Russell Bell: Creativity and problem solving the way out for struggling business

A Facebook personality test told Russell Bell something he always knew - he's the creative type. Photo / 123RF

OPINION

There was a 'test' floating around on social media recently. A picture was shown and then you were asked to respond in terms of what colour you see in the picture. On the basis of the colour that you reported a determination was made as to whether you were a left or right-brained person – creative or otherwise.

So many grains of salt must be applied to these 'tests' - which amount to little more than clickbait (probably so that scammers in Nigeria can 'market' to you rather than ring you in the middle of the night to tell you your computer is not working). Anyhow, I clicked and got the result (by seeing the colour pink in the picture) I was a creative person.

Now, I pretty much already knew this and (given that I am colour-blind) there is also potential that my result could be skewed in that direction anyway. Throughout my entire career I have had friends and colleagues alike tell me that I "have missed my calling in life". Unfortunately, these helpful and appreciated comments don't end by revealing to me just what that "calling" actually is/was!

Creativity is an interesting thing, a lot of it is in the eye of the beholder but also it exists in each of us to different degrees. For me, over the years, there have been many creative outlets from theatre-sports and forming a 'mock' rock band called "The Travelling Wannabes" in the '90s to today's musical interests (written about in previous columns).

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I have always wondered, though, why creativity is only recently being actively promoted and encouraged in business circles. Back in the day, when I started working in what could best be described as rigid hierarchical structures, there was a definite message that you were there to perform pre-ordained structured tasks. Over the years that has changed and, given my propensity for creativity (Facebook test results or not), I have actively pushed myself into roles and projects which are more about ideas and future improvement than analysis of the past.

And it is creativity and problem solving which will get many businesses through the challenges we have ahead of us. On the weekend, we braved the cyclone to have dinner at the Citadel and support a great Whanganui business. What struck me was that they and others in customer-facing businesses will be calling on all of their creativity to deal with the restrictions placed on them by the Government. You will note that I haven't mentioned the virus here.

And in working with other businesses and other sectors right now, there is much concern about supply chain, worker availability and maintaining health and safety on site (for visitors as well as their people). This is being exacerbated by a lack of access to RAT tests.

Clearly, we need to plan for the impact of restrictions intended to "flatten the curve", it is therefore crucial that your creative team members are identified and given a chance to channel their talents into developing response strategies. Out of that may come an idea that becomes crucial to your future success. Take time (or should I say, invest time) to identify them and give them the chance to think outside the square.

And finally, and I am unapologetic about being a broken record here, keep supporting our local hospitality and retail sectors with your business. They need our support more now than ever before.