We’ve all heard the term "thinking out of the box" and as worn out as those five words are, it really is a good goal to have if you’re trying to incorporate change into your firm. One problem in accomplishing this feat is getting the brain ready to actually go into the realm of the creative. In fact, preparing to think creatively is often a step that’s overlooked in the whole creative process.

If you want to encourage yourself and your staff to work creatively or focus on developing an alternative perspective in working on a new service or product, remember to encourage them to work as a team. Take the individualistic aspect out of your situation and sit your staff down together to work on a collaging project.

Wait, before you start thinking this is something that only kids are supposed to do, remember how creative your children are and ponder on how they got that way. They work on creative projects such at collaging at school. Thus, the imagination is triggered and encouraged to step beyond our own self-inflicted boundaries.

Before you balk at the idea, remember that what you are asking of yourself is uncomfortable. Thinking out of the box means doing things you wouldn’t normally do. So if you want to get creative, ignore your discomfort, dig into that paste pot and start collaging!