Fifteen years ago, only a few books on creativity could be found on the shelf. During the 1990s, however, creativity and innovative
thinking became the subject of many books. Companies were finding increased competition and realized they could no longer survive by
doing what made them successful in the past. “If you want something you’ve never had (ie. new profits), you better do something you’ve
never done.” What this equates to for many companies is that they better start innovating and offering new services, or they can expect to
not be around in a matter of years. Bill Gates said, “Microsoft is 18 months away from failure.”These days, companies have to constantly
reinvent themselves. If they don’t, they may fall behind the younger, startup companies that have embraced change and incorporated it into
their organizational structure. But how does accepting change equate to increased creativity? When a company resists change, it wants to
continue to do what it has been doing. By incorporating the ability to change within the organizational structure, a company makes it easier
for new, better ideas to be utilized. And it is these new, better ideas that increase creativity, ensuring a better chance of survival. All right,
creativity and an acceptance of change should be sought. Now what?
1. Eliminate Negativity
When a teacher asks an obvious, open-ended question, hardly anyone volunteers to shout out the obvious answer. Why? Is it the fear
of being wrong? No, the answer is painfully obvious. It is fear of what everyone will think if, in the slight chance, it is wrong. Take Richard
Fenyman’s approach from the title of one of his books: What Do You Care What Other People Think? Failure should not be something that
is feared; on the contrary, failure should be developed into the organizational climate as Michael Eisner, CEO of the Walt Disney Company,
suggests: “The only way to succeed creatively is to fail. A company must create an atmosphere in which people feel safe to fail. This means
forming an organization where failure is not only tolerated, but fear of criticism for submitting foolish ideas is abolished. If it is not, people
become too cautious. They hunker down afraid to speak up, afraid to rock the boat, afraid of being ridiculed.” The first goal of any
organization is to eliminate unconstructive criticism. That way people will stop being afraid to share their ideas. If their ideas remain locked
up in their heads, these ideas are not going to make the company money. Gordon MacKenzie addresses the causes and effects of teasing in
his book Orbiting the Giant Hairball. He explains that the reason people tease a coworker for his or her ideas is that they are afraid, afraid
that if this person keeps coming up with ideas, then their job will become endangered. The effects of eliminating negativity include
developing a more open atmosphere where people are not afraid to share their ideas. This leads to a shift in an employee’s attitude, away from
“I’m in this for me,” to “What can we do to make this company better?”
2. Overcoming the Big Myth about Creativity
The major myth about creativity is that it is something some people have and some people don’t. In reality, we are all creative. It’s just
that some of us are more outspoken about our ideas than others. Companies should be taking a stronger approach to harnessing more ideas
from all employees. As Akio Morita, founder and former chairman of Sony, suggests, “A company will get nowhere if all the thinking is left
to management. Everybody in the company must contribute and for the lower level employees, their contribution must be more than just
manual labor. We insist that all our employees contribute their minds.” Companies are facing difficult times. They must become more
innovative. They are looking for young college students with fresh ideas who are not afraid to share them. The next time a professor asks
what you think is obvious, don’t just sit there! Shout out the answer if you know it. Don’t be afraid of failure or of what other people (might)
think of you. Share your ideas openly with others, and don’t tease others for sharing their ideas with you. These may be simple concepts,
but they mean so much when it comes to creativity.
Fall 2003
19
Creativity
The sky is the limit
By Matthew Peterworth
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