WHAT WE BELIEVE
1. Creativity is for everyone
Everyone is born creative. Studies show that 98% of five year olds score at a genius level of creativity. But then something goes wrong. Whether it be the exam orientated schooling we’re forced through, or the pressures of a demanding boss, or the often grinding reality of life: we have creativity coached out of us. But we can relearn it. Because creativity is a process that can be taught. We believe that anyone can rediscover their inner five year old.
The tragedy is that many who have forgotten how to be creative get it into their heads that it was always so. They believe creativity is just for the special few. It certainly isn’t for them in theirjob. But no five year old ever said, ‘Hey don’t look at me for ideas: I’m just a numbers guy.’ We believe creativity is for everyone in your business. Why? Because creativity is simply the process of generating solutions to problems. And who doesn’t have problems?
2. Everyone can be confident
Confidence is a quality that we all want. It’s a quality that helps us take on big challenges, inspire others and overcome setbacks. But confidence can be elusive. We can be confident in one part of our life, but terrified in another. And that’s if we’re lucky. Confidence can sometimes look like a god given attribute dished out at birth: you either have it or you don’t.
But confidence isn’t a person. Confidence is a skill. It’s a set of thinking strategies about yourself, the moment and the world which can be learn’t. Which we think is pretty exciting.
3. Boring is a choice
People aren’t boring but people often do boring things at work. How often have you seen a really fun colleague do a really boring presentation? It’s such a waste of talent. But more than that, it makes no sense: do you think your colleague doing that presentation would appreciate being communicated to in that way? Of course not.
We often make safe, boring choices at work because we think that’s what it is to be ‘professional.’ And no one ever got fired for being professional. But we think the most professional communication choice you can make is the choice that has the most impact. We believe therefore that ‘professional’ is the exact opposite of boring. You’ve just got to be brave enough to choose it.
4. Being yourself is a competitive advantage
We believe that one of the main reasons that people don’t like coming to work is because they feel like they can’t be themselves. They have to wear a mask. They have to be a narrower, duller version of themselves. But we think that being yourself is a competitive advantage. Because bringing your whole self to work helps you have better, more authentic relationships with the people you work with. This doesn’t only boost your well-being. But deeper relationships lead to more trust at work; and it is this trust that inspires the collaboration that allows teams to do amazing things.
5. The key to problem solving is energy
Have you ever woken up with a terrible hangover and even the thought of making toast feels like an impossible endeavor? Conversely, have you ever been so juiced about an idea that you lost track of time? The difference between those two states is energy.
Energy is an intangible quality that changes your focus. The world can seem exciting or terrifying, depending on whether your blood’s pumping or you’re dead on your feet. Energy helps you see what’s possible and it gives you the rocket fuel to go make it happen. But what is energy? We think it’s a behavior. We think you can learn it.
