A Crash Course on Creativity – Are You Paying Attention?

Mathias Knutsson

November 2012

"It was a dark and stormy night”

And I was doing some shopping…

In my little home town, Kristianstad

The shops were open all night (almost…)

And I was on my way home after a long day at the office… Being creative? Always!

The first store… A fashion store for ladies…

A bright and spacious store – a beacon of light in the dark night…

Gave me a feeling of being welcomed

I was immediately greeted and helped by service-minded staff

Well, being the only man in ladies fashion store makes you an ”easy target”, and my wife was very pleased with the gift…

The second store…”Home & Clothing”

Gave me warm and cozy feeling…

Darker colours and lower celling created a completely different atmosphere

Bought a couple cushion covers to my children…

Third and fourth…Two book stores…

I love book stores… Always have…

Can spend hours in them…

(Well, maybe not hours but you know what I mean…)

But on this late evening… With a dealine… No…

Felt rushed… Not in the mood at all…

Nothing wrong with the stores – My mindset was wrong

Fifth store…Fashion store for the trendy youngster

I guess we all… Someday realize we aren’t 20 anymore… Not even thirty-something… You are 20+20…

And when… Then... You not at home in these stores anymore…

Cloths you think ”never ever in a million years” about…

And… The true grandpa- warning… You think the music is terrible and noisy…

Wonder what the children – the staff - are doing in the store… Then you realize it is time for you to exit..

Store number 6…A fashion store for gentlemen…

Finally… The store for me! Good cloths and great personell!

Located in a beautiful 17th century house…

Greeted when I enter the store… I look around… Get some suggestions…

Try a couple of sweathers… Don’t buy anything…

Leave the store as the last customer for the evening…

Reflections and thoughts…

A very interesting assignment! I percived things in a different way.

First, the questions gave me directions but after a while the new mindset gave me a new perspective and…

Boosted my creativity – helped me see the things I didn’t even know that I saw.

A more structured approach is crucial if you want to make a comparative study and also be able to discover how otherspercieve a store or any organisation