By Tracy Brower, Ph.D., MM, MCR
A professor in my undergraduate program used to say that a sound idea had its own form of energy. It would attract attention, capture resources and create momentum. In addition, having plenty of ideas was the basis of brilliance – quantity of ideas for the workplace was as important as quality and the engine of success.
However, the half-life of brilliance is becoming shorter and shorter, and yesterday’s great idea is less relevant today. The demand for creativity and innovation is increasing exponentially. This gap matters to business and to us individually if we want our careers to develop…well, brilliantly.
A recent study by Steelcase and Microsoft reports 77 percent of people believe creativity is a 21st century job skill, but according to the Adobe State of Create Study, fully 69 percent of people don’t believe they’re living up to their creative potential, and 61 percent of leaders say they don’t believe their company is creative, according to Forrester, The Creative Dividend. Roger Martin argues that in order to thrive in the future, we must make more creatively-oriented jobs.
We need to be more creative, more brilliant, and have better ideas. But how do we accomplish this?
In order to create the conditions for creativity, it is first about shifting our perspectives:
- From hierarchical approaches in which decisions are made by the highest-paid person (HiPPO decision making) to a networked model where the network is tapped for the best solution.
- From limiting creative expectations to certain roles, to empowering everyone to think and act creatively no matter their role.
- From granting the best technology on the basis of status, to making technology available equally.
- From managing with lots of rules to empowering people to make things happen within a set of key principles.