Suppose you specialize in the hospitality industry and you attend the national association meeting for hotel owners as an exhibitor. How often have you left the trade show hall to experience the event as your clients do? This may mean an extra registration fee to attend other parts of the conference, but it's worth the experience.

Kelly McDonald, who was a speaker for IIABA last year, makes a great point in her books about creating a new customer experience. She wrote “Marketing to People Not Like You” and offers insight into the various cultural differences we need to acknowledge in our clients and employees. Even if you can't get away from the desk, reading books like that can help you find a fresh viewpoint on your day or your processes. Or try Judy Hoberman's “Selling in a Skirt,” a funny and valuable take on selling by and to women.

If you have a little more time, get away from your desk. “Management by walking around” isn't a new concept, but it's still just as valuable.

But now, maybe you can take that walk around with a different goal. You'll still see the folks in your department and reap the benefits of hearing their conversations, lending a listening ear, and sharing your stories to build good relationships. Add to that your desire to see things through their eyes, and watch what happens in your own brain when you just have that new goal in mind.

Go into the office at a new time of day, come in and out from a different door, or visit employees at a time of day that isn't part of your usual routine. It's the change that matters for our exercise here.

Trying new experiences will make us more creative on a day-to-day basis. You'll become a resource when your staff needs you. You might even go to a professional or technical school to try something completely new, like a new technology or marketing method. In old-school language, get out of your rut!

The broader your exposure, the more opportunities you'll have to glean that golden tidbit that will help one of your charges in the future. You'll have a deeper pool of resources because you will make new connections. We've all heard the advice about keeping physically fit, and how that makes such a difference in our ability to handle stress, make big decisions, live longer, and react in a crisis. You are obligated by the nature of your leadership position to be as sharp as possible at all times. So why not step out of your office to find a new perspective for your brain, and sharpen that tool as well? If you do it, you'll set the right example for those you lead. After all, what have you got to lose by becoming more creative?