The Perfect Conditions for Creativity and Innovation

The Puppy Factor…

I was reading an article about how to tell whether your dog is happy (I know, really, who has time…) I suspect it will be no surprise to any dog owner that the scientists demonstrated a clear link between dog happiness and play.

The way the article was worded, it was as if the playfulness was the driver for happiness—playing creates happiness. Of course, it can happen that way—we can turn a morose face in a basket into the very model of canine joy with one bounce of a tennis ball—however it looks to me that it’s the inherently positive nature of the dog that is driving the (playful) behaviour.

Meaning that, all things being equal, we would expect the happiest dogs to be more naturally playful. Sounds kinda obvious…

I see it with my own dog; he sniffs around looking for something (or someone) to play with.

If there’s nothing right in front of him then he invents a game—throwing a ball or choosing his favourite squeaky toy, sometimes (pretend) hiding it and acting surprised when he stumbles across it behind him.

It looks to me as if he has a pretty clear idea of what he’s doing, these are not random movements, there’s an intention and a response, exactly like a small child playing peekaboo or building a lego model. Well, OK, maybe my dog isn’t quite up to lego, but he definitely has a plan and he’s playing it out.

Child’s Play for Humans… But Not at Work

I’m sure any parent will be nodding at the parallel with children—especially happy children who seem to be able to play all day long, way beyond the energy tolerance of the parent.

What happens, then, when we come to the world of work? Play sounds like something to be frowned on, yet we are always searching for ways to be more ‘innovative’, more ‘creative’, more ‘output-focused’ or ‘goal-oriented’. My puppy seems pretty goal-oriented when he’s playing, he just doesn’t take his goals too seriously. Is that a bad thing? At work we often want employees to come up with, and test new ideas; to be experimental without too much attachment to outcome. Sounds kinda the same…

And what about ‘happiness’?

Sure, we talk about well-being at work but it often seems like something extra; a luxury even. It’s the rare company that will seriously focus on well-being as a driver for productivity and innovation, even when they know the research and their own experience supports this.

Yeah it’s all very well to think about happy staff, but the first priority is shareholders / profit / growth / ….

All in the name of better business, right?

Maybe we could find more work-worthy words to describe the state of being describes being fully engaged and yet unflappable, calm and capable, yet also joyful and light-spirited?

Can we find a parallel with the dog research? And does it help us set up conditions for doing better both with the people and with the product?

It seems pretty obvious to me that, whatever the word we choose, when we humans are at our ‘happiest’, we’re relaxed, we’re not worrying about things, and these are ideal conditions for ‘play’.

We know this—those stories of coming up with your best ideas in the shower, or on a walk—it isn’t the walk or the water, it’s allowing the feeling of nothingness, allowing the well-being to rise up, and with the natural desire to create things, real or imaginary—it’s child’s play.

Let’s Create a ‘System’…

With work, though, we can get caught up in words like ‘discipline’ and ‘habits’ and ‘performance’? Words that appear in many a business or leadership book. How are these compatible with happiness and playfulness? And how can we create the ‘system’ to get us there?

We make a big deal about it and talk about the conditions and the process that stimulate creativity, but, taking the parallel from our canine cousins, the simple bottom line is that there’s nothing complex or special, we simply have to fall into our optimal state of mental well-being and we have access to all the creativity we could ever want.

Focus on being well and you’ll do well.

That’s all it takes.

Yes, really.

Encouraging Innovation…

If you want to encourage innovation, focus on finding happiness.

If you want to know whether the people around you are happy, then look at how much they are innovating. It’s that simple: how playful are you (and they) in your (their) lives and work?

If you want the most creative and innovative employees, then maybe it’s time to put more focus on well-being and the let the rest take care of itself.

And think about all the time you’ll save not reading business books ;-).

With love,

Cathy