Research subjects who received electrical stimulation in the anterior temporal lobes of the brain were three times as likely to come up with the fresh insight needed to solve a difficult, unfamiliar math problem, according to Richard Chi and Allan Snyder, of the University of Sidney. The researchers envision a future when brief, noninvasive brain stimulation can be used to help people solve problems that have evaded traditional cognitive approaches. Harvard Business Review, May 2011.
Ouch!
The vision of employees carrying around little electric shock machines to help them work smarter is more than a little scary. Are those shocks self-imposed? As a manager, do you get to administer them? Is that how Einstein got so smart? This certainly adds another level to “brainstorming.”
Until this I-hope-distant-future arrives, we’ll just have to use some low-tech methods to think creatively:
Risk. One factor that stifles creativity is the reluctance to take risks. A creative thinker should be ready to accept any challenge. I’m not advocating doing something dangerous. I’m saying try something, even if that something could mean failure. A person who is afraid to fail stops creativity cold. If your employees are afraid to fail, you’re not getting the best from them.
Walk. Physical exercise can help to clear the mind and can stimulate the brain into creative thinking. Even 15 minutes a day will help loosen up the right brain. Encourage your employees to get away from their desks and laptops and get moving.
Play. There’s a reason tech companies and ad agencies include pool or ping-pong tables on site: play stimulates creativity. It can be as fundamental as games you played as a kid, or video games that purport to stimulate brain function. Sudoku, crosswords, even Pictionary break the lockstep of the linear left brain.
Read. A creative thinker needs to be well informed. The ability to think more creatively requires an enquiring mind, stimulated by reading. Not just technical journals or leadership how-to books, but novels, nonfiction, biographies, travelogues.
Talk. Brainstorming sessions work because ideas are freely exchanged. Encourage “what if” conversations. Meaningful conversations with other people generate thought, spark new insights, and fire up those creative synapses. An idea that’s been percolating can pop up in conversation; there are times when I didn’t realize what I was thinking until I said it!
I could use an idea for my next blog. Think I’ll take a lunchtime walk into Central Park and read a book.
Barbara Kurka is Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Katz Media Group, Inc.
