IQudo Ideation Survey II
NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, APRIL/MAY 2015
In April and May 2015 we conducted two surveys to determine where, when and how creativity thrives. We interviewed 508 people from a cross-section of professions in a pre-study in New York/Manhattan and 502 in San Francisco.
Key findings San Francisco: 83.7 percent of the respondents do not have their best ideas on the job. Three out of the top four reasons they gave are related to time constraints, such as too many distractions, no time and stress. This finding bears out studies showing that time is seen as a barrier to creativity. However, one in six survey respondents does, in fact, get their best ideas on the job.
People that DO NOT have their best ideas at work
418 People
Group A / Job-Uninspired
People that DO have their best ideas at work
84 People
Group B / Job-Inspired
The key to creativity: Inspiring Co-Workers!
When asked, "Why do you have your best ideas on the job?" the respondents cited the following reasons:
Almost half of the 84 respondents (47.7) cite "inspiring co-workers" as the number one reason for their on-the-job creativity. The second highest factor is "creative atmosphere" (29.1) and then "creativity is required." (27.9). Surprisingly, for most of the job inspired in San Francisco, time plays a minor role; "Time to ponder" came in fourth place only (20.9). (Multiple answers possible.)
How to be creative on the job
Nowadays, leaders often focus on creating the best workplace on earth. Yet, a number of today‘s global IT behemoths started out in garages. Creativity thrived in these startups even though they were located in workplaces that were anything but fancy. What drove their creativity was the trust between the co-workers, the passion they shared, and their ability to inspire and be inspired by each other, plus the fact that creativity was required for the company‘s survival and growth. Time, on the other hand, was almost never on their side.
The IQudo Ideation Survey 2015 results indicate that it is up to leaders to foster collaborative relationships, establish a creative atmosphere, demand creativity, and provide limited time to ponder. Leaders can stimulate creativity through "Field engineering." Field engineeringSM facilitates optimal mutual inspiration among co-workers and enables a creative atmosphere to thrive. For further information please review our Creative Leadership Training