In a complex and competitive world, ideas are valuable. In the world of meetings, events and incentives this has never been truer. A single idea can mean outpacing your competition, driving growth and ultimately boosting profits.
It’s not always about the next big idea for the event itself. Sure, we need to find new ways to “wow” clients, new journeys to lead them on, new ways to deliver their message, but we also need to find new ways to drive business, new ways to connect with those clients, and differentiate ourselves.
The key is knowing how to leverage the creative talents of your people, because that’s where the wealth of ideas lies. It’s about knowing how to harness their genius, and direct it towards viable business outcomes.
But leading creative people can be difficult. A lot like herding monkeys. They often appear to be all over the place, off in a world of their own, but they’re also very communal and enjoy a challenge. They’re brilliant at slinging stuff; they’re always throwing ideas, designs and concepts around. And because they think, feel and do differently, you need to find ways to inspire and stimulate their creativity.
Here are three quick tips to leverage the creative talents of your people so you get a consistent flow of quality ideas:
1. You need to give your creative people permission to be creative. If you don’t give them permission to come up with viable ideas then they won’t.
2. Create an environment where people feel safe to put an idea on the table without fear of ridicule.
3. Don’t stomp on ideas when they come up. You need to separate the idea generating process with the evaluating process. Great ideas need to evolve.
