How can you balance the need for creative business ideas and productivity in the workplace?

From the way the question is worded, it seems that you think creativity and productivity in the workplace are two separate things.  I see them as connected, interrelated, and that ultimately both are needed to get the desired work results.

Let’s start with Webster’s definition of creativity—the original idea, the spark.  Artistic or intellectual inventiveness; imaginative or the original thought.”  An important point here is that the terms ‘creative’ and ‘artistic’ are very often considered the same, even interchangeable, and that’s not necessarily true.  While artists are certainly creative, other creative thinkers/problem solvers might not be artistic at all.

When we have work projects to be completed or problems to be solved, it can possibly be done with solutions that have worked before, sticking with the familiar, the tried and true.  But if they don’t work, if we find ourselves stuck; then a new approach (creativity), is needed. Using creativity in a work setting is about seeing what everyone has seen but you’re seeing it from a different perspective.  Creative business ideas involve bringing an unexpected twist to the situation and changing the way things are usually done. 

One way to get different perspectives is for you to brainstorm new approaches by yourself or gather your team together for a brainstorming session. If you or your team can’t seem to get out of your usual way of thinking, bring in an HR professional, internal consultant, or professional facilitator in to guide the process.  

The purpose is to quickly generate and write down as many ideas as possible, no matter how wild and crazy or practical they may be, while completely avoiding judging and evaluating ideas at this point.  And see what you come up with.  You may have solved your problem or triggered some ideas that will lead to a fresh and effective solution.

Effective solutions are types of productivity.  Productivity in the workplace is about getting things done, reaching the desired goals, and doing so with the available resources and within the given time constraints.

When managers and co-workers think of creativity as generating unrealistic ideas without practical application in the workplace, then there can be a bias against being creative.  Accounting departments may not understand what creativity is and be suspicious of employees wanting to be creative. (Isn’t creative accounting illegal?!) It is foreign territory to them.  

Yet developing new, effective systems may be a desired result (you just don’t have to say you used creative business ideas to accomplish the result!).  And just as accounting and engineering departments or companies may not have environments that are typically considered creative, some environments like marketing departments, advertising agencies and Montessori schools are expected to be creative.

So if you are someone who likes to use creativity in the workplace and don’t feel that you can, or not as much as you want to, you may want to carefully consider several questions:

• Are you doing the creative work that you want to do?
   
• Can you find a way to be more creative in your present work situation?
   
• If not, is it important enough to you to find another work environment or another type of work?

While these are not easy questions to answer, they can lead you to find or create a work situation that is deeply satisfying.  You may be able to see new ways to incorporate more creativity into your current work situation (a thought-provoking book is: Love It Don’t Leave It: 26 Ways to Get What You Want at Work by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans), find another organization that values creative business ideas more or start your own business.