The “Art” of Business – What Entrepreneurs Can Learn From Artists

by Yatin Patel

Those in business are often said to be left-brained individuals, more logical, analytical and objective than their right-brained counterparts who are more creative in nature. But what happens when the two combine?

To be a successful entrepreneur in today’s world, a person cannot achieve a high level of success without being creative.  Most aspiring entrepreneurs believe their initial idea and inspiration requires the most important creative thinking; but, it is the initial idea that is the easy part, and rather the later implementation and competitive business marketing required that are the real challenges.

In order to conquer these challenges, you have to use creative approaches to out-smart your competitors.

Today’s business education and training focuses on thinking logically and analytically, and does not focus on the creative approaches to business solutions, so who can blame those solely left-brained thinkers?  Is education the reason that “thinking outside the box” is so rare? I say that those who have a combination of both skills, to be analytical and logical, as well as creative will reap success faster than a person who only possesses one of the qualities.

Brainstorming, ideation, thinking outside the box, disruption, creative thinking – whatever you want to call the process of developing a successful new business approach – is something that businesspeople must learn to explore every day in their business. Let go of things that are holding you back, and take chances in business, especially after that first great idea.  While this may be the “scary part,” it is where you will see the most reward.  Little Risk, Little Reward. Big Risk, Big Reward.

A few benefits of learning to be creative? Searching for integrity, knowing you can solve the problem, visualizing other worlds, finding and transferring principles, embracing ambiguity and being open to new things are just the tip of the iceberg.

Below is a list of creative skills I believe that every entrepreneur must possess in order to be successful:

Look for known patterns in unrelated matters.

Due to learned habits and routines, new ideas default to be similar to old ones. Creative thinkers get results by combining things that are not similar.

Challenging change with changing challenge.

Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change. The same old notions block clear vision and inhibit our imagination. Sometimes it’s helpful to imagine contradictory approaches, or working with opposites.

Think the unthinkable.

We all need ways to un-structure our imaginations to explore the outer limits of alternatives, so that we can go beyond the typical solutions. Creative people at Apple are the masters at this notion.

Execution is the key of creative thinking.

Most Artistic people fail at execution.  You must execute in order to succeed.

You become what you pretend to be.

Attitudes influence behavior, but behavior also influences attitudes. Reality is what you believe.

Yatin Patel is an Orlando-based photographer, internet entrepreneur and native of India. Patel has created a series of successful internet companies, but his focus on art has remained consistent throughout his career. He is currently displaying work from his personal “Sutra” series of photos. Patel’s primary goal is to raise awareness of his photography – which focuses on various aspects of Indian society, culture, and history – and eventually sell prints of his more prominent works. Through his Art & Philanthropy initiative Yatin actively supports many local and national charitable organizations, bringing awareness to their cause.