We’re all too busy, and the higher up the ladder we go, the more people who are clamoring to grab on to our feet. So CEOs are way too busy – but that’s life, and no excuse to not accomplish one of their primary functions – creating to communicate. Not just creating a vision and a culture, but fostering a climate of creativity in their companies and organizations. The lesson applies to all of us.

Problem #1:

CEOs are caught in the traditional academic, analytical, linear way of thinking. Facts and figures, financial pressures, decisions and tasks, people clamoring for decisions.

Solution #1

Expand the mind beyond your comfort zone – conduct personal brainstorming on problems – and even more so on blank slates of possibilities. Unfortunately we are seldom taught brainstorming in school, and there isn’t enough in business.

Here are the three rules of brainstorming:

1. Quantity not quality
2. Set a time limit of 3 to 5 minutes to force the mind to create fast
3. No pre-editing – let one idea trigger another. It is amazing what you can come up with in a short period of time, and there are ideas that you never would have thought in the traditional way of ‘creating.’ Brainstorming also prevents writer’s block (and message creating block.) Using Post-its when brainstorming is a cornerstone of the Decker Grid System™ in creating speeches, presentations and messages, but it can be used for all types of situations. Mind Mappingis another creative technique, which is most useful in taking notes.And there are new creative ways to open up our minds and find innovative solutions. I’m fascinated with the growing popularity of “tagging” in the Web 2.0 world, and I think there are very new and effective ways to communicate around this concept – more to come about that on this blog. (If you want to see a good example of tagging now, look at Curt Wehrley's site.)

   Problem #2:

   CEOs have other people create their speeches. Not good, although it is fine to have other people give feedback, do additional research, and augment the CEO's original ideas. The key point here is the CEO (and all of us) must originate our key points out of our passion if we want to be authentic and effective.

   Solution #2:

   Always create your own messages, use your own ideas. Be alert for stories, and other SHARP principles around those things that are important to the vision and direction of the company or organization. Jot down ideas continuously. Keep a humor notebook.

   Problem #3:

   With a few exceptions, the larger the organization, the more bureaucratic the mindset. And the stifling of creativity for new ideas. And too many CEOs are leading the bureaucracy, protected by underlings from the energetic hubbub of where the business (and vitality) is really happening.

   Solution #3:

   Lead the creative charge. Motivate others to create – continuously. Do this in these ways:

   • Cut down unnecessary meetings
   • Advocate brainstorming in regular meetings
   • Have unconventional offsite meetings
   • Create a culture of ‘is this the best we can do?’
   • Model creativity, not bureaucracy

   We mentioned Steve Jobs as the #1 communicator of 2005 for many reasons, but an additional one we did not mention is that he is always inspiring others to greater heights of creativity by saying, “Is that your final version?” That doesn’t mean he’s easy to work with, but it does mean people will search for the newer, more creative, best, innovative solution before they bring it to him. There’s a lesson here.

   It’s not easy being busy, but it’s just as easy being creatively busy as being boringly busy. Plus it’s more successful, and more fun!

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   This is the fourth of a series of The Five Mistakes CEOs Make, and How to Avoid Them. The first three:

   1. They read speeches

   2. They aren't storytellers

   3. They are too wooden

   4. They are not always creating.

   Next and final: CEOs aren't always communicating vision.