Why Breaking the Routine Can Inspire Creativity

By: Pete Holtermann, @HolterMedia

When I was a kid, the sleep a night before a field trip was second only to the night before Christmas in terms of futility.

I couldn’t fall asleep. When I was asleep, it was fitful at best. Then up early and ready to go.

I loved field trips, so field trips are now part of the standard operating procedure at HolterMedia.

The reason why I couldn’t sleep before a field trip as a kid was I had this influx of energy simply from the opportunity to do something out of our regular routine.

That type of energy is important to bring today to brainstorming sessions, which is why I try whenever possible to take those out of the office.

It’s so easy to get bogged down with the details of our day-to-day. I think it’s very important to jolt ourselves out of that in order to really inspire creativity.

Our next field trip will be in early May when we head down the street for the Players Championship.

This is a dual purpose field trip. Any opportunity to attend another sporting event is a valuable chance to see what others are doing and come away with some ideas.

The focus, however, will be brainstorming. We’ll find a spot on the course to sit (most likely the signature par three 17th) and open our brainstorming notebook. We’ll start with blank pages, save for page headers representing different projects.

Then we’ll let the ideas flow.

A brainstorming session can be used to come up with ideas for really any aspect of the sports business. For us, it’s usually related to digital content. There are no limits, however. From sponsorship activations, to premium items, to in-venue entertainment, and new sales targets; you name it. Any piece of your business that requires fresh ideas can be on the agenda when you brainstorm.

There are two very important keys for any brainstorming session:

– Write down absolutely everything, even the most absurd. Not only does this encourage your team to not feel intimidated to suggest an idea in the group setting, but you also never know what can come of an idea with some development later on.

– That development part, it’s got to wait. Let the brainstorming session be all about ideas. There will be time later to worry about feasibility and to sort out the details. A brainstorming session is not that time.

In the sports business, no two days are the same. Yet, it’s very easy to settle into routines and get very busy just trying to keep your head above water between games.

Get your team to a coffee shop, café, mini golf course, batting cage, whatever. Step away from that day-to-day environment for an energy boost and, hopefully that change of scenery will result in greater creativity for your brainstorming as a result.

Pete is the President & Founder of @HolterMediaInc You can follow him on Twitter here!