You are here: Home - Better Business - Business Skills -

Five key steps to generating new business ideas – Knight

by: Jeff Knight, director of marketing at Foundation Home Loans
  • 23/12/2019
  • 0
Five key steps to generating new business ideas – Knight
I was recently talking to a broker who had read my previous article – A humorous state of mind enhances creativity in a workforce.

 

She quickly brushed off my attempts to offer her my autograph, but she did ask me what else I thought could stimulate creative thinking to help generate new ideas to enhance her business.

I obviously shared my initial thoughts, and this also got me thinking deeper about this particular topic.

Essentially, creative thinking works best within a culture where it is fully accepted. It needs to be nurtured, encouraged and formed in a place where the benefits are accepted, and negativity is dismissed.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some individual processes which can be incorporated along the path to a creative utopia.

 

Idea capturing

Many years ago I organised a session with a former marketing team which focused solely on generating ideas. This incorporated one simple task.

Whenever one of the team had an idea, they were encouraged to write it on a new flip chart that we had just added to the department. Within 10 minutes, the first page was full.

What does this tell us?

The ideas were already there, people just needed a platform on which to share them.

So, find the best way to capture the types of ideas which could help your business. You will be surprised at how many already exist in the minds of your team.

 

Passion for creativity

Creativity cannot be just a whim.

If you demonstrate passion for the creative process, then others will naturally follow. Be enthusiastic and encourage others to share your quest for creativity.

Not everyone will initially buy into this and share this passion, but don’t give up at the first hurdle. Encourage people to keep the ideas flowing and ensure people know what is happening, if anything, with them.

There is no problem with discounting ideas along the way, just make sure people understand why.

 

Encouragement

When people have good ideas, make sure that this is recognised and rewarded.

This does not have to be monetary reward, as a simple “award”, pat on the back or encouraging words will often be sufficient.

 

Motivation

It’s hard to constantly come up with new ideas if the team is feeling demotivated.

Communication plays a major role within this, so keep the energy high where possible and ensure they remain fully engaged along the way.

 

Co-operation

As I’ve already touched upon, everybody in the team needs to buy into the creative thinking process and pull in the same direction to produce consistent results which impact the business.

As the old saying goes ‘teamwork makes the dream work’.

Working in a co-operative manner will involve utilising the varying strengths of the different individuals.

This means that the more you know and understand each other’s strengths, the easier this will become, as outlined in greater depth in another previous article, particularly as you are now working on shared goals.

Co-operation is required because it’s impossible to do everything ourselves. Everyone needs insights from others and to be challenged from different perspectives.

It’s healthy and it also helps teams to bond if done in the right manner with the best intentions.

Creative thinking comes easier for some than others, but don’t ignore the ones who initially struggle. They are often the ones who can prove to be the real business game-changers in the end.

 

There are 0 Comment(s)

You may also be interested in