How to think creatively in business

Brainstorming to beat the downturn might seem like an indulgent activity, but it could give your business the edge in uncertain times, says Hester Abrams.

Far from putting brainstorming sessions on the backburner right now, it’s important to make them an integral part of how you progress your business. Because it’s when the going gets tough that the most creative ideas and solutions can emerge, kick-starting growth and boosting profits.

'Companies can become quite blinkered and see only one part of the picture,' says employment lawyer Jeremy Consitt of Dolmans Solicitors. 'We’re suggesting they look at other options. Times like these can bring out the best in people, so in a recession, it’s vital you adjust your business psychology and play to other strengths.' Here’s how:

See problems in a new light
Tapping into creativity doesn’t mean you need elaborate role-play sessions or a highly paid facilitator to help you workshop new ideas for the business. You could try the Six Thinking Hats tool created by the godfather of lateral thinking, Edward de Bono. Here, you separate your thinking into six categories by metaphorically donning different hats to represent different states of mind:

• Blue – worn by the facilitator to manage the process
• White – to identify information needed
• Red – for feelings and intuition
• Black – to be devil’s advocate
• Yellow – for optimism
• Green – for possibilities and new ideas

As you put on each hat, you’ll adopt a different perspective and encourage your brain into a creative mode much more easily.

Get everyone involved
Whether you bring in an outsider to help you or go it alone, seeing a difficult situation in a fresh light takes courage and a good degree of openness. Talking and listening to your staff and customers is essential.

'The boss needs to have the courage to ask staff once a month, "what am I doing wrong? What would you do if you were me?"' suggests Ed Lennox, marketing director at Feefo.com (opens in a new window), which polls customer feedback.

Make sure you involve everyone in the business in the process of generating ideas, and reward them for doing so. 'Be clear to your colleagues and yourself what the set up is and how everyone can contribute to what you’re doing,' advises Max McKeown, author of The Truth About Innovation (Prentice Hall). 'For example, you could say, "whoever comes up with the best idea can borrow my car for the week." You’ll be using inventory that is there in the company anyway.'

Think like a punter
It may go against instinct to open up your carefully nurtured brand to a free-for-all of customer comment, but many companies use this strategy to generate ideas and opportunities.

'Feedback really helps spread the word that we do listen to our customers and we do care,' says Jo Artherton, communications co-ordinator at BeWILDerwood, a children’s tree house adventure destination in Norfolk.

It’s also worth understanding the context in which your customers use your products or services. 'I get companies to understand "moments of truth" – the point when customers make decisions to use one brand or another. It helps reignite a business to think how it can differentiate itself from others and evaluate what’s really important,' says Ian Sterritt, who runs Derbyshire-based Kirkdale Customer Advocates and mentors local companies on innovation as an East Midlands Business Champion.

Check your tone of voice
'Generally, we all talk in our own particular style. It’s the same with business. You have a style of communication you get into, it seems to work, so you think no more about it,' says journalist and business guru Guy Browning. 'But perhaps it’s time you did,' he advises, 'because what people want to hear is changing. They don’t want hype or shouting.' To encourage buyers to spend their remaining pennies, Browning stresses the importance of coming across as a real person – 'easy to engage with, who has something of real worth to offer.'

Slow down ... don’t panic
'The biggest challenge for a small business in thinking differently is to stop panicking,' says Johnnie Moore, a strategic planning facilitator for the Clarity Partnership. 'In some ways it’s no longer about blue-sky thinking. What’s important now is to slow down enough to notice what’s really going on. And don’t always feel you have to be relentlessly positive. A lot of the best ideas come from people who are fed up with the way things are. I’d say notice more, change less. Ideas come from everywhere. My best advice is just to be mindful.'

A survey about our most creative times of day, commissioned last year by Crowne Plaza hotels, said we reach our peak at 10.04pm. So perhaps that’s the time to switch off your computer, and await that eureka moment!

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• Listen to Guy Browning’s advice on what a manager needs to keep in mind to stay fresh and focused.
• Sahar Hashemi built her business empire on great ideas. Here’s how: My way of doing business.
• Communicate your bright ideas to customers and produce a mailshot in just 30 minutes with Mailshots Online.