Imagination is Crucial in Staying Relevant
In today’s demanding, fast-paced business arena, most of us are in a hustle to get a boatload of tasks in our to-do-list done on time.
However, in our pursuit to get things done, many neglect to set aside time to hone and develop one of our most viable assets - our IMAGINATION. While some people don’t consider business a creative endeavour, imagination is just as important in business as in other fields.
Research shows that imagination increases innovation and productivity. Researchers also found out that imagination and creativity are linked to successful entrepreneurship, intentional risk taking and the “fail fast” ideation process (Smart Business Magazine, 2018).
In my previous article, I wrote how imagination can change your world as it did to the world of the famous comic book writer, Stan Lee. In the same article, I also shared to you some tips on how you could hone that imagination of yours (If you haven’t read it, you can read it after reading this article).
In this article, I am going to point out the three main reasons why you, as a business owner and leader, should make it an utmost priority to hone yours’ and your employees’ imagination. Here are the reason’s why:
Imagination ensures your organisation stays relevant.
Keeping up with the latest trends and, being able to cater to your client’s ever-changing needs, is vital if you are to stay relevant in this V.U.C.A era of business. Failing to improve and update your services can make them irrelevant to your clients’ needs thus, making your clients have second thoughts about staying with you.
Imagination gives you foresight - the ability to look and think about the future - and the ability to think holistically of the best solutions for the worst probable situations in this volatile, uncertain, ambiguous, and complex marketplace.
Innovative entrepreneurs and business owners know that a little bit of imagination goes a long way in ensuring a business stays on the cutting edge and, for this reason, they give sufficient space for imagination to thrive in their organisation.
Imagination makes your organisation stay ahead of the competition.
If your organisation fails to stay relevant, then sad to say, you’ll soon be left behind by the competitors who are.
Organisations and businesses fail to grow and stay relevant simply because their owners don’t see the change that is needed to do so. Great business owners and organisation leaders, see their businesses for what they are, then imagine what they could eventually become. It’s this imagination that helps businesses like Facebook grow. Facebook was initially created for an exclusive group of college students but now, because of Mark Zuckerberg’s imagination, it has expanded to include a worldwide community of 500 million making Facebook one of today’s biggest leaders of the social media industry.
Imagination ensures your organisation retain great talent.
“Birds of the same feather flock together.” An organisation that gives importance to imagination, attracts, engages and retains talented team members. However, if your organisation’s environment remains stagnant and fails to grow, your talented employees - even your most loyal ones - may begin to entertain offers from your competitors.
Talented team members are engaged when they are placed in an environment that is innovative and open to new ideas. They do their roles with passion when they know their organisation gives importance to them using their imagination.
Indeed, IMAGINATION plays a big role in the success of any organisation.
So what are you waiting for? Make honing yours’ and your employee’s imagination a top priority on your to-do-list and be ready to become a leader in your industry!
In the work I do to develop 21st Century Neuroleaders, imagination is developed as one of the 16 Key Pillars. If this short article has spoken to you in any way, contact me today so we can discuss what support you need in this area of your life and leadership journey.
