How to work a little more creatively

Storyboards are powerful thinking and communication tools in films and advertising ... and we can use them too. 

Just as film creatives map out the proposed scenes of a movie, we can be story boarders too!  

A creative tool I use often with teams to think and work more creatively is storyboarding. 

Six cells or scenes are a starting point or a summary of a bigger and deeper story. 

🔲 Capture one point or theme per cell. 
🔲 Use a storyboard to take notes. 
🔲 Deliver your presentation or pitch with a storyboard. 

Boring notes? Nope. 
Boring meeting? Nope. 
Boring presentation? Also nope. 

We love stories! They hook us in and keep us engaged, curious to what’s coming next. 

Our colleagues and clients need us to be a little more creative - not just to hold their engagement and attention but to get to the most creative and effective outcomes we can. 

For something more memorable, practical and sensible... storyboard it.

Could you morph that idea

When we’re problem solving, trying to find a solution to a situation, we usually brainstorm some ideas. 

Working alone or together with others, we throw ideas about, hoping to land on something that’s worthy of following through and implementing. 

So have you tried morphing those ideas? And could you if you had to?

Morphing happens in animation and films as one thing changes gradually, step by step into something else. 

What if one of the ideas on your list could work to solve the problem at hand, but it needed to change? And then change again?

Could you do it? Would you let go of it and let it morph?

Sometimes we hold on so tightly to a decision or idea that we won’t be swayed or moved no matter the potential or the evidence. 

Even when that idea may not be working. 
Even when it could work if it was changed or adapted - even a little. 

Our willingness to morph an idea is powerful given the world we’re living in. 

Look at the ideas you’ve got ready to go. Which of them would you be happy to morph or change? 

And are there any you’re holding on to a little too tightly? 

Patterns in our thinking

We see patterns in fabrics, in nature and in design and architecture. 

Patterns exist in many other parts of our world: 
The time we wake up. 
How we behave. 
The actions we take. 
The way we tackle and complete tasks. 

Some of the patterns that go unnoticed - or at least under noticed - are the patterns in our thinking. 

How we solve problems. 
How we learn. 
How we make sense of things. 

If we’re unaware of our thinking patterns, were less able to change them to ways that will work for us. 

First we can get better at noticing. It’s turning up our powers of observation, taking note, capturing an insight, connecting the dots. 

This is Sensemaking and it’s a powerful skill in these times of change and uncertainty. 

Where are the patterns in your thinking? What do you see and notice? What dots can you connect?

The better we are at observing and identifying patterns, the easier it becomes to interrupt them, in pursuit of better ways of working. 

“I love your stuff Lynne,” they said.

What is our stuff? 

It’s our perspective. It’s what we think and how we package that up to share it with others. 

It’s how we express ideas and how we explain things, our views and values and experiences. 

It’s also our MO - modus operandi or our way, our method of doing things. 

So ... what’s yours? 
Have you thought about it? 
Are you already working on it? 
And do you share it?

The need for us to declare who we are and what we believe is on the rise: there is the growth of personal branding, sole business operators, your name dot com, individuals as brands and the opportunities available to share our stuff via social media profiles. 

Even if you don’t run your own show, having a profile and sharing your stuff helps build a body of your ideas, thinking and work that can help you carve out your career.

Do you know what your stuff is? And have you worked on it recently?

Explore your thinking - remember to act

If we’re the only creatures on earth who can think about how they think ... how well do we use that power? 

Because it is a power. It’s one of the greatest reflections we have available to us. 

To pause and think ... ‘wow, I wonder why or how I think about things?’

This can send us into a thinking vortex though, where we just keep thinking about thinking about thinking!

Some reflection is good but then what? 

When we are Sensemaking and not just thinking, we get to shift to some action. 

1. What’s going on here
2. What do I need to do about it
3. Now do it

If we are caught up in the first question of ‘what’s going on here’ ... analysis paralysis can be never ending. 

The second question - now we are getting somewhere - is, ‘what do I need to do about it?’ 

Here is the bias towards us taking an action. 

Thinking. 
Thinking. 
Now do it. 

...

...

...


Umm.... but then we return to thinking mode again to ‘work it out’ or ‘understand what’s going on’ or ‘run scenarios’ - more thinking. 

The ‘now do it’ gives us the opportunity to see what happens as a result of our actions. 

THEN we get some new stuff to think about ... but at least we have advanced.

Think ... sure. 
Now act.