Creative problem solving, thinking outside the box, strategic planning…
People and ideas come in many forms. Sometimes they require real creativity and bravery. We have heard many people say over the years “It’s how we’ve always done it”. This is the most overused, chicken shit phrase we’ve ever heard, and we laugh when we hear it now, because that’s not how you advance in today’s world. The status quo is a curse word in business. Adaptability is becoming more and more important in an ever-changing corporate landscape. When faced with a new problem or when trying to launch a new product or service, many people make the fatal error of doing things the same way they have always done it. Having experienced lackluster success and very little growth, they are more confused as ever as to why it “didn’t take”.
Whether it is a software launch, a new widget to manufacture or opening up to new international markets, thinking outside of the traditional business box is not only a recommendation, it is now mandatory if you want to succeed in the 21st century. It is equally as important to utilize new ideas, new processes and new talent. Ray Dalio, the founder and hedge fund manager of Bridgewater Associates has been a huge champion of something called Idea Meritocracy. If you’ve never heard of this before, it is quite simply described as – “An environment in which the best idea wins. The best idea is determined by the quantity and quality of the data, not by positional power... An Idea Meritocracy is designed to produce the best possible decision under the circumstances by enabling the best thinking by all team members”.
There is no fear of being wrong and there is no punishment for being bold or speaking your mind, there is thoughtful consideration for any idea which may produce a better outcome. When building our own game plan, the team at UnBankers beat up our process over and over again. In order to stand out in a world full of “bankers”, we needed a fresh approach, a set of messages that resonated with the new type of borrower and we needed fresh blood to help us implement our new strategies. Thinking outside of the box wasn’t enough, we required new people to help us execute those ideas, from within. In our search for the right people, we needed to find those who the business world would deem “unconventional”, because those are the ones who have the grandest ideas, the biggest aspirations and are afraid of very little.
We searched long and hard to hand pick those who would color within the lines part of the time and scribble over the borders of convention the rest. When we found them, it was immediately apparent that we had hit paydirt. Finding them is one thing, keeping them and allowing them to flourish inside the creative “box”, is another.
There are key elements to picking the best people who will push the envelope and drive an idea or concept forward. We searched and found the following:
- Product or Service Coordinator – someone with empathy who had excellent reasoning skills, extremely organized, a creative thinker and solution provider, loved to experiment and was not afraid to fail.
- Support Person - the team needed someone who was a bit on the lazy side (Bill Gates once said, “A lazy person will find the easiest way to do something”).
- Team Lead – we found a detail oriented, focused person who was reliable, patient, a little stubborn and head strong. They make sure things are executed on time, on budget and without any excuses.
- Our Business Development professional is a good listener, extremely adaptable and has humility. With a person like this as our front-line contact, our customers feel at ease and will openly share feedback that helps shape and refine our product and service.
With your creative ideas, your team and your direction mapped out, the execution will be the next important step. Many great ideas never make it past inception because the “conventional thoughts” creep back in, causing doubt and apprehension. The key to working creatively with a team of like-minded thinkers is – don’t slow the pace for very long and ensure that the team is supported to allow them to follow through on their ideas and goals. Things can be tweaked and amended along the way, but it’s always best to lay as much on the table as you can and then eliminate later. Owning the decisions and keeping with the pace allows for faster execution and stress testing. You will fail still, that’s inevitable…but you will also recover quickly. The good news is that you will learn how to move strategies along at a much faster pace when you support the open dialogue of the team and their concepts, keeping good people inside your box and all; of their creativity outside of it.