They understand that NOW is the time to attack. They understand this environment is perfect for beating the competition. It's amazing that more companies don't understand this philosophy.

Innovation is key to growth under these conditions and in order to take advantage of this opportunity, gaining real and actionable insight is paramount. Now is the time to tap into consumers. Why? Let's see:

1) They want to be heard

2) They are just as creative as marketers

3) There expectations from companies is higher than ever

4) If you watch them and listen to them, you will understand

5) They are the critical element to growth as it relates to new products and services, advertising, branding initiatives and everything sacred in the Brand World.

Let's be real. Great companies understand the above already and sometimes need a reminder. The others. Well, they may not be here long enough to read my next blog posting.

See a great article on winning companies in a recession:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7439356/Innovating-Through-Recession-by-Andrew-Razeghi-of-Kellog-School-of-Management