Managing for Creativity : A company’s most important asset isn’t raw materials, transportation systems, or political influence. It’s creative capital—simply put, an arsenal of creative thinkers whose ideas can be turned into valuable products and services.
The rest of the article contains some very good quote on what I have personnally so much often in the industry, things that, if not implement, get me very upset and push me to leave the company when they accumulate. Basically, it can be resumed by:
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Good and challenging work is the primary motivation for creative people. Creativity is not about money but about self-accomplishment, peer recognition and greater achievement in their work domain.
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External hassles can be a very strong impediment to productivity, even when not related to the task at hand. Providing such services can have a very high ROI for your company. That's included both medical hassles (having medical services on job not only reduced the consultation but also increased prevention, reducing medical day off) and scheduling hassles (no meetings unless needed).
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Everyone is creative. The role of managers is not to dictate how to work, but to spark creativity among people. That's included suits that have to roll their sleeves and share the same eagerness to delve on the real work of day to day business, not just supervise it. Communication is also very important. Everyone should be able to give is input to any issue (I supposed here that disturbing people can be handled separately: I hate policy that impediment all people because of some abusers).
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Listen clearly to customers, not market studies. Direct contacts with the consumers, where is the consumer who's done the pitch, not the sale persons, is necessary to grab all the creativity coming from this part of a company ecology.