Imagine the scene. It is still early in the morning as you look around the meeting room. You see an enormous collection of empty coffee cups doing a good impression of Mount Everest, with crumbs from the croissants and toast providing realistic rock features. A solitary figure, with glazed eyes, stares at a wall. Everyone else has dashed out for a comfort break. Meanwhile, the next round of refreshments - more coffee and Danish pastries this time – arrives to fuel the collective energy of the group.
Is this familiar? I suspect that many brainstorming and strategic planning sessions take place in scenery like this. But such an environment is actually likely to dampen creativity and the diminish the use of intuition and imagination. And some of the things we get "wrong" are astounding.
The invisible risk
Some risks are less obvious than others. It is easy to see the ones that have immediate and nasty consequences as soon as they materialise, but there are others where the effects take a long time to show and are only then perceived by the absence of good things. Those sneaky risks, like missed opportunities, poor strategic choices and financially skewed evaluation systems are tough to handle.
Often the first time that you realise you have missed an opportunity is when a competitor is wildly successful with a product or service that you had the capability to come up with, but for some inexplicable reason did not. It is difficult for many people to visualise what something new and different could mean to their company, let alone estimate how bad things might be without it. Famous examples of lost opportunities are Decca turning down the Beatles and Western Union failing to buy out Bell when offered it for $100,000.
Futhermore, as Anita Roddick of the Body Shop says, "When you see something new your vision usually isn’t shared by others". For example, Fred Smith, originator of Federal Express, got a C for the idea in college.
Sometimes, we start with a good idea but give up too soon. It took Pilkington seven years to develop the floating glass manufacturing technique, but it made other methods obsolete and earned millions in royalties. Edison tried almost a thousand combinations of elements before he perfected the filament for the light bulb. It takes a really flexible evaluation system to support this level of uncertainty.
The main opportunity-related risks are sins of omission rather than commission
Change is not optional
Change is the new constant - and the only logical response to change is change. The successful 21st century business needs to move beyond the rational into the realms of creativity and intuition.
To stay ahead of the game, companies must be
There is nothing new about this. Most of us have read the books, played the games and done the brainstorming. So why do so many companies have problems being creative? Could it be that harnessing creativity is not so simple as it seems?
Understanding creativity
Creative people
Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. It is not so much what creative people think - they do not have to be geniuses - as the way that they think that makes the difference.
Brain power
The two hemispheres of our neo cortex or thinking cap give us access via the left side to logic, reasoning and analysis. Intuition, imagination and creativity are accessed through the right side. It is worth remembering that our conscious brain represents just one-eighth of our whole brain - the biggest part by far is taken up by the subconscious.
Our brains generate so much electrical activity that we can measure it through the thick bone of our skulls simply by pressing electrodes against the scalp. Measured brainwave frequency, from 0.5 to 50 cycles per second (or Hertz), give a general indication of what’s going on.
At 13-50Hz, the Beta state, we are in our normal waking state. We are focused on the external world and can be alert and can concentrate. At 8-13Hz, the Alpha state, we are relaxed, calm and mentally unfocused. It appears that not much happens in this state, but lack of significant alpha waves produces stress and illness.
Slowing down further, at 4-7Hz, we reach theta state, often called the twilight state, hovering between wakening and sleep. Theta state is the creative zone where we have access to subconscious material, free association, creativity and sudden insights. The disadvantage is that most people tend to fall asleep once they begin to generate significant amount of theta waves!
Lastly at 0.5-4 Hz, we are in Delta state, deeply asleep and undergoing profound rest. This is also when growth and healing take place. Go below 0.5 and you are officially dead!
Working with Buddhist monks, scientists found that it was possible to be in the theta state and yet remain alert and awake. And they found that when volunteers were trained to synchronise all four wave bands, creativity and insight took a sharp upturn. Edison discovered this for himself by noticing that he made breakthroughs just as he was going to sleep. He trained himself to prolong his waking state and take advantage of the imagination and creativity that he was able to access.
The good news is that there are no special gifts or powers. We are all born with the ability to be creative, intuitive and imaginative. This is demonstrated by watching children play; research confirms that young children spend most of their time in the creative zone. However, by the time they grow up and become managers, many people have lost faith in their ability to create. Moreover, many organisations unintentionally put blocks in their way.
Releasing creativity
What can you do to reclaim those long-lost abilities or boost little used ones?
The key is reaching the creative zone where ideas can flow freely, unhampered by resistance from the analytical, logical left brain. The ability to reach the creative zone can be taught in a variety of ways, such as bio feed, mind machines and specialised relaxation training.
For example, the Jack Black Mindstore course is designed to teach business people how to access their right brain regularly and consistently, and to harness and direct it to promote creativity, innovation and a host of other benefits. I went along to see if it would work for me. It was enlightening and fun, and yes it did work, but I slipped back into left brain ways at the office - you really do need to practice until it becomes second nature.
One of the most interesting demonstrations was when Black pitted himself against two strong young man (one at a time!) in a contest of strength that he lost convincingly. He then repeated the test, this time with his opponents holding a variety of objects close to their bodies. He beat them with little effort. One of the objects was a cup of coffee.
The theory behind this is that certain substances cause our energy to be diverted to the vital organs away from the brain. Remember we started in the coffee filled conference room?
The phrase ‘you are what you eat’ is familiar. Kinesiology takes this one step further. Checking out Black’s demonstration with Scottish kinesiologist Allison Patrick confirmed the validity of the technique and the fact that there are many substances that have this draining effect on our strength and stamina. There is also a range of techniques such as the brain gym, designed to sharpen the brain - fascinating and amazing stuff!
Another reason to avoid coffee and caffeine is more down to earth. Caffeine causes brainwave patterns to go to beta. And the logical and analytical mode is not what you want at when brainstorming.
The challenge
For those who have spent their lives developing their left brains, some of the claims from fans of the right brain seem far fetched and outrageous. But the concept that each of us can be creative whenever we choose is very appealing. To know that every organisation is full of creative people just waiting to be taught how to release their creativity is awesome. To dream that we never again have to miss opportunities because of corporate tunnel vision is wonderful, but believing it requires an act of faith.
Can we afford to take the risk of looking foolish, of being branded ‘new age’? I think we have to. The alternative is that we may lag further behind those who dare to be different. Perhaps we should suspend disbelief, look further into the new techniques and then make up our own minds.
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Rosie Harrison is a risk and security manager and a practising executive coach and mentor, E-mail: roharuk@yahoo.co.uk
OBSTACLES TO CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Personal:
Organisational:
UNDERWATER TRAINING?
Expand your mind with underwater training! Yoshira Nakamats, inventor of the digital watch, and floppy disk does it underwater. He holds his breath for up to five minutes and writes his ideas with a waterproof marker and pad - both his own inventions. How could this possibly work?
It is a fact that if you hold your breath underwater carbon dioxide builds up in the bloodstream. This in turn expands the carotid arteries that carry oxygen to the brain. Spend an hour a day underwater holding your breath in chunks of 3-4 minutes for three weeks and you will permanently expand these arteries. The result is that you will have more oxygen in the brain, fewer toxins and an increased IQ of 5-10 points. Something to try in the holidays?
USEFUL RESOURCES
Books:
Making Management Decisions, Steve Cook & Nigel Slack. ISBN 0-135-43406-8
Instant Creativity, Brian Clegg, Paul Birch
Mindstore, Jack Black ISBN 0-7225-2994-5
Mindstore For Personal Development, Jack Black ISBN 0-7225-3350-0
Great Myths of Business, William Davis ISBN 0-7494-2685-3
The Inner Game of Work, Timothy Gallwey ISBN 1-842 03015-9
Opportunity Spotting, Nigel MacLennan ISBN: 0566080044
Management and Organisation Behaviour, Mullens ISBN 0-273-63552-2
The Power of Your Subconscious Mind
Joseph Murphy ISBN 0-7433-0818-7
Superlearning 2000, Sheila Ostrander ISBN 0-285-63346-5
Applied Kinesiology, Tom Valentine ISBN: 0892813288
Websites:
www.mindstore.com
www.icak.com/ International College of Applied Kinesiology
www.healthk.co.uk/
Courses:
The MindStore System: Fax: 0141 333 9633
mailto: info@mindstore.com
Kinesiology:
Allison Patrick on 0141 616 4045
POSTURE AND BREATHING FOR CREATIVITY?
Every 90 minutes a different brain hemisphere becomes dominant. Scientists at Dalhousie University have found that when this happens your breathing changes. When your left brain is dominant you breathe through your right nostril and vice versa. Getting creative and waking up both sides of your brain involves taking three good breaths through your left nostril and then your right nostril.
