Be-Attitudes of Successful Leaders #5

In the 4th Be-Attitudes of Successful Leaders we talked about being visionary. If you missed it, you can read it here. The 5th and final Be-Attitude of Successful Leaders is:

Be creative. We talked about being visionary now let’s talk about creativity. When I say be creative, I am not saying go take a painting class, cook or dig in the garden although these are all fun activities that I enjoy and I encourage others to develop their creativity in a variety of ways. Creativity in business is about two things: offering information and ideas in new ways that people have not experienced before and problem solving. Something the visionary knows is that you can sell the same product as someone else, but you have to do it in a way the looks, feels, smells, sounds and tastes different. Have you looked in the freezer aisle lately at how many different brands of vanilla ice cream that you can buy? Not all vanilla ice cream is created equal, neither is chocolate or butter pecan or other popular flavors. When I think of ice cream, I think of two brands that stick out for me: Bluebell Ice Cream which is a Texas-made product and Ben & Jerry’s. They are both memorable for their marketing and for making themselves appear unique in a very crowded marketplace. Think Chick-fil-A and their cow campaign. Who doesn’t giggle and smile when they see a commercial or billboard with cows holding up Eat mor chikin signs? The cows even have their own names and website biographies.

Questions to ask yourself: Where can you be creative in your marketing, messaging and delivery of your products?

Where can you be creative in your problem solving? Not every problem gets solved the same way. We will not get new results if we keep repeating the same actions over and over.

Sometimes stepping away from a problem is the best way to find a solution “ dig in the garden, go for a walk, take a nap, dance to your favorite music, pray, whatever works for you. Free your mind to roam and I guarantee a solution is more likely to appear than if you keep attacking it with a battering ram. Be willing to listen to possible solutions from those around you: friends, employees, your spouse, a colleague. Get fresh input and be willing to make changes.