In today’s highly competitive world with its global environment, creativity is crucial not only for financial reasons but especially because it fuels ideas and generates challenges current ways of thinking, opening up new business opportunities.
There are many ways to apply creativity, creative skills and strategies to be successful entrepreneurs within key areas as shown below.
Leadership
A creative leader identifies and tests new approaches while also promoting creative thinking in employees who are stimulated to see and look for something in a new way, that is to “think outside the box”.
For example, creative leaders can open meetings with personal, human touches, by connecting to the group on a personal and a professional level. This way, they show that they care about the employee in a broader sense than a purely revenue-related one. This, in turn, increases the employee’s sense of value, loyalty, and drive to succeed.
Marketing
Let's think of an ad campaign that seeks to sell a new model of car. A non-creative marketing approach to a common and not overly effective campaign would be to produce a print or banner ad including a list of features and a stock photo of the vehicle.
In contrast, a creative marketer might involve an exciting short video of a miniature action movie where the “main character” is the car. The approach is probably more effective because it make the product look as something more, i.e. a story element with a personal touch rather than an inanimate object. The video and the film allow the car to be shown from multiple angles, while moving, with a driver who makes it a part of life by adding reliability and humanity to the advertisement.
Problem solving
A non-creative problem solver will focus on identifying and implementing norms to solve the problem, but a creative problem-solver examines a problem, considers possible solutions and even takes some time away from the problem to allow ideas to settle. This kind of break allows having refreshed clarity and being able to come up with the best solution.
Sales
Creative approaches do make the difference. Showing a personal connection leads to similar feelings of value and if a salesperson shows personal attention by remembering the clients’ birthday, needs or other significant personal date, the possibilities of success will be higher and will paid off these creative sales efforts.
Project Management
Usually, a creative project manager does not focus on immediate concerns as other team members may do, but they think about the product / service before it’s been completed for instance.
Wellbeing is not only related to professional and interpersonal competences, but also to the physical environment where people work and live.
For this reason, the case studies below are very interesting.
In January 2015, Coca-Cola Enterprise and Coca-Cola France moved into Noda, a 22,100 sq. m. office development by Wereldhave in the Issy-les-Moulineaux district, on the banks of the River Seine in Paris.
Sustainability, wellbeing and creativity were pinpointed as the priorities by Coca-Cola France.
Sophie Digard, Director of Human Resources, at Coca-Cola France said, “Our offices reflect the values of Coca-Cola: wellness, creativity, innovation and sparkle… We paid particular attention to providing our employees with offices that support their individual wellbeing through the selection of materials, work spaces and recreational areas. Our offices are places where it is good to work together. They are brought to life with works of art and objects from the Coca-Cola collection which inspires us to create, think differently and innovate”.
Features of this approach include:
- Workstations that can be adjusted by the user, offering flexibility and encouraging collaborative working and individual style.
- Storage cabinets topped with depolluting plants designed to improve air quality as well as create a natural ambience and décor.
- Sustainable materials including FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified timber.
- Interior finishes that limit VOC (Volatile organic compounds) emissions.
- Highly-efficient indoor LED (Light-Emitting Diode) lighting activated by presence detectors and managed in relation to natural light.
- 13,000 recycled Coke bottles used to create a special lighting feature in a shared workspace.
- Office areas equipped with radiant ceiling connected to geothermal systems for heating and cooling.
- Hens in the garden on the ground floor, feeding on food waste from the staff restaurant.
- Hives on the roof for honey bees.
Coca-Cola achieved a BREEAM Outstanding rating for the fit-out, achieving a score of 90.2%, the first Outstanding rating to be achieved on a dedicated office fit-out anywhere in Europe.
