Creativity in Business

Why think like a beginner?

Thinking like a beginner makes us creative.

It restores the wonders of discovery.

Business creativity leads to innovation.
Innovation leads to success.

Over the coming weeks we’ll discuss creativity.

Thinking like a beginner offers advantages.
Jack Nicklaus started each season as a beginner.
His golf coach went through an annual ritual.
He checked Jack’s stance and grip.
He checked Jack’s approach to the ball.
He checked his swing and his follow-through.
Want to copy Nicklaus’s success in golf?
Go back to the basics and practice, practice, practice.
The fundamentals help us think creatively.
That leads to innovation and success.

Ray Kroc was big on innovation.
He famously told McDonald’s franchisees:
“We can innovate faster than they can copy us.”
McDonald’s dominated the fast food market.
Kroc also taught his people about growth.
“When you’re green, you’re growing.
“When you’re ripe, you’re rotting.”
Many owners are rotting their way out of business.

Thinking like a beginner has other advantages.
One karate master was buried in a white belt.
The white belt is the belt of the beginner.
Martial artists strive for the coveted black belt.
The master had decades of experience.
He taught his skills to others.
His white belt to him was symbolic of death.
Death, he believed, makes beginners of us all.

Here’s a short exercise to help you in business.
Think about your top three challenges.
They may involved your competition.
Or your sales and client relationships.
Or other bottom line concerns.

Make a list of these challenges.
Detail the steps needed to correct them.
Place a deadline beside each step.
Determine who will help with each step.
Don’t procrastinate. Take action.

Next: How to recall great ideas.