Jumpstart Your Creativity (7 page)

Beth Jarmin conducted a study of children and creativity by giving 1,600 five-year-olds a creativity assessment used to measure NASA engineers' creativity. Ninety-eight percent of five-year-olds scored in the highly creative range. Tested again at ten years of age, only 32 percent scored in the highly creative range. By the age of fifteen, only 12 percent scored highly creative. Only 2 percent of adults score in the highly creative range.

The good news is that we are all born with creativity. The bad news is, it gets worked out of us by our current education system, which is a tragedy. While we each may embrace creativity differently, especially in our adult lives, we are all born with creative curiosity, the wonder of possibility, and the openness to play for no other reason than to play.

The great news is all things are not lost for you in terms of creativity. No matter where you are today, or where you believe you are in terms of your ability to be creative, or what your life history is with regard to creativity, there are simple yet powerful techniques and strategies you can use to be the creative person you were born to be.

We know in order to maximize your creativity you must be able to reach an open mindset, which is very difficult today due to our daily information overload and task focus. Joyce Carol Oates, in the
Journal of Joyce Carol Oates 1973–1982
, wrote, “‘Keeping busy' is the remedy for all the ills in
America. It's also the means by which the creative impulse is destroyed.”

Before we share these strategies with you, let's first check in on one other important factor—the value of being creative in today's society at work and at home. Unfortunately creativity has gotten a bad rap for decades, especially in the workplace. One of Steven's former CEOs with whom he worked for many years used to say things like, “Let me guess, Steven, this is now the time that you're going to do all of that pointy-headed, warm, fuzzy-thinking stuff?” (Sighhhh…) Sadly in this world of being over-scheduled and over-worked, suffering information overload, and what feels like non-stop urgency crisis mode with life balance at risk, it has become far too easy for people to drown in daily to-do lists and dismiss or simply ignore the value of creativity, therefore not making the time or effort to be creative. Ironically, however, when these same people see or experience something creative, they “ooh and aah” with fascination, excitement, and adulation, which is exactly opposite of the criticism they felt for creativity up until that point.

The real value of creativity by definition is the creation of original ideas that add value—value to individuals, teams, customers, the workplace, and sometimes for the greater good or for the well-being of others. Remember some of the greatest inventions in our time were created out of “accidents” from smart, creative people being open to possibility, open to play, pushing the envelope of what is possible. Imagine the world today without Penicillin, microwave ovens, fireworks, Scotchgard protector, Post-it Notes, inkjet printers, X-rays,
Viagra, Rogaine, Corn Flakes, Silly Putty, Play-Doh, Saccharin, and chocolate chip cookies.

Companies such as Pixar, Disney, Apple, Google, 3M, and Zappos are all heralded as creative, innovative market leaders. We have national awards for “Best Company to Work For” and “Most Innovative Company.”

The creation of the X PRIZE Foundation “whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity, thereby inspiring the formation of new industries and the revitalization of markets that are currently stuck due to existing failures or a commonly held belief that a solution is not possible” is laudable. More than 100 X PRIZE contests have been held to date; and according to their website, “The X PRIZE Foundation is widely recognized as the leader in fostering innovation through incentivized competition.” As mentioned previously, Philadelphia high school students built a car that can obtain 65 mpg inspired by competing in an X PRIZE contest.

The X PRIZE Foundation is accelerating the pace of innovation across sectors ranging from Space exploration to alternative fuels and fostering a clean environment through its various X PRIZE CHALLENGE grants that have energized smart creative teams to come up with breakthrough solutions that have the potential to positively impact the lives of billions of people. —Ram Shriram, Founder of Sherpalo

Think about the different ways creativity pays off in the workplace. The Disney Trading Pins you see Walt Disney World guests wearing on their lanyards have become
collectible items; there are annual international conventions where people trade and buy Disney Trading Pins. (Don't tell us that you haven't seen those people walking around at Disney with all their metal!) This idea originated with two hourly paid Disney cast members. Also, flex scheduling and staffing allowing employees to work from home or work four ten-hour shifts instead of five eight-hour shifts, all came out of creative thinking. Finally think of the single parent who works two jobs yet still figures out how to keep three kids fed, clothed, loved, and in school through college graduation.

The following plan will help you set yourself up for success whenever you want to be creative and work through a creative process. This plan is based on expert findings in research and practical application of creativity methods over the years. This is in no way an exhaustive list of every technique, yet we are confident that our C.R.E.A.T.E. Plan represents the most significant issues for setting the stage so that you, or you and your group can be most effective with your creative thinking.

C
ommit with Confidence and Courage

R
elease Expectations

E
mbrace Play

A
ccept

T
ake time

E
ngage

Guillaume Apollinaire (Who? Okay, he is credited with coining the term “surrealism”—or as they call in it in the Midwest, oddball paintings) once wrote, “Come to the edge, He said. They said, We are afraid. Come to the edge, He said. They came. He pushed them and they flew.” Truly great creativity requires self-confidence and courage similar to jumping off a cliff. Just as having a parachute helps in this scenario, so too will the C.R.E.A.T.E. Plan help you with your creative process.

Adults' fear of making a mistake or being wrong is a major killer of creativity. You must reframe your creative process as “Whatever happens is okay.” Remember the notion of creativity as “serious play.”

Some ways to boost your self-confidence and courage in preparation for participating in a creative process are:

• Remember creativity is within all of us; it does not require super intelligence or special powers—you are enough just as you are right now.

• Imagine the benefits and positive outcomes of a successful creative process.

• Ask yourself,
Come on, what's the worst thing that could happen?

• Realize and remember that stepping away from your work and revisiting it over time allows you to let go of any needs for “perfection in one try.”

• Come up with a crystal clear compelling “why” for why you are doing this creative process.

• Ask yourself,
What happens if today's status quo never changes and we do nothing?

• Remind yourself that creativity is about wonder, possibilities, and opportunity, so stay open to it. Focusing on the right answer or “the” solution shuts you off to the openness needed for creativity to flourish.

• Know yourself—complete the self-assessments in the back of this book, write down your hangups or blocking beliefs and attitudes, and identify what you need to do to free yourself.

• Remind yourself of all those great inventions we use today that came as a result of accidents.

• Remember that you are not at the center of creativity, it's not “about you”; instead, it is about you floating on the river and catching what comes to you.

Some examples of how best to get to know yourself in preparation for creativity are:

1. When do you get your best ideas? Night, morning, afternoon? Talking with people? Thinking on your own? Reading or listening to music? Exercising? Outdoors or indoors? Driving? Writing or talking?

2. Are you more visual, tactile, or audible in the way you learn and process ideas? For examples: drawing storyboards or vision boards versus making lists versus journaling versus recording your voice as you talk to yourself or with a group.

Take a moment and write down your thoughts on how to be self-confident and courageous before embarking on your creative process. Self-assessments can be extremely helpful tools to allow you to “see yourself” in terms of your creativity potential. We have provided a list of these in the back of this book in the Creativity Toolbox.

Releasing your expectations frees you up as an adult, allowing you to get more in touch with the creative child inside you. Remember that little person who was tucked away in a closet of your mind so you could focus on your job, car payment, mortgage, the kids, your marriage, volunteering, exercise, and every other task on your to-do list?

Human beings seem to be naturally gifted for passing judgment and criticism. This judgment and criticism kills the creative process. Remember the great question, “Do you want to be right or happy?” Being right or choosing the best solution comes much later in the evaluation stage that Shawn covers later in this book.

Phrases that help you stay open in the creative process and suspend judgment or criticism are:

• What if?

• Imagine if…

• Perhaps we could…

• What do you think if we…

• How would a 6-year-old say it?

• Said a different way would sound like…

• Another way to look at that same thing…

Another expectation you must let go of is expecting the perfect solution in just sixty minutes. A more realistic expectation is to realize that the creativity process will take multiple steps over several days, weeks, or months (depending upon the project) before the best solutions are identified. Therefore, planning enough time for this process ahead of time will alleviate stress and anxiety later.

To truly release your expectations requires you to embrace the possibility of the creative process, respect the time that is involved, all for the purpose of reaching or creating the best ideas with the greatest value.

Creativity is not a meeting that you force on groups of employees to “come up with a great idea.” To be truly creative and to create the best possible outcome for a group or an individual to be creative, you must create a separate distinct space, we call the Play Zone. The idea is to get away from life, get
away from your desk, get away from your daily to-do lists—schedule your time and create a space to quiet your mind. In corporate settings this may only be conference room that is used intermittently.

Before you think creating a Play Zone requires money for a new building or other crazy investments, consider this. Over the past twenty years, Shawn and I have shown people how simply stepping out of their office, returning to their car in the parking lot, turning on the air conditioning or the heater, putting on some music and sitting undisturbed inside their car can become a Play Zone.

However, play zones are not the café at Barnes & Noble, the table in the middle of your employee cafeteria, or your office with the door closed. You have to manage the potential distractions out of your Play Zone. If you work in a corporate office environment, it is best to keep your Play Zone a secret so co-workers don't interrupt you with “Got a minute?” meetings or time wasting “Just dropping by to say hi” conversations.

If you work from home, creating a Play Zone away from your home is incredibly important, unless you are blessed to have a 4,000 square foot home or larger that allows you to sneak to a room far enough away from all potential distractions.

Your Play Zone is also about having a serious play mindset. Some best practices for getting in a creative mindset are:

• Listening to two or three songs or meditating to calm the mind.

• Before entering the Play Zone, make a list of everything you have to do that you are currently worrying about or thinking of, including everything that could interrupt your Play Zone. Making the list (data dumping) seems to free space in your mind allowing you to focus on creativity.

• Take two or three minutes to focus on your goal of the creative process to break your preoccupation on everything else you were doing.

• Your mind will wander when alone, and groups tend to fill the air with idle chit chat. Rather than sit in silence, stay focused in these moments and push through (expect fifteen minutes to be used for transitioning into the creative process).

• In groups, use a hands-on exercise to break the ice. For example, have multiple everyday items on the table in the room and ask participants to make a list of every possible use of the item other than its real purpose.

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. —Joseph Chilton Pearce

Accept who you are and the people in your group when doing group creativity. Remind yourself that you are
“enough,” and you bring great value to the process. There is no perfect time and there is no precise moment that you will finally have all of the research, preparation, knowledge, and experience you desire, so stop waiting and dive right in—now. As we shared in the previous chapter about the
Creativity Crisis
, one of the best things you can do to reframe your mindset about your capacity for creativity is to remove your ego from the process by remembering that creativity is a process in which you participate and contribute to, yet from a humble place rather than from an egocentric “it all comes from within me” arrogance.