An argument in favour of non-conformity and distinctivity
We are all creative
I believe, no I know, we are all creative. We are human. It is in our DNA and we cannot help ourselves but use it.
When you hear the word creative what do you think of?
Artists? Writers? Designers? Performers?
Geniuses?
Successful entrepreneurs?
You?
Creativity is something we usually ascribe to others and admire from afar.
Creativity is something we deny in ourselves.
‘I am not creative’
But it’s just not true. Among our earliest impulses were creative ones. We all ‘drew’ as children. We all loved doing it. We all loved discovery and we all loved learning about what fascinated us – and we left it behind, or had it beaten out of us following the rules of passing exams and conforming to an established way of thinking.
Fundamentally we have a brain wired for discovery and self expression – a constant loop of learning. But we allow it to be hijacked by convention.
The myth of rationality
We convince ourselves we are rational beings with feelings. We try and manage the latter with explanations and reason.
To an extent it works. It would be pretty chaotic otherwise; and I am not in favour of chaos.
But the reality is we are emotional beings with a capability for reasoned thinking.
80 to 90% of our decisions are emotionally based.
How Your Emotions Influence Your Decisions (forbes.com)
We should recognise that and work with it – yes rationally and openly.
Why?
Because the emotional reactions to external stimuli in each of us are subtly different. They are our unique distinctivity.
They are based on our experience and outlook, values and beliefs.
A lot we share.
The nuances are key to us.
And in nuance lies opportunity.
Getting at nuance
To get at nuance and the opportunity we need to explore we need to
Encourage our creativity
Ditch convention
And the good news is you can trick your brain into doing it. In fact you can over-ride your natural, rational, organised conventional mode of thinking and switch to something more free, non judgemental and playful.
You can even do this with other people – without the risk of seeming foolish – and find energy and inspiration in doing so.
And you can flip back and forth as you need to depending on the task you face.
Why bother?
Because there should be nothing conventional about your business.
Apart from the need to meet the legal – including financial and reporting - obligations you have.
All the rest should celebrate your uniqueness and be used to position your brand to the target audience who most value what you do.
In competitive and crowded markets it is the ones who stand out that win.
If the key to potential, opportunity and competitive advantage lies in your ability to get at nuance and ditch convention why not give it a go?