Answering the need for local sources of small amounts of food was enough to establish and carry the mom and pop grocery. But today's businesses competing on a global level do not operate solely on the basis of supply and demand. Because news now travels in real time, we must add reputation to the equation.
We know how to plan, staff and execute to meet the laws of supply and demand. We've been doing that for centuries. Less familiar ground is the strategy for meeting the laws of reputation. But a poor rating in this area is as bad as no demand or insufficient supply. Indeed, through powerful media, demand can be created and supply can be assured; but reputation can't be faked.
And what does reputation have to do with creativity? If reputation presents the best of our selves, creativity is the tool we can use to define what that best is.
Consider the question: how can you establish precisely the reputation you wish to have; or, how can enough peop! le know and admire you for you to be successful? Everyone answers this question in their own way. For a business of any size, the answer is crucially important.
As an individual or as a business, the way you answer this question is by using your very specific creativity. You examine your organization, your product, your customers, and your world and present yourself to your select market in ways that communicate who you are and how you specifically answer the market demand. The communication is not possible to do without applying creative thought.
By studying into the forms and practices of creativity, you can consciously use your creative choices to advance your business reputation. This is a commitment to a deeper self-knowledge - as a business. It's a willingness to self-examine for the purpose of honoring and even featuring your organization's uniqueness.
It is also easier to maximize present resources and reach towards goals if your core managem! ent structures incorporate creativity precepts.
1. Lead! ership : Business leaders serve both as followers and as distant gods, often simultaneously. Because it's their job to position the company to everyone's benefit, the leader takes a wide holistic view of world and local affairs, serving to link these with the business. Leaders can appreciably develop their capacity to synthesize random entities by practicing creativity.
And then, as followers, leaders know that they do best when remarkable for their listening skills, another basic of creative processes.
2. Management : Taking the cue from leadership, management takes prime responsibility for execution, and that means cultivating listening skills to positively lead their teams. Managers also benefit from noticing skills, which are developed to a fine degree through creative practices. Noticing means sharp, instant awareness on both real and intuitive levels.
3. Staff : There's a bit of recent recognition for Google's reputed work policy of giving employ! ees 20% of their time free for creative pursuits of their own choosing. Whether or not your business is quite this enlightened, the staff level must be recognized as the place where your business sinks or swims on a daily basis. The challenge is to set up this environment (physical, social, and psychic) in ways that both support and stimulate productivity. Staff can cultivate their own work expressions, and staff competitions and outside involvements always help; but actually structuring staff work flow and operations to include creative development may be a new idea. Incorporating gentle physical exercise into the daily routine, and ensuring that meal options are plentiful and include nutritious foods are basic ways to encourage the fresh attitudes of the creative mindset. The more advanced creative company will schedule creativity development as an ongoing extra-curricular activity for staff.
And again, always coming back to the exercise of listening, as a clea! rly-stated company protocol, will cultivate respect and enthus! iasm for self and other, company and product.
So, what is all this listening stuff? Tomorrow, as you go about your day, listen to passing conversations. Ask yourself, are these people really listening to each other? If so, to what extent? Is anyone really listening intently? What are the characteristics of that person? It's likely you'll find few people who seem to be giving 100% attention to someone. If you're lucky, there will be one or two. Now, imagine your entire business operation characterized by such dedicated listeners, and savor the positive reputation such an operation would gain.
Mary H. Ruth
Virtual Writing & Communications Solutions
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