In these times, creativity may be your most inspired tool

as Published in the Globe and Mail (National Edition) - June 8, 2009

As we absorb the news of General Motors Corp. declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and reflect on the significant changes that other iconic businesses and brands are undergoing, it's worth thinking about what tools we have in our arsenal to thrive in these rapidly changing times. In reflecting on businesses that are weathering the storm, it's apparent that one of those tools is creativity.

The need for creative thinking is illustrated in a quote from Procter & Gamble Co. chairman and chief executive officer A.G. Lafley: "We need to reinvent the way we market to consumers. We need a new model. It does not exist. No one else has one yet. But we need to get going now."

In today's commodified markets, creativity is a key differentiator. Creativity allows you to create change in your favour, thereby creating a larger share of the future for your business.

Creativity is a mental and social process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts. Creativity is fuelled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight.

While challenging the status quo is a natural state for some, most of us need a little help. The following are some examples of how you can inspire creativity in your business:

FOCUS: WHAT SETS YOU APART
To be truly creative, you need to understand the essence of what sets you apart, and leverage it at every point of connection your business has with its customers, suppliers and partners.

Creativity comes from looking for ways to reinforce what your brand and business is about - from how you answer the phone to how you send out invoices.

"A brand is a living entity - and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures," former Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner has been quoted as saying.

Footwear maker Timberland Co. showcases its brand values on its shoeboxes, enhancing the brand experience by talking about the environmental and community impact of the specific shoe you're buying. What Timberland did was borrow from food packaging, creating a way of talking about its values that feels fresh and new on the side of a shoebox.

ENCOURAGE SPONTANEITY
Adding a little spontaneity in your strategy allows you to focus on what it takes to be relevant. Culture changes in real time and, if you don't keep up, your product and business can look awkward and out of step.

Burger King Corp.'s Facebook promotion (lose 10 friends and get a free Whopper) capitalized on a reality that many Facebook users' online friends were not necessarily their "true" friends. By using that insight as a basis for its promotion, Burger King earned kudos and business for understanding and effectively connecting with its consumers.

SMALL BUDGET'S NO BARRIER
When faced with tight budgets, it pays to think beyond traditional approaches. Tourism Queensland's recent "Best Job in the World" promotion is a great example of budget leverage. It created a global contest for a job paying $150,000 Australian ($132,000 Canadian) to explore and blog about islands in the Great Barrier Reef. It bet its entire marketing budget on a creative new way to reach people, and reaped huge rewards worldwide in buzz and public relations (millions of Web hits and almost 35,000 entries from more than 200 countries).

FIND INSPIRATION OUTSIDE
By working with suppliers and leveraging non-traditional partnerships, you can inspire new thought. P&G, whose push for innovation was described in Mr. Lafley's book The Game-Changer, has a mandate to find at least half of its new ideas from outside the company.

A non-traditional partnership example is one between toothpaste maker Crest and car rental company Avis. When airports changed their carry-on allowances for liquids and creams, it resulted in a lot of traveller frustration. Crest capitalized on this by working with Avis to create "comfort packs" with travel necessities that were left in Avis cars rented at the airport.

BE BOLD
Original ideas come from not fearing failure. Internal cultures have to cultivate the permission to bring forward new thinking without fear. This requires support from the most senior levels of management, as well as processes that encourage contribution from a broad range of sources. Creating a safety net for creative risk-taking allows you to push further for new ideas.

Apple Inc. is a model for this. Throughout the years, its push for new frontiers has had brilliant successes (the iPod), but not without experiencing failure as well (the Newton).

Bringing more creativity into your business's DNA requires an active commitment, particularly from the top. The rewards, in today's economy where every tool in the toolkit needs to be leveraged, are well worth the effort.