Brainstorming your Business to Success

What can we learn from the ‘LORD OF THE RINGS and creating the Oscars?

Fifteen years of dreaming and the end result for Richard Taylor with his involvement in the Lord of the Rings was two Oscar awards! Walt Disney was thought of as a madman before he created Disneyland and the empire it is today. “Imagination IS the key,” he said.

Right Brained Thinking
Both of these people are right-brained, creative people. Their dominant thinking stems from the right sphere of the brain, creating new ideas, innovation, tinkering, playing, designing, inventing. These traits are part of their persona, their hobbies and passions gone ‘wild’. This personality group are the entrepreneurs, product developers, architects, graphic designers and lateral thinkers. The person that created New Zealand’s No 8 Fencing wire probably fitted into this category.

Left Brained Thinking
But what about you? If you’re a left-brained thinker – creative thinking is a challenge. Working with figures, statistics, research or something similar, will be more familiar to you and is something you enjoy. You probably find the creative right-brained people a bit tricky to deal with at times, but careful, they’re possibly your partner as well. However, in a business, they’re the people who often think of the ‘awesome’ ideas needed to ‘grow’ the business, and it’s the dollars and cents people (left-brained thinkers) that

Our Heritage
As pioneers, our ancestors designed the equipment they needed to create a new life here in New Zealand. So, it’s only natural, it’s in our blood as well. Innovative and creative thinking! It’s part of the knowledge wave and companies throughout New Zealand are supporting it. We’ve even got courses, specifically for entrepreneurs that help continue to develop minds, creating new concepts, products and equipment for our future.

Tourism
The two biggest tourist drawcards for New Zealand since the year 2000 have evolved because of designers from our country. Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup and successfully defended the cup because of the innovative boat designers and ideas on the project.

Creativity
Lord of the Rings designers won the Oscars because of their creative implementation of their ideas. Now for the next ten years, tourists will come to New Zealand wanting to see the scenery shown in the movie. I know I’ll never forget the hills in the Sound of Music, a movie I saw many years ago…and yes I’ve been there!

It’s imperative that we continue to nurture this creativity. Driving into my carport I dodge four white sheets tacked to the roof. They enclose the pinecones, tied together with fishing wire, hanging from the roof. In my car lights they create fantastic moving shadows and during the day they sway against the backdrop of sheets. You see, it’s my daughters seventh form art project being created. It awesome she’s found her passion, which can lead her to winning Oscars in the future.

Brainstorming
But what about Oscars for your business. Brainstorming can provide the answer. The creative right brain people in your company need to be involved. For a very simple session you’ll need a white board, pens, a scribe and someone to lead the session. Ask for ideas, the rule is not to comment on them, but write them down.

When you’ve finished, group and analyze them, deciding which idea might be feasible to follow up. That could be the one, that creates your Oscar.

Amazingly Easy & Creative Business Successes
You may have heard of these two Oscar winning stories that helped keep these businesses in operation. A toothpaste company wanted a bigger share of the market. The challenge was ‘how’. The executives couldn’t find a solution, but the cleaning lady suggested they make a bigger hole in the top of the tube. Then people would use more toothpaste. Sales soared after that innovative idea.

The second story is about a potato chip company that wanted to reduce costs. Their answer was provided from a person who worked on the factory floor. He suggested they could save some money but not peeling the potatoes. Production costs decreased.

Simple yet extremely effective. In today’s economic market, creativity is imperative. This ensures new development of ideas. However, the key is in discovering them.

Brainstorming your business for success, requires a neutral facilitator who provides an open, constructive and creative atmosphere For a Professional Brainstorming session for yourself or your clients contact Janice.