Creativity, innovation, and productivity all have value. Creativity is the ability to generate original and unique thoughts and ideas. Innovation can be described as the ability to produce *useful* thoughts, ideas, and products that provide value. Productivity is a measure of performance related the work being done and the output of that work. How might we invest in each of these three ideas to encourage sustainable success & growth?

Creativity

Creativity is the ability to generate unique thoughts and ideas. It’s the ability to think outside of the box and approach challenges from unique perspectives. Creativity provides the initial spark of inspiration and allows individuals and organizations to differentiate themselves. Creativity encourages originality and fosters a culture of experimentation. Creativity is what drives innovation, and without it, innovation is limited. If innovation becomes limited, productivity can become stagnant. Without creativity, unique solutions to new and existing challenges will be approached the same way they have been. Creativity is what drives the ability to provide new solutions.

Even with all of these advantages of creativity, it’s often viewed as a waste of time, getting in the way of productivity. When there’s work to be done, creativity often feels like a distraction or even a luxury. Creativity is difficult to measure, as there are not necessarily immediate outcomes that can be measured.

Innovation

Innovation is the process of transforming creativity into practical outcomes that provide value. Innovation involves implementing new approaches, technologies, or processes that improve products, services, or operations. Progress is dependent on innovation. Innovation enables individuals and organizations to adapt to changing markets, helps create a competitive edge, and even helps individuals and organizations to carve out niches to be successful within. Innovation harnesses the power of creativity and creates tangible results. Without a focus on innovation, creativity is marooned. Without innovation, productivity lacks transformative impact.

Innovation also requires risk. Risk aversion creates an environment where innovation is not regularly and systematically pursued. Risk averse individuals and organizations prefer to stick to familiar methods and approaches, generating familiar results. Innovation also requires change, which can be unsettling and difficult for individuals and organizations. If a culture is not committed to, familiar with, and comfortable with innovation, it may be difficult to shift that culture. Innovation is also a little more simple to measure, as project reviews can often uncover innovation. Innovation is also typically a goal of many projects, so it can often be achieved in some way or another, even of not immediately measurable.

Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficient and effective use of resources to accomplish tasks and outcomes. The focus on outcomes makes productivity easier to measure, and so is typically the focus of growth and change initiatives. Productivity ensures the usefulness of innovation through measured outcomes. Productivity is often *how* the work gets done. Without it, creativity and innovation are only concepts without real world impact or outcomes.

A high degree of focus on productivity often creates burnout and stress. An intense focus on productivity can lead to a culture of overwork. The constant pressure of productivity has negative effects on mental and physical well-being. A hyper focus on productivity also inhibits creativity and innovation. This creates an culture where exploring new ideas and out-of-the-box thinking are not only stifled, but discouraged. This hinders growth and competitiveness. This thinking leads to a loss of strategic thinking and planning.

Creativity, Innovation, and Productivity as a Process

These three elements shouldn’t be viewed as separate entities, Instead, they should be recognized as elements that conspire to form a process that results in a culture with inspiring impact. These three elements are all interconnected, reinforcing each other. They empower the people, processes, and tools responsible for achieving organizational and individual goals.

Creativity generates ideas, innovation turns those ideas into a useful reality, and productivity drives the efficient execution of those ideas. Implementing a balanced approach helps each of these three elements both thrive on their own and contribute to growth and success.

A Framework for Blending Creativity, Innovation, and Productivity

The question remains, how might we ensure that these three elements both exist independently and work together for the good of an individual or organization? The answer to this lies in the framework in how you approach your work. While this approach can be generalized as a framework, the implementation has to be contextual to you or or organization. Creativity, Innovation, and Productivity must be considered at each level in your framework.

• Vision: Your vision should be inspiring. Your vision will help guide your implementation of this framework.
• Goals: You goals should be in alignment with your vision and be broad in nature. Think of them more like compass directions. You ideally want to stick to just a few, or even just one major goal. When you’re building your goal(s), consider how creativity, innovation, and productivity can positively impact you or your organization. Does the consideration of these three elements affect your goals?
• Objectives: Your objectives will be how you measure your progress towards your goals. These are measurable or experiential and should be aligned with your goals. When building your objectives, consider how creativity, innovation, and productivity impact the types of objectives that you set.
• Strategies: Strategies are the ideas that will help you to achieve your stated outcomes. When building your strategies, consider how creativity, innovation, and productivity will affect which strategies you choose to implement.
• Tactics: With your strategies in place, you can now list the actions that you’ll take that support your strategies. Tactics are finite. They’re able to be added to lists and calendars and checked off. If you’ve considered creativity, innovation, and productivity along the way, you should have tactics that are now focused on each of these areas as well.

This framework, with the consideration of creativity, innovation, and productivity, will help you to align your actions with strategies that support your objectives to achieve your goals to live into your vision in a balanced fashion.

Considerations

As you consider the impact of creativity, innovation, and productivity on your framework, take time to consider how they impact your people, processes, and tools as well. It’s not just in consideration of goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics. To make this practical, these three elements should also be considered at the levels where the work is done.

Key Takeaways

Creativity, innovation, and productivity are separate elements that, when combined, create a powerful approach to purposeful work. On their own, each element provides advantages, but also create challenges when the other two aren’t taken into account. When combined, they can inform a powerful framework for success.

Ultimately, the importance of each element depends on your individual or organizational goals and priorities. Your culture needs to value creativity, innovation, and productivity in order to implement them in a way that leads to positive results. Striking and sustaining a harmonious balance among these three elements can be a key to unlock sustainable success and growth.