How to unleash breakthrough thinking in business

In today’s rapidly changing and exceedingly competitive business environment, it’s imperative to continually uncover new and innovative ways to stay ahead of the curve and, most importantly, not get left behind. To outperform the competition, breakthrough thinking is mission critical — the kind of out-of-the-box ideation that expands horizons and provokes epiphanies. It’s about the kind of thinking that can take a company from good to great, or from failing and flailing to wildly successful.

The rewards realized from even one breakthrough idea can be immense. Indeed, the most successful company is the one that works smarter, not necessarily harder.

Every single employee at an organization harbors diamonds in the rough — latent ideas and inspirations that lay dormant, resulting in egregious opportunity loss. The key is discerning how to tap into that diamond mine and unearth hidden gems — those game changing ideas that propel companies to reach their highest potential.

But, how exactly does an organization foster breakthrough thinking? The answer is amusingly simple: Trivia! While most people consider trivia a hobby or a playful way to pass idle time, trivia can be far more than just fun and games. In fact, trivia is an activity proven to unlock the potential of the human mind, helping improve mental performance and enhancing creativity.  One report cited “the engagement and excitement produced by trivia games is directly related to cognitive and brain development.”

What’s in a Game?
The power of trivia game play is not to be underestimated. Below are 5 proven reasons trivia is a potent tool for mobilizing breakthrough thinking:

1. Improves cognitive skills by providing mental cross-training known as asymmetric thinking. By inspiring previously unexplored thought patterns, asymmetric thinking stimulates the brain to fire on more cylinders, thereby facilitating greater neuroplasticity that generates greater creativity, innovation, and problem-solving capabilities.
2. Exemplifies transformational play, which is “play with a purpose,” seamlessly shifting participants to be more receptive to useful information, thus accelerating the learning curve.
3. Facilitates better memory by increasing accessible intelligence. This is accomplished by exercising memory recall systems in the brain.
4. Builds community through the sharing of common knowledge, serving as a unique social interaction and communication model.
5. Assists in concept formation by providing targeted streams of information in a question and answer format, which dramatizes concepts by connecting the previously unconnected relationships between events and ideas. This leads to a greater understanding of targeted subjects.

With these benefits as a foundation, businesses and individuals can leverage specifically crafted trivia games to gain various critical business advantages. Among other distinct advantages, trivia can:

• Inspire innovation and facilitate creative ideation;
• Expedite problem solving;
• Promote team building and corporate culture development;
• Enhance the development of leadership skills;
• Increase productivity performance and growth;
• Reinforce knowledge and clarify concepts;
• Foster conversation and communication.

Trivia, especially when presented in a compelling and strategically-designed format, can readily promote the power of cognitive thinking within a business to improve mental dexterity and efficiency among staffers. Trivia games can expand decision-making capabilities and accelerate progress by helping individuals knock down mental ‘walls’ and think more expansively. When aptly exploited, such breakthrough thinking yields extreme competitive advantages that drive organizations ahead of the curve and keep them there.

Gene Jones, one of America’s leading authorities on unlocking innovation through transformational play, has realized great success converting unique trivia game show formats into exercises in mindfulness training. His proprietary “Triviation” corporate training program is based on the art, science, and educational aspects of transformational play that help individuals and companies unleash and capitalize on their full creative potential. Gene may be reached online at www.triviation.com.