Creativity is something I have often struggled with particularly in its nature, encouragement and application in a business context. I have similar difficulties with emotional intelligence, which I believe is related and equally esoteric. That being said, I think it of paramount importance. It is a process that allows western businesses to reinvent themselves and their products or services in such a way as to be able to create perceived value in the face of increasingly extreme and de-positioning competition from the likes of China and India.
Having worked for three blue chip global technology organisations over the last twenty one years, each of which to a varying degree have struggled to thrive over the last 5 years or so, I ask myself, what is it that has led to their apparent inability to avoid decline? I intuitively believe but cannot evidence that it is as a consequence of a lack of creativity within their corporate culture. A prevalence to linear thought, a fundamental facet of the scientific model is, I sense, at the root of the problem. I am not for one moment proposing that this approach does not have merit, but in a rapidly changing marketplace it must be married with an ability to be less deterministic in one's thinking.
The invitation to give this subject some consideration could not have been more apposite. Less than forty eight hours ago I resigned. I decided that working for companies which do not encourage creative expression is something which limits the joy and satisfaction I experience from something which occupies the majority of my waking time.
I believe bounded space is an absolute must if creativity is to emerge. I say emerge because I do not believe processes such as brainstorming and other popular facilitated processes really engender any meaningful or lasting creativity. Creativity needs to be part of the unspoken culture of an organisation if it is to be capitalised upon. I have no prescription as to how this might be achieved but to simply ask oneself the question will more likely than not to lead to something useful and unexpected. As for what I mean by bounded space, well perhaps a simple metaphor may help.
Imagine if you will a billiard table and triangle. The table represents the space, the balls can be confined, closely packed and ordered within the triangle, the cushions of the table represent appropriate boundaries. If there is no table and consequently no boundaries, no matter how hard you roll the ball the result will be the same - it will travel in a straight line with a predictable acceleration and deceleration over a varying distance. When the balls are in the triangle and given no space there is absolute inertia in the relationship between the balls and as such no room for the unexpected. But remove the balls from the triangle, apply a sufficient force (motivation) and the balls will career around the table in a different pattern every time since your force each time will be different to some extent as is true of any market place from moment to moment.
My decision to step into space, bounded by my desire to live a meaningful and fulfilling life is something I would ask any business leader to consider. How might they do something different to create an exciting, empowering, enabling culture in their organisation? I am unable to provide any case study, proof, data or otherwise which would prove that if they choose to do this the enterprise for which they are responsible would be more successful, but take it on trust…. it WILL!
Martin Lyle
Independent Consultant
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