{"id":4339,"date":"2012-09-02T19:01:55","date_gmt":"2012-09-02T19:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/?p=4339"},"modified":"2012-09-02T19:41:25","modified_gmt":"2012-09-02T19:41:25","slug":"a-secret-to-innovation-childlike-imagination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/a-secret-to-innovation-childlike-imagination\/","title":{"rendered":"A Secret to Innovation: Childlike Imagination"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Need inspiration to do a better job of marketing, collaborating and growing a better future for your business? Then observe your kids (or somebody else\u2019s kids if yours are grown). The kind of imagination we had as children tends to get put away as we grow older\u2014but as a father who cherishes every moment I can get with my kids, I see the need for it more and more. And I\u2019ve learned TONS of things from just watching my children interact that can (and should) be applied to growing a business.<\/p>\n

For instance, kids are natural explorers\u2014they\u2019re open to ideas\u2014they\u2019re spontaneous. They play constantly. And it\u2019s when they\u2019re in a state of play that they\u2019re the most focused and creative. We need to play MORE in order to get out of our adult box, build stronger relationships and let those creative juices flow.<\/p>\n

At a talk recently I asked the question, \u201cDo you think you\u2019re a great artist?\u201d Not many adults raised their hands, but I made the point that if you ask a room full of kids the same question, just about EVERY hand goes up! They don\u2019t just think, they know that they\u2019re great drawers. They don\u2019t have self-imposed limitations, and they can\u2019t wait to share their creations. Plus, they bond instantly with each other. Just think about the possibilities for your business if you could \u201clet go\u201d and tap into that childlike enthusiasm! Some companies are already doing it\u2014and getting great results.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably seen the astonishing pictures of Google\u2019s workspaces. They need their employees to be on top of their game\u2014always innovating\u2014so their work environment is more like an elementary school kid\u2019s dream than an office space. Bright primary colors, lots of open space, slides to get you from one floor to another, video game rooms, pool tables\u2026 seems to be counterintuitive to \u201cgetting things done at work\u201d right? Well, they\u2019ve got exactly the right idea for turning on their employees\u2019 creative mojo, and it works! Look at all the innovation that comes out of them! A bunch of their initiatives might end up on the cutting room floor, but they\u2019re always moving and shaking because the company has created the perfect environment for the creative brain.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to have Google\u2019s budget to do this, either. Start with yourself. If you get a chance, sit in on a young child\u2019s birthday party or in an elementary school classroom and just watch them. Really watch them. What happens when new kids come into the room? They immediately run to the group and start interacting. If somebody\u2019s building with blocks, suddenly you\u2019ve got a whole table full building right along with him, with comments like: \u201cWhat if we did it this way?\u201d \u201cWow, that looks cool\u2014let\u2019s put some cars in here.\u201d \u201cWhat would happen if we put that umbrella on top?\u201d Sounds like a think tank, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

By just observing how kids interact, imagine and play, you can come away with some ideas on creating a fun, collaborative environment in your business\u2014things that really bear fruit. Unleashing a childlike imagination in a playful environment is where new products get invented, ideas germinate, and collaborative bonds become established. Is it any wonder that lots of profitable business partnerships are formed in social environments? When you can tap into the inner child, feed the source of creativity\/imagination, and build relationships, anything is possible.<\/p>\n

Originally posted at TedRubin.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Need inspiration to do a better job of marketing, collaborating and growing a better future for your business? Then observe your kids (or somebody else\u2019s kids if yours are grown). The kind of imagination we had as children tends to get put away as we grow older\u2014but as a father who cherishes every moment I … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,7],"tags":[1458,1184,697,1413,1725,480,1691,3],"class_list":["post-4339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-tedrubin","tag-tedrubin-2","tag-collective-bias","tag-creativity","tag-featured","tag-imagination","tag-return-on-relationship","tag-shopper-marketing","tag-ted-rubin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4339"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4345,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4339\/revisions\/4345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesocialcmo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}