To be unique in business you just need a good idea!

Where do good ideas come from?

Some people are creative and some people aren’t, right?

Look, we can prove it:

Put your palms together, interlace your fingers, note which thumb is on top.

If your left thumb is on top of the right one you are very creative.

If the right one is on top you aren’t. Do you believe that?

The exercise above is a complete lie. It’s just made up.

Everyone is born equally creative but the older we get and the more schooling we have, the more we believe we are either academic or creative but rarely both.

This isn’t a fault with us. It’s a fault with the system of education in most western cultures. The system is still based on the 19th Century requirement for factory fodder which needed people to do as they are told, start and end work in response to a whistle or bell, not talk to each other or collaborate and accept a judgement on their aptitudes and abilities based on a very narrow set of tests.

How do you think a child feels when they are told at school that they’re not very good at drawing, or singing or playing an instrument? Mostly they believe it. They often believe it for the rest of their lives.

Creativity is most often associated with the arts but scientists and engineers are amongst the most creative and innovative people in the world and yet most education systems segregate the arts from the sciences so that students have to choose to be one or the other.

The work of Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein and Mozart all display a mix of art and science and are designated ‘genius’.

“Most great achievers are practical dreamers” said Napoleon Hill in 1937 after interviewing 500 amazingly successful people. So why do we tell our children and our staff to stop daydreaming and get on with what they are ‘told’ to do? Do you believe that you are creative? Or do you believe that you aren’t? To paraphrase Henry Ford, whatever you believe, you’re probably right.

Lots of things could be open to you that you believe might not be.

What does this mean for you if you are running a business?

Telling everyone about your great customer service doesn’t work. It’s what they expect.
Telling them you are passionate about what you do doesn’t work. Who cares except you?
Your products, your packaging or your pricing could be unique for a while but if they’re any good they’ll be copied.
Being unique is more than having a USP.

There are some great examples of people who have used their own unique style to stand out from the crowd:

The Wine Critic

Gary Vaynerchuck
increased the turnover of his family business by several million dollars by recording wine reviews on YouTube. His brash, straight talking style was so different to the elite mystique of the wine world that he stood out a mile just by being himself.

The Chef

In a world of bullying, egotistical chefs braying about ‘classical training’, young Jamie Oliver, an Essex lad to the core, scruffy, almost inarticulate and severely dyslexic made good, uncomplicated cooking available to millions of people. His vulnerability, curiosity and ability to connect to people through a shared delight in food has revealed a young man of exceptional values, who has grown into a great role and a powerful campaigner for social change.

The Accountant

Accountancy isn’t usually associated with fun but if you were to meet Kelly Anstee, a beautiful young woman who likes to party and who also happens to be an accountant, you might take another view of this world. Kelly connects with people on Facebook and Twitter by talking about music, parties and social gatherings as well as her work. The warmth of her personality shines and the referrals come tumbling in. Her employers at Tyrrell and Company in Cambridge are savvy enough to encourage her to just be herself and don’t try and make her fit the mould of traditional accountant and so everybody wins.

The Professional Speaker

The presentation that inspired this article was given by profession speaker, Ayd Instone. There are many thousands of motivational speakers in the world with slick PowerPoint presentations, a holier than thou attitude and a slew of improving proverbs but Ayd’s performance is unique because he doesn’t preach, he sings. He doesn’t borrow tired aphorisms, he writes his own thought provoking songs. Most importantly, he teaches creativity by being creative and does it all with a light touch that brings laughter and fun to his audience.

Innovation and creativity are often thought to be the result of a ‘eureka’ moment but they can also be the result of a ‘slow hunch’ that takes time and the right circumstances to develop. Finding the right people with whom to collaborate, regularly seeking ways to be inspired, being open to new ideas, taking time out for ‘re-creation’ are all proven ways of  increasing creativity.

Making ‘space’ for creativity is important

This is increasingly being recognised as so important that a number of innovative ideas are growing to accommodate it, one of which is called a ‘jelly’. It’s an informal gathering of people who usually work alone who come together with no agenda, just to see who they meet and what’s going on. There is no obligation to talk to anyone or share anything but just being in a collaborative space can be very inspiring. There’s a great example of this at CamJelly at Ideas Space in Cambridge. 

Ayd Instone asks these questions:

• How can YOU be more innovative and imaginative to create a better future?
• What untapped resources do you have, linked to your own uniqueness?
• What great ideas are lurking just our of your conscious reach?

Share your thoughts with us, add to the discussion, be creative!

Why are big, hairy goals better than SMART ones?

If you have ever set goals, you were probably advised to set SMART ones:

Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.

In other words, mediocre, run of the mill and not too challenging!

David Hyner , has interviewed some of the top achievers in the world.

David learned that people who achieve extraordinary things are generally quite ordinary people. The thing they have in common and to which most of them attribute their success is that they set outrageous, massive, audacious or, in David’s words ‘big hairy’ goals.

If you are completely and utterly contented with your life, you probably don’t want to bother reading any further but if there are things you want to achieve, this, according to David, is how to follow in the steps of other great achievers:

1. Set a BIG Goal.

It should excite you, scare you and you probably have no idea how you’re going to achieve it. Don’t allow anyone else (including the voices in your head) determine what you are capable of. You decide!

2. Decide WHY you want to achieve it.

Your ‘why’ must be bigger than your fears. It is what will keep you going when things get tough and you say “Why am I doing this?”

3. Find out what you don’t know.

Join a Mastermind Group of people who have different skill sets, experience and expertise. Ask them for ideas. Study people who’ve done what you want to do. Use your group for support and ask them to help you to keep on track.

4. Decide what you ‘must’ do.

Prioritise a list of actions that you must take to achieve your goal. Follow it with a list of ‘maybe do’ tasks.

5. Draw a pyramid on a large sheet of paper.

Divide it into twice as many blocks as tasks that you have on your ‘to do’ list. Write the most important actions in the bottom blocks and continue upward until the least important are about half way up. The remaining blocks are for the ‘not thought of’ tasks.

6. Take action.

In your diary set aside time every day to do something that will take you closer to achieving your goal. Cross off the blocks on your pyramid and watch what happens as you complete the bottom two layers. Suddenly things will start to happen without so much effort from you and you’ll find the rest of the tasks much easier to complete.

Final word:

If your ‘why’ is big enough you will never give up, no matter how many obstacles you encounter. If you find you are not taking action it is because your goal simply doesn’t excite you enough so let it go. Its not supposed to be another stick to beat yourself up with.