In this blog I am sharing the gist of
the webinar organized by Mr Prakash Sharma of Bija Training under the Mask
leadership series on 6th January 2021. The speaker was Mr sanjay Chandel,
SrVP(HR), Sterling
Curiosity and creativity are mutually
reinforcing qualities. Being curious is the foundation stone of
creativity. The creativity process is initiated from a place of being curious.
When you give an idea a shape it becomes innovation. You take inputs from
various sources and create something new and original. As for example, you
could brainstorm and come out with fifty ideas. Innovating is all about
translating into action the workable ideas generated. Tesla came out with a car
with basically battery and software and very few mechanical
parts. Presently, with many employees working from home innovative
ways of working are being explored and encouraged.
To a question as to how creativity can
be kindled, the speaker said that while humans are at their creative
peek up to the ages of 5- 6 years, by age 40 creativity tends
to decline to only around 2%. Getting into a routine or predetermined ways,
stifle creativity. Organizations are generally designed to administer and work
in a regimented manner. Today, there is a sea change in the way people work for
a company. They don’t work for the same company for 35 years. The
shelf life of skills also is now only 5 to 6 years. Many organizations become
redundant as the changes happening within the organization is less than
the changes happening outside.
Creativity today is not a choice but a
necessity. It is no longer about competition coming from within the industry.
It can come from totally unexpected places surprising you with new
business models such as Uber/ Ola in the taxi and Airbnb/
Oyo in hospitality industries. One has to have an ear to the ground
and be humble to be able to learn. There is a need for creativity to be
intentional with a framework. One should be willing and able to use tools like
design thinking and Gemba walk (walk around the place where value is
being created meaning see actual process, understand work, ask questions and
learn).
There
is the need for businesses to be tuned to reality. We have seen a well
established brand like Nokia disappear for want of agility within a span of two
years of products like I phone appearing. Similarly Tesla gave a run for its
money to cars like BMW in the luxury car segment. Creativity and
agility go hand in hand . One cannot be complacent in the dynamic times that we
live in. In the US, the established car companies manufacturing huge cars
did not take seriously the entry of smaller sized cars in the belief that
Americans (to whom cheap gas was available) would
always prefer large cars.
In fact the plea by an employee of Chevrolet
company for manufacturing small cars was dismissed by the company. He was
however, proved right when Hyundai and Japanese companies made a dent in the
market offering smaller cars. The best of organizations are always open to
listening to their employees. When an employee had suggested introduction of
cappuccino coffee, Starbucks initially discouraged him. Later, when it was
introduced as a trial, it turned out to be its highest selling product.
To another question as to whether having a deadline would be a deterrent to creativity, the speaker said his answer would be ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ and that it would depend on circumstances. Although deadlines can sometimes be stifling, it may be necessary when quick solutions are demanded. As for example some companies brainstormed and came up with quick responses when they were given only a week’s time to switch over to "work from home" on the Covid 19 pandemic striking the world. Similarly vaccines normally take 5 to 10 years to be developed. In view of the present emergency the period had to be crunched and the scientists rose to the occasion. Thus it all depends on the context. The speaker signed off with the remark “ This is the best time to try out ideas.” The discussion of the evening was very insightful and enlightening.
