Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It’s Only Common Sense: How to Become More Creative

A few years ago, I wrote a column where I talked about how companies were scared to get creative and try something new. I even came up with a list of “50 reasons why it won’t work.” Since then, I’ve been flattered that people not only remember that column, but they also cite some of those reasons.

I was reminded of this yesterday while reading a book by management guru John Maxwell titled How Successful People Think. It’s a good one, and I recommend it highly. I got a kick from his chapters on creativity. He reminded me of the “50 reasons,” but Maxwell had a whole new list of “creativity killers.” Check it out sometime. I’m not going to list them here and give people more reasons not to be creative.

The book is also loaded with a lot of fun quotes from famous people. To give you a taste, here some of the most notable quotes:

• What luck it is for leaders that men do not think. —Adolf Hitler
• It is a dull man who is always sure and the sure man who is always dull. —H.L. Menken
• There is a correlation between the creative and the screwball. —Kingman Brewster

My favorite quote was from Tom Peters: “Weed out the dullards and nurture the nuts.” I like that one particularly because I am kind of a nut myself, and I have never met an idea I did not want to promote.

From Maxwell’s book, here are five reasons to be creative. Creative thinking:

1. Adds value to everything: Creativity is being able to see what everybody else has seen and think what nobody else has thought so that you can do what nobody else has done.

2. Compounds: In the wise words of Maya Angelou, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. Sadly, too often, creativity is smothered rather than nurtured. There has to be a climate in which new ways of thinking, perceiving, and questioning are encouraged.”

3. Draws people to you and your ideas: People like creative people and are attracted to them (until they are asked to follow them out of their comfort zone; that’s when the fun stops for too many people).

4. Helps you learn more: Creativity expert Ernie Zelinski said, “Creativity is the joy of not knowing it all. The joy of not knowing it all refers to the realization that we seldom, if ever, have all the answers; we always have the ability to generate more solutions to just about any problem. Being creative is being to see or imagine a great deal of opportunity to life’s problems. Creativity is having options.”

5. Challenges status quo: While creativity and innovation go hand in hand, creativity and status quo are incompatible.

And that is what we are fighting against every day. We don’t have the drive to break out of our comfort zone. I’m not sure if it’s fear of the unknown, fear of failure, or fear of change, but in all industries—including ours—there is a fear of thinking about trying anything new and actually trying it. It seems like everyone admires people like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, or George Lucas, but no one has to fortitude to do what it takes to be like them.

To help you start thinking creatively, ask yourself these 10 questions:

1. Why must it be done this way?
2. What is the root problem?
3. What are the underlying issues?
4. What does this remind me of?
5. What is the opposite?
6. What metaphor or symbol helps to explain it?
7. Why is it important?
8. What’s the hardest or most expensive way to do it?
9. Who has a different perspective on this?
10. What happens if we don’t do it at all?

Often, doing nothing is the most dangerous path to take, even in hard times like this pandemic. It would be the perfect time to try something new and different, but people are reluctant to do so. I don’t know why, and I’ve given up trying to understand.

If you do nothing else this week, read a business book, like How Successful People Think by John Maxwell. It’s a really good read that’s full of ideas on how to be creative and get other people to think more creatively. The best thing is that it’s a small book (a little over 100 pages), so you’ll be able to get through it in practically one sitting.

If you promise me you will read this book, I’ll promise you that you will get some creative ideas from it that will help you make your career, business, and life that much more rewarding. You won’t know what you’re missing until you try it. As Sam Ewing once said, “Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said couldn’t be done.”

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.