Menu
While coming up with a name for my venture, my immediate thought was to reach out to a bunch of creative friends and deliberate with them some ideas before coming up with a polling list that I extended to a broader group. As I did this, I thought why I am reaching out to someone vs. another? What makes me think one is more creative than other?
When we think of creativity, Mozart, Van Gogh, Da Vinci and other “geniuses” come to our mind. As I look closer, four qualities/traits seemed to be common across the group members:
1. Asks questions, challenges
‘Thinks out of the box’ – in colloquial language, this is one attribute that sums up creativity. This attribute also links creativity with innovation because here is someone who is able to look beyond the problem statement or do blue sky thinking. One of the cornerstones of this quality is being curious. This required challenging the status -quo and often asking (uncomfortable) questions. However, in day-to-day, how much space do we give to develop it?
Organisation processes, policies and systems have been designed for us to have a standardised thinking and reaction. To the extent that even the words we use are similar in meetings, presentations, on a call. In turn, our ability to ask questions has been jeopardised significantly and conformity is rewarded. In order to be creative, you need allow yourself to think beyond the straight jacketed approach, be comfortable with questions and challenges.
A point to note here is that being curious and thinking out of the box does not guarantee you success. You need to comfortable with failure as well. Leads me the second aspect…experimentation
2. Experiments, willing to explore
While being curious can help you fly the plane (of ideas) in order to land, you need actions on the ground. Else it might qualify as daydreaming. Experiments require you to be OK with failure. It requires willingness to step into the unknown and explore. It is possible that, your original idea might be tweaked and you might need to go back to ideation. All great inventions stem out after experiments. We all know the story of Edison and his experiments…
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
You might be very close to a breakthrough when you are giving up.
3. Focuses on solutions, realistic, leverages experience
This is my favourite – ability to consider options and assess their suitability and come up with a solution that is realistic. Suggesting a solution that is based on prior experience or what we have learnt formally or informally. The solutions I see my mother dishing out fall in this category. Prior experience and a lot of informal learning is at play when she provides alternates for travelling from one place to another during COVID times, submitting her house returns while she is away from her home location, or suggesting replacement of an ingredient when something is falling short in a dish – all of these with aplomb and almost with ‘zen’ like appearance. I still believe that I can be developed. As a management consultant, providing solutions to client problems is what I enjoy. However, the ‘zen’ like appearance is what I am far fromJ
4. Reads a lot, is Ms./Mr. Know all
This was engrained while growing up. Knowledge is akin to a friend, relative, money and it is bliss…one of the often-used sanskrit verse (shlok) by my grandfather used to highlight its importance was…
नास्ति विद्यासमो बन्धुर्नास्ति विद्यासमः सुहृत् । नास्ति विद्यासमं वित्तं नास्ति विद्यासमं सुखम् ॥
Hindi meaning
विद्या जैसा बंधु नहीं, विद्या जैसा मित्र नहीं, (और) विद्या जैसा अन्य कोई धन या सुख नहीं ।
With internet and huge reach of information, google and search engines have emerged to be our best friends off course with a reliable network connection!
What qualities come to your mind when you think of creativity? With the world changing rapidly, one needs to come up with creative solutions almost every day – it’s a life skill and no longer to be handled by someone else. How do you plan to up your creative quotient?
I will be happy to hear from you on your ideas about what can help build creativity as a skill, what traits are identified with it and how to you see it in your life. Write at connect@thetalentalchemy.com