innovation keynote speaker
I’ve worked as an innovation keynote speaker for the past few years for big corporations and small businesses. And what I really love is what happens when people whose creativity has been stifled are given permission to be silly, goofy, and extremely creative.
Everyone has potential to be creative
I’ve worked with pharmaceutical companies, engineers, scientists, healthcare companies, hospitals, and banks as an innovation keynote speaker. I’ve worked with different age groups, different genders and personalities. And I’m always surprised by the amount of creativity and innovation they will come up with when they’re allowed to just let go and create. Even people who claim they’re not creative at all.
Here are some of the things I’ve learned from employees and management as an innovation keynote speaker:
Innovation isn’t always consistent
People are always excited about doing something fun. I tell the audience there are no wrong answers, and they’re allowed to be as wild and crazy as they want to be. But creativity is something that needs to be done consistently, though it’s usually not kept up once people go back to their cubicles. People tend to fall back into the “That’s the way it’s always been done” mode, and the fun, creativeness makes way for boredom and red tape. It happens all the time. Maybe people think that taking time out to be silly and coming up with wild, out of the box ideas, isn’t a good use of time. Until the company goes the way of Blockbuster or Kodak. I doubt the Royal Typewriter Company could never have imagined that they would be disrupted by innovation. In 1957 they had sold over 10 million typewriters and were riding high. Most companies don’t even think about innovating until it’s too late.
Employees will be creative if you let them
I do an improv exercise where I ask for a volunteer from the audience. Most people are hesitant to do it and look around to gauge a reaction from the boss. The most creative employees are the ones who are given lots of encouragement to say what they think. Creativity requires you to be able to say whatever you want without judgement. You have to be free to do that in the brainstorming room without being fired. Once the employees get the go-ahead, those employees who have been stifled start to come alive on stage. This is the kind of creative productivity managers could get from their employees if they allow them to let loose and do some free flow creativity every week.
People need incentive
I’ve had people come up to me after a speech and say that they really enjoyed it and would love to come up with more ideas at work. But they don’t because they aren’t rewarded for it. Good ideas don’t cost the company money until they’re implemented. And if an employee does come up with a brilliant innovative idea that would make the company money or save the company money, they should be rewarded. It doesn’t have to be much and it might not even be monetary. But at least they should recognize the employee for their achievements. Reward those creative types and they will continue to be a valuable asset to your company.
Jumpstart your creativity
The world needs more problem solvers and my mission is to turn as many people as I can into innovators. We can never have too many of them. Your company can never have too many of them. That’s why your company needs an innovation keynote speaker to jumpstart their creativity.
