==Flash back to 2004==
As I sit down to write an article, I feel stumped. I've got
an hour to "get it done," and meanwhile I'm just staring at
the screen... 55 minutes later, with a few sentences
written, I have to stop, and I'm off to the next thing- two
back-to-back conference calls.
==Flash forward again.==
Your business depends on your creativity. Your creativity
in your marketing, in your product and service creation,
and just in how you show up for your customers and clients.
Without creativity, everything grows stagnant, you are
unable to produce to meet deadlines, yours and others, and
you begin to feel lifeless. And so does your business. And
so do your profits.
How do you nurture the absolutely critical, bottom-line
necessary creativity since you can't just turn it on
between appointments?
Well, let's take a look at creativity, what it is, and what
it needs.
The first thing to get clear is that "creativity" is a bit
of a misnomer. You aren't creating anything, in the meaning
of "making something exist out of thin air, where nothing
existed before." No human being can create at that level,
although it can sure look that way sometimes.
So, when you get creative, what's really happening? In the
best-selling management book Whale Done, by Ken Blanchard,
the book describes how a failing manager attending a
business conference in Florida, takes time off to go see a
killer whale show. Amazed by the performance, he sticks
around to find out how the trainers get the killer whales
to perform so consistently.
A best-selling book was born out of this apparent
mis-match: training killer whales who could easily kill and
eat their trainers (means you want to keep them happy and
well-fed), and creating positive and effective
relationships with employees and others in your life.
Amazing. Simple. Creative.
Although Whale Done is written as a fable, the event of
meeting the killer whale trainers really happened. And it
happened during time off from working.
Creativity is a synthesis of different elements, not
normally seen together, or expressed in a certain way. In
order to make those unusual connections, you need
unscheduled time. You need room to think and play and
daydream, where there is no pressure to be "productive."
You need space.
==Flash back to 2006.==
I have an entire week of unstructured time, except for
three appointments. Clients ask to meet, and I smoothly
schedule them before and after the week. People want to
"get together." I schedule them out. A high-priority board
meeting comes up, but, I'm unavailable. So sorry. My week
is packed full. With space. And the creativity and insights
pour through.
==Flash forward again.==
How do you defend your spaciousness from the unrelenting
onslaught of demands and deadlines? Read below in "Keys to
Space Defense."
Keys to Space Defense.
• Take "Cafe Days."
Nutso marketing guru Sean D'Souza calls these "cafe days."
I've adopted them, and they are brilliant. Go spend 2-4
hours in a cafe. By yourself. No computer. Bring a pad of
paper and a pen if you like. Eat lunch. Sip tea. Watch
people. Daydream. See what happens.
• Give yourself one appointment a day for you.
If you see clients, or vendors, or whomever, and you
typically schedule 60-90 minute appointments, give one of
these to yourself every day. Yes, every day.
I struggled with finishing my book for a long time, until
my mastermind group convinced me to treat my book like a
client. A very big and important client. A daily client.
I made the decision to give my 9am client slot to my book
every single day. I finished the book in a little over four
months. And, I liked the habit so much, I kept that 9am
slot for me. Just try and get a 9am appointment with me.
Sorry, I'm booked. But I'll gladly see you at 10:30am. :-)
• Schedule unproductive time.
I really did schedule a whole week of unproductive time,
but that was at the end of December. During the rest of the
year, I'm more likely to schedule a Cafe Day, or simply an
hour or two in the afternoon, once or twice a week. And,
when I put it in my calendar, it doesn't move. Someone
needs an appointment, an important meeting comes up? Sorry,
I'm already booked.
You are not a robot. And even robots need to oil their
joints. If you really want to make that quantum jump in
your business, then you need to do more than just stand
where you want to jump from because when you make a quantum
jump, there is a little bit of time before you land in the
new place, when you are flying through unstructured space.
Action step: Take out your calendar right now and look at
the next few weeks. It might take a few weeks to start to
work it in because of pre-scheduled commitments, but
schedule your "unproductive" time right now. And don't give
it up for anything.
----------------------------------------------------
Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your
Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your
Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line.
He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the
globe succeed in business without lousing their hearts. Get
three free chapters of the book online:
http://www.heartofbusiness.com
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