7:30am Saint Paul Minn
Good morning,
I’m sitting down to work with a cool cup of coffee —my favorite— and a quiet house. My parents have the kids today and I’m hoping to get some good work done.
I have my laptop, my notebook and pencil, and my newest favorite album playing loud, ARC by Anthony Roth Costanzo (check it out here on Spotify or YouTube— it’s not for everybody).
Work, across the world, is starting to look very different for many people. Hours are cut as we try to balance our new home life with whatever we can accomplish remotely. Businesses are cutting back on expenses, resources are running low, costs are high, patience is thin.
Now, if necessity is the mother of invention, there’s nothing like a
good crisis to spark
a little creativity!
For example, my employer is planning an office move in a few months. As this economic shutdown continues, the plans for what we’re going to “buy new” vs. “bring with us” seems to change by the hour.
What was once assured budget is now flexible budget. What was once a must-have is now a phase-3-maybe.
We can’t buy our way out or rely on the old methods for the new space. We have to create new solutions from the remnants of the old, which requires that we’re creative in mixing the existing.
That’s the secret to creativity:
not something completely new,
but a new combination of existing ideas.
For all of us: the way you’ve always done something is no longer your expectation for the future. You’ll have to be creative in this period of discomfort.
Comfortable Complacency
When things are comfortable you rarely look for new solutions to old problems. You’ve solved them, you think, and you begin to look for new problems to solve.
You have to find new problems, generally, or new clients with the same problems. Rarely are you paid or recognized when things run well. (I should know — no one thinks much about the IT Department until something breaks.)
Now however, the world is topsy turvey. Every company is trying to find solutions to problems they thought to be solved.
Some people (and companies) will bury their heads, hoping for everything to pass.
Others will find new ways to solve problems and make themselves invaluable.
The first group will suffer as their competitors innovate around them.
We live in a time of tremendous opportunity, or a time of tremendous turmoil — it’s dependent on your outlook and mindset.
Look around you. What can you solve for others, demonstrating your value and increasing your influence?
Get yourself out there —digitally at least— and see where you can make a difference.
Jeffrey