Creativity in business: Making ideas and people visible
If you had told me 15 years ago that I would be setting up a consultancy project with 2 super experienced professionals in the Business industry, I would have probably rolled my eyes. (In this story, Belén explains how we actually got together to create WeCanvas)
So, how can a self-taught designer with a degree in Fine Art become a Business models Consultant?
What benefit can a business take from a creative mind?
Well, that’s the thing, creativity is not only about knowing how to draw. One of my tutors during my last month as an Art student at University told us that becoming artists wasn’t the only option after our graduation. On the contrary, we could become anything else we wanted to be because we were trained to:
-see things from different perspectives,
-challenge the established, and
-solve problems in a creative way.
It didn’t seem really sexy at the time. We all wanted to see our paintings exhibited in the best galleries around the globe.
15 years later and with different jobs and many existential questions, I strongly believe that our role as Creatives is to make visible the invisible through two main actions.
Don’t leave words or concepts in the air, put them on a board
You can have a great idea, but it won’t come alive until you make it visible to the world or even to yourself.
Ideas can be anything from a tiny sparkle, an opinion or a crazy dream to an amazing business idea. Until you put it up on a board, write it down or draw it on paper, it’s hard to consider it as an idea to work on. At WeCanvas, we like to make every small contribution of the team we are working with visible on a shared board. We don’t like to leave valuable words or concepts in the air. We make them visible for them to exist… even if in the end they might be discarded.
Creating time and space for debate. Co-creation is the new inclusion
Creativity is no more a one person thing. By creating space and time for debate, opinions and ideas with team members from different backgrounds and expertise, we help companies to build a portfolio of alternatives. It’s when people feel they have a voice with no judgement or fear that they gain confidence in sharing and building on other’s ideas to collectively come up with a great solution.
Creativity in business is all about a process that gives visibility to all ideas and fosters debate among team members. To release the potential of the business and the creativity of the teams you need to see ideas from a different perspective.
Simple as it may sound, you sure need the skills to make it happen.
