Global Fastener News

FEATURE

“Kids are naturally creative,” consultant Tom Payne told the Women in the Fastener Industry.  But as we grow up we become more cautious and less original.  Companies need creativity and the good news is that creativity can be taught and encouraged.

“Kids invent games and imagine effortlessly,” Payne observed.  “That creativity doesn’t die with age – it just goes unused.”

 •  One step is for management to encourage creativity.  “Motivation is essential to creativity,” Payne said.

Just like serious dieting, encouraging a renewal of creativity requires changing behaviors.  Payne suggested starting by focusing on one project.

The goal of creativity is “converging on the best solution” for any company or customer problem.

 •  An early part of finding solutions is creating groups of diverse problem solvers, Payne suggested to WIFI. A group of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of inside-the-box thinkers. 

Creating divergent thinkers may include bringing in outsiders for new ideas.  “We are the box – but we need to think outside the box.  Basically you make the box bigger.”

People from outside the fastener industry to provide “a fresh set of eyes.”

 •  “The rational mind is not divergent thinking,” Payne said. “The rational mind cannot interfere with the divergent thought process.”

Payne recalled his working days with Rauland – a small, Chicago-based firm competing against multi-billion dollar corporations such as GE, Tyco and Hill-Rom in medical communications systems. Rauland won half the market share boosted by creative thinking and a sales training program emphasizing the “emotional causes of the buying-decision-effect.”  

“Be a kid again and play with ideas,” Payne concluded.  Web: tompayne.com   

Web:  fastenerwomen.com