Are you being creative?

Back when I was in the Navy, I received one fitness report (aka performance evaluation) in which I had a lower rating for Creativity. At the time I was puzzled, why would I have to be creative? I was a low-level officer, just following the orders given to me. There wasn't any room for creativity in my job.

It took me a while to realize that in any job you should be bringing creativity. Following the rules is not enough. You need to use your creativity to change, improve, and maybe break the rules in order to improve the organization.

This isn't always easy. You have to make the time to come up with creative ideas. On a recent project of mine, I was so busy going to meetings, responding to emails, and just getting tasks done that I wasn't being very creative, so I got into the habit of reflecting on the day after I got back to my hotel room each night and thinking about what I could have done that I didn't even have time to think of during my busy day. That became the first task on my list for the next day, so I could get to it before things got to crazy.

So where can you be more creative? Take some time at the end of your work day to think about this.