Who knew that physical positions mattered so much when it comes to generating novel, useful and profitable business ideas? Your feet, your hands and your use of space directly impact your fluency (how many ideas you can generate), flexibility (the sheer number of ideas) and originality.
In recent studies conducted at the University of Michigan and New York University, researchers demonstrated that your body guides your mind. Change your position, burst with creativity.
Here’s the measurable evidence submitted by Suntae Kim, Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks and Evan Polman in the New York Times on Sunday.
People walking around unrestricted while tasked to come up with original ideas for use of a common toy generated 25% more ideas than those who were forced to stay within a path marked by tape while doing the same assignment.
People who were instructed to alternate between two hands as they came up with new ideas for a use of a building generated 50% more novel ideas versus people who were told to use one hand only .
People sitting outside a cubicle came up with 20% more word associations (variations on the word “tape” for example, like worm or measure) than those sitting inside the cubicle.
For a long time we’ve known that objects impacted your perception of the environment – especially those around you. Carrying a warm cup of tea will generate more “wow, these strangers sure seem warm and hospitable” thoughts than an holding a piece of ice.
Now we know that where you are and what you are doing with your body can generate the billion dollar category busting innovations.
Would you like your personal brand to be seen as abundant, effective and overflowing with effective solutions?
Do this. Take a hike. Do a downward facing dog yoga move. Sit on the roof. Carry a lucky (fake) rabbit’s foot. Let the cubicle dwellers stare at their screens. Make your fortune.
