Why should anyone seek to be creative? Creativity is full of risks and uncertainties. There is the risk of failure. There is the need to persuade others. There is a need for political skills. It is much better to sit quietly and do what you are supposed to do.
If things are going well, who needs creativity? If things are going badly, then there is no time for the uncertainties of creativity.
If you set out to be creative - and even if you use the powerful tools of lateral thinking - you cannot be sure of a result.
There is a further problem. Every valuable creative idea must always be logical in hindsight - otherwise it would have no value. So it is assumed that logic could have reached the idea in the first place.
This is totally untrue in an asymmetric patterning system like the human brain. But how many people know about asymmetric systems? So executives expect only 'blue sky ideas' from creativity and these are then deemed impractical.
If we regard creativity as an inborn talent which some people have and others do not have, then we just look for creative people.
If we regard creativity as the 'skill' of using information in a patterning system like the brain, then everyone can develop the skill of creativity. To be sure, some people will achieve a higher degree of skill than others - as with any skill - but this is not the same as being naturally creative. People who are not naturally creative might develop a higher degree of skill than those who are naturally creative.
Confidence is a key factor in creative effort. Those who have succeeded in having creative ideas in the past are much more willing to make a creative effort. They know from experience that new ideas are possible. They have experienced the joy and achievement of having a new idea.
How do you build up confidence if school does not encourage creativity, and the workplace does not expect it?
Most people do what is expected of them. The rebellious few do not. That is why we usually associate creativity with a rebellious nature. But it does not have to be like that.
To get creativity into an organisation you must make it an 'expectation'. At the end of every meeting, the chair person must allocate the last fifteen minutes to 'anyone who is exploring a new idea'. If no one has anything to say, they are told they are not doing their job.
A creative 'Hit List' of areas which need new thinking is produced and made visible to everyone. Executives are expected to work on items from this list - either as individuals or as assigned teams.
The effort to have ideas is key. If new ideas are an expectation, then people will make an effort to have new ideas. Their confidence will grow and eventually there will be a creative organisation.
It is also important to learn how to be creative. There is a need to learn the formal skills of lateral thinking which make creativity available to everyone.
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