Every so often there is a new product which comes along and makes you smile because they seem to have got it so right.

In a recent workshop conducted as part of a brand identity development project for our client, we saw a slightly different snack that offered something more relevant, targeted and original than the  usual array of caffeine-infused hot beverages, sugar-filled cakes and biscuits and the requisite rarely touched fruit.

It’s a sweets brand, but doesn’t make you feel bad for indulging. It’s artificial but you can justify the e-numbers, and it’s fun but will improve your concentration and therefore performance as a serious grown up. Crucially, it is also not a boring apple.

‘Tagungs Tiger’ is the workshop or conference treat of choice for the ambitious delegate who knows he could become the all-conquering business tiger if only he had the energy. The sweets are superficially Haribo-esque gummy bears, but because there is a successful looking tiger on the front of pack dressed in a smart suit next to a flipchart, you know that these will help turn your tired and uninspired mind into that of an alpha-tiger, the king of the corporate jungle!

‘Fruitgums with taurine’ gives you the necessary scientific verification that soon you will be back to your best and prowling for your next killer idea.

Being cursed with a warp-speed metabolism, I occasionally find that I am in need of something sweet to tide me over to lunch and all too often resort to stuffing down cake, pastries and other calorific temptations. Next time I feel the onset of an energy lull, I hope to be able to reach for the tiger. Of course, such need for stimulation is thankfully rare when taking part in the always engaging workshops run by The Value Engineers!

Artists, musicians and scientists don’t come up with ideas in hotel rooms using post it notes and flipcharts. It’s only the business world that behaves in this way and expects to be inspired! At The Value Engineers, we believe that ideas come from a creative journey not just from workshops!

We use a creative journey to unlock ideas in a way that a traditional workshop can’t … using a diverse range of  brains, separate skunk teams (creative associates including artists, musicians, actors and designers), more immersive stimulus and Eureka Books to capture those ideas when you are most creative (e.g. on the bus travelling to work). True creativity requires immersion, inspiration and thinking space.

We are not left or right brain thinkers, we are whole brain thinkers. On our creative journey we believe that it’s important to think in 4 different ways…

1. ANALYTICALLY – more logical, analysis based creative techniques
2. ANALOGICALLY – drawing parallels, analogies and metaphors
3. DEVIANTLY – challenging current category rules and assumptions
4. RANDOMLY – jolting the mind, making random associations

We believe this ability to think, to think differently, to think afresh helps set us apart and get our clients to better solutions.

… for creativity, of course (what did you think I was talking about?).

A recent workshop exercise sparked a bit of an email discussion at The Value Engineers on the best way to get oneself in the mood for being creative and innovative. A whole raft of different suggestions came up, from the delightful “watching the cat play in the garden” to the rather more straightforward “gin”.

But the thing that struck home for a lot of us was how few of these we actually make the time to build into our creative sessions, internally and for our clients. The lack of a Value Engineers cat and garden notwithstanding, we’re going to start using more of these suggestions to get us in the mood, and hopefully this list will provide a few inspirational warm-up ideas for others as well.

So, here’s the starter list… feel free to add your own suggestions too ::

• Rock guitar
• Shopping
• Sunshine
• The City e.g. Berlin
• A good breakfast
• Coffee
• Diverse people
• Ice cream
• Positive spirit
• Energy from music and chatting
• Football
• Adventure trips
• Gin
• Team spirit
• Watching kids
• Running
• Dancing
• Walking amongst trees
• Sitting on a park bench
• Watching the cat playing about in the garden
• Working out in the gym
• Lying on the pillow at 4 am i.e. ‘pillow moments’
• Watching water flow over rocks
• Reading fiction
• Elgar
• Constant Lambert
• The countryside
• Reeling
• A good night’s sleep
• The Wallace Collection
• Vorticist art
• Wild swimming
• The sea
• Observing nature
• Driving
• Watching cricket

Not sure what this list tells you about us, but it looks like a lot of fun!