Creativity: From familiarity to fresh insights

Creativity. Many people see it as something just for artists. But it’s just as much for business people looking for a solution to a curly, complex organisational problem. It's a human superpower that all of us have at our disposal, and in strategy it can be the difference between success or failure.

The trouble is, how often do we truly tap into our creativity in a work context? Our creativity is often stifled by the rat wheels we tend to spend our lives on, and our love for the familiar, predictable, and safe. It's time to challenge these comfort zones, break out of our limiting assumptions and mental models, and step into impactful creative decision-making.

Comfort Zones and Creativity Traps

Have you ever noticed how it’s much easier to think about tried-and-true solutions? This is your brain’s way of conserving energy—relying on familiarity to feel in control, safe and informed. It’s called "familiarity bias", or "mere exposure effect", and it is our tendency to develop what we think is a preference for something, simply because we are more familiar with it.

While this bias helps streamline decision-making, it also limits your potential for innovation. Have you ever voted for someone in a local election because they’re the only name you recognise, despite the fact that you know little about them or the alternative candidates? Or invested in a company because you knew something about it? These are examples of how our brains prefer, and therefore place more weight on and pay more attention to, familiar things. When we are making decisions in our work, this bias can lead us to gravitate towards solutions or options that we have had more exposure to, or are more familiar with.

Actionable Tip: Start noticing when you default to familiar solutions. Ask yourself, "Am I choosing this because it's familiar, or because it’s the best option?" “Am I discounting an option that feels uncomfortable because it is unknown or unfamiliar in some way?” Shifting your perspective can open doors to new, creative possibilities as well as more robust decisions.

Incremental Changes vs. Radical Rethink

There’s change and there’s change. Once you’re over the hurdle of unconsciously sticking to the safe-harbour of familiarity by default, there is the question of whether to stick to incremental improvements or re-think your entire approach. Sometimes, small tweaks are sufficient to navigate the challenges you’re facing. However, there will be scenarios where a radical change is the only way forward.

For instance, think of a business that uses incremental improvements to streamline processes. They can be so busy with this that they don't notice a disruptive technology sneaking up on them that changes the market landscape, pushing the company to reimagine its strategy entirely. Kodak serves as a cautionary tale here. They saw themselves as a film company, so when they recognized the shift towards digital photography they continued to innovate, but within the same mental model—so they expanded into photo printers. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now see that they needed to adapt their whole perspective of their business and see it as a photography business, not a film business. Unfortunately for them, they recognised this and made the move into digital cameras too late, ultimately leading to their demise.

Actionable Tip: Evaluate your current business challenges and ask, "Can minor improvements resolve this, or is a complete re-think necessary?" This reflection can guide your strategic direction.

Deliberate Creativity

Deliberate creativity means consciously dedicating time and mental energy to think differently. This is necessary because your brain loves shortcuts, especially when under pressure. True innovation requires deliberate effort to bypass these mental ruts.

Creating an environment that fosters creative thinking sometimes requires a change in scenery or a break in routine.  It can also be helpful to give your brain something to work on, rather than starting from a blank page and waiting for creative insights to just ‘pop up’.

Actionable Tip: Schedule a 'creativity break'—time set aside just for brainstorming without pressure. Engage in activities like walking meetings or brainstorming outside of the usual office setting to stimulate creative thought. Use techniques that challenge your brain to think about things differently. For example, identify an assumption that seems unshakable and ask ‘what if’ questions about it.

Cognitive Diversity for Better Solutions

Diverse mental models bring a breadth of perspectives, and this enhances the problem-solving performance of groups and teams. The unique ways in which different people interpret and tackle problems can lead to groundbreaking ideas when multiple heads are combined. Of course, for this to work you need space and a safe environment for people to bring their diverse perspectives to the discussion and be truly heard.

For the same reason, cross-functional conversations can yield creative ways of solving problems. Experts in very different areas come with their own set of assumptions, beliefs and knowledge systems. Taking our blinkers off and exploring a different perspective and set of assumptions with curiosity is challenging, but can lead to insights we never would have had on our own.

Actionable Tip: Build teams with diverse backgrounds. Encourage open discussions where all ideas are considered, fostering a culture where unique perspectives are valued. Or just run what you are working on past someone from a very different area to yours and see what you learn.

Courage to Embrace the Unknown

Innovation is uncomfortable. It requires courage to deviate from familiar paths and tackle uncertainty. The business world romanticises innovation, but in reality it often involves navigating tough, risky decisions, as well as personalities, egos, deep seated perspectives, and entrenched business models, systems and processes.

I once worked with a  business owner who pivoted their entire business model. It wasn’t an easy choice, but it was a brave one that led to a new level of growth and success. For her, it was time to step away from trying to make what she had work, and commit to an entirely different business model that better served her long term goals and reduced her stress levels.

Actionable Tip: Recognise and manage the discomfort that comes with change. Start small by making decisions that push you slightly out of your comfort zone, gradually building your tolerance for uncertainty. Talking to someone who is willing to ask you tough questions can help you to be honest with yourself.

Creativity might sometimes be a sudden epiphany or stroke of genius; but more often it's about systematically questioning the familiar, and being willing to embrace the unknown. By balancing incremental changes with radical innovation and fostering a personal and team environment ripe for creativity, you can challenge your mental models, encourage diverse thinking, and take that courageous step into uncharted territories. Your next breakthrough could be just a deliberate re-think away. 🌟