Why be creative in your work?

Why be creative in your work? The benefits, outlined in the mind map above, may surprise you.

Most people are afraid to be creative in their work. Afraid of what others may think. Afraid of making a mistake, promoting the wrong idea, being branded as “weird.” Maybe in the past, creatives didn’t get the respect they ought to. But all that’s changed.

Due to the current economic conditions and a host of other forces buffeting your organization today, its leadership needs your ideas like never before. They’re desperate for people who are willing to step forward and present ideas to solve thorny problems, to see opportunities no one else can even perceive and to generate new products, services and business models that will help your organization to rise above the norm, capturing market share and delighting customers.

If this list, excerpted from Michael Michalko’s excellent creativity book, Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative Thinking Techniques, doesn’t kick you in the butt and get you into creative action, nothing will.

I want to be able to do all of these things. Don’t you?