Problem: Develop Your Career Potential

Spark Your Own Creativity Creativity is a vital part of every organization-and not just the whiz-bang, multimillion-dollar type of creativity.102 Even banal tasks can benefit from a new approach: An office assistant may think creatively about how to manage the company's fi ling system or figure out a simple way to keep track of who is in and out of the office. A Chicago company called Inventables has developed innovation kits-boxes containing disparate items to spark creativity-which it sells to clients like Procter & Gamble and Motorola four times a year. The idea is that designers and engineers will be inspired by tinkering with the contents of the kits. You don't need Inventables to become inspired, however. Nor do you have to wait for your company to develop a creative work environment before you can become creative. You can spark your own creativity and think "outside the box" on your own. Eureka! Ranch, a Cincinnati-based innovation consultancy company, uses toys to help adults remember how to be imaginative, and its long client list of Fortune 500 companies is a testament to founder Doug Hall's methods. Another company, Mindware, specializes in educational activities and toys that can help adults regain access to their imaginations. Just looking through its catalog of erector sets, science sets, puzzle books, strategy games, and tangrams may be enough to get your juices flowing.

Activities: 1. Visit eurekaranch's website and search for the audio clip of what the company does and how it does it. Listen to the clip. What do you think of the three dimensions of creativity?

2. At the Eureka Ranch website, find the page on Brain Brew. What is Brain Brew Radio? Is it available in your area? If it is, consider listening to it once a month to hear the creative ideas that people across the country are working on.

3. Visit mindwareonline's website and peruse some of the products the company sells. Which products do you find most appealing? If it's in your budget, order one of the items as a tool to help you develop and refine your creative side.