by Mel DePaoli

   This article was originally published in The Productivity Institute (PI) Newsletter

Doomsday talk needs to stop right HERE, right NOW. You have a choice of how you are going to look at these times. When you look back in history, it is times like these which inspired the most innovative inventions that launched the next boom. It is times like these that take mediocre companies and make them stellar. How do they do it?

They take advantage of the times to improve all of those areas that they have been meaning to improve, they tighten up loose ends, encourage their employees break the normal bounds and most importantly, they take risks. When times are good and business is booming, companies are always complaining how this or that needs fixed or we need a new way to do something but they do not have the time to make those changes.

With a little more down time than you would probably like, now is the perfect time to give your employees “Innovation Freedom.” Take the time with your team to brainstorm what is the most exotic idea they can come up with—no holds bar! Anything is fair game! Simply make list after list of these ideas, making sure to write them all down. Covering the room in ideas should be your goal. Even if the idea is just a joke, it will spur creativity later.

After your team takes a long break, dinner and drinks or overnight, get back together and go through the list with the focus of “Which of these ideas, in a perfect world could we implement into our business?” Again keep in mind that we are still focusing on the ideas, not the solutions. People will naturally start to gravitate toward implementing these ideas, but it is critical to refrain from that right now. The purpose of this step is to talk further about each idea and how it can revolutionize the industry, the business and your employees.

By now you have probably narrowed the list down to at least half if not further. Here is where you go through the list again with a small dose of reality. Get your team focused on three questions for each idea: Is it relevant to our industry? Honestly, is it new? and the most important question, Are we jazzed about it? Using those three questions will narrow the list down to a handful of innovative ideas. The one(s) you choose to implement are up to you, but I recommend that you implement the ones that your employees are the most excited about. By standing behind your employees and empowering them to actually make a difference in themselves, the business and the industry; you will have a winning recipe for success.

Mel DePaoli is the president and founder of Omicle located in Seattle, WA. She is also interviewing companies for her upcoming book series Brand or Culture: Which Comes First. Please visit www.omicle.com for more information about how Omicle can become your Catalyst for Discovery and www.brandorculture.com to get involved in the Brand or Culture Debate! Ms. DePaoli can be reached at mel@omicle.com.