How creativity is made

Many companies move companies around in order to stimulate the creativity of their employees. For example, facilities such as bars, coffee shops and clubs have always attracted industries and companies that rely on the development of knowledge and creativity, where young and creative employees can linger after get off work to interact with each other. It is for this reason that the Dutch electronics company Philips relocated some of its designers from the industrial city of Eindhoven to Amsterdam.

In fact, no matter where your company is located, you are likely to create an internal environment that inspires creativity.

Swedish financial services group Skandia has set up a "Future Center" in Vaxholm, on Stockholm's northern archipelago, in order to inspire new ideas among its employees. This initiative reflects a growing awareness that the right environment can stimulate creativity and generate new ideas.

Close Contact Improves Communication

At Intel, CEO (and current chairman) Andrew Grove works in a rabbit-hole crowded cubicle. At Chapparal Steel, known for its innovative management, CEO Gordon Forward sits "next door to the steelworks' cloakroom with employees picking up their hard hats." This visible "open the door" policy at the top of the company promotes the free flow of information and communication, the first step towards creativity.

IDEO also believes that nothing is more effective than "proximity and affinity" for unleashing corporate creativity. This Silicon Valley-based high-tech equipment product design company has formed a project team with reference to part of the Hollywood film production system, consciously pooling talents to participate in brainstorming activities.

Company general manager Tom Kelley wrote in The Art of Innovation: "A crowded room is full of lively group dynamics, while too much space can distract and disrupt teamwork. An instant and more emotional connection.”

Idealab is a pioneering startup incubator based in California, USA. The company follows the same philosophy in its approach to spawning new businesses. The company's headquarters is in a 50,000-square-foot, single-story building, so employees have to meet and interact with each other.

Bill Gross, founder of the company, believes that everyone in an office building needs to impart knowledge to each other. His own office is located in the center, surrounded by desks arranged in concentric circles, with the innermost desk being reserved for employees working for start-up companies. As the company grew, their desks moved further and further away from the center of the circle, and when the number reached 70, they moved to another office.

A dedicated space to stimulate the mind

Skandia's 'Future Center' boasts sweeping ocean views, soft classical music, and even the aroma of toasting bread wafting through the room, creating a sense of abundance and family Cozy atmosphere, which is considered to be conducive to stimulating the mind. Music and the sound of the waves are in harmony with each other and are also thought to promote creativity. And the symbolic old ship rudders and old typewriters bring back memories of bygone days.

However, the company's approach to innovation was best represented by the 2-day workshop held at the Future Center shortly after it opened. The company selects 20 employees based on age, experience and geographical distribution to form five "future teams", each of which includes members of different age groups such as over 25, 35 and 45, in order to facilitate the transfer of knowledge across generations.

AXA Consulting, which recently broke away from fellow brother Arthur Andersen to build the "Accenture" brand, has a "chaos zone" and a "zen meditation zone" on the top floor of its central London headquarters. The Chaos Zone, used to generate ideas, is decorated in red, with desks and no wheelchairs, allowing employees who come together to assemble and brainstorm. The "Zen meditation area" is used for the quieter thinking incubation process. There is no office furniture, only fish tanks, landscape paintings, and a sign that reads: "Don't have meetings, don't call, don't disturb." The two areas are connected by a “bar” working corridor, where people can sit and plug in their phones and laptops.

Solar Microsystems in Silicon Valley found that engineers liked to gather in the aisles and kitchens, say a few words, and then go back to the office. Realizing the creative value of these conversations, the company designed a space called the Forum. It extends from the kitchen area, where people can think more comfortably. There are also rooms called "Sunrooms" where employees can develop ideas, some have ping-pong tables or stereos, and all have whiteboards for writing on the blackboard.

The invisible environment breeds creativity

But, oddly enough, unlike all these ways of seeking creative work by focusing on the physical environment, great high-tech companies like HP and Apple were born out of no comfort. in the garage. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon's online bookstore, also developed a bookstore business plan in his garage.

This shows that in addition to the tangible environment, there are also some intangible factors that can stimulate the creativity of employees, which mainly include reflecting on the corporate culture and pursuing continuous innovation.

Set out to recreate HP's charismatic CEO, Carly Fiorina, turning the legendary garage where HP's two founders started their partnership in 1939, into a continual presence in key activities both inside and outside the company. theme that appears. In one TV commercial, she leans against a messy garage and promises to always stick to the company's founding principles, known as the "garage rule."

One of the first things Nick Earle did after Fiorina named him head of HP's new e-services business group was to tear down a sign posted in the company hallway that read: "Don't talk in the hallway, someone is working." Instead, he threw styrofoam balls at colleagues across the partition wall to create a relaxed atmosphere while pacing and talking on his cell phone. “I do this precisely to promote a spirit of fun and motivation,” he explains. “As a result, people are willing to work overtime until 11 p.m. and to come to work on Saturdays and Sundays.” A few guiding principles:

Cultivate exceptional expectations Field GE Capital's financial business group (GE Capital) expects to grow earnings by 20% per year. "Extraordinary goals force you to take a very different view of opportunity," the company says. Strategy guru Gary Hamel points out that there are no established industries. "Be extraordinary!" As an example, Growing lettuce was considered a fairly mature business until someone came up with the idea of washing and bagging the lettuce and selling it for a premium price as a salad leaf. As a result, the industry has grown into a $1.4 billion market over 10 years.

Flexibility in defining the business "Too many companies frame their business by what they do rather than what they know," says Hammer. He quotes Virgin's head of business development as saying: "There's no presumption about whether Virgin should go into a business. The culture here is to ask why not, not why."

Listen to new voices The field is looking for young people, "they're closer to the future," Hammer said. The CEO of Siemens Nixdorf has appointed "reverse mentors" in their early 20s to "teach" the company's top managers how to understand the younger generation. American brewing giant Anheuser Busch has a "shadow committee of managers" made up of young people, reporting directly to the board. GE Financial has formed a research team of under-30s to "go back and tell us where the opportunities are."

Provides a broad market for capital Shell's "game-changing" project has a team of six who The right to spend a $20 million budget on business ideas they deem of sufficient value. Anyone at the company can come up with an idea, and that's how 4 of the company's 5 best growth businesses of late have been launched.

Become an open market to attract talent The Disney Company, which dominates the global leisure and entertainment market, believes that "people want to work on interesting projects. That's why we put the best talent in theme parks to help promote the cruise business."

Virgin, which advocates a cellular divisional structure, says: "We're not running one giant empire, but lots of small companies. We want to be a real, small-company-like business. , so people can see the results of their hard work.”

Originally adapted from The Next Big Idea, published by Random House Business Books, with permission from The Random House Group of Companies . Translated by Lian Qingsong.