Creativity Barriers

I recently worked with a group of leaders on innovation in their company. The starting point was discussing why it is so hard to be creative at work? If people in general are not creative and problem-solvers, then that is one thing. But given the access to knowledge we all have now, it is hard to find people who have a need in their personal lives and with a few minutes of clicking, cannot find a creative solution to their problem. Since most of us are very creative and resourceful, then something must happen in the workplace that stifles innovation. If you agree with this, then innovation in the workplace is less about installing new systems and processes, and more about removing barriers to unleash what employees already do outside of work.

Workplace Inefficiency 2

In my last post, I discussed workplace inefficiency and recommended taking inventory of tasks both for yourself as well as for people that you collaborate with. I trust you did the exercise and if you did, I am fairly certain you were surprised at just how much time you and others spend on menial activities that just do not result in anything productive but are viewed as ‘business as usual.’