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 reativity in business has become a
major topic of discussion over the last few years. When one considers the amount of and
rate of change in the last decade, particularly in high tech businesses like Biotech, the
importance of creativity is no surprise: we are regularly trying to address opportunities
and remedy issues that didn't even exist just days before! The real surprise
(and frustration) for most businesses is that consistent, on-going creativity continues to
be so elusive.
Much of the explanation can be found by studying our culture and the development of
children in our school systems. Thus, we’ll take a look back on how we got here and
use what we’ve learned to project the tomorrow we might like to see, where the
expression of creativity is endemic as opposed to feeling like a scare resource.
The former "Creative Paradox" at Hallmark Cards, Gordon MacKenzie begins his
work Orbiting
The Giant Hairball by asking, "Where Have All The Geniuses Gone?" He then
recalls a series of sculpting presentations he gave to elementary students, and how the
various grade levels 1-6 responded to the question "how many artists are there in the
room?" Without fail, all of the first graders' hands would shoot up in the
air, while almost none of the sixth graders regarded themselves as artists.
The criticisms of our individual creativity begin at an early age. Just
yesterday, I walked in on the judging of an elementary school art "competition".
Students had been asked to color a preprinted picture that celebrated chocolate milk.
Staff members, trying to pick the best pictures, were closely examining the finalists for
"staying within the lines" and "using correct color". My
favorite picture was a second grader's effort colored somewhat sloppily and entirely with
brown marker: it represented a focused interpretation of the theme, and was visible from
100 meters. And yet, it wasn't a finalist…because the student "failed"
to keep the color inside the designated lines.
Yes, schools need to develop the fine motor skills of our youth. Yes, there are
basic rules of "visual" communication that should be observed if one is to be
understood without the additional support of verbal and written communication. But what is
the net lesson value to our youth if the measurement process only reinforces the
strictest guidelines or narrowest themes: "Do exactly what everyone else is doing? Do
what I do, only better, or face being handed a negative label? Don't be different?"
This is how we provide creative motivation?
And yes, capping creativity isn't limited to our educational system. In his book
The Joy of Work,
Scott Adams addresses the issue of too much creativity in inappropriate places:
"There are undeniable economic reasons for eliminating creativity in workers. As a
consumer, I know I wouldn't want my doctor to get too creative with me. I want him to give
me the same thing that cured the last guy. And when I get on an airplane, I don't want a
pilot with any creative urges either: "I always take runway three. I thought I'd try
landing on the roof of the terminal this time."
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