A Toolkit for Tending the Garden of Creativity

Good gardens—the kind that get written up in Boston or New York magazine lifestyle and travel articles—aren’t simply grown. They’re cultivated. Before even planting anything, much less harvesting, you must prepare the area by removing any debris or rocks. You need to loosen the soil with a tiller, or by digging by hand. If necessary, you should add in materials like fertilizer or lime. You might also need to aerate the soil to blend in the nutrients. You must remove any weeds so they don’t compete with your plants for water, nutrients and sunlight.

And then, once the seeds are planted, you have to water them regularly. All while also protecting your growing plants by, for example, avoiding digging too close to them and damaging their roots.

It’s similar when we’re trying to cultivate business innovation for ourselves, or our own teams.

Coming up with creative new ideas usually isn’t just a one-step process. It takes getting into the right mindset to innovate in the first place. And then once you’re there, preserving those conditions so you can keep reaping the benefits month after month, year after year.

In an article for Harvard Business Review, Soren Kaplan outlines the elements of what he calls an “innovator’s mindset.” Kaplan is author of “Experiential Intelligence.” A book released in 2023 that emphasizes the importance to business success not merely of what people have learned over time but how they perceive challenges, view opportunities and tackle goals.

Kaplan is also the founder of management consultancy InnovationPoint, and an affiliate at the Center for Effective Organizations at USC’s Marshall School of Business.

An innovator’s mindset can be achieved through three steps, according to Kaplan: embracing curiosity, fostering continuous learning and encouraging open collaboration.

Curiosity fuels innovation, Kaplan says, by encouraging you to question the status quo and explore new possibilities. Proactive inquiry and a sense of wonder when approaching tasks, including tedious ones, can lead to novel solutions to existing problems. And result in process improvements, product innovations and new business models that can significantly advance your organization’s success.

An example Kaplan points to is Netflix. Todd Yellin, while still a relatively unknown analyst, took on the seemingly mundane task of enhancing the platform’s user interface.

But instead of simply tweaking visuals, Yellin got curious. He started tracking customer behavior, including what they watched, how long they watched, what they watched next and what time of day they were watching.

The insights ultimately led Yellin to reimagine how users interact with the Netflix platform. He would later spearhead the development of an algorithm that predicts and suggests content to people based on viewing history.

Another habit Kaplan recommends is continuous learning, whether in or outside of work hours. Dedicating time regularly to this purpose, such as an hour a week, can help ensure your skills and knowledge remain cutting edge. And enhance your ability to contribute to your organization, while also making you a more attractive candidate for advancement.

To foster this type of learning, professionals can explore news relevant to their area of expertise, Kaplan says. They can also attend networking events or conferences, or take online courses to complement current projects and extend skill sets. The more tools you have at your disposal, the easier it will be to adapt, shift directions and think creatively about how to problem solve when confronted with new challenges.

Outside of work, exploring new hobbies and gaining new experiences can also prove useful, according to Kaplan. Research shows that dabbling in creative activities can help us build new skills and boost our creativity on the job.

A third and final step Kaplan encourages is open collaboration. Professionals can create, for example, a monthly brainstorming session with their team or peers. Instead of hoarding ideas and working solo on projects, they can take the lead to help facilitate dialogue and feedback. Which will in turn set them apart as bridge-builders who recognize the importance of collaboration for innovation.

Keeping a weekly innovation journal to jot down ideas and reflections can also help in this area, according to Kaplan. Reflection allows you to assess your experiences, understand your thought processes and identify areas for personal and professional growth. This introspection can in turn reveal patterns, opportunities for innovation and areas where a change in approach could lead to better outcomes.

And when combined with other steps, just might help unlock more fertile courses of action.