“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” – Charles Darwin
Looking at a problem as an opportunity for change and improvement is probably what you deal with every day in your work. How you arrive at the best solution is where the challenge comes into play. In doing so, you need to think differently for each problem, challenge and difficulty that comes your way.
Changing the way you persuade others to change to take a risk in being creative and innovative can help them turn problems into opportunities. Yes, there are some specific factors that go along with this change. We all have to face one situation, no matter how difficult and uncomfortable most people hate and that is to be creative you have to change the way you do things.
Working as a collaborative team, your employees need to be treated as entrepreneurs. This means allowing them to generate and create ideas, brainstorm ideas and discuss problems with each other instead of waiting for a supervisor or manager. These individuals are also able to use their untapped hidden strengths, skills and talent for greater breakthrough results.
Some of the ways change within your organization helps you to thrive beyond survival mode include the following.
Break from the Pack
To sustain competitive advantage in today’s economy, companies must break from the pack. The saying goes that, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”, instead blaze your own trail of creating something you can call your own.
Actively work to change conventional wisdom when facing new challenging situations. Don’t settle for incremental thinking.
Creative Thinkers
You face problems, challenges difficulties every day. Solve these issues using the best you do. The best problem solvers see a complex problem through multiple lenses. In creative thinking, nearly all problems have multiple solutions.
Being open-minded, thinking beyond both inside and outside the box, and generating ideas that include empathy of your customer is where you need to shift your organization toward. This helps you thrive beyond survival mode and that takes you to the next level of your business success.
Engage Mavericks
Mavericks are the independent innovators or performers. They are critical thinkers who view things differently. Many are found within organizations, fighting to bring innovation into corporate cultures that are not always receptive. They bristle at routines and work differently than others that is why they prefer working alone or being in charge of others.
Mavericks are those who never settle for the status quo, are also creative disruptors: disruptors challenge assumptions, beliefs and question conventional ways of doing things.
In the past, your job was to do what you were told. You followed instructions, routinely did the same work every day and didn’t make waves. Today things are very different.
Underneath it all, everyone is creative. Organizations need to let the creativity of their employees shine through. This will generate and create various ideas for organizations to build on your business will see higher levels of creativity. From this, your disengaged employees will become more satisfied and engaged because they will input their ideas. These creative visionaries whose ideas shape new products and services help change the way consumers view the technological trends now and into the future.
“Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity.” – Joseph Sugarman