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Why you need to care about creativity

It continually amazes me how short-sighted some leaders are. Let me tell you what I mean.

Last week, the CEO of an organization hired me to be the keynote speaker at their annual conference in October. The theme of the keynote is Producing under pressure. After we agreed on the details of the main program, I asked him, “What do you have on the agenda to help your team think more creatively?” (I have an excellent hands-on session on this topic that I thought might be a good fit.)

“Oh, we don’t need any of that creativity,” he said. “We’re not really in a creative business. Also, I don’t want my people wearing clown noses to work and sitting on couches.”

wow.

This CEO, a very successful man, equates “creative thinking” with “wearing clown noses to work.” That’s sad. But what’s even sadder is that this is not an uncommon reaction. Many leaders view “creative thinking” as another throwaway “soft skill.”

This, despite the fact that:

  • The Tesla Model S was the result of “creative thinking”
  • The Hershey bar with almonds was the result of “creative thinking”
  • Double-entry bookkeeping was the result of “creative thinking”
  • The iPhone was the result of “creative thinking”
  • Agriculture (and its byproduct, civilization) was the result of “creative thought.”

I’m pretty sure neither Elon Musk, Milton Hershey, Amatino Manucci, Steve Jobs, or Thog Thogson wore clown noses (although Musk and Jobs may have sat on beanbags). (Also, while I can’t prove that the guy who invented farming was named Thog Thogson, you can’t prove that he, or she, wasn’t.)

The simple fact is that everything that has ever created a profit for any business in history has been the result of creative thinking.

soft skill? I think creative thinking is the core skill!

And when there’s pressure, when serious consequences are at stake, you want people around you who can think creatively. Why?

Because things don’t always go well. You’ve heard the adage about “best laid plans,” right?

When things don’t go your way, particularly when the outcome is important, you want, not need, options. And, like the iPhone and the Hershey bar, the options are the result of “creative thinking.”

But listen, don’t take my word for it. Rent a copy of Apollo 13 and see that scene where Houston engineers had to improvise a carbon dioxide scrubbing interface to keep stranded astronauts alive. The success of that mission (sorry, spoiler alert!) is what happens when pressure and creativity collide.

There is no industry, organization or team on earth (or in space) that cannot benefit from creativity.

And there is no leader on earth (or in space) who doesn’t have to worry about creativity.

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