The ones who dare to look out and ask: “What if this were different?” are the ones for whom the sky is the limit. We call this view “openness to new experiences” and it’s one of the most important parameters that determine whether or not someone is creative. The discomfort of standing in long queues on roads with honks and beeps all around, those formal wears has exposed us to a “new normal” in the IT industry where 100 % of our workforce is working remotely. Had it been thought in normal days, the answer would be 5-10 years down the lane but as they say crisis leads to innovation- we could switch to complete remote work in less than a week. If the thought of taking a break from routine or changing the perspective does not come to your mind, the notion of creativity will always seem unappealing.
This explains why discomfort is so important for creativity: it invokes probing, it creates an opening for something new. If you want to be more creative, learn to love the uncomfortable feeling brought about by peeping outside your routine and asking: “What else is out there?” Today, businesses the world over are battling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the biggest questions that stare them in the face are-how do they ensure business continuity in this time of crisis? None of us were prepared for this albeit we did face short term challenges of how to avoid disruption of work without the approval of managers, direct communications, and meetings. Hence at that point, we were more in a reactive mode, and we could make all this possible by opening the “digital doors”- goto meetings, video calls, etc.
You cannot merely will creativity. You cannot “try harder” to cause it to occur. It requires a gap, some type of discomfort, or another type of stimulation to occur. With the rise in remote work, how can you support the performance of employees? How do you continue the employee engagement activities is another question faced by the organizations. Never let a good crisis go waste, said Winston Churchill. Hence, the idea of “Digital Milan” came up for smartData Cultural League. To meet the desire of our employees to participate in giving back to society, we opened up opportunities for them to contribute and participate virtually.
Not questioning the status quo if it’s giving you what you want, not pushing the boundaries if their confines are comfortable will never allow you to question yourself- “Why not me”? If this question does not arise, the place for creativity will never be created.
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