The Deviant Approach to Creativity

At my last job, I had a collection of Freddy Krueger toys in my office. I had everything from the original 80s freddy glove to the bobble-heads to the rare limited edition statue to the motion activated one that said "Welcome to my nightmare" anytime someone came in my office. I just did it because I've been obsessed with the Nightmare on Elm Street movies since I was a kid (yes, my parents let me watch them as a kid and I am better for it) but it seems I may have been onto something regarding inspiring creativity.

Creativity is a vital component of our jobs and you can put yourself in an environment that fosters it. Most office environments, unfortunately, do just the opposite, by making you come to work in a shirt and tie and forcing your office to be a relatively sterile (and thus grossly uninspiring) environment. But a new study may give you ammo to get your boss to lighten up a bit. After all, most of us spend our days sitting in front of a computer screen rather than interacting with prospects or alumni. Jens Forster found that deviant imagery in your office (like the Sex Pistols poster you wish you could hang above your desk or :::ahem::: a Freddy Krueger collection) would promote divergent thinking. They divided their participants into two groups and had them come up with a strategy for using a brick while they were looking at posters of the letter X. One group had all the same color posters while the other had one X a different color than the other posters. The second group with the deviant X produced more ideas and exhibited a higher level of creativity.

The moral of the story? Don't be afraid to be a bit different and stray away from your typical "office space" mentality. Your boss might give you the evil eye at first, but you have a legitimate business reason for doing it!