Battle of the Brainstorm

An article on the Globe and Mail website last month, presented different arguments around what sparks creativity in the workplace. It stated that ‘to find big solutions to big problems, business and government leaders need to foster more of this kind of creativity’.

I tend to agree – the question remains, what is the best way to go about it?

Working at an agency, one of the aspects I would deem beneficial is the creative environment. New ideas and approaches are constantly encouraged. While we do not go as far as molding figures out of Play-Doh to get our brains working, we do have frequent brainstorming sessions.

For many, time is money and many find brainstorms a waste of time, lacking in results. For others, the less limitations placed on creative thinking, the better.

When it comes to brainstorms, a few tips I’ve learned through my own personal experience are:

• Give your team some time to think individually in advance - Having some time to mull over the topic/various ideas a day in advance of the brainstorm gives everyone a chance to bring something different to the table.
• Positive Reinforcement – No matter how crazy an idea brought forward might seem, try to focus on the positive. Your team members will likely be too embarrassed to bring up ideas in the future if they’ve received blunt feedback and you may miss out on the next big thing.
• Timing is everything - People need to be awake to get the ideas flowing. If you’re scheduling a brainstorm, make sure everyone’s had their morning caffeine. You may not get the best ideas if your meeting starts at 8am.

If you’re feeling uninspired, there are workshops and interesting literature out there that address creativity. Some examples include Beyond the Box, Business Innovations for Dummies and a Globe and Mail article from February 2010.

It’s all about personal preference and what works best for you. My mom keeps a pen and notepad beside her bed because she believes her best ideas come to her during the night (and this is one creative lady). I prefer a solid playlist and a delicious snack.

Do awards matter?

BlueSky recently received two 2010 IABC Ovation Awards. A proud moment, yes, and a rare moment to reflect on our good work. Yet in the marketing and PR world, these awards are a dime a dozen, each with different criteria and credibility, punctuated with subjective evaluations of hard business results. Do awards matter?

Aside from having a lovely plaque for our wall and statue for our reception area, was the submission worth the ‘ka-zillion’ hours of work? If securing new business is the primary objective, then I would say no. If gaining company profile is the objective, again, I would say no. But I’ve come to one conclusion: the submission process offers a tremendous opportunity to self-evaluate. Is the work we are doing for clients meaningful? Do we help their businesses?

I can confirm with a resounding YES: our work has tremendous value, and that reminder has been very rewarding. The process forced us to lay out all our program objectives and assess whether they were met. Now we have a strong case study demonstrating our skills and the potential of creative, well-executed PR, and our client has results to show for their investment.

Gathering and evaluating the business results also enhanced our client relationship. We now have specific, even more meaningful metrics moving forward and were able to document business benefits in areas we could not have foreseen.

The submission process has also forced us to improve upon our PR plans, going the extra mile to ensure our communications tactics are driving the client’s business. It has also given us an insider’s glimpse of our client’s business – a new level of understanding that allows us to deliver even more and better results.

Will I invest in more award submissions? Absolutely. While the plaque and statue are nice mementos of our accomplishments (not to mention the enhancements to the office decor!) the impact on our creativity, strategic capabilities, client relationship, and business as a whole, has been exceptional. As for the quality of our work, we continue to raise the bar.