Ann Marie Puig talks about the vital role creativity in the workplace has for growth

Creativity in the company is vital to success. It doesn’t matter the business sector, the typology of the daily work or the profiles that make up the team.  All companies need a very great contribution of creativity. On a day-to-day life, it has to be and, from time to time, we have to analyze whether we are having it, whether it is being fed and of course, perform actions and dynamics to reactivate that creativity.  In order for any business to succeed long-term, it has to remain creative and Ann Marie Puig, an entrepreneur and philanthropist from Costa Rica, discusses the reasons why.

Creativity is not just about developing an artistic activity.  Asserts Puig, “We are creative when we flow into tasks, or when we solve a problem in an original and efficient way, or when we are bold and explore new territories and modify the perception of our limits. When our thinking is trained to think out of the box, creativity finds its developmental space. Creativity is also imagination, the ability to create, and that is independent of whether you draw, write, sing, work with Excel or assemble parts in a factory.”

The ability to create is essential in a company and we must all know that we have within us a creative being, able to do what it does, but otherwise more effective, useful and profitable.  To achieve something in a faster, agile, simple, profitable and, of course, productive way is the consequence of being creative in our work. Something that has been done for many years in a certain way, works well, but sometimes, new eyes arrive that print another look, implements some change, and suddenly, triggers effectiveness. To do this, the first premise is to be free to contribute these ideas in our work, and the second, to believe and connect with our creative being.

It’s critical that entrepreneurs spend time and resources boosting their team’s creativity. What’s more, this has to be aligned with the company culture.  To be creative, the environment, the style of direction and the soul of the company have to favor creative thinking. Creativity does not flourish in an environment where people are afraid to express themselves freely or where initiatives are closed.

It is impossible, or, at least, very difficult, to be able to be creative and go one step further if you do not have a specific training in the given area. This training will bring us knowledge, strategies and resources, which are the basis on which to start developing our creative thinking, which is nothing more than taking advantage of those elements otherwise and with a new vision.

Like training, having experience in something, working it day by day, having it in mind, seeing its possibilities will stimulate the brain to wake up to new options.  It’s like the one who’s doing something all day (a marketing strategy, for example), after a while making it safe to come up with more creative ways to translate it, to provide solutions, etc. But at this point, it should be remembered that attitude is key: we can acquire this experience by staying in the comfort zone, in what we already know, so creativity will have serious difficulties in flowing; or from the challenge zone, exploring the unknown, where creativity finds its development space.

Of course, it’s clear that if a worker doesn’t have the confidence in his company, in his superior and in his team, to make his ideas at least, he will never be creative.  He’ll stick to doing what he has to do and that’s it.  The Organization and Directors are key to achieving a trust-based environment and relationships, which is the cornerstone for daring to explore new ideas and ways of doing things. Trust helps you connect with your natural talents and neutralizes sabotages of creativity.

To all of the above, which is essential not only to incentivize the creativity of your team and all the members of the company, if you carry out periodic activities focused on the creative part, the achievement will be much greater.  Adds Puig, “There are activities such as the Team Building that are responsible, from a unique and different environment, to provide the appropriate tools in each case to reactivate that creativity of the teams.”

For things to happen, you have to have appropriate tools at your fingertips. If marketing is worked on in your company, a computer will be safe, but how about including cray pens, pens, whiteboards, and other tools that might awaken different things?  We are so digitized that we no longer use our hands to create, only to give the key in repetitive movements, without being aware that we are wasting one of the greatest physiological triggers of creativity: manual work. Our brain finds great pleasure in launching movement, as they have to work in a synchronized way the left and right hemispheres, generating a chemical state that favors creativity and the state of flow.

And as an extra and summary of all the above, what works best and best for creativity in the company to be enhanced is to give space, allow the creative mental juices to flow, not judge, not repress, not suffocate, respect opinions and trust the people with which we work.  In addition, always take into account all parties, incentivize curiosity and motivate them to learn and thrive.  It is impossible, however, for creativity to emerge if it is not based on values.  

About Ann Marie Puig

Ann Marie Puig has been a distinguished Consultant, Assistant Controller, Accounting Manager, Director of Accounting and Finance and Chief Financial Officer for almost 20 years.  She is bilingual in Spanish and English and has a reputation for accurate, clear and concise record management in month-end closings, accruals, reconciliations, AP, AR and JE, as well as superior human resource skills.   She is extremely knowledgeable in current technology, eCommerce and a variety of Industries.
 

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