The next VDTA/SDTA Convention & Show will be in
New Orleans, LA
February 27 - 29, 2012
at the Ernest Morial Convention Center

Business Corner

Creativity during tough times

As companies try to stay afloat in a choppy economy, employees are being pushed for new ideas. However, managers would be wise to consider the studies conducted by Teresa Amabile, professor at Harvard Business School and head of its Entrepreneurial Management Unit. She has explored creativity for nearly 30 years and her comprehensive research has uncovered some myth-defying facts:

• Money and rewards don’t inspire creativity.
• Tight deadlines and pressure to produce don’t foster innovation.
• Competition doesn’t induce creativity.
• Neither sadness nor fear fuel creative breakthroughs.

In order for creativity to blossom, workers need to feel deeply engaged in their projects, skilled enough to accomplish them, and free of negative influences -- unnecessary distractions, politics, resource roadblocks and unwarranted critical feedback.

Reprinted from Central Vac Professional, January 2009