Creativity is Not a Talent

Good morning everyone!  Happy Monday!  Today’s quote is by the comedic genius John Cleese.  If you haven’t had a good laugh in a while, please stop reading this right now and go watch A Fish Called Wanda.  I love this quote because it teaches us that creativity it not something people are either born with or without.  Rather, creativity is a skill that people need to develop.

Today more than ever, I would argue that creativity might be the most important skill.  With the rise of the internet, all of the information at the world is instantly at our fingertips.  Every story in history can be accessed and researched in seconds.  Every math problem can be calculated with the assist of a computer.  The key skill is knowing what to do with all of this information, and that takes creativity.

Before we go further, I think it is important to discuss what creativity is.  Most of us think of creativity as having to do with the arts.  Painting, theater, film, music are all the traditional realms of creativity.  I have the pleasure of being married to a woman who made her living as an artist in the world of Broadway theatre.  Because of her career, I have had the pleasure to befriend some truly exceptional creative talents.  Watching people like this, who come by creativity so naturally is very inspiring.  At the same time, it can be very intimidating.

I used to think of myself as “a business guy,” not a “creative,” or an “artist.” Now I think the distinction has much less meaning.   Every business and industry now is the realm of the creative.  The people who succeed today, and will succeed in the future will be those who can think creatively to solve problems and discover new opportunities.  Look at the cult of the chef that has developed over the last 10 years.  This didn’t happen because of all of these chef’s talent for executing classic recipes from a book.  This happened because they expressed their creative talents, and were able to train a willing audience to appreciate their art.

I feel it is very important for all of us to develop and use our creativity in order to thrive at work.  In business, it is the creative solution that will best solve the problem, and open up the opportunities.    The pace of change in society is happening too quickly for us to assume that the standard and time -tested solution will be the best option.  Thinking outside of the box and in a creative fashion is the only way to win.

But, how do you develop your creative capacity?  Here is a link to an excerpt of the speech where John Cleese talks about his concept: https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/04/12/john-cleese-on-creativity-1991/ and here is the full speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EMj_CFPHYc.  Here is Inc article discussing the same theme: https://www.fastcompany.com/3024458/why-your-creativity-needs-boundaries-to-thrive.

My main advice is to be well rounded.  I believe very much in finding your passion in life, and in work, and directing almost all of your efforts towards advancing this goal.  However, I did say almost.  The remainder of your time should be spent enjoying completely unrelated hobbies and skills, and using your brain in a different way.  Spending time studying a language, or reading science fiction, or learning to garden are not things that take away from developing a career in business.  When looked at the right way, they can actually be the key to succeeding in business.

We all have tremendous creative potential.  Accept this fact, develop this muscle, and see what happens!  Have a great week!