Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Everyone is creative

Really. Everyone.

The issue is in how we define creativity. Most folks associate it solely with the arts and large acts such as writing a film or composing music.

Think of creativity as either producing
1 - something from nothing (e.g. a script; a painting; etc.) or
2 - something new from something existing (e.g. problem solving; repurposing everyday objects; etc.)

This puts the idea of creativity on a scale and takes some of the pressure off having to be dazzling with every effort. Not everyone will be a concert pianist or executive (virtuoso levels) but everyone can potentially play some piano and add value to a team (craftsmen levels).

By the same argument, given there are only 7 notes in a music scale or only (supposedly) 7 plot lines, perhaps creativity is more about repurposing than anyone imagines! lol

We need creative thinkers. They figure out how to save projects, the environment and health risks. We need visual, emotional and cognitive stimulation from our artists.

Creativity is, ultimately, about offering perspective. (Mentoring is therefore a creative act.) And so everyone can be creative.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

too bad so many companies (both big and small) squash creativity at every turn, rendering employees frustrated and looking for the greener grass on the other side of the fence. perhaps the employers are unsure of their own creativity??

Irma Ladouce11 said...

I don't know if the conversation around creativity is even held in most businesses. There was recently a great kaizenblog chat on Twitter that explored this topic. I wonder if the dialogue is just beginning?

Anonymous said...

speaker one we are missing some context the end of your statement seems like employee/employer tension care to elaborate? Last time I had such tension with my boss lets say some things are not meant to be talked about in public ....lol