Forced Creativity
While the ideal situation is to practice creativity on a regular basis so that you have ideas (or at least a habit of thinking creatively) when you need it, most people (and the industries in which they work) seem to always wait until the skies are deluging them with torrents of rain, sleet, and hail before it dawns on them that they might want to look into buying themselves an umbrella. When times are tough and and your outlook is at its bleakest, it can feel like you have no other choice but to be forced into thinking creatively.
Everyone has some level of creative ideas tripping through their brain on a daily basis
The normal person shrugs it off without much notice, or they think they should probably write that down (and then the idea fades away before they do it), or they tell themselves that trying to change things is hard (and “that’s not what they pay me for”). Those are missed opportunities to avoid a creative emergency down the road — why wait to be creative and make creative choices?
When your back is against the wall and you need an idea right now, could you come up with one (or would you whine about the economy and business shutdowns and who is currently sitting in The Oval Office)?
When forced creativity is forced upon you
Here are a few important things to keep in mind the next time you’re on a deadline to come up with an important idea…
Look for the quickest implementation option
Which idea can you put into action the fastest which will bring any level of positive results? It doesn’t matter how small the win is — as long as it is a win. A quick win builds confidence in you and your ability to produce results. You can easily leverage even the smallest win into a larger “phase two” project.
Flip your positivity switch ON
Negativity blocks creativity and muddles the mind. If you want to have a hope of thinking clearly and strategically, you need to monitor your attitude and make adjustments as necessary. You must stay positive if you want to create positive results.
Assemble your allies
Just like The Avengers movies, it doesn’t matter how powerful a creative force you might be — sometimes you need help to overcome a greater challenge. When you’re at the disadvantage of forced creativity, you want a team beside you that you can count on. Start with attitude. Rule out anyone who always appears to be grumpy or angry or rude. It doesn’t matter how talented they are, it will slow you down. Once you have a list of happy people, select the ones who complement your strengths and shore up your weaknesses. If you’re a master at project management, you don’t need three other project managers on your team. You need one person who can pitch ideas and win buy-in from other groups, you need another person who can make things happen and get things done from a production standpoint, and you need Jack Of All Trades who has the ability to jump in where and when they are needed.
