When was the last time you used Zen at the office? Had an in-house massage? Prepared for a board meeting by switching on some music and singing along at the top of your lungs?

Bizarre as they sound, techniques such as these are practised by many executives with one goal in mind: boosting creativity. In the fast-paced, high-pressure arena of international business, creativity often spells the difference between bonus points and bankruptcy.

Traditionally, the ‘business brain’ was thought to be almost completely analytical – which is why business schools and colleges emphasize finance, accounting and statistics in their degree programmes. Yet studies begun in the late 1980s revealed that a purely logical approach could, in fact, hinder financial success. The reason? By using logic alone, executives realize only half their potential. They aren’t ‘in their right minds’ – or, scientifically speaking, in their right brains.

As Nobel prizewinner Richard Sperry demonstrated in the latter part of the 20th century, the human brain is made up of two halves, or hemispheres, which not only control different sides of the body but different thought processes as well. Analytical, mathematical abilities, including language and logic functions, take place in the ‘left brain’, while spatial awareness, response to art and music and overall perception are ‘right brain’ activities. Thus, creative thought – including the ability to innovate and literally ‘dream up’ solutions to problems – is a right-brain activity, one that is squashed if you spend all your time pouring over spreadsheets. What sets most successful businessmen and -women apart is the ability to switch between the two hemispheres, using the creative right brain as well as the left in problem-solving.

As Albert Einstein put it, ‘ When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.’ He was in good company. Many scientists and inventors, including Benjamin Franklin and Louis Pasteur, have relied on creative processes to help them in their analytical work.

So how does one gain access to this creative treasure-house? The answer is sublimely simple: relax. It’s no coincidence that many business people receive their best ideas while showering, driving to work, or taking a walk. Simple physical routines occupy the left brain, allowing the right brain, or ‘R-mode’, to operate without interference. Since the R-mode uses an holistic approach to information absorption – seeing the ‘big picture’ rather than  a piece-by-piece analysis – it often reveals a solution quicker and more accurately than the left brain.

Besides Eastern practices such as yoga or meditation, several easy relaxation techniques are ideal for office use, whenever a ‘right-brain break’ is needed:

    *Daydream: let your mind wander
    *Draw or doodle
    *Go for a walk
    *Do isometric exercises
    *Turn on some music - and sing along if you have a soundproof office!
    *Read fiction, or non-fiction unrelated to your work
    *If your company offers it, book an in-house massage

After work, jog or work out. Or simply take a nap. More than once, the solution to a problem has been found in dreams. If you can imagine fantastical images, then do it: Einstein pictured himself riding a light beam to solve one particular dilemma. In more recent times, an engineer, trying to find a way of connecting two electrical wires, visualized two individuals facing each other and holding the wires in their hands. Voila! The alligator clip was born.

Associating unrelated things, considering the illogical (water running uphill) or viewing situations in reverse also stimulate creativity. If the problem is noise on the production line, for example, then think in terms of silence. Don’t be afraid to use absurd associations. If Einstein could ride light beams, then so can you.

Business people need every resource they can muster in today’s marketplace, so why approach a problem with only half a mind? By learning to use the greatest resource of all – your mind – you’ll be better able to play, and win, the brain game.

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