Creativity: Rebuilding Jewish Community for Resilience

How can innovative solutions guide organizations and help them learn from each other during COVID-19?

Creativity is the process of using imagination and critical thinking to generate a new idea of value. And ironically, similar to innovation, it is often the most misunderstood muscle at many organizations, for-profit and non-profit alike.

Innovation is the creativity driver; it is the most valuable tool in our toolbox. It allows us to question everything, embrace complexity, attend to human needs and impulses, and have the courage to forge a new path through – and into – uncertainty as we rebuild for resilience in a post-COVID reality.

For nearly a decade Federation Innovation has grown innovation in this community, funded 50 organizations and initiatives and built infrastructure to enable creative minds to learn from and with each other. The challenge is how can we build on this work in an exponential manner in this moment? How can we best bring those with innovative solutions together to guide us as we stand at the precipice of opportunity for the Atlanta Jewish innovation ecosystem?

The solution is that together we must dedicate ourselves to rebuild for resiliency; we must double down our efforts to facilitate the right integrations, build bridges, partnerships and possibly mergers and acquisitions in our community.

First, we must define new practical and creative goals together, which will continue to require innovative roles for lay and professional leaders to problem-solve together in a remarkably agile manner. We do this by letting go of our egos, our logos and – for some – our pride.

Second, we must deeply understand what our customers want most so we as the collective and individual organizations can define our value propositions. We do this by increasing our R&D so we can use the right data, user-centered design and emerging trends, such as the post-COVID baby boom, to drive this strategy.

Third, we build a new understanding of the marketplace by understanding unmet needs and leveraging different resources more than ever before. We incent and build a “thrive together” model based on shared purpose, enabling organizations with different resources and assets to share for the collective good. In addition, we turn to a different set of potential partners who are shuttering their doors now for wisdom and assets. It is no longer about just investing in the idea, platform or program; we must invest in the people who work in this field like never before.

Lastly, we must continue to act now, while also planning to nimbly and strategically execute in the coming year. This must be done based on a new understanding of the marketplace that we collectively create.

 The solution seems simple; but as we know, whether we have been a part of this community for a few months of many years, there is a lot we need to overcome to creatively solve these problems for the long term together.

With the right strategic investments, a “thrive together” partnership model and resources, we have an opportunity to rebuild a resilient community, driven by the collective, for maximum impact.