According to a recent Newsweek article, brainstorming became popular in 1953 but was proven to reduce a group’s creative output only 5 years later. If this is true, doesn’t it make you wonder why we keep doing it? It’s also been found that half of the ways we use to boost creative output have a negative effect!
Have you ever been told to “just be creative”? That’s an excellent way to put on the creative parking brake. Manufacturing creativity when you’re not feeling creative is nearly impossible. So what can we do to spark creativity, especially when we need it?
The Newsweek article addresses this question as well, and while some of the findings are related to children, I think the concepts can be applied to adults, too. Not as drastic perhaps, but still applicable.
Here’s a breakdown:
- If you’re physically fit, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise will boost your creativity for at least two hours following!
- Let your ideas marinate. Don’t multi-task, simply switch to another project when you find yourself stuck.
- Less TV, especially for kids.
- Study other cultures. They found that by simply watching a slide show about China for 45 minutes, lead to an increase of creativity for a week.
- “Develop deep passions and pursue them wholeheartedly.”
- As an organization, don’t take suggestions. Implement them. “One of the reasons that Toyota’s manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Ky., is so successful is that it implements up to 99 percent of employees’ ideas.”
Forget brainstorming … I’m going to start day dreaming!
[image: kalidoskopika]
Carol Willis says
So right — creativity can be nurtured, not forced. And I’ve read somewhere that in a brainstorming session, the first suggestions tend to be the ones that get glommed onto. I like what I hear about companies like Google that give employees a portion of every week to work on whatever they want, work-related or not, then share what results with everyone else, and how much innovation comes from that.
Eric Dye says
Very true! More proof against the brainstorm myth, and it would seem as though Google knows what they’re doing 🙂