Restrictive Thoughts and Their Impact on Business Performance
Creativity. One would think it would be welcomed within the context of earthly affairs, since its ultimate products make the world a better place to live. It all begins in the mind, after all, some stimulus generating a creative process of use to humanity. Yet, creative processes are often inhibited by restrictive thinking, emanating from internal (personal) sources, family or friends, the community and the institutions of the society at large, commercial, educational, legal and so forth.
Examples of restrictive thinking proliferate, ‘Mental Locks*’ that inhibit our creativity, not only because of their existence but through their prevalence as exemplars of safe, useful behavior. Among the most prominent are these non-starter ideas are: “Always obey rules”, “Be realistic”, “Play is for fools”, “Wrong answers are unacceptable at all times”, “Illogic costs money!”, “That’s not my specialty”, and “Ambiguity is useless in business.”
We frequently hear of schools restraining child creativity, because original thinking supposedly interferes with teaching basic skills to classes of students with varying abilities. Family and friends can discourage creativity because it may disturb the neighbors and, you know, “look funny.” The society encourages similar behavior for everybody, because these rules support large-scale stability and security. Businesses often seek approaches to strategy and implementation that build significantly upon past performance without encouraging innovation.
Restrictive thinking prevails because it maintains a level of past-success, in the short-term. At the same time, restrictive thinking discourages creativity and innovation. In your own company, you may hear such restrictive phrases as:
"Isn't it working fine just the way it is? Why change anything?"
"It seems like a good idea, but so many other things need to be done. What about all of them? Let's tread carefully here."
"We've been doing it this way for so long, we can't just change things now."
"If we start this, is it going to go well?"
"Is this done in other companies?"
Although these remarks may seem to reflect the sober, well-considered thoughts of loyal company-men, their impact on the organization’s creative processes are immeasurable. Their effect is to restrict development of innovative solutions to corporate problems, including finding and responding to new marketplace opportunities. Restrictive thinking restricts corporate growth.
It wasn't always so. Once, eons ago, when our ancestors had hardly learned to walk on two feet, restrictive thoughts had a very tangible value; they protected us from taking undue chances in an environment where large, ferocious predators were looking for dinner. Most of these prehistoric dangers have long ago been replaced by human predators, but our material world is far safer now. And while the "restrictive-thinking gene" - mostly warning us with some modification of “Unsafe there; don’t do that!” - remains in the human make-up, it is needed less to maintain one’s basic safety.
However, the gene will continue to surface when prompted and, since physical dangers are less frequent, may emerge in response to behavioral cues, particularly those suggesting non-conventional thinking and behavior. To this extent, the restrictive-gene may consider creativity dangerous, since it frequently induces the kind of non-conventional thinking and behaviors the mind may consider dangerous to personal (or enterprise) security. Some corporate cultures reflect this condition, subordinating creativity and impulses for innovation to maintain a secure, but unevolving, status quo.
Instead of saying: "We need these new ideas. Let's try them.", we too often hear:
"I have no problem with this, but I don't think my superior will allow it."
"Who's going to take responsibility for this if it goes wrong?"
"Its working fine just the way it is? Why do that?"
In business, as in other aspects of life, success or failure is a consequence of how a firm approaches strategic problems. Its ways of thinking are converted into the motivating force of corporate implementation and workflow. Restricted thinking is a primary culprit to enhanced performance; it can only generate constrained execution of strategy, causing in turn only limited success or even absolute failure.
Think of your own company. Can you identify restrictive thoughts that might be surfacing in board meetings or management conferences on strategic planning, in discussions among coworkers or directions from your superiors? Don’t be surprised if you do. These may indeed take the form of important business instructions from the top, or perhaps certain things you hear everyday in the break-room. If you record them, by making a list or keeping an online diary, you’ll discover how frequently restrictive thinking may emerge to discourage your own creativity or that of your firm.
Then, draw from your own resources and experiences. Empower yourself with the wisdom drawn from innovating and exploring your creativity, to develop solutions to corporate problems. Perhaps you can gently instigate a trend within your firm, at least to the point where entrenched methods are questioned and new suggestions welcomed.
*Reference
Oech, R.V. 1998. A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative. 3rd ed. New York: Business Plus.
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