By Ken Gasque
It has been during the toughest times that humans have been the most creative. Out of the dark ages came the renaissance. “The human race built most nobly when limitations were greatest. Frank Lloyd Wright.
Some of our toughest times have been disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes. We had the event and then we did the cleanup. And we got back to our routine. This crisis is different... You have time. Time to think, imagine and dream. Time to ask great questions..
Get outside the box and ask theoretical questions like, “What would Obi Wan Kenobi do?” or “What would Indiana Jones do?” Or if you prefer a real-life, character Winston Churchill, what would he do?
What you want to do is take a character with their certain characteristics or qualities that you can use as inspiration for new ideas. (Whether or not the person or thing concerned actually does embody those qualities in real life is irrelevant. Perception is reality.)
These characters or models can be people or things that you like or admire. The point here is that they embody a set of qualities that may or may not exist in your business today. Obi Wan Kenobi taught the importance of working with the force—being patient—having positive energy as opposed to negative.
When Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, it was the darkest of times. Instead of forming a war cabinet of his supporters he formed a war cabinet of his opposition and critics. He felt if he could sway them to think as he did, he would be on the right track. His self-confidence was his greatest asset. Even though he had suffered some tremendous defeats earlier in his career he did not let self-defeating thoughts creep into his thinking.
Now is a time for learning. With all of the free libraries and online courses available you can pick your poison. Can a self-directed course in world history lead to innovation? It is always said “We have to learn from the past or continue repeating the same mistakes.” Or maybe it is a good time to read The Art of War by strategist Sun Tzu. (It has been around for 2500 years, so it must have something of value.)
What about “if’ing”? What IF... every Thursday we only did barter, no cash or credit transactions. What IF... we gave stickers to customers to do our advertising—“Post where you must!” What IF... We ask customers, “What if...?”
No matter what the problem, it is our ability to stay calm and adapt to the changes we are facing that will see us through and help us find solutions. Keep calm and carry on with your greatest tool, your imagination.
About Ken Gasque
Ken Gasque is a brand developer—a professional marketer with a design background. Ken works with small companies and Fortune 500 companies who recognize the need to differentiate their products and services in a cluttered market. Ken is a highly visual, outside-the-box-thinker on advertising, branding and marketing. Ken writes a blog and lectures on brand and brand development. To learn more, visit www.Gasque.com