Avionics News June 2015 - 74

series

BUSINESS BASICS
B Y

G R E G

L A S L O

Being brilliant

How to boost your creativity to build your business

A

pparently, to think outside the box, you actually
have to get outside the box.
That's true, according to a recent study by
an international team of workplace researchers. They
wanted to measure the creativity of workers, so they sat
one group of subjects in a cubicle-sized cardboard box
and another outside that confinement. When each group
completed standardized tests of creativity, they found
that those seated outside scored higher in problemsolving abilities.
Yet as goofy as this experiment sounds, there's
something serious happening here. This study, and
many more like it, has big implications for today's
workplace, even in your avionics repair shop, and it's
not necessarily the shape of employees' workspaces.
Instead, it suggests that if you want to be creative in
your work - to produce new service offerings, develop
innovative techniques that differentiate you from
competitors and grow your shop into the future - you
must consider how you can best make that creativity
happen.
Because, according to business experts, we're part
of a knowledge economy now, and that makes every
service business a creative business. If innovation isn't
a skill you're accustomed to using, you probably need a
tuneup.
In fact, your employees may be pining for it. A
survey by software company Adobe showed more than
two-thirds of respondents say creativity aids economic
growth and adds value to society - but only one in four
feels he is living up to his potential.
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avionics news

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june

2015

If you want your people to solve problems and
serve customers, you must understand why you need
creativity, how to use it in your avionics repair shop,
and how you can implement strategies that inspire you
and your team. Creativity isn't just about being clever
anymore; it's about how you can help your shop thrive.
Creating need
Let's define some terms. Creativity is the act
of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality,
according to Linda Naiman, founder of training
company Creativity at Work, and it involves two
processes: thinking and producing. In even broader
terms, it's the ability to see the world with fresh eyes,
notice patterns, and make connections between apples
and oranges to come up with a figurative fruit salad;
more literally, this result is an innovative solution
to a business problem so that you can improve your
avionics repair shop.
The "connection" part is important, too; not only
does it mean you use your knowledge, experience and
imagination to reconsider the status quo, but just as
significantly, it says that creativity isn't unachievable
for mere mortals. In fact, it suggests we all have those
abilities if we know how to harness them.
This means you don't need to be an Einstein,
Shakespeare or Picasso to create. You just need certain
habits of mind (and of work) to allow it to happen - and
then the opportunity, encouragement, motivation and
practice, according to researchers at Exeter University.
This should make "creativity" less intimidating: it's a
Avionics News June 2015

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