In The Shower With Ray

<'In The Shower With Ray' photo excluded due to high possibility of massive unsubscription >

Discussing the year that was, over a beer with a couple of business owners before Christmas, they were commenting how the best ideas for their company had come, not from brainstorming in the boardroom but while making toasted sandwiches in the kitchen. A few days before this meeting I had been reflecting on where my best ideas were generated from and realised that they come mostly when my brain is not busy processing a million bits of information or trying to come up with good ideas. And one of those places is in the shower. For me, the shower is representative of environments where creative thinking comes quite naturally and where I have space for my thoughts to roam. I remember reading about the founders of Snapchat and how the idea was generated in their college days through discussions around sexting and in the midst of their alcohol fuelled parties. The idea that posted photos not coming back to haunt them seemed a great idea. They took the idea, developed it, took the company public and are now worth just a little more than the average person. Rod Judkins, in The Art of Creative Thinking, says, “Creativity isn't a switch that's flicked on or off; it's a way of seeing, engaging and responding to the world around you.” Elizabeth Gilbert, best known for her book Eat, Pray, Love says, "Ideas of every kind are constantly galloping toward us, constantly pass through us, constantly trying to get our attention." If you want a boost in creative ideas this year whether for your organisation or your own life here are a few thoughts:

• Give your mind some additional regular roam time
• Keep a journal handy to jot down the ideas that come to you
• Follow the best ideas through. This is the common failure point.
• If you have employees, create an anonymous suggestion box (to reduce any fear of a bad idea). This way, whenever they think of how the organisation could do things better or there are different opportunities to be pursued, they simply jot down the thought and drop it in the box. You could even go to giving a prize for the best idea of the month. (I am sure that the idea owner will put their hand up if there was a prize at stake).
• If you want to get your teams together for idea generation days, make sure it's in an environment that is conducive to creativity and freedom of thought

The Hungarian psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi stated, "Be open to what the world is telling you. Life is nothing more than a stream of experiences - the more widely and deeply you swim in it, the richer your life will be.” Some ideas will stick and if developed and followed through have the potential to be game changers. Others, (such as my thought about changing my blog site to www.intheshowerwithray.com.au) for the moment, need to wash down the plughole. May the year ahead be one of the long shower and game-changing thoughts.