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2020 has brought us both immense disruption and extraordinary innovation. Our forced separation has accelerated the technological disruption that was happening already. We鈥檙e asking questions - what is the role of the office? - that would鈥檝e been of little interest just a few months back. And many organisations have seen increased productivity, as people embrace longed-for homeworking, and introverted colleagues come into their own. There are opportunities and a need to think creatively more than ever before.

For organisations really trying to get those creative juices flowing - either because of or despite COVID-19 challenges 鈥� the question is often, where to start?

1. Create the cultural environment and ground rules which encourage innovation

Reflect on your organisation, does the environment encourage innovation? Is it supportive rather than punitive? How does it respond to people who question 鈥榯he norm鈥� (at all seniority levels)? And are meetings a forum for confident discussion, or usually just an exchange of information?

To 鈥榞et creative鈥� you first need to remove the worry about speaking up and making a mistake. People need to feel able to ask questions and experiment without fear of criticism (or worse).

Innovation sessions: some ground rules鈥�

• 鈥楪ood鈥� = bringing ideas or questions, not the answer
• No criticism, no such thing as mistakes
• Nobody has all the answers, especially not the 鈥榖oss鈥�
• Be bold 鈥� say it out loud and without explanation or apology
• No hierarchy 鈥� free flow of ideas
• Build on other people鈥檚 ideas 鈥� it鈥檚 not 鈥榮tealing鈥�
• 鈥�there are no rules! (except a 鈥榗lear brief鈥�)

Give the organisation permission to make mistakes, managed carefully

First, decide your ambition for innovation:

Being bold? Be prepared that the greater the ambition the greater the chance of an unexpected outcome. Reframe this away from 鈥�蹿补颈濒耻谤别鈥� instead consider what to do with what you鈥檝e learned.

Continuous improvement? With a series of mini experiments, risks are minimal. It might not change the world but will provide opportunities, e.g. Organisations such as Microsoft, release software then make changes, as standard practice. It鈥�s about saying how good is good enough.

2. Be very clear about the creative brief 鈥� focus, focus, focus!

David Ogilvy, advertising creative, famously said 鈥淕ive me the freedom of a really tight brief鈥�.

One of the big paradoxes about innovation is that in order to be creative, to think in a free-flowing way, we need to be certain of what we鈥檙e being creative about!

And from talking to executives recently, it seems that pandemic concerns and challenges with virtual meetings have given us an even greater need for that focus.

Creative brief takeaways:

1. There鈥檚 no point giving people a subject that they can鈥檛 get their arms around 鈥� where would you start with 鈥渢oday, let鈥檚 be creative about solving world poverty鈥� 鈥�
2. Always check back and understand what the problem is that you are trying to solve. It might not be what鈥檚 in the brief. Ask 鈥渨hy鈥� up to 7 times, then you鈥檒l get the real problem.
3. Neuroscience tells us that to release creativity we need to focus the task. Ensure the 鈥楶roblem definition鈥� is clear!

3. Re-embody child-like wonder and 鈥榥ot knowing鈥� the answer

Children are curious, they pull things apart to see how they work. They don鈥檛 accept what they鈥檙e told, and they ask why, a lot. Children act in unexpected ways and won鈥檛 always do what they are told to. This is the kind of mindset that is important if you want to create new things.

Yet in work, we often find emphasis on process, an induction telling us, 鈥測ou do it like this, carry on.鈥� And we are supposed to know the answer, as quickly as possible 鈥� Isn鈥檛 that what we鈥檙e paid for?

Sometimes it鈥檚 okay not to know the answer, in fact it needs to be encouraged.

Not knowing or jumping in with an answer, opens the floodgates of the brain to asking questions. And that鈥檚 when we鈥檙e our most creative. The more senior you are, the easier it is to say, I don鈥檛 know. But at all levels, it鈥檚 beneficial to embrace that childlike wonder.

During innovation sessions steer away from 鈥淕et it right first time鈥� and aim for 鈥�We don鈥檛 have all the answers, but we think this is worth exploring.鈥�

4. Challenge every assumption

Pre-COVID-19 there was lots of talk about working from home, but assumptions were made that people would not perform to required levels, that they would have the chance to 鈥榙ip out鈥� during working hours and not fulfil work commitments. With home working we have seen the opposite happen 鈥� people being more productive, whilst getting a better home-work balance. We will likely never return to the same office working arrangements, and our assumptions about what the office is for will need to change 鈥� offices are more likely to be places for collaboration and innovation, and not for routine admin!

Remember to ask not just, why do it that way, but why do we do it that way now.

5. Use all the world around you to stimulate your brain to create connections and new ideas

Connection-making is at the heart of innovation 鈥� making connections between things that you wouldn鈥檛 normally make connections between.

The origin story of Velcro is a lovely one. A man taking his dog for walks through a field kept finding burr plant seeds stuck in his dog鈥檚 coat. As he removed them, he took note of the teeth on the seeds and the opening and closing mechanism that formed between them and the dog hair. He went on to replicate that in Velcro!

We can use the natural world as a resource for inspiration and guidance, looking at animal behaviour or plant growth as with Velcro. Look for parallels in what you want to create and see how the natural world has tackled that challenge already. Keep your mind and eyes open constantly.

Connection-making is a mental muscle, the more you practice, the better you get at doing it!