Catherine Courage’s TED Talk is informative and thought-provoking on ways a company can promote a culture of creativity. The environment is the first element contributing to creativity. This means that organizations are supposed to provide a work environment that encourages people to engage in creative and critical thinking. Such an atmosphere supports brainstorming and innovation. Microsoft is an example of a company that provides an environment for creativity due to the strong teamwork at the organization.
The second element of promoting creativity is experiments. Companies should encourage their employees to participate in experiments to promote a culture of creativity. When individuals are afraid of trying new things because they fear failure, it undermines creativity. Individuals like Thomas Edison conducted several failed experiments before finally succeeding (Courage, 2012). Developing and using prototypes to experiment is an effective way of promoting creativity. The video provides the example of IDEO as one of the companies that have been successful through experimentation.
Lastly, Courage emphasizes the need to use storytelling to foster creativity. Storytelling is an essential component of creativity because stories can inspire and persuade. Stories have the power to tap into people’s emotions and passion and bring ideas to life. Courage uses the example of GE Healthcare, where a doctor shared his experience with young people’s worries and discomfort before an MRI (Courage, 2012). This led to the development of a child-friendly MRI system.
An example of a company that applies the above elements of creativity is Tesla Motors. This company has established an environment that promotes creativity because it embraces employees’ ideas from any level (Bilbeisi & Kesse, 2017). The company believes the best idea can come from any of its teams. Additionally, the company embraces a culture of trust and responsibility where each member is entrusted with specific tasks. The element of experiments is fostered by the company’s continuous innovation of new and more sophisticated electric vehicles.
References
Bilbeisi, K. M., & Kesse, M. (2017). Tesla: A successful entrepreneurship strategy. Morrow, GA: Clayton State University, 1(1), 1-18.
Courage, C. (2012). Igniting creativity to transform corporate culture: Catherine Courage at TEDxKyoto 2012 [Video]. YouTube. Web.