Everything humans have ever achieved began as an idea.
Your favourite city, song, food, pastime and/or story was just an idea before it condensed into a thing. Our communities, businesses, economies and institutions are just solidified ideas as are all our cultures, traditions, beliefs, technologies and sciences.
Everything humans have ever achieved began as an idea. Your favourite city, song, food, pastime and/or story was just an idea before it condensed into a thing. Our communities, businesses, economies and institutions are just solidified ideas as are all our cultures, traditions, beliefs, technologies and sciences.
It’s all stuff we thought up before we made it.
But even great ideas have use-by dates; sooner or later we’ll need some fresh ones. That’s why innovation is such a hot topic; what we’ve always done isn’t really cutting it these days.
Absolutely Anyone Can Be Creative
Anyone can be creative. Yes, really.
Most of us have been raised to think we somehow lack the basic human capacity for imagination. Yet we all dream, which is what imaginations get up to when our logical brains are asleep. When we feel empathy with others we’re imagining ourselves in their shoes. Whenever we feel either hopeful or anxious we’re imagining events that might never happen. And when we plan, we imagine a future we’d like to live in.
As soon as we express imagination in any form we have brought something new into the world. It doesn’t have to be a great work of art. It could be a little story, a simple life hack, a better way to organise your home.
The moment you turn an idea into something the rest of us can experience, you create.
How come we don’t all do this, all the time?
Creative expression exposes our imagination – and by extension, us – to the judgement of others.
Did you draw as a child? Or sing? Dance? Very probably. Do you do those things as an adult? Probably not. Do you remember the day you stopped? The moment you decided that you were ‘no good’?
Do you remember what – or who – gave you that idea?
A little criticism goes a long way – it doesn’t take much for people to keep their original thoughts to themselves, especially within highly judgemental cultures with an almost allergic reaction to anything new and unusual. That’s the key difference between those who see themselves as creative and the rest of us – a healthy insensitivity to the opinion of strangers.
So how do we fire up all this creativity?
We’ve learned all sorts of tricks to unlock creativity, especially within groups. Try this with a few people:
Pick a physical object. Anything will do, so long as it bugs you.
Here’s just a sample of what bugs most people, most days:
Keys. Wallets. Phone Chargers. Whiteboards. Marker Pens. Disposables of any kind. Glasses [either kind]. Cutlery. Teabags. Handbags. Travel Bags. Name Tags. Lanyards. Security Passes. Electrical Outlets. Laptops. Water Jugs. Tables. Chairs. So-called Smart Devices. Earpods. Door Handles. Watchbands. Pockets. Shoes. You get the idea.
Complain about it to the group. Capture every grievance; you’ll want the longest possible written list you can get so don’t stop until you have at least a page worth. Build on each other’s complaints; it triggers even more discussion. Nothing loosens the mind like a fine whine.
Once you have a team of engaged, motivated people who are all annoyed by the same thing, ask them how it might be improved. Invite them to ‘flip’ as many of the irritations as they can. Too big? Make it smaller! Too complicated? Make it simpler! It’s not sustainable? Make it sustainable! And don’t be afraid to let them free associate; all ideas are welcome.
Forget the quality, go for quantity. Go for broke – be wild, outrageous, impossible – even unethical. you’re not looking for well-conceived plans but as many half-baked notions as possible. And while you’re there – maybe toss in a few thought grenades.
Somewhere between them there’ll be a couple of really interesting ideas; they’re what this whole exercise has been about.
Wait, go back. What the hell is a thought grenade?
Thought grenades are provocative questions like ‘What if we changed the size/shape/look/behaviour of the thing?’ ‘What if we added a sense, like taste, smell or touch?’ ‘What if we found a completely different use for it?’ ‘What if we replaced it with something completely different?’ ‘What if we changed the order/frequency/speed/meaning of the thing?’