“Creativity is not like the weather: You can do something about it.”
— John Kao, Jamming
Why do people say that they need a change of environment or some fresh air when they feel that they’re getting caught in a rut, a routine, stuck on a problem that they can’t seem to be able to solve? Because a new environment allows the mind to find new ideas and possibilities. By stepping into a fresh environment your senses are inundated with stimuli of all shapes and sizes. When new sensations collide with whatever happens to be on your mind, you are literally forced to make thousands of new connections, to see hundreds of new possibilities.
Where do we create? Blogger and creative professional Peter Lloyd says that the ideal setting is “away from the workplace goofing off. Consistently creative people open their doors to all sorts of possibilities. The more possibilities they consider, the better their chances of letting in the wild idea that, combined with what they know and molded by their specific skills, makes an unmistakably breakthrough idea.
“In short, the creative process thrives on diverse and exotic stimulation. … The typical office discourages diverse stimulation. So creative people find it elsewhere.”
A Catalyst Ranch guest reclining on a chaise, playing with a rainbow Slinky toy
How to enhance your “elsewhere” and activate your attendees
Think about the amount of money that’s invested in bringing your clients off-site and the challenging objectives that are set. When you bring people off-site, irrespective of the reason, you want them to come with a fresh, open mind, receptive to new ideas. Just because it’s likely to be a hotel conference room doesn’t mean you’re doomed.
One way to open the mind and clear it of stale, preconceived notions is to disorient it. Disorientation is essential to creativity and new thought. Making a few changes or adding unexpected elements can achieve that. In his book, Think Out of the Box, Mike Vance describes a concept called the “Kitchen for the Mind” which is a room filled with creativity-stimulating objects and décor – a resource rich environment. It provides the ingredients to feed the mind and imagination. So, let’s do something about the room for your next meeting.
Meeting attendees exploring the Catalyst Ranch environment
1) If possible, select a space that lets you breathe
Consider the appropriate size for your meeting. Go with a larger room than you really think you’ll need for the day. Give people room to move around. The smaller the space, the more constrained the thinking – weigh the cost against the consequences of claustrophobic thought. Windows that let in natural light make a world of difference.
2) You can disorient and still make comfort a priority
Meet the basic human needs. It seems obvious to state that if someone is hungry or cold, that that’s all they’re thinking about. Keep the room temperature slightly cool to keep participants alert, but not so cold that they’re uncomfortable. Same thing goes for food. Provide bowls of candy on the table and a supply of fun snacks (make sure it’s a mix of healthy and decadent).
3) Forget “Looks aren’t everything.” Looks are a lot
How should the room feel? At a minimum, make the room visually stimulating. Anything you do, no matter how small or silly, to make the room feel less like a dull, drab conference room, will go a long way towards setting the proper mood. And the proper mood is one of fun and play.
Every main area and breakout table is set with engaging toys and objects
4) Above all, encourage play
Da Vinci, Edison, Einstein and Picasso all loved to play and they loved to explore. Their passions resulted in genius. Michael Michalko attributes Disney’s success to “his ability to draw out the inner child in his business associates and combine it with their business acumen.” Michalko advises play because it relaxes tension in a group and leads to less “fixation and rigidness” and therefore, more spontaneous output.
In his book, How To Get Ideas, Jack Foster lists having fun as his first suggestion on how to get the mind into idea-condition. His experiences in the creative departments of advertising agencies showed that the best ideas came from the teams that were having the most fun. To Doug Hall, the author of Jump Start Your Brain, “Fun is Fundamental! There’s no way around it. You absolutely must have fun. Without fun, there’s no enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm, there’s no energy. Without energy, there are only shades of gray. It’s a law of creativity physics.”
“Serious people have few ideas. People with ideas are never serious.”
— Paul Valery
Make play within arm’s reach. On every table, provide one or two imagination-stimulating objects, such as Play-doh, pipecleaners, games and brainteasers. Bring in some funny hats. Throw in a hula-hoop. During breaks and meals, instead of merely “chill beats,” play music that invokes memories and movement.
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Spoiler alert: all these action items are mainstays of Catalyst Ranch. While we take pride in providing an entirely immersive creative space (one that even Eventbrite has singled out as a favorite venue in Chicago), we want you to get great results in your meetings wherever you may be.
Take these pointers to heart and your team’s liberating “elsewhere” can be closer than you expect.
Click here to learn more about offsite meetings at Catalyst Ranch.
