Peter Lloyd Addresses Creative Space

Today we are thrilled to welcome Peter Lloyd to our Creatives' Space. He is one of the leading experts in Creative Space and the role environment plays in Creativity and Innovation. He is the author of Creative Space and you can find out more about his MANY creative endeavors by visiting PeterLloyd.com.

So sit back, make yourself comfortable and treat yourself to the work of Peter Lloyd.

Why I Think the Catalyst Ranch Works

One of the most creative men and erudite creativity gurus I know, Stephen R. Grossman, recently told me that being creative boils down to having fun. One of the creativity gurus Steve puts at the top of his list is Edward de Bono. I watched de Bono literally draw a diagram and illustrate how and why humor and creativity are identical processes.

Fun and play take people out of and away from the serious, narrowly focused business of drill-down thinking. The kind of thinking de Bono says to replace with lateral thinking. Fun and play allow and encourage humans to generate ideas that are unconnected or illogically connected, to jump from sense to non-sense. If you haven't found the ideas you need in the sensible world, they're obviously somewhere else. And we all know how difficult it can be to get people to go there.

When you walk into a place like the Catalyst Ranch, there's no missing the point. This place was made for play. It tells you, "It's okay to have fun here."

"Why else would they surround me in bright colors and litter the place with toys?" you tell yourself. "What else could they mean by a monkey on a pogo stick?"

Hundreds of creativity and brainstorming sessions have taught me that people in general--and especially people fresh from the corporate office, shop floor, or the sales road--need to be told it's okay to have fun and to play during work hours, while they're collecting their pay. Yet most of these people have no problem playing with babies or pets. Some have even been known to make fools of themselves at wedding showers and fraternity parties, in bowling alleys and karaoke bars, on fishing trips and family vacations.

People play at parties, because it's okay to play. No one is judging. At a party where you know your boss is examining your behavior, you have less fun. At your child's birthday party, amid a screaming throng of three-year-olds, you can't possibly be more ridiculous. The pressure's off. You might even join a food fight. But could you solve a serious problem under these conditions?

There it is again, that pressure to perform, that specter of evaluation, that demand for results.

The mind must leap laterally into the unknown to come up with brilliant ideas. And brilliant ideas that deliver the best results. Play will get us into the dangerous unknown, sometimes to brilliant ideas, but it won't complete the problem-solving process. We need more. Not a map. There are no maps of the unknown. There are no roads in unexplored territories.

The best creative processes help us connect stuff we know has not been connected and to "what-if" those connections into possibilities. Effective creative processes help us make metaphors of what we know and to mirror the light of those metaphors onto our challenges. I've learned that to do this well, the processors must play. They don't have to hug and giggle. New York Times crossword puzzles make great fun for me. Origami is great fun for some. They just have to have fun.

I've also learned something else--the deepest secret behind why brainstorming sessions work. It's going to make all brainstorming facilitators appear to be charlatans. But here it is: put intelligent and responsible people in a room, any room, knowing that they have to come up with new ideas and they will. Just not very well most of the time. Introduce a person from outside, who is not inept (doesn't even have to be great), and they will do better. Add processes to prompt them, they'll do better. Take them away from their familiar environment to any other environment and they will also do better.

While there are many other factors that affect the outcome, process, person, and place, stand out in my experience as the three most powerful. Dial up the quality of any or all of them and you get better results.

All of these factors lead people across a bridge, to another side, and into a set of conditions that allow creative thinking. Improving these conditions stimulates the creative thinking. They act as catalysts for people's natural creativity.

I've seen competent facilitators tell people at the beginning of a session that it's okay to have fun. I've watched warm-up exercises almost force reluctant people to play. A creative space like the Catalyst Ranch makes such contradictory caveats unnecessary.

No one should doubt that it's okay to play and have fun when they walk into a Catalyst Ranch meeting room. Like yawning and laughter, fun is infectious. It spreads a contact high. A playful place that facilitates fun stacks the deck for problem-solving success.

People are already creative. They can be more creative under certain conditions, even under the most horrible conditions. Unfortunately some managers impose horrible conditions with this in mind. In fact, in one of the experiments I use to prove to people that they are creative, I do just that. I give a volunteer what seems to be an impossible task to perform in front of a judgmental audience of peers. The experiment is rigged so that the volunteer will succeed. But the volunteer doesn't know that. The audience knows that the volunteer doesn't know that and watches him or her step intrepidly into the unknown. And even though, in the end, they all discover that success was guaranteed, they marvel at how the volunteer succeeds. Contact high!

Whatever tricks we can use to advance success, make the hard business of problem solving not just successful but rewarding.

Space CAN Make You More Creative --

I often hear that the space in which you are located does matter in terms of creativity. I know I feel more productive, creative, just plain happy when I am in a bright, colorful, sun-lit room. But is that just in my mind?

I decided to do a little research and came across the most wonderful study done by Janetta McCoy while working on her Master's Thesis at Arizona State. With the aid of Gary W. Evans, McCoy wanted find out which environmental elements contributed to its creativity potential and to see if we can use those elements to foster creative ideas.

To find her answer she decided to show photographs of varying types of rooms to students. She posed the question "if you had a special problem to solve and needed to generate new ideas, which room would you choose?" Those interiors that were selected most often were deemed to be higher in creativity potential.

While McCoy found that the size or shape of the room did not seem to matter. The most highly selected rooms were visually stimulating, complex and interesting, had natural materials, designed for easy interaction and had views of the outdoors. When rooms had both textured wood and glass they were thought to foster creative potential, as were those spaces that encouraged curiosity and exploration.

When she tested people's reactions to projects created in different environments, she found that the projects considered more creative were those created in spaces that offered higher creative potential. McCoy is currently a professor of interior design at Washington State University.

I think what I find so fascinating is just how big a role our physical environment does play in our lives. It is so important when we have the opportunity to create and design spaces for work, school and our personal lives that we think about how we want to feel in those spaces. If you want to feel inspired, creative, happy it's all in the space!

Innovation Recipe -- Change locations -- Move

My best thoughts come when I am engaged in other endeavors. You know like working out at the gym or visiting blogs of other creative types. I am always on the hunt for new and inspiring places where I can put pencil to paper or click away into cyberspace.

When I need a break from my desk I first head to the coffee shop. Not just any coffee shop -- the little retro, diner like coffee house. A place where they still keep the regular customers’ cups mounted on a peg board. Just hearing the lively, spirited conversation, the smell of regular coffee, and the 1950s décor whisks me away and can magically fill me with new inspirations.

If it is later in the afternoon and I am afraid of that sixth cup of coffee, I often head to the woods or the beach. There is something therapeutic about the quietness of being outside. Just seeing the sun and feeling the air on my face can be enough to face the rest of the day.

Other changes of scenery may include the treadmill, library, driving in a car, book stores, some have even found their best ideas come while in the shower

Do you have any unusual or even wacky places that you visit for inspiration or that creative "AHA Moment"? Share it, if you can, who knows maybe we'll even visit you there!

Stimulate Creative Thinking with Cyriel Kortleven

I was just checking the Catalyst Ranch calendar to see what creative talent may be stopping by and I found something that may be of interest -- especially to those of you living in the Chicagoland area.

Cyriel Kortleven from NEW SHOES TODAY will make his way from Belgium on March 31 from 6 to 9 p.m.to spend an evening at the Ranch for an interactive session to stimulate your creative thinking.

Cyriel is an enthusiastic, driven crew member of NEW SHOES TODAY who work to support people & organizations on their road to creation, innovation & change. Cyriel is an expert in creativity & innovation & loves to move people in both literal & figurative ways. Recently he and a colleague wrote a Dutch book "And Action" to help trainers, facilitators & consultants work in a more interactive way with their groups.

If you would like to join Cyriel on March 31 visit www.catalystranch.com and find out all of the details. If you would like more information on Cyriel and the creative work that he does just visit www.newshoestoday.com.

For me spring is often a time of renewal and recharging the batteries. I can think of no better spark than joining Cyriel for an evening of fun, where great actionable ideas are shared in a creative space.

Brainstorms Spur Creativity!

The last time we met in the Creatives’ Space we mentioned brainstorm. Those fun, dynamic, energetic sessions that are used to produce a new product, provide a solution to a problem or create a new business venture. These sessions tend to have the best outcomes when individuals are gathered and given the opportunity to expand their thinking in a creative, fostering environment. Ideally, while chewing bubblegum, playing with a slinky and pounding a piece of silly putty.

As creatives we have all been involved in a few brainstorms. Just where did the term brainstorm originate? We sought immediate feedback at www.answers.com and here is what they wrote:
In the 1920s the term brainstorm was used as a way to describe a “sudden surge of ingenuity.” Around 1950, Alex Osborn of the noted advertising agency Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn had a brainstorm of his own. He expanded the concept to create a monsoon of ideas when he began hosting brainstorming sessions. An article in Business Week, explains that it involved “free-wheeling sessions that encouraged ideas by prohibiting any evaluation or discussion until the session was over.” Osborn would absolutely explode if he could see the ideas that have evolved from his then revolutionary brainstorm group.

Recently brainstorming sessions have also been referred to as ideation sessions. Our creative space at Catalyst Ranch was even founded on the tenet that great ideas are inspired by groups of people in a creative, supportive environment. And, don’t forget to play baby, ideate, brainstorm. Just have fun with it!
We would love to hear your thoughts on great brainstorming ideas or even fun brainstorm sessions you have participated in.

Welcome to the Creatives' Space

Hi Ya’ll! Welcome to the one-and-only CREATIVES’ SPACE! That’s right a space dedicated to professionals like you! To enter you need the following: A desire to enhance creativity and the environment in which creativity is born.
We plan to dedicate this on-line space, as we do our Catalyst Ranch, Chicago location, to be used by creatives, or those creatively slumped right now. This is a colorful, comfortable, inspiring place where you can share ideas, ask questions, pick up information or just hang out with “CREATIVE” types. And, we at the ranch will help facilitate and foster creativity. Please un-fasten your seat belt and get ready to play!
So welcome, grab a seat and let your brain storm! And, don’t forget to invite all of your creative friends… spread the word let’s see how far we can spread creativity.