How to Find Cost Savings (and More) Through Deliberate Creativity

Recently, I heard the story of a GM plant in New York who were struggling to fix a machinery issue that was slowing down production and losing their plant almost $40,000 per week—that’s nearly $1.5 million dollars a year! But then, during a single short meeting, they found a simple and affordable solution.

How? They used creativity! In the technical world of manufacturing, creativity isn’t always our focus. But when you and your team take the time to learn and apply deliberate creativity to your everyday processes, it can transform your entire organization and guide you toward stronger solutions to many common problems, from losing money on machinery issues to dysfunctional team dynamics.

To bring more creativity to your own organization, here are a few ways to shift your mindset and unlock your team’s true potential.

1. Think of Creativity as a Process

Like many people, you might see creativity as a gift or talent, or something you simply have or don’t have. But anyone can be creative! Creativity is a skill that can be learned and taught and isn’t just about having an artistic talent. Creativity is a system that teams can learn to implement to achieve consistent, innovative results. By working with your team to create and implement intentional and repeatable processes, you can find new, creative solutions to your everyday challenges on the floor.

2. Focus on Three Factors for Deliberate Creativity

To unlock your team’s creative potential, focus on three key factors:

Team purpose. Clarity regarding your team’s purpose or mission is essential for prioritizing and creative decision-making.
Team dynamics. Trust, communication, and constructive conflict all play a big role in fostering creativity.
Creative process. Teams need a structured process for generating and implementing innovative ideas.

3. Start with Small Shifts

While shifting your mindset and your processes to allow for more creativity, don’t forget it’s okay to start small! Since creativity is a learnable skill, it’s okay to start with small steps. For example, start with thinking about your everyday language and how you can change your communications to include more curiosity and creativity. Even small shifts like this can open deeper conversations and guide your teams into thinking beyond traditional, more technical solutions.

Learn More on the Podcast

You can learn more about creativity in manufacturing on a recent episode of the Mindfulness Manufacturing podcast, featuring incredible guest Dr. Amy Climer! With a Ph.D in Leadership and Change, Dr. Climer is a speaker, trainer, and coach who teaches teams how to innovate on demand. She is the author of Deliberate Creative Teams: How to Lead for Innovative Results written to help leaders understand how to increase creativity in their teams.

In this new episode, Dr. Climer shares more the stories and insights behind her new book, plus delves deeper into about why deliberate creativity is the key to driving improvement, cost savings, and more at your manufacturing plant. To listen to her episode, click here.

Mindfulness Manufacturing

Our show is about providing listeners with real stories that come from a place of experience, transparency, and authenticity. Most importantly it’s about what we learn from these stories and applying Mindfulness in our everyday work and personal lives.
Our intention is to create an environment where people can learn through open honest discussions on how we apply Mindfulness. Although our experiences and stories come from time in a manufacturing environment hence the title “Mindfulness Manufacturing”, we still see our discussions and topics relatable to any organization or profession.

In manufacturing, we’re all familiar with stress. But did you know that a lack of challenges and too much comfort can also have a negative impact on your health, mindset, and productivity? This is the core concept Paul Taylor presents in his great book Death by Comfort: How Modern Life is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It. As a former British Royal Navy crew member and a current Ph.D. candidate in applied psychology, Paul has in-depth knowledge about stress, resilience, and performance.

In this episode on stress, comfort, and psychological safety, Paul draws from his own experiences and research to delve deeper into why discomfort and challenging situations build confidence and resilience, plus shares some of his favorite methods for rethinking how you perceive stress and engage with your team.

2:20 – In manufacturing, stress can be inevitable, so you need to find the right level of stress in your environment 3:36 – You can use principles from physical fitness and apply them to stress management 7:11 – To stay healthy and keep a productive mindset, you need to balance stress and recovery 11:54 – When you practice self-efficacy and do hard tasks, it builds your confidence 16:21 – Uncomfortable yet necessary conversations play a key role in workplace environments 17:38 – To change and improve how you give feedback and have challenging conversations, use the SBI (situation-behavior-impact) model 18:36 – Use the OARS model for motivational interviewing to encourage open questions, affirmations, reflective listening, and summarizing 24:58 – Take time to understand your purpose and the impact of your work 24:58 – Don’t overlook the role of accountability in psychological safety

Connect with Paul Taylor Visit his website Listen to The Paul Taylor Podcast Buy Death by Comfort on Amazon or at your favorite bookseller Read my book report on Death by Comfort