Choose creativity. Stop squashing that little kid inside of you. Make a commitment to decide you want to revive your innovative voice.
Think like a traveler. Stop being oblivious to your surroundings and instead try to see things as if you’ve just landed in that spot and are seeing things for the first time. Expose yourself to new situations or information. Listen to a TED talk, read information from other industries and try to experience new things that may spark an idea. For example, the head of a London hospital was so impressed with the precision of a Formula One pit crew he watched on television during a race that he asked them to help train hospital staff members to improve chaotic patient handoffs from surgery to the intensive care unit.
Daydream. Stop feeling like you’re a slacker if you aren’t actively engaged in three things at one time. New findings in neuro-psychology find that flashes of insight often come when your mind is relaxed on completing a specific task. Kelley says one of the first steps is allowing yourself to step away from the computer or smartphone, to simply allow your mind to wander. He says he reaches a creative state upon waking and often has a pen and paper nearby to jot down his ideas when his brain is in a relaxed state.
Be empathetic. Remove your own ego from the equation when it comes to generating new ideas by taking the time to observe the people who need the solutions. What are their needs?
Be an anthropologist. Observing people in their “natural habitat” can help generate new ideas, even if you do think you’re the expert who knows best.
Ask “why”? Anyone who has been around a young child knows that “why?” is asked about a million times a day. Children are endlessly curious and are persistent into getting to the heart of the matter. If you ask why someone uses a landline phone, for example, you may learn that the answer has less to do with practicality and more to do with psychology.
Reframe challenges. Before you start searching for solutions to a problem, step back to make sure you’re asking the right questions. Try humanizing the problem as shown by GE’s Doug Dietz who went from just designing MRI machines to making it more about getting young patients safely and willingly through an MRI scan.
Build a creative network. Creative whizzes often are seen as lone wolves, but some of the best ideas come from collaboration. Begin by acknowledging to yourself that you don’t have all the answers, and working with others can help relieve the pressure. Meet people after hours to sit around and talk about innovative ideas, or use creative digital communities.
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