When creativity works

in pieces

Not all efforts to be creative are successful. Sometimes creativity works (e.g., solves a problem, get embraced, creates a new path, or takes root). Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes creativity is a good thing. Sometimes it isn't. So when does creativity work? I'm pretty sure the best answer, as always, is "depends on the situation...it depends on what creativity is being applied to." For a lot of creativity the judgment of whether it "works" is very subjective. I think artist-X (or movie-X) is very creative. You don't. We can argue about it and try to to change each other's mind. We can see if more people agree with you than me, we can appeal to the opinions of experts, but for a lot of artistic creativity there is usually no definitive way to settle the argument. It's a subjective judgment. If creativity is being applied to solve some problem or fulfill some goal, then we can use this problem/goal to assess how well it works. In these cases the goal is not to "be creative" but to be creative to help accomplish some task (e.g., create a distinctive sound, sell more books, invent a new beverage, etc.). For many other--non-artistic types of creativity and innovation--we can often appeal to external and objective criteria about what does and doesn't work--about what is and isn't creative. The judgment of whether a new creative scientific explanation or theory "works" or not is whether it is supported by the outcomes of research designed to test it--usually against other explanations. Whether a creative new product idea or marketing idea "works" is ultimately determined by whether it is successful (i.e., makes money, expands market share, creates a new category or approach) in the market place. Part of why science has been so powerful and successful is that it subjects human creativity to the judgment of an objective external criteria--to research and facts. It allows us to pick one crazy idea over another--regardless of whether we subjectively like the idea or not, regardless of whether we want to believe it or not, regardless of whether it fits with a prevailing religious view or not...at least most of the time and after a while. There's no comparable objective external criteria for purely artistic creativity--although we sometimes turn to the judgments of "experts" and "gatekeepers" (such as record companies, disc jockeys, art galleries and museums) in lieu of an objective criteria to guide us. Popularity may actually work against judgments of creativity. I suspect that most attempts to be creative or do something creative probably fail--at least initially. From my own professional experience conducting brainstorming groups, I'd say that more than half of all the "ideas" proposed during a brainstorming session don't even rise to the level of even everyday creativity--the ideas are either totally not new or original or are obviously flawed or impossible. I would estimate that most--but not all--brainstorming sessions I have conducted have uncovered at least a couple new "inspired" ideas. I don't think I have ever had a truly radical and world-changing idea created in one of my brainstorming sessions (and I live for the day that it happens but don't necessarily ever expect that it will). In my professional consulting work I primarily work with advertising agencies, media agencies and marketers to help them brainstorm creative new insights, ideas and plans that will work for them in the marketplace. How do I know if I am successful doing this? I have two primary professional criteria for evaluating this: 1. did I help them produce many more new and inspiring ideas than they would have on their own (if this task had been left to their normal business processes), and 2. do any of these ideas "work" for them (do any of them make it to market and produce success)? On the first criteria I am almost always successful--nearly every client after every brainstorming session has indicated that they are impressed by the number of ideas the group generated and how hard we worked. Even without having ever pitted myself against an appropriate control group (i.e., the normal business process running in parallel), I know from experience that I can design and conduct a meeting that will produce many more ideas than will be created through normal channels. Great! So why don't all businesses employ professional brainstorming and creativity assistance? 1. Because it is difficult to find an outsider who 1. is very knowledgeable and experienced in your business and all its subtle nuances, and 2. has any training and experience in conducting intense and efficient brainstorming sessions, 3. because this service is not a typical business cost, and 4. because many people consider this type of help as a sign of weakness (or worry that others will view it as a failing or struggling on their part). I suspect that the hit-rate for workable creative ideas produced by brainstorming, idea generation and creativity-production vary across different domains and tasks. I suspect that coming up with creative ideas for humorous situations in television sitcoms is easier than coming up with creative ideas for ways to integrate classical and quantum physics. Some types of tasks and problems are going to be more creatively challenging than others. I would like to point out, however, that in most practical, real-life, working situations, what works--what solves--the problem the best is more important than how creative it seems to be. These judgments (except in the realm of scientific explanation) are very subjective...and I don't always trust myself to be right. An experimental approach to finding something that works probably produces as many failures as successes. ity efforts are probably a disappointment. Creativity is a risk. The common folklore about creativity is that it takes courage (or perhaps a thick skin) to be creative and expose your efforts to other. A lot of creativity doesn't work--it doesn't solve the problem, it doesn't take root, it doesn't open the door to something new. The fact that an idea, a insight, an artistic effort is creative is no gaurantee that it will work. In fact, it may even be true that the more creative something is, the bigger the gamble, the lower the odds of success, the higher the payoff. Are there any rules or guidelines that will help increase the likelihood that ones creative efforts are successful? Let me tell you what I've learned from my creativity consulting work. Thorough understanding of the domain, the task, the issue (getting to the heart of the matter)...without getting locked into the prevailing conventional wisdom (breaking mindset). Energize the brain and make it stretch. Feed the brain lots of relevant stimulation.