Creativity matters in the business world. However, you may not have considered how … [+]
Yes cultural adaptation to business analysisThere are many areas that have a direct impact on the effectiveness and longevity of business partnerships. But in the midst of culture evaluations and number crunching, it can be too easy for another key element of strong business partnerships to be overlooked.
That attribute?
Creativity.
Creativity is not always something we immediately associate with the business world, but it can have a very real influence on your partnerships and their potential for success.
This was made clear during a recent conversation with Yael S. Hacohena full-time poet, creative career and postdoctoral student from Tel Aviv. She explained: “Publishing creative works is one of the first things we associate with creativity. But writing and other forms of artistic expression do not have a monopoly on creativity. Finding creative solutions to the challenges you face can be a form of creative expression as valid, even if we don’t always think so. Creativity is a mindset that should not be limited to a single form.”
With that in mind, here’s how creativity can boost your business partnerships:
1. Improve social connections
Successful collaboration is often dependent on the social ties between those involved. Research published in the Harvard Business Review quotes a field experiment in which a group of randomly assigned workers will be assigned together to participate in a creative minded activity or neutral activity. Those who participated in creative exercises felt more social closeness with their coworkers, and were less likely to engage in rude behavior.
Social closeness was more enhanced in environments that were considered supportive and psychologically safe. In these environments, study participants tended to focus on positive interactions after creative exercises. It is logical that similarly improved social connections can result when business partners also participate in creative activities together.
2. Encourage Innovation
Another noteworthy advantage of creativity is that it encourages you and your business partners to innovate. After all, a big part of why many partnerships start in the first place is a desire to innovate and develop new solutions that aren’t currently available – or achievable by organizations on their own.
A collaborative approach that respects the input of all involved is more likely to develop unique, original and useful ideas. Bringing together individuals from both parties with different backgrounds can encourage better brainstorming through asking better questions and approaching proposed solutions from a variety of angles. This can lead to better solutions for both sides.
3. It promotes adaptability and flexibility
Creativity doesn’t just improve your ability to develop effective solutions with your partner – it can also improve the nature of how you approach the partnership itself. If things aren’t going as well as you’d hoped in your partnership, creative thinking could be key to developing solutions that will get things back on track.
A creative mindset allows greater adaptability and flexibility in your partnership, allowing you to change the nature of what you do together and how you do it based on changes in your business or market in general. This could affect everything from the way you communicate to the specific goals and projects you work on. Adaptability and flexibility will allow the collaboration to evolve as needed, rather than being discarded by changing business needs and environments.
4. Enhance Growth And Productivity
Research by Deloitte reveals that high-growth brands are more likely to strongly agree that their organization fosters creative ideas, encourages risk-taking and promotes creative collaboration. In particular, these organizations do not limit creativity to select teams, instead finding creative solutions from their strategic partners, suppliers and even customers. With a solid culture in place, these organizations turn creativity from any source into meaningful growth.
A strong and durable business partnership stands the test of time because it delivers measurable results that help the organizations involved achieve their goals—and usually, as a direct approach to shared creative culture. When creativity takes center stage in your collaboration, you are much more likely to achieve the desired KPIs, as well as generate continuous growth from continuous creative thinking.
5. Embrace New Challenges
An emphasis on creativity can completely change your mind when your partnership faces any challenge. While partnerships are inherently designed to overcome one or more challenges for an organization, most collaborations encounter new (and often unforeseen) obstacles on the way to solving this problem.
When a creative mindset exists, you and your partner embrace the challenge. It does not become a source of discouragement or a reason to believe that goals cannot be achieved. Instead, it can serve as a motivator that pushes all participants to think more creatively and develop exciting and innovative solutions. By completely changing the attitudes of those involved, the chances of success will greatly increase.
Strengthen Your Partnerships – Creatively
Successful business partnerships often rely on creative problem solving. And as Hacohen explained, creative thinking can occur practically anywhere and be used to address any situation. This is especially true in partnerships where a diverse group of people come together to solve a challenge.
Making your partnerships more effective could also depend on creative thinking and collaboration. By embracing the power of creativity in any business activity or partnership, you can create more opportunities for successful collaborations that deliver long-term wins.