Collabetition: 3 Principles For The Creative Person in All of Us

Collabetition
Copyright 2006 Taiwo Odunsi All rights reserved. ISBN: 1-4196-5220-6 Library of Congress Control Number : 2006904225 To order additional copies, please contact us. BookSurge, LLC www.booksurge.com 1-866-308-6235 orders@booksurge.com
2006
Collabetition
Contents
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix Part One: The Origins of Collabetition . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1. Pangaea 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter 2. The Global Creative Thinker . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Chapter 3. The Double Trifecta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Chapter 4. The Second Trifecta: Competition . . . . . . . 31 Chapter 5. The Second Trifecta: Collaboration . . . . . . . 41 Chapter 6. The Second Trifecta: Connections . . . . . . . 51 Chapter 7. Enter Collabetition: Collaboration and Connecting for Competitive Ideas . . . . . . . . . . 57 Chapter 8. Principles and the Laws of Nature . . . . . . . . 65 Part Two: Principle 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Chapter 9. The Idea Magnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Chapter 10. Search and You Will Find: Suggestions for Idea Attraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Chapter 11. Idea Attraction through People: Suggestions for Good Infection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Chapter 12. Idea Attraction through Places and Circumstances: Suggestions for Gestation . . 103 Part Three: Principle 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Chapter 13. The Idea Harvester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Chapter 14. Harvesting Ideas: The Tools of Cultivation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Chapter 15. Creative Chemistry: Planting the Right Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Chapter 16. Debits and Credits: Maintaining the Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Chapter 17. Harvesting Ideas in Deep Collaboration: Adopting a PET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Chapter 18. Harvesting Ideas in Loose Collaboration: Expand your Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Part Four: Principle 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Chapter 19. The Idea Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Chapter 20. Producing Ideas: The Maintenance Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Chapter 21. Facilitators of Voice in the Idea Factory .199 Chapter 22. Facilitators of Connections in the Idea Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207 Chapter 23. Facilitators of Sharing in the Idea Factory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Chapter 24. The Results of Collabetition . . . . . . . . . . . 223 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Appendix A. Understanding Creativity: A Criterion We Can All Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235 Appendix B.Understanding Creative People: The Six Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 End Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Acknowledgements
With the utmost sincerity, I believe that if we are to respond in healthy ways to a changing world, its important to remind ourselves to live in an attitude of gratitude. Collabetition would not exist if it werent for the kindness, generosity, and collaborative effort of others whos burgeoning ideas lead to a discovery helpful to all of us. I wish to express my eternal gratitude for their time and voice. With their help, I was inspired to travel on a completely different creative path. For instance, rather than packing this book with complex charts and graphs to illustrate my points, I found sharing what I learned from my peers and colleagues to ring more true to life because it elicited an unfiltered honesty. And as a personal note, you can learn a great deal by listening to the thoughts and concerns of others. Not only is it therapeutic for both parties, but in addition, learning takes place revealing unexpected ideas. As I passed from person to person, profession to profession, I can tell you without a doubt what passion for ones professional and creative obligation looks like as well as what it looks like when its absent. Id like to thank some of those passionate people who let me borrow those helpful ideas here. Those who volunteered their stories: Brain Bernard, Al Berrios, Molly Crabapple, Johanna Guevara, Mark Hurst, Yuri Lane, Gregory Nissan and Arts Circle, Kim Omae, Rajat Parakh, Tamara Pogosian, Paul Schreiber, Shannon Riley, Dina Yassin.
Those who lent their advice: Feroze Alam, Chris Ecklund, Robin Glassberg, Dr. Oneta Hicks, Vinson WordsWorth Johnson and Adanita Ross, Benjamin Kaplan, Mike Mermin, Ivy Schreiber, Zanique Skerret, Peridot Smith, Eric Stephens, Courtney Mota, Gary Tobin, Daniel Warren. Thanks to Pamela Sisson for the amazing logos. Thanks to Bridget. You were the first to challenge me to become creative. Thanks Anne, Beth, Cat, Deena, Kareem, Laurea, Phil, Wade, Zimran, and all the great people at CreativeGood who, when I was unsure of Collabetition, helped this idea come together in my head through inspiration. Thanks to Emily Avent for the fine editing, and the BookSurge staff, Sara Ann and Lindsey for all the kind words of encouragement. And most of all, to the goTAIWO.org community and those communities listed therein, thank you.
For the Odunsi Family
Preface
I have discovered a call to action. In my investigation of creativity, I have stumbled upon a theory supported by seemingly disparate texts and a variety of people. I was drawn to study creativity, at first, because it presented a challenge (we creative types love challenges). On top of this, as a creative person, I felt my insider information gave me the ability to contribute to the discussion of creativity in a new and thought-provoking way. Often, I recognize the elitist tone espoused by those who speak of creativity, dividing camps of those who are creative and those who are not. Experts (unintentionally) sometimes refer to these haves and have-nots when it comes to explaining creativity. And, not surprisingly, many people come to agree with them, isolating and alienating those who might otherwise find the label of creative more accessible. Somehow, we envision an imaginary line drawn in the sand with creative people on one side and noncreatives on the other. Psychologists, business leaders, economists and other ambassadors to creativity from various disciplines speak so esoterically of this human phenomenon that the average layperson cannot relate. As an insiderthat is, as a creative person for most of my life-I feel that along with practical experience, an awareness exists for me that helps me avoid such holier-than-thou talk. In this book, I am speaking not only from years of experience and study, but also from my heart. I hope no reader will find the isolation they may have experienced from other, more technical essays here.
We all have the potential to release our own special brand of insider information. All you have to do is enlarge your vision of whats possible. So dont let past elitist descriptions of creativity intimidate you. If they have, the sections towards the end of this book may be of some use. As I attempted to communicate this call to action, I began to look at the kind of power the written word has on the reader. With the potential to teach, to inform, and oftentimes to inspire, the right books can help us manage the problems we presently face in addition to those which lie ahead. Whats more, readers, including myself and hopefully you, want not only to hear something new and relevant but also to satisfy a hunger for knowledge leading towards future success and goal realization. Overall, books are a powerful means of preparing for change. And this book concerns itself with how to prepare you for this changing world. With more creative thinking beyond the realm of artistic creation and applied to how we may use it to improve our lives, we can begin the process of preparation. So to look at creativity, to really examine it, and then to satisfy the requirements of readers I looked at not only what was glorious about creativity, but at what had gone wrong with creativity. Discovering a response to this call to action, I was required to see creativity in a bigger, more ubiquitous way. Due to its essence, creativity is far too broad to narrow down into one particular niche. For example, lets say if a book were to be written on faith, its prospective readers would naturally and perhaps rightfully assume the discussion would revolve around various religious themes. Nine times out of ten, these readers would be right. However, with respect to
creativity, provided that my prospective reader thinks this is a book revolving around business themes, she would be right. What about if one my readers assume this book on creativity had implications for personal creativity? Well, he would also be right. And what if there are readers who assume this book uses the topic of creativity to include issues pertaining to art, technology, and culturewell then, they, too, would be absolutely right. Towards this end, my observations and my research began to mirror this allencompassing nature of creativity, so much so that I found myself observing not just its business applications, and not solely the arts and technology implications; on top of this surfaced the personal applications. So with this in mind I began to explore creativity as a total life-enhancing tool that is available to all of us with some effort. Yet I may have been premature in this statement. In a fast paced society, there appears to be one thing in our way: our perceived lack of time. The sacrifice of time, more specifically time with the more important things in life such as family, community and purpose, is one of our areas for concern for the tool of creativity. But this much is certain: there is no requirement that you have to be a creative type (artist) to understand many of the concepts you are about to discover. In fact the understanding I refer to comes not from being gifted with a particular artistic talent or sensibility, but with open-mindedness. When our minds are open (to new experiences or different ideas), its easier to see how we are all called to somethingto do something, to be something. And throughout the book, the people I have quoted as well as those who shared their stories with me are simply people whove chosen to answer that call. How much the call cost in time and money and effort, and the uncomfortable
challenges that arose from such a callall, for them, became minor concerns in comparison to what lay on the other side of the line. Now, I cannot tell you what will be on your other side, but once you decide to cross over, I can tell you that the sound of your calling will be the greatest sound you will ever hear.
Introduction
You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more drive, or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or creativity. C.S. Lewis You may be saying to yourself, What does creativity have to do with me? This well-meaning question is like asking, what does global warming have to do with me, or what does a depletion of the ozone layer have to do with me? Of course, as any educated person would know, these examples have everything to do with you. I think the key word here is education. These examples are meant to show how, through educating ourselves about global concerns, new behaviors should be adopted to combat that change. Although technological advancement can be made out to be a destructive force, we cannot compare it to the destructive force of ecological problems such as global warming. But as in the case of global warming, there are still many of us who continue to behave in the same irresponsible way being educated of consequences. As in all widespread forces, there will be those of us who will not respond until the affects reach our own backyard. It is not until the basement is flooded that we go on a frantic search to plug up the leak. I ask you now: lets not wait until our condition reaches that point. Whether youre creative or not, this book has everything to do with you because the facts presented have global consequences.
Many people would agree when I say that this is a wonderful time to be creative. This is because within many of us lies a creative person in waiting. While the waiting lines have gotten longer, there have never been more opportunities today for you to express, expose, and experience a fulfilling creative existence. A great creative idea can become an asset giving way to purpose or fortune. From patents to intellectual property to trademarks, possessing a creative mind can be your gateway to growth on all levels. But I must admit, when it comes to creativity, my view is now more objective. You see, I hail from the new school of creativity: the school with advances in technology, rife with endless possibilities to be seen and heard on a global scale--in short, to express ones creative side. In this school many of us are Wired, working for the Fast Company looking to make that first Fortune. Some readers may feel differently than I do about this school, seeing the utter disruption of the creative life, and many creative types I spoke with share in the belief that technology is not all roses and sunshine. One reason cited for these sentiments is due to shifts in technology that have unearthed jobs or competitive positions previously held by one knowledge worker to a new knowledge worker. In their book Beyond Reason, Roger Fisher and Daniel Shapiro note, In todays booming innovative corporations, executives with 50 years of experience are not as valuable as an enthusiastic 23-year-old bursting with creativity and knowledge about the latest computer innovations. This very notion may spell gloom and doom to the generations from the old schools while representing a gold rush to the school I hail from. But if history has taught us anything, it is that no one, regardless of age, school or talent, may rest
on his or her laurels. As of this writing, shifts in how we collaborate, compete and connect have steadily ushered in a newer school just as weve gotten accustomed to our new school. You can see, those of use who depend on our creative output have unique concerns. Consequently, youll find that you are such a person and that each generation must be prepared for whats to come. And its that preparation on a creative level that encompasses the ideas presented in this book. So we are presented with a question we should all consider: who survives during this shift to a more collaborative, competitive connected world? Answer: the most creative people do, of course. And finally the secret call to action I was alluding to has been revealed. We must all see ourselves as creative if we are to survive in this new shift. This book concerns itself with the individual who desires to compete on the creative plain. But not in the way you think of the term creative. Heres the definition we will be working with: Creativity is the improvement on an existing way of doing and being. Beyond the abilities of the average creative type, its the person who can embrace this mindset who will find this book of greatest use. All this, the quest for constant improvement, is meant to that suggest obtaining a creative life should be our new priority. Yet why is it important for all of us to see ourselves as creative? More often than not, the creative life is viewed as the most trivial life, below personal and even professional lives. I expect most people to hold this view; it is exactly why I wrote this book. The irony is that creativity is meant to boost your value and productivity in your personal and professional life in two ways. First, it allows you to discover personal uniqueness by what differentiates you from the crowd. This is what the creative life does to enhance the personal life.
And second, a creative life allows you to find selfexpression in what you do or create, adding value to it. This is what the creative life does to enhance the professional life. These two results, uniqueness and value from selfexpression, are the seeds of competitive value. But we mustnt stop there. It was in 1964 that Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung presented his classification of creativity as one of the five main instinctive forces in humans. In addition to Jung, American psychologist Carl Rogers idea describes the fully functioning person as one who participated in the world while contributing to the lives of others. This individual, in essence, expressed creativity. What also may impress the skeptic is the business implication espoused by renowned psychology professor Robert J. Sternberg, who wrote in his book, The Concept of Creativity, that CEOs are selected not for their pleasant personalities or their learning and memory skills, but for their creative vision of how to turn a company around. Sternberg and his contemporaries understood how vital creativity is on a societal level, leading to new findings in science, art, technology, and social programs. Sternberg further stated, The economic importance of creativity is clear because new products or services create jobs, and to remain competitive we must adapt our existing resources to changing task demands. Lets take a look at the flip side. The lack of creativity is one of the biggest issues facing individuals, organizations, and communities today. Creativity is not only under the weather in most people (and in most organizations); I believe it is on life support. Not presenting yourself as a creative individual can be likened to online dating without posting a photo; without this requisite, its likely you will
fall to the competition--those that did post photos, or in this case, those individuals who bring creative ability to the table. This wasnt always an issue. We used to be a nation that prospered without the expectation of creativity from all of its people. You see, in the mid 20th century we were powered by brawn, steam, fuel, electricity and so forth-and to a large degree we still are. But a dramatic shift has occurred. The new fuel comes from the brainpower of the knowledge worker (coined by Peter Drucker), or the wisdom worker (coined by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, noted author of many books on personal effectiveness and relationship building techniques) or what this book refers to as the new kind of personthe global creative thinker. Weve come to rely heavily upon this person, and on the quality of her creative output to improve our access to knowledge, increase our personal activities, and to generate more business for our organizations. This is why the 23-year-old geek is the new cash cow. Does all this mean we should quit our jobs and become computer geeks and oil painters? Dont think it will have to come to this. Let me make it clear that enhancing creativity is not restricted to learning how to be a better programmer or a better painter. Rather, it means becoming a seeker, a sower, and a supplier of ideas for the purpose of improvement. Ideas and creativity are one and the same: We need better ideas to start new businesses, make interesting products, and express the human perspective through entertainment. Whats more, we need ideas in our personal lives to discover new methods of enjoyment and problem solving, in our professional lives to complete an amazing presentation, and in our creative lives to express our unique voice.
These are just a few examples meant to illustrate that it behooves us to see ourselves as idea generators. And why not take this viewpoint? This is indeed how our employers see us. Its also how our customers view us before they buy our products or use our services. They want to see a genuine difference that stands apart from the crowd, a remarkable improvement to whats already being offered. In a nutshell, the things we produce as well as who we are have to be creative. Whether you recognize it or not, the creative person exists in all of us, and to compete on this level we need to consistently infuse creativity-enhancing techniques into our lives. As I mentioned before, it is the person who does this who survives in this newly collaborative, competitive, and connected world. What has caused this shift? One culprit happens to be our global marketplace. Creative thinkers are now doing with services and information what companies and organizations have been doing with products for years globalizing their offerings. Everywhere you look today people sell concepts and solutionsnetwork solutions, business solutions, creative solutions. In his book Daniel H. Pink calls them Free Agentspeople who are selling insight, talent, expertise, ideas, creativity and solutions 1. Heres another example: Human creativity is now the ultimate economic resource. In his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, economist Richard Florida defines some 40 million Americans whose main responsibility is creating new ideas, new technology and/or new creative content. The 30 percent of all employed people who belong to this group include people in science and engineering, architecture and design, education, arts, music, and entertainment. These are the people who add economic value through their creative ideas and talents 2.
Furthermore, its these gifted individuals who are changing day-to-day reality for the rest of us and affecting the standard of knowledge demanded from life and career in todays world. And its this global marketplace that has caused the rise in individual competition, collaboration, and connection. Alright, you say, I think I get it. We must be more creative to compete in todays world of change. And to a large degree, we can use creativity to improve our lives. Id say you were correct with the exception of one thing: We must go a step further and own a creative life. Becoming creative is now the imperative condition, and it is altogether different from simply using creativity from time to time. Its the difference between loving your neighbor when your neighbor is nice and actually becoming the energy of love itself when this neighbor is disagreeable. If you possess love, theres no reason to consider whether or not to use love in certain situations. Infallibly, when you become loving, when you own love, your thinking and behavior align with loves true nature. By the same token, when you cultivate creative thinking and behavior in your personal life and your professional life, you are subsequently cultivating a creative life you will one day own. You will become creative in all areas of life. Once we own a creative life were ready to combat rising challenges. So what are some of these challenges? As I said, were living in much faster times, so if youre like most people today, you may be overwhelmed with the rate at which our modern society advances. Whats more, we are living in what author Barry Schwartz calls a paradox of choicea world of overwhelming options that leaves its victims in a state of what appears to be anticipated regret and analysis paralysis. To add to these concerns, new
technology, globalization, inflation, and general flux of how things were supposed to work are shifting dramatically from day to day. As we struggle to stay ahead of the curve, new innovations which were supposed to make life simpler only clamor for our attention, demanding more from our already waning stock of time. At this point, most people will resign themselves to the idea that they will never catch up. Does being creative today mean becoming trapped walking up a downward moving escalator, requiring us to double, even triple our efforts just to stay ahead? Does this leave any time to actually pursue creativity? The sobering fact is, there is always someone ahead of us on the information curve, and competing at this accelerated rate becomes very demanding, especially in what economist Richard Florida calls a Creative Era. Yet by observing whos already successful in the area of consistent idea generation that results in lasting improvement, we can uncover the answer to many of these concerns. Doing so, however, requires a new mindset that models these interconnected times. Just by observation, have you ever noticed how some people just seem to have great ideas all the time? From the outside looking in at their lives, it seems these talented people consistently attract ideas. Have you also noticed how you often obtain new or better ideas just by doing certain things or hanging with certain kinds of people? While I have your brain going, try thinking about how new breakthroughs get started, or how lasting professional partnerships are found and created. Or take this into consideration: Is there a time you can remember being part of a group or team effort in which everything just clicked, making success seem assured? I have found there to be a connection to these thoughts and behaviors
and the people who see higher levels of creativity required in todays world. Im not talking about some formula, a fixed procedure or rule for achieving a result. To nurture the creative within, what we dont need is more rigidly applied rules. No, Im referring to a strategy for creativity rooted in essential truths or principles, ones that you probably use at times but perhaps are unaware of. The word collabetition suggests an intersection between collaboration and competitionyet this book is about more than two words forced to marry. When we take the root collab, meaning to work with, and the suffix etition, loosely meaning to seek a quality or state, we create not merely a collage of root words but a description of a new mindset that I believe is directly linked to our levels of creativity-in addition to the quality of ideas were able to produce. As I will show in later sections, evolution into this type of mindset includes working with other people, in addition to laws and principles, to boost these levels, allowing us to achieve a quality or state of creativity that is imperative provided we desire to compete in what has been referred to as the Creative Era. So what will be our approach to collabetition? In respects to this books structure, we need to see collabetition and its three principles as a destination that we arrive at, similar to how a person arrives towards understanding calculus (minus the headache.) The highest branch of mathematics builds upon the lowest branch. To arrive at understanding the complexities and application of calculus, we must first start from the basics, tackling basic arithmetic, then grasping algebra, before we can truly understand and apply calculus.
So what are the basics of collabetition? We begin with a presentation of our more connected worldour basic arithmeticthe essential origins of collabetition. Moving on to the next branch--algebrais the Double Trifecta, which attempts to answer the question, what are the forces or set of stimuli driving collabetition to occur? Then we arrive at an understanding of collabetition, calculus for our intents and purposes. So why call this book Collabetition? Why not call it Enhance Your Creativity in Three Easy Steps? Two reasons. First, with respect to creativity and becoming idea generators, collabetition should be viewed as a strategy, the packaging for a very simple idea: use collaboration and similar responses as a competitive tool. Whats more, with all the ways collaboration and competition are used today, were beginning to see a frequent fusion of multiple behaviors, which is having a huge impact on creativity. The reasons for this word pairing as well as our evolution into this mindset will be outlined in further chapters. Second, again with respect to creativity and becoming idea generators, I would never presume to label anything easy. Conversely, I think this mindset of easy, simple and quick is the cause of most of our problems today and conversely is why principles enter the discussion. Before delving into that issue, Id like the reader to know that collabetition is more than about boosting your creative bottom line. Its essential truths guide the user in three directions, presenting methods for how we can first, better attract ideas; second, nurture our collaborative relationships; and third, create environments that transform everyone into idea generators. With that said, collabetitions overall purpose is to enhance the creative person within all of us while suggesting
ways to safely navigate through our newly inherited world of a higher expectation of creativity. And from practical observation of recent events, we will discover how this mindset came about. Even though collaboration is the meat of the word, collabetition is meant to suggest something biggeralluding to the effects of a collaborative mindset in a more connected and competitive playing field. Lastly, Collabetition is not your typical self-help book, nor is it the usual business book. Its purpose isnt to somehow fix you or claim to share secrets of attaining easy success. Since arriving at creativity is different for everybody you will find a sense of flexibility throughout. As a general rule, creativity and rules have a tricky relationship, but on the other hand, creativity loves exploration. Thus exploration and discovery are the results this book is designed to help you achieve. Explore the methods, the challenges, and soon, discover the opportunities to become a global creative thinker. In any event youll discover a helpful tool that can assist you along your particular journey. Collabetition will be our conversational manual, a tool you can take on your journey that will ignite and inspire the creative person in you. These ideas will work for most people most of the time because theyve been tested. But they will work for a completely different reason altogether--namely, by principles.
Part One
The Origins of Collabetition
3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us
Chapter 1.
Pangaea 2.0
The present is pregnant with the future. French philosopher Voltaire The year 1912 was a milestone in the scientific world. A German scientist named Alfred Lothar Wegener was struck by the occurrence of identical fossils in geological bedrock on the coastlines of western Africa and eastern South America. Although not the first to note that these continents looked strangely like two fitting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, Wegener became convinced that the seven continents as we know them today were once a giant C-shaped super continent called Pangaea (meaning allEarth) that had shifted apart some 200 million years ago due to millions of years of sea-floor spreading. At the time of discovery, Wegeners theory of continental drift was ridiculed, but after evidence of identical living animals, plants, and fossils were found in both shores of South America and Africa, the science mainstream soon followed, further expanding on his theory 1. Another monumental shift began to occur during the later part of the 20th century, changing much of our lives and the world as we knew it by breaking down distance and invisible walls and, in a sense, moving us closer together. Author Thomas L. Friedman provides a telling picturesque
Collabetition
of this event: On this shrinking planet, technology is erasing new walls everyday 2. Over the last few decades, technological innovation has been responsible for dramatic changes in our personal, professional, and creative lives. It is worth finding out what triggered this transformation in how we connect, compete, and collaborate. In this first chapter, Id like to use the Pangaea illustration to help us visualize the current change of connection. The saying you cant know where youre going until you understand where youve been is part of my reasoning. Having once been connected, returning to that connection implies in my view a world conspiring towards interdependence. If I could speak with Wegener today, Id tell him that in a new way, the continents have connected once more.
In Figure 1.1, we can see how analogously we are connected in a new kind of single Earth by means of Pangaea 2.0, whose second transformation of land and location comes not from continents drifting apart but from technological force bringing nations, communities,
and individuals together, making a boiling pot of global, stronger ideas. Just as the continents were in motion some millions of years ago, disconnecting a once-connected Earth, technological advancements are reversing the process of physical disconnection that took millions of years to occur. In a matter of decades, our creativity, our imaginations, have turned back the clock to a singleEarth existence, leaving our current lifestyles and their behaviors to evolve with this global upheaval. Yet what does this comparison mean in todays context? For starters it could mean that the universe is conspiring not just for interdependence, but additionally towards creativity from all of us. How is it doing this? Evolution, heretofore referred to as change, grows something into a different and usually more complex or better form. In this case, the disruptive effects of technology, its properties as a change agent, have created an evolution within humankind, forcing us to grow into more complex, creative thinkers. While these changes cause a new creative mindset, so too does this creativity cause change. We give birth to change because we create the ideas, notions, beliefs, products, and services that make change an inevitability. As creative beings, we can produce our own good fortune in addition to our own upheaval. Its like a mother bearing a child. With the birth of that child, an infinite series of events have been put in motion. The child will have more children, and they will in time have more children, and so on. Within each generation of children, a series of events occurs that sets off future events, causing an endless chain reaction. Place two mirrors together to further understand how ideas go on infinitely. Creativity plays a similar game; each
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idea born gives birth to another idea thus affecting the direction of the tide and simultaneously creating more gaps that need filling. Think of the advance in technology and information or products and services after the internet went mainstream, and youll see what Im trying to get at. This occurrence is part of a natural system first promulgated by Charles Darwins world-view that is based on his principle of maximization. This principle says that as creators (creative beings) we change the physical world (with our ideas); then this changes the organic world (characterized by continuous or natural development) and this again changes the physical world; on it continues in a never-ending cycle 3. Within a system of natural laws, evolution, and adaptation, creativity plays collaborative roles in the destiny of humankind. There is a shift bringing us together because we created it. And now we must deal with that shifts effects. Those who deal effectively with the shift, anticipating future possibilities, evolve into more creative, more complex beings. Instead of swimming against the current of change, they adapt to it. However, preparing for change is a subjective idea. How does one prepare for something that one has never experienced before? Weve never lived to witness a Pangaea until now. We will discover an answer together. The Pangaea 2.0 connection has changed, even interrupted much of what weve grown accustomed toour jobs, our places of habitation, our professional and even personal relationships. In the past thirty years, weve witnessed mind-blowing change in just these areas. But we may not have been aware of change to the creative life. This life is not exempt from transformation either. It is necessary to devote sometime
to discussing what has transformed and how we feel about its effects, in addition to how these kinds of shifts in connectivity beget our evolution into exactly who we need to be if we are to adapt - more complex creative beings. Costs and Creativity Being this connected can have two important practical consequences. First we must deal with the cost for finding time for true creativity. As I have mentioned before, time has become a scarce resource, at least in popular opinion. In New Technology: Whos in Charge?, Linda Stone refers to the behavior of Continuous Partial Attention that describes the problem people have coping with the increasing amount of information and ever-growing number of tasks generated by technology use. We believe that to be busy and to be connected is to be most alive. Now were over stimulated, over-wound, unfulfilled4. I dont mean to suggest the solution lies in unhooking ourselves from the matrix. Rather, technology has raised the bar ever so higher, specifically for a successful creative life. The college has changed the curriculum on us. And admission into it means demanding more of our creative thinking abilities. Are we prepared for this? Ironically only time will tell. Meanwhile the second consequence for our increased levels of connectivity appears in the costs for not becoming creative. On one hand, the planet is shifting faster than we are. With each new wall-erasing creation, 2.0s connection becomes amplified faster than we can keep up, especially as individuals. But on the other hand, if we arent so quick to
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become the creative types who can respond to this shift, whats the alternative? History seems to indicate an ominous answer. Author Jared Diamond recognizes how, with regard to technological evolution, human creativity counts for everything. Those countries with a low receptivity to change lagged behind in technological advancement. But with increasing pressure to adopt and retain innovations, i.e. to be more creative, those societies failing to do so will tend to be eliminated by competing societies 5. This is a heavy price to pay for ignoring our creative energies. Although the cost of adapting to life as creative beings may seem steep, the rewards are much greater. While time and energy will be debited from your life, what will be credited to youan open mind, for oneis in my opinion beyond what we can imagine. Those that are creative can enhance their creative faculties further, and those who arent, or as I contest, do not think they are creative, can simply learn how, just as any fully functioning person can learn their way into any desired trait. Should we learn this willingly or against or our will, is perhaps a choice no longer up to us to decide. Inflation on Creativity Todays individual, provided that they also have a desire to keep up with sweeping change, is more creative than yesterdays individual--not because they particularly want to be but because they find they have to be just to stay current with the society and valuable as employees. Now when I say todays person is more creative, I dont mean to suggest that everywhere, as we speak, accountants are becoming artists and brick-layers are becoming beauticiansas if we
were caterpillars transforming into butterflies. Instead, creative inflation is taking place. Just as economic inflation eats away at our hard-earned money, creative inflation is eating away at our creative net worth. Just as you cant expect to buy the same item today at the price from ten years ago, the standard level of creativity in the 20th century will do less for you in the 21st. (Keep in mind that by creativity I dont mean knowledge; knowledge can be viewed as the asset, while a creative mind is the asset converter, producing value.) What does this kind of inflation mean for the new creative person? In a word: opportunity. One example that comes to mind is the growing field of video game design. The child who told his parents that he wanted to become a designer of video games would have been shunned in the early 80s, when video gaming was in its toddler stage. Twenty or even ten years ago in most families, especially for those of us from first generation American homes, desires for creative careers were seen as sacrilege, in contrast to aspirations of careers as doctors or lawyers. However in 2.0, the video game industry boasts annual sales above that of the movie industry, leaving that hypothetical child likely to receive the full support of his parents 6. So what are we asking? Do we no longer have a choice about whether to be creative or not? Consider what Richard Florida writes: We must recognize the fact that every single human being is creative. We can no longer prosper and succeed by taking advantage of the creative energies of 30-40 percent of our workforce 7. The truth of this is borne out in the service industry (movies, software, and financial and creative services), which in the United States accounts for more than half of our gross domestic product 8 . To remain a force economically we all need to take a hard
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look at this choice to be creative or otherwise. But this may be easier said than done. Inventor Hossein Eslambolchi proclaims, We live in an era of pervasive connectivity, increasing our business, enhancing our productivity, yet it remains a reality that peoples behaviors evolve slowly, while technology changes quickly 9. Our evolution with rather than against technology will present solutions. In fact, evolution is the creative force that can meet a more connected reality. We can create niches by partnering alongside whatever appears to disrupt our lifestyle, eventually turning the tide in our favor. The 2.0 Effect: Our New Evolution Not surprisingly as a result of 2.0, a different kind of evolution has begun to emerge. We all know what happens when something evolves. As human beings, we can look at primate apes to recognize our own physical evolution from one simpler thing into another more intelligent thing. From this perspective, we come to recognize the gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. To trace the origins of collabetition, we need to look at how 2.0 has created a new challengethe next stage in our evolution. That is, with more connectivity we are presented with behavioral and social evolution. Behavioral evolution has come about as weve begun to react to the external stimuli of connection in new ways. And social evolution suggests that our relation and communal organization towards one another had to respond to this connection as well. Again looking at history, we can trace back to a similar cultural evolution over time. In the early 19th century, philosophers Hegel and Spencer began popularizing the notion of progressive
social development: that as civilization becomes more complex our interpersonal relationships become more complex 10. In this chapter, we witnessed a Pangaea 2.0: a way of illustrating a growing state of interconnectedness, and hopefully this information led you to consider the importance of creativitys broadening role on your life. Again to quote inventor Hossein Eslambolchi, We are seeing the collapsing of everything into one single, global, ubiquitous, collaborative virtual IT world. Provided that you accept this illustration, you perhaps also accept that weve only begun to see the initial stages of that single Earththe basement pipe has just sprung a leak, but the flooding is far from near. Just as the first Pangaea happened in increments, sometimes unrecognizably, so too will Pangaea 2.0 grow incrementally. With each breakthrough or advancement we experience a similar continental drift. Creative forces will begin to erase more walls, seemingly moving us together without actually moving anything at all. In fact, individuals, companies, and communities who choose growth through creativity, or what is referred to in the business world as innovation, will be the ones making the power moves--moves to other regions for growth, and selecting talent from various regions heretofore untapped. The main culprit: Information once restricted to the local arena is now open to the global public. This is an important fact in the evolution of human behavior into higher more sophisticated kind of creative thinker. Whats more, this new rule of behaving means more of our time will be spent using creative energy. I think this is where some people feel anxiety. As we will discover in later chapters, the creative faculty is sometimes unpredictable,
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and although you can try to manage it, the novelties of genuine ideas will come to you in their given time. In contrast with 2.0 it is time that is growing in scarcity. We are busier, more hurried, and more connected by 2.0 but less connected to self, less connected to the hearts of our neighbors. But time is not the badguy. With time, coupled with the information in later sections, you can create a new future. Many commonplace activities, such as meeting new people, researching for tests, or writing a letter to a friend, use technology as a standard method. Access to information, resources and people is conducted on a virtual scale, and with the physical labor doled out to complex software and wireless routers, those of us that can access, process, and execute on this vast stream of knowledge and data do so by behaving in new creative ways of analyzing and solutionfinding. In the end, what this growing connection means is really up to you. In spite of all the costs, Pangaea 2.0 is not all anxiety about change. Its anticipation stems from the good that is also present from change - embraced by the new school person referred to earlier. Todays individual recognizes that our entire global economy is based on leveraging that information. As we come to know more about our neighbors in the East or in the West, we begin to see how we can use their knowledge to increase our growth at home. With greater connections, the proliferation of ideas will become greater. Economic competitiveness, opportunities for creative exposure, and proliferation of channels to meet like minds are just a few of some of the more positive side effects to the creative life. Armed with a multidimensional mind, we turn to the global creative thinker who embraces this kind of life.
Chapter 2.
The Global Creative Thinker
We can compete as the idea people. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, author of The Change Masters The previous chapter set out to illustrate the transformation of land and location of the present time by comparing it to a similar transformation from the past, Pangaea. There we observed that the second more technological version, Pangaea 2.0, with its similar transformative properties, has been the cause of great disruption not only of the social environment but the evolution of more creative thinking. I call it more creative thinking because a degree of technological savvy tied with more creative ways of behaving, e.g. problem solving and keeping up with trends, is now a prerequisite even to accomplish daily tasks. Pangaea 2.0 (with its technological and globalizing features) will evolve each of us into a new kind of person: one part knowledge worker, one part wisdom worker, a free agent who is part of the creative class and a master of change focused on competing from the creative plain. Lets call this person the global creative thinker. For those dependent on leveraging information, keeping up with trends, and so forth, going global has become the way of life. Part of the emergence of collabetition is to examine why creative thinking finds
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itself evolving on global terms. It would appear that the primary concern for most circles attempting to prosper today, from business to cultural industry, hinges on the phenomena of globalization. According to Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, globalization is a term used to describe how human beings around the world are becoming more intertwined with each other economically, politically, and culturally. While merely a summary, just within the past ten years, books abound on this topic and its inherent pros and cons. Thomas L. Friedman, who as of this writing has published two bestselling books on globalization, promulgates the idea that the world has flattened, and that this leveling of the global economic playing field is a great achievement in human economic development. He cites three eras of globalization: from 1492 to the early 1800s when countries globalized communication, then from the 1800s to 2000 when companies globalized markets and labor, and finally from 2000 to the present day, when globalization is built around individuals who can and must think of themselves as competing as individuals globally with other individuals globally 1. All this shows why on top of additional creative thinking, 2.0 expects global thinking. To think globally refers to how our persona, talents and abilities are positioned in a worldwide context: what we can call vast ocean thinking, as opposed to thinking in a local context, or small pond thinking. Recognition of a large playing field is another stage in our behavioral evolution and appears to be a natural thing; Darwins principles tell us that there will always be another level. Applying his principle of maximization (when we change the physical world, we create new demands from the organic or natural world), we have evolved into more
creative beings that must now adapt to the change in the physical world using what should be referred to as global behavior. As creative thinkers we must concern ourselves with Friedmans third era of globalization. Why? Well, it would appear a dilemma lies within the very nature of technology. Various complexities have arisen from the alternatives it creates. The more walls that are erased, the more exposed our offerings and talents become, making the playing field more competitive. This obviously has fueled competition on a global scale. Rising to the global playing field requires an understanding of how 2.0 is responsible for taking us from more creative thinkers to global creative thinkers. Our focus in this section will be to understand what is meant by global behavior, or that our response or reaction to this change must be to globalize ourselves. Id like to provide a simpler, yet more understandable approach into this phenomenon from an individual level. Back to School During my first days as a college freshman, my teachers would frequently warn us students that we were no longer fish in a small pond but were instead entering a bigger pond, soon preparing for a vast ocean. These teachers werent trying to suggest that we try out for the swim team. No, what I didnt realize at the time was that the small pond being referred to was high school, the new bigger pond in this story represented college, and the vast ocean we were preparing for was an illustration of the real world. Despite my ignorance back then, their advice helps here to describe an increase in the playing field.
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In school, when I was told that larger ponds were approaching, it felt as if I were being warned of a situation that demanded higher levels of preparation. My guess is that, as an educated person, youve been warned already. The media, the paper, or other authorities in your field have presented globalization to you. Perhaps in some way, your lifestyle or your professional life has already been affected by global disruption. Your company is already outsourcing, or you find there is more competition in your industry. In response, its the creative person seeking growth who longs for bigger ponds, and when this happens we must act on our warnings. We are simply being tested. Using our analogy, look at the test like this: School and other institutions are not only places of higher learning but settings for acquiring or strengthening our dormant abilities which are needed to thrive in the world. Though not the real world in themselves, universities, high schools, and postdoctoral programs are all simulations or representations of the real world. They could not prepare you for this world if they were otherwise. I believe these early, smaller learning environments are simulations of experiences known in a larger context throughout the real world. School is not the only vital component; for example, before flying a 747, pilots must learn using a simulator. This machine has no living passengers yet provides a new pilot with real world conditions and scenarios that hope to build skills requisite for the much bigger, more realistic situation. Schools do the same with their diversity of individuals and degrees. When the real world does approach, we find that the most important tests will not be confined to exams, term papers, and quizzes but extends to how well we can work with others, if we respect differences, if we can
achieve the results we set out to create and so forth. Just as a new pilot will be tested in other ways while flying the real deal, so will we be tested in a larger context beyond what we learned in smaller context called school. In another example, if we look at the spiritual realm, some believe this physical life on earth is a preparation for the larger context of meeting our Creator. With all this, one could say life and the universe flow at the behest of preparing for a larger context. Upon recognition of a world with a larger playing field, the real test hinges on our ability to step our minds to that higher plateau, using what we have learned thus far and magnifying it. So, it should follow that the real world is a smaller context of a global world. While were fully aware of that impending larger context while were in school (this is, after all, why we are in school to begin with), are we aware of the larger, global context of today? I think many of us are, but there are equally as many unaware. As freshmen, we took our professors advice to mean there was going to be more expected of us the more we ventured into larger bodies of water. In larger ponds, challenges as well as opportunities would increase, coming from more directions at once. This is what we should expect in 2.0. In a similar way, recognizing todays challenges and opportunities of a creative life begins with our preparation for the larger pond, that is, the global world. This presents a concern: How can creativity be a new means of dealing with that larger, global context? Dealing with change, notes Rosabeth Moss Kanter, professor at Harvard Business School, need not imply insecurity but rather developing new forms of security. Coming up with new forms of security is at the heart of our creative imaginations. It is one of the characteristics of the global
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creative thinker. Professor Kanter calls these kinds of people change-masters. They are individuals who think beyond whats possible and persist in the clarity of their own vision. This is who we must become before we bring an idea to fruition. Necessity is, as they say, the mother of invention. Its only in the face of adversity, when presented with a disruption of our day-to-day expectations, that we remain armed and creative. Creativity is our main weapon for combating the impending, inevitable tidal wave of progress. In truth, the far-reaching effects of this change are already here. And perhaps it is up to us to change along with them. But heres the sobering fact: People dont change when you tell them they should, people change when they tell themselves they must. Entrusting, enabling and educating the next generation for the flat, competitive global world begins with you. And dealing with change means changing ourselves in the process. Thinking globally is simply another way of recognizing the larger context and seeing how you can place your talents within it. Besides this basic understanding, to fully characterize the global creative thinker, lets look at three questions they might ask themselves. 1. Provided I have a talent or gift that I can take to a global market, how can I prepare these gifts, coupling them with the most current advancements in technology to reach more people, easier, faster, and cheaper? 2. Are there people I can connect and collaborate with online to further my professional and creative progress?
3. With the internets potential for greater access to knowledge about what others are accomplishing in my field, where do I want my ideas to rank or compete on the global level? Provided you can not only answer these but also act on them, you can very well classify yourself as a global creative thinker. Check out a few of these thinkers out yourself: Web address: http://elsewares.com: An online catalog of unique products from independent designers, artists, and entrepreneurs. Web address: http://lookatbook.com: A collaborative exhibition of a sketchbook shared by four artists from both sides of the Atlantic. Web address: http://buildv1.com: A space where entrepreneurs can explore ideas, learn from successful entrepreneurs, and begin their entrepreneurial journey. As more creative thinkers enter this larger playing field, the responsibility of dealing with a global context cannot be ignored for to long. The task of predicting where our behavior will head after this is reflective upon the society it will serve. And for the moment, that society appears to be a more digital one. From what weve seen from the growth of nations in recent years, adopting technology, as well as creative thinking on a global scale, is becoming a recipe for prosperity for the future of evolutionary change. So far we witnessed 2.0s part in creating people who can only be described as global creative thinkers. These people deal with the barrage of change we experience today differently, using creativity within a larger world-
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view by adopting new mindsets that reflect his or her world. Should you embrace this persona? That decision is yours to makebut before you decide we must go deeper into why becoming this thinker is important.
Chapter 3.
The Double Trifecta
It is now possible for more people than ever to collaborate and compete in real-time with more other people on more different kinds of work from more different corners of the planet and on a more equal footing than at any previous time in the history of the world... Thomas L. Friedman, author of The World is Flat On a more connected earth, Pangaea 2.0, were witnessing a global playing field. Using the school analogy from the previous chapter, this means that our curriculum, classmates, and colleagues are increasing. We can refer to this as the first trifecta. As the amount and kind of information we take in expands and as the number of those we learn and work with increase, global creative thinkers are responding with increasing proportion using another three features: competition, collaboration, and connections, our second trifecta. Because these three features (the response) are directly linked to the first three features (the stimulus), we can look at this relationship as the double trifecta.
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for a slightly different response or mixture of responses, we could achieve a more creative result. Its second job is to attempt to concisely predict the challenges and opportunities for creative people engaged in global thinking. The first trifecta examines the elements we find when venturing into ponds of larger size, otherwise known as an expanding global world. The First Trifecta In the first trifecta, more curriculum, more classmates, and more colleagues stem from the larger context, or the global world, where the stakes are higher due to the perception of compounding information and limited resources. This context presents us with greater access to people and information we need, discovering our purpose through creativity. Taking these stimuli into consideration, knowing what they each represent, what should we conclude? Also, how can this first trifecta point us into a direction that leaves us more prepared? That deserves an explanation; but first, lets look at what these analogies represent as well as the primary concerns inherent in the rise in curriculum, classmates, and colleagues. 1. Curriculum What does curriculum represent? As we examined earlier, it appears that todays creative life requires that one learn the standard of technology commensurate with that discipline or industry. This is the new curriculum, our first element of the first trifecta. Many people can agree that change - change in how
Using Figure 3.1 as our guide, we can see that the first trifecta contains the stimulus (otherwise known as things, people, or events which cause a reaction). These are curriculum, classmates, and colleagues. The second trifecta contains the response (our reaction to those events). These come in the form of competition, collaboration, and connections. Since these six elements are what we find in a more global world, this most important question remains: On this larger playing field, whats the most effective method of dealing with this rapid introduction to new players and changing information? The next two chapters will examine the stimuli, our response to them and how those reactions play a central role in the essential tools used by the global creative thinker. Whats more, they will show how, due to another dilemma, a new tool must be created based on principles. Until then, the double trifecta is important for two reasons. First it attempts to show how if we only reached
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work, live, playbegins with creation. And the more people are out there creating, the more change we should expect. Heres an example: Lets say our 23-year-old geek from the introduction writes (creates) a software program that disrupts the way business is played on the economic field. Were going to feel the affects. Why is that? Well, you might work in one of the companies that use that software. Or you might need that software program to get on with your life or your business. Either way, you must combat this kind of disruption on a seasonal basis. To do this I believe you must fight fire with firecreation with creativity. This is why the education on what creativity really is becomes so important. To resist this transformation from one simpler thing into another more intelligent thing is tantamount to choosing the fate of the dinosaur. While extinction is not on the list of consequences, there is a price to pay for not learning all you can about what lies ahead. After all, we live in a knowledge intensive age. For a large company to stay ahead, daily research and development (R&D) is vital for lasting survival and growth. In a similar fashion, our new curriculum represents the call for creative thinkers to employ a daily program of R&D. Naturally without research we could not possibly hope to stay abreast of the pace of change. Looking back at Pangaea 2.0, we learned about inflation on creativity, and with our new titles as hunters and gathers of information we were expected to meet this new curriculum. As that curriculum changes, we must update our skills or learn new ones all over again to prepare for the impending larger context. A program of creative thinking is our curriculum to prepare us for the larger context of globalization.
2. Classmates As we continue our transition into the larger context, the second element of the first trifecta finds us with more classmates, another way of illustrating the increase in the amount and diversity of people we encounter, all of whom stem from leaving one smaller context, say college, and venturing into a larger playing field, say the real world. Classmates are characterized by their heterogeneity; suggesting that they represent a growing number of people from diverse backgrounds, interests, and disciplines, all of who, as we will see from the second trifecta (our response), can either be of help or hindrance to you. In the same way we delved into curriculum, we also need to pay close attention to the influx in classmates. It is worth finding out exactly where these people are coming from, and how have they come to be in our class. Understanding 2.0 finds many of us with an online presence. In the virtual world, as more people get connected, more desks seem to be virtually appearing right next to you. As the analogy goes, weve entered the same classroom or classrooms, talking about the same hobbies, ideas, concerns, values and beliefs. Rather than viewing this influx as a problem, without it there would be a lack of creative enhancers. With more players on the field competition will grow. Provided we all are to prosper, each of us needs to reap ideas from this windfall. 3. Colleagues Another feature of the bigger pond or larger context of a global view is that of more colleagues, our third and last element of the first trifecta. Colleagues, in the strict
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sense, represent people who are within our profession. A software programmer and a web application programmer are colleagues. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia defines colleagues as those explicitly united in a common purpose and respecting each others abilities to work toward that purpose. In a narrower sense, members of the faculty of a university or college are each others colleagues; very often the word is taken to mean that. But taking the broader sense of a larger context, we continually find there are more and more people like us who share our professional and creative abilities, know what we know, and have similar interests. As the second trifecta will show, sharing a playing field with more colleagues presents a problem for some and an opportunity for others. The more our playing field continues to grow, the more we find others just like us in study and in profession. Have you taken a moment lately to notice how many people you know or know of who share your profession? Would you say this number is growing? Well, why is that? As a graphic designer, I noticed that with the boom in technology and communications, all sorts of industries required graphic artists and designers. As this was the growing medium of choice for many domains, suddenly I wasnt the only designer out there. And not that I expected to be; on the contrary I embraced the growing community. What I did observe however was that regardless of your industry, as more global thinkers become aware of avenues to be creative youll find that there are more people reinventing themselves, seeking expression and opportunity in your open borders, leaving your once spacious profession crowded but cozy. These soon-to-be colleagues are naturally a result of expanded territory. The bigger the world becomes, the more we realize how small it is. Again,
we should ask ourselves, does this information make us nervous, or does it bring us hope? Lets continue by looking at the first trifecta from a solution point of view rather than from a problem point of view. Adaptation Consider the curriculum. In the larger playing field, well have to learn more as well as think more creatively. This presents a natural concern: that is a faster pace of change has been created. Todays know-how, like fruit, can go bad. To avoid this kind of obsolescence, we need to draw ideas at this pace, without becoming bogged down in a hurried state of mind. On top of all the responsibilities we currently have in our lives, how can having to learn more about technology, software, the internet and so forth be a positive thing? Since my advice is to keep pace with change instead of letting it helplessly drag us up a hill, the answer should be clear. In school, there were always classes that we didnt want to takebut we stuck in there, used what we wanted to learn, and succeeded in the long run. Moving on, is there a benefit to an influx in classmates? Recall Friedmans quote from the beginning of this chapter. More classmates, that is, more people from various backgrounds and disciplines, represent more exposure and access to new individuals. With them entering the picture (and bringing their unique body of knowledge along with them), what follows further adds to the rich tapestry that is a free and open society marked by its creative excellence. And what of the bright side to our increase in colleagues? As we stated previously, colleagues represent more access to members of a profession. As we will see from later
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chapters, this access to professional ideas and talent can be the opportunity to generate ideas from all of us. Its important to note that we are after behaviors that increase creativity, rather than lessen it. With our access to more methods of technological expertise (curriculum), diverse ideas (classmates), and more inspiration (colleagues), we are not only infected with an array of ideas, but in addition, because of an increasingly larger ocean, we realize that we must place ourselves in a global context. This kind of thinking further builds on our curriculum of creativity. All that has been presented--Pangaea 2.0, globalization, and the double trifecta breakdown of globalization--was done so to get us thinking more about how to prepare for change while staying creative. The first trifecta is simply the stimulus, the events that we must take heed to. To thrive in a more connected world, we need to create new forms of security. How we respond to this stimulus (first trifecta) begins that process of creating that security. Given the information presented thus far, what will be your response? Will you choose to compete with your classmates or decide to make connections with them? Will you choose to collaborate with your colleagues or decide to compete with them? Will you choose to absorb new curriculum through the diversity of new classmates? Will you choose to take your new level of creativity and collaborate to make it stronger? Meeting a change head-on means that we must think about how we respond, and this is always easier said than done. Provided we want to thrive in the Creative Era, we need to examine how choosing a certain response helps or hinders creativity.
Another evolutionary change in behavior has occurred, enabling a new kind of play that is fueling collaboration while disrupting competition. At one extreme, collaboration has become a tool for competition and connection a tool for enhancing creativity. At another, globalization has led to more competitive and, paradoxically, more collaborative behavior. Our teachers exposed us to the first trifecta, but the second trifecta, our response, was an experience each of us created on our own. While we will still seek to account for the birth of collabetition, the next chapter will present a synopsis of our responses, showing how they influence creativity, and towards this end, attempt to create a fourth alternative: illustrating a phenomenon and perhaps the evolutionary process that is necessary to deal with change. With each innovation we see Darwins principle of maximization in effect. The potential for expanding the realm of ideas as well as finding like minds is growing every day in the global world. We move to examine the behaviors of the second trifecta that facilitate this potential for more creativity.
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Chapter 4.
The Second Trifecta: Competition
Im not in competition with anybody but myself. My goal is to beat my last performance. Celine Dion As we pointed out in the previous section, our behaviors stem from a response or reaction to a condition, the stimulus. The last chapter made us aware of those stimuli: Pangaea 2.0, globalization, and the first trifecta were events that elicited action and response. In the face of this increase, we become global thinkers seeing a larger context as a different game whose corresponding actions have influence over our creative life. Human beings by nature react by reaching for tools, referred to here as responses, in an attempt to meet the goal of combating change. Using the second trifecta, well trace our responses when faced with an increasing playing field. The following chapters will examine those responses and the elements of the second trifecta, collaboration, competition and connection, and why those responses influence creativity. Its those responses that can either help or hinder creativity. Our aim, as it will always be throughout this book, is to achieve the former while avoiding the latter. Since our responses also nourish creativity and the creative life, we need to take a more focused approach to understanding the consequences of these specific actions and what they have on creativity. To begin this section, the obstacles and opportunities present
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to creativity and the creative life while using competition are evaluated in further detail. A View of Competition Looking back, we saw how the new curriculum of creativity requires that we add value to our level of creative thinking so that others will want our services or products. From the company versus company perspective, competition is said to be the invisible hand that keeps innovation going, providing more choice for consumers. Although competitive forces such as profit seeking and greed provide incentives for companies to improve, in sharp contrast, we need to consider competition from an individual versus individual point-of-view and what this behavior does to keep ideas flowing. The economic view of competition that was presented in a previous section pointed to one challenge, in which, Friedman argues, due to a flat world individuals must compete with other individuals on a global level. Its no surprise this response has increased. But aside from flatness, what causes this competition, our first response to globalization, to increase? Between individuals, past decades show popular mainstream promoting competition and comparisonbased contests as the effective methods for living in what they believe is a real world. Ironically, in comparison to the responses well explore in coming sections, competition remains highly competitive--meaning that it has established superiority over other responses by making ratings, drawing tears, and eliciting weekly drama. This superiority shows why its hard to put collaboration and connection before competition today. Dealing with this dominance
would need little effort were it not true that most people take their cues from popular media. Years of programming from this kind of mainstream, used for too long, may have a huge impact on how much we can do creatively. Before we look at those impacts, I should not have to tell you this version of that world is false. Actions that pit individual against individual, talent against talent, attempt to hide the real truth: that competition causes a kind of decay, withering relationships for a momentary sweet tooth. Only the hosts win in the long run. Unfortunately people are quick to accept this popular media along with the response they promote, making what I have to say all the more harder to accept. The parent who said, This is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you, wasnt simply being colorful. This potentially duplicitous environment feeds the scarcity mentality. What rubs people who come up against competitors the most is the uncertainty of the relationship. When surrounded by rivals we might ponder: Are they in league or just plotting away? When we have lived in popularity contests, comparison based identities and scarcity mentalities for too long a time, naturally truth must be hard to bear. But the longer you wait, shirking the momentary discomfort, the more numb you become to the decay. Whats left is amputation cutting off true friendship, lasting partnerships, useful ideas, and so on. In order to further creative value a mindset that helps it grow must come before competitive value is established. In an information/knowledge fueled economy, competitive position is not a goal but a by-product. As a highly innovative product presupposes its competitive rank, perhaps both values are redundant, but remember, our aim is to focus on those responses that boost creativity rather than bottleneck
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creativity. So, with this, the early verdict has come in on competition. It is clear that since the creative individuals are the ones who must create this value, our attention must be placed first on creation and not competition. The global creative thinker does this, and then positions him- or herself to present a comparably better solution or service to a worldwide context. This retains competitive value, but not in the sense of striving against another force to meet needs. Though this is a worthy ideal, I propose that this kind of competition all but cripples creativity. Many of you may not see a difference between a creative response of the global creative thinker and the competitive response that impedes creativity. The problem is the two are supposed to be different. The competitive tool attempts to retain what has already been created. In comparison to competitive responses, later sections will demonstrate how creative responses are better suited as replacements to competitive responses. Since knowledge and ideas are inexhaustible resources, creative responses become advantageous because they function by working with other beings, forces, and principles, to create and compound what does not already exist. In the face of more curriculum, classmates, and colleagues, reaching the right response will become more of a challenge, demanding a creative life on your part. Roots of Competition But how did we get here? Was our ignorance to blame? Could it have been our compulsive pride? Our insatiable need for momentary nows rather than lasting laters? Even though competition is a human behavior, is not singularly a human invention. The word has a
biological theme in natural selection. Instead of viewing it as a hypnotic system we are under, to understand competition we may better still investigate the universal as well as the human urge to compete and watch others compete. Warren St. John in his book, Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, suggests that our fascination with keeping score, obsession with contests, and compulsion to win can be traced to pleasure-giving chemicals such as dopamine and adrenaline, bodily hormones that are released after a win. So competition is not only a learned behavior but a biological one as well. One could very well say that we are the system and confirm it by observing our behavior, witnessing that all living beings, from the tiniest germs to the largest mammals, must compete to survive. They, the germ and the mammals, use their natural abilities to thrive, and if theyre lucky, to survive. But while there are biological, instinctive reasons to why we compete, there are also created ones: we want to obtain something we value, something we assume someone else wants or is in limited supply. So we respond by striving for a piece or upper hand in a particular market. These motivations can be illusory, but they often root from fear of loss or perception of scarcity. Its no wonder competitiveness has become synonymous with aggressiveness and ambitiousness. Sadly, a reputation such as this doesnt appear to have deterred many from its use. Weve simply made an agreement with it despite the consequences because its what Rome is doing. Whether they enthusiastically embrace competition or resign themselves to it, writes Leora Tanenbaum author of Catfight, both women and men live in a system that rewards those who rise to the top, and therefore both women and men compete in various ways. Nevertheless, we compete not
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only to survive, but for emotional and physical satisfaction. The human species, intelligent though we are, can be seen making this kind trade off everyday in other things; that is, todays reward over tomorrows consequences. Just look at the cigarette smoker, the binge eater or the alcoholic. Our reasoning is blocked by another habit or hedonistic desire: that is, to win or to satisfy an emotional or physical need. Similar to a feel-good substance, competitions effects are palpable, teetering from positive to negative; and yet we continue to use it despite victory or failure, hoping in the meantime to gain more of the former than the latter. The Competitive Machine Now that weve explored competitions essential nature and learned why we compete, to trace its effects on creativity we need to explore what competing is like by looking at the many faces of competitive responses. Competition goes beyond fear-based responses and into much darker waters. These waters characterize power, dominance, greed, and other characteristics with negative associations. This need for control over others and circumstances is tied to what we can call the competitive machine. Its this machine we must watch out for when seeking to further our creative objectives. We must recognize its this machine getting in the way of this kind of output. And because Ive used this machine, I know it well, and on the rare occasion, succumb to it (remember, through popular culture, we remain threatened by its dominant program). To be clear, this is not a machine as in a mechanical sense, but a human machine. Like a group of people in a
political machine, competition consists of a group of similar behaviors conspiring towards various ends. The other parts of this machine--for example feelings of comparison, fear, scarcity, distrust, and the rest--can be likened to gateway drugs. Beneath the surface of competition lie the smaller, less significant responses that if left to fester can lead to the most popular fix, an unshakable competitive mindset. And what are the parts that make up this machine? Call it what you wish: hoarding information, stranger danger, needle in a haystack, not invented here, too many chefs in the kitchen, a territorial attitude--these are all byproducts of a competitive culture. These are various traits comprising a competitive machine. Reluctance to share knowledge, circumstances where outside improvements are viewed as a threat, a lack of trust in organizations: All reflect parts of that machine. Artists are concerned with their ideas being stolen; entrepreneurs hush up to secure first mover advantage on ideas, and on and on it goes till the competitive bricks stack up to the sky. And like a gateway drug, the smaller stuff leads to the harder stuff. The Effects My aim here is not to dismiss competition as an ineffective tool, more or less evil--quite the contrary. But because of the characteristics inherent in the competitive machine, it oftentimes falls short of nurturing creativity. Aggressive behaviors do not fully activate the creative mind. The mounting views on competition have created a sort of dilemma. Money, love, and recognition are all-important and may need some degree of competitive spirit to acquire, but we must somehow stay away from competitions dark
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side, where its use is perverted for self interest to the detriment of others. Moreover, in our futile attempts at maintaining a favorable image in comparison with others, we forget our own purpose and cease to be creative. We look in the rearview mirror at whos catching up instead of looking forward, where our incomparable creative vision lies. In a survey conducted by Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School, it was found that creativity takes a hit when people in a work group compete. In 6 Myths of Creativity Amabile points out: The most creative teams are those that have the confidence to share and debate ideas. But when people compete for recognition, they stop sharing information. And thats destructive because nobody in an organization has all of the information required to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. However, in many cases, there remain characteristics in competition that help us recognize how good we could become by first looking at those whove done better and using their accomplishments as motivation or as a sense of accountability. An example is found in the triathlete who competes and wins despite all obstacles and discovers merit in good competition. Or in the group whose bonds become stronger from having worked together in healthy competition. Being better than you were yesterday, or striving for a personal best, are phrases used sparingly, yet they exhibit this kind of healthy competitive mindset. Even though comparison is used, positive competition rejoices in this observation: When I saw him do it, I knew then it was possible for me. This last redeeming trait is where competition helps push creativity forward.
We should conclude this chapter with a question: How can we respond to the first trifecta in ways that help our creativity, which as we explained is desperately necessary to thrive in the more connected, creative economy? Should we do it competitively? People say they resign to competing because of a system beyond their control. Granted, they have a point; however what these people fail to realize is that a system, like an engine, must be fueled by something, or in this case, someone, before it can run. Any enlightened person realizes that we are that system because we fuel it with our thinking, our choices, and our behaviors. Without this fuel, the system of competing could not run. Our response to the global playing field should look at increasing creativity first; leaving competition as a tool that follows creation. This will be difficult since it means a shift away from our competitive habits. As human beings we appear wired to believe, despite any evidence of surplus and opportunities for growth, that theres only so much to go around, and that maybe, just maybe, when we finally make it to the front of the line, a sign will read SORRY, ALL GONE. Ask yourself: Do you live in a world of finite resources where not competing is not only unwise but could produce results to your detriment, physical, emotional, financial, and otherwise? This is a difficult question to answer, but it implies that our perception will reflect our reality. Animals, unlike humans, are not creative. They rely on instinct to get along in the world. They must compete for existing resources that are limited such as food, mates, and land. We, on the contrary, can create out of thought and imagination. This should be your perception. What imagination entails is a removal of self from a predetermined world of reality
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to another world (a limitless one) that allows creation of images that do not yet exist in present reality. Martin Luther King, Jr. was using his imagination when he shared his dream of harmonious times between all people. Steve Jobs used his imagination when he wanted to create a new kind of computer. These acts by themselves go beyond rote analytical thinking and challenge the rational mind to thinking creatively. From this station of thinking, we move beyond the status of animals that exist merely on pre-programmed instinct, to beings of the creative kind. In this transition, we can then choose to bring those images into reality or perhaps choose to strive against what already is. It is during this crucial time that we make two choices-first, the choice to be creative, and second, the choice to be competitive. So, what are we to make of this? Our resources can be stretched based on our creative abilities. Information and creativity come from our minds, an infinite resource. As creative thinkers competing in this Creative Era we must ask ourselves, Is the response I am using going towards enhancing my long term creativity or simply providing a short term gain? Since now more that ever individuals are setting up on their own in the global playing field of talent and creativity, the effects of individual competition are actually having a reverse effect on the level innovation needed to maintain the competitive output of the Creative Era. But obviously competing isnt our only option. Next, well examine how our second response, collaboration, affects creativity. Well take a hint from companies, many of whom after considering the gains of a global marketplace, decided to cooperate and collaborate rather than remaining in the energy depleting role of competing for markets.
Chapter 5.
The Second Trifecta: Collaboration
Competition creates better products, alliances create better companies. author Brian Graham As we leave competition and move on to collaboration, lets summarize that competition is the part of survival, while collaboration is the whole of life. Phrasing it this way suggests that even though we must compete for things others want and for things in short supply, we can only get so far (using creativity on a global playing field) working on our own to get them. Sure, competing helps us to strive for at step above, but once those resources are won, it takes more than one person to keep it growing, to keep it creative, and to keep it competitive. Moving on to the second response to the increase in global players, we observe the creative thinker working together with new classmates and colleagues, most likely on a global scale. Today, with the introduction of new forms of technology, collaboration and the overall meaning of the word has evolved within a 2.0 context. Collaboration, writes the SAP Design Guild, is broadly defined as the interaction among two or more individuals and can encompass a variety of behaviors, including communication, information sharing, coordination, cooperation, problem solving and negotiation 1.
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Many authorities agree that the Internet Age-or Knowledge Worker Age, or Information Age, or Conceptual Age, or whatever names well come up with to describe our environmentis all about harnessing the power of collaboration. So naturally we will see this response increase, landing the position ahead of competition. In any community, were always collaborating to maintain that communitys goal(s), so it should follow that the collaboration habit finds practice through ones environment. So, why else do we collaborate? Like competition, the answer may appear obvious, but what may be less obvious is why someone would choose this behavior over competition, a behavior that focuses more on personal gain, especially in the face of more curriculum, classmates, and colleagues, i.e. more pressure to compete. My first thought was that this behavior demands a complex answer. We must first not assume there is no gain in collaboration. Companies gain through collaboration all the time: witnessing their creativity grow in an environment of people sharing and connecting with one another--as opposed to competition, where the main goal is the individual product or idea and not creativity itself. As I noted earlier, its the lack of a competitive position that keeps some companies and individuals so creative. But if these conditions are what prevent people from resting on their laurels, to enable every individual as creative, Ill take what I can. A View on Collaboration Competition, the more popular behavior of the three responses, serves us by acquiring things we value. Yet many
people dont realize that collaboration does this as well, just by more united, creative means. The previous chapter noted how competitive forces drive the natural world. However for sustenance and growth, nature also relies on collaboration, otherwise know as symbiosis: a kind of dependence resulting in a partnership that benefits both parties. The rhinos symbiotic relationship with oxpeckers reveals this alliance. The bird eats ticks it finds on the rhino and noisily warns it of danger. In this way, collaborative cues found in nature remind us that useful alternatives exist, thus rewriting the competitive script held to so firmly. Exemplified in our symbiotic behaviors, remarkable companies, projects, and discoveries usually occur between two or more dissimilar people (varying in education, skill, and personality) in a mutually beneficial relationship. Those who collaborate for competitive purposes are open to the same consequences as direct competition but with a key distinction. Collaborators end up with more value in the end because of the present and future benefits gained from their classmates and colleagues. Unions, which make up 14 percent of the U.S. Labor Market, were formed with this mindset. Rather than competing against one another, dropping prices down, workers began combating an evolving playing field by joining together, thereby maintaining a wage price 2. While competitors are looking over their shoulders for who will take their share, collaborators are looking into their contact books for who can help them create. When collaboration becomes a means to move closer to the goal, we must first add value to our camp by working with other people. These people are spurred on by the 2.0 imperatives to collaborate. None of us is as smart as
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all of us, writes Warren Bennis. In a society as complex and technologically sophisticated as ours, one person cant hope to accomplish it (all) 3. I suspect that through the quality of their ideas, those using collaborative means of competing are attempting to address the competition conundrum. For people competing on a solo plane, this type of behavior can be frustrating in the long run. But when people become team-focused, they come to create something out of nothing, and a bond is created; sometimes-lasting friendships are forged in the process. Speaking to the individual creator I predict that in the long run you will need these real friendships. But a paradox remains. We feel the demands of a competitive society in which we must compete in order to survive. However, to thrive and grow requires a system of collaboration, and to live in this system means containing the competitive machine within us. What is the alternative? The Collaborative Machine Similar to competition, collaboration can also be likened to a machinea system that runs on our collective thoughts and actions. Rather than simply saying this machine is the opposite of the competitive one, however, we must go deeper. For one, the person occupying the system of the collaborative machine would suggest glasshalf-full thinking rather than half-empty. Whats more, as Dr. Stephen R. Covey demonstrates in his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this person who thinks win/win believes there is plenty for all. Imagine it: You just might be a crucial piece to some grand project out there. It wont get off the ground without your expertise, your know-how, and your unique creative vision.
How can we contain this competitive paradigm long enough to consider the benefits of a collaborative one? After all, the most common worry is that in a larger classroom, someone may look over your shoulder and steal your ideas. Mark H. McCormack says in his book, Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age, If youre worried about someone stealing your idea, its probably not as strong as you think it is. The stronger an idea is, the harder it is to steal. He continues, By definition the best ideas are so original and unique that they cannot survive without their creator. He or she is the only one who understands the concept fully, who can execute it up to its full potential, and who has a personal stake in keeping the concept going despite all the obstacles. The coming sections on principles will help us reach that stronger idea. Natural Obstacles In addition to this common concern about idea theft, there are those of us who cannot bear the complexities that come from working with various personalities. Individual creative thinking is just as important as collective creative thinking. Some us (and rightfully so) are meant to be on our own, whether solving intense problems only we know for sure, thus adding to the collective scope of creation rather than being socially collective. Both, the individual setting out on her own and those individuals that are amiable towards a collective are in themselves good. But we should not force a collective spirit, however; rather we should encourage the option as just another road to a shared destination. Understand that we all recognize how valuable socialization is within the collective but if you find that those differences ultimately plague and prevent
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your methods of creative output, it would make absolute sense, at least until you feel the need pressing on you, to curb the collective. As a simple illustration, unlike some people, I personally love peanuts. But you probably know someone who is allergic to peanuts and cant eat them. There is nothing inherently right or wrong with the peanut or that persons digestive system or biological makeup. However, the digestion and the peanut when combined produce an undesired result. Anyone would agree to simply avoid contact with the thing altogether, moving on to another, more pleasing experienceso with respect to collaboration complexities, I give that advice here. Because of the allergic reactions to collaboration some say its perfectly natural to view others as a threat as long as we believe that they will steal our ideas, leaving us despairingly inconvenienced. I say there is nothing perfect about this view. Many people also consider collaboration to be a useless chore or resent the idea of working with other people. But we must understand that our responses generate our outcomes, namely on our levels of creative thinking, which after all, should be the real priority. When people continue to ignore this truth and choose to see an enemy in their neighbor, in a more connected world, creativity declines. When creativity declines, products and services lose their value, and by this time, it is perhaps too late. Competitive positioning, directly linked to our levels of creative output, is all but destroyed. But that is the consequence we suffer from not choosing to be response-able; we end up using a thing, in this case collaboration or competition, with one intent in mind, but it never comes out right because it was never given the proper start. Provided you feel collaboration just happens
to you and you are not in control of its outcome, it will always turn towards the ditch in the end if it starts at all. A Collaboration Guide We can see how, if looked at in a certain way, collaboration goes sour. But what else can happen when we open ourselves up to the collaborative machine? Consider the following five guides for getting collaboration started right away: 1. Understand the Benefits Why do you want to collaborate? Its a common tendency to want to know what we will gain from a partnership or cooperative endeavor. No matter how big or small the mutually desired goals, the benefits as well as the vision, must be made clear for all those involved so motivation becomes easy. All those involved must see this as a win/win or else in may not see itself through. 2. Be an Effective Communicator Before beginning the working stage, early feedback and effective communicating must take place. Dont be ambiguous with expectations. So much confusion occurs because ideas are vague or flaky. Individuals must confidently voice their wants, needs and expectations for the future and set up dates and meetings to see that they happen. Roles and goals must be clarified. Early trust and rapport must be established. By effectively communicating the details, there will be clarity on the overall goal. The most important transactions come in the beginning using effective communication. 3. Time Management and Organization Skills How busy are you? How much time do you have? If youre like most people, time isnt that abundant. However
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those that can work with others effectively and efficiently know that it takes more than creative know-how to get the job done. Their passion for expression is only rivaled by their skills in planning and organization. They make time, knowing that this is the only way to get closer to the finish line. 4. Remain Flexible The main challenge with collaboration is developing and achieving synergy. Were all very unique individuals, who are sometimes set in our ways with our own personalities and expectations. Collaborators value flexibility as an asset for dealing with the inevitable bumps along the way. Theyre proactive in communicating their needs. These combinations create synergy and win/win agreements so they understand the outcome and remain agreeably motivated to the vision. 5. Establish Project Priorities Heres my view of the playing field: on one side stand the doers, and on the other side sit the talkers. Tons of people were saying, Just do it, long before Nike coined the phrase. Its fair to say that these pleas were coming from the collaborators of the world. Their ability to view the project as a priority allows them to successfully navigate guides 1 through 4; at this point they realize that theres nothing to it but to do it. In spite of a words true definition, we come to use it in our own way despite the consequences. We saw this in the dark side to competitiongreed, dominance, and jealousy: all gateway drugs to the larger competitive machine. But there was a healthy side to competition, including achievement and camaraderie, conditions that boost creativity. Then we went on to view collaboration as
a competitive tool, allowing us to become crucial pieces to projects while ending up with more value from classmates. In conjunction with the striving to gain response of competing, we examined how the more creative working with response of collaboration for ideas was crucial. The challenge is in our ability to choose behaviors that serve creativity-enhancing ends and not creativityreducing ones, todays creative work for tomorrows competitive value. In front of competition in importance comes creativity, and to this end, we discover more means: our new classmates who can be our global allies, or the new colleagues who can be our global teachers. Otherwise we scrap the whole mess and discover all weve become surrounded by are more opponents. It all depends on how we choose. The difficulty is real, but the demand is more real. Knowing why we collaborate and knowing how to collaborate are two different animals. Some say many hands make light work and some say there are too many chefs in the kitchen. Most people say they would collaborate as long as they only found the right person or persons with whom they could share their vision and personality type. But collaboration is not a cure-all practice. Lets examine next how connections can provide us with greater access to releasing creativity.
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Chapter 6.
The Second Trifecta: Connections
We are at our greatest when we inspire, encourage, and connect with another human being. Maya Angelou Charles Darwin stated in his theory on evolution that only the fittest should survive. By that he meant despite the presence of predators, the fastest gazelle or the poisonous snake have a greater chance of living. Likewise in a more connected, growing field of players who prey upon our share, could the same theory apply to us? We might agree that in the animal kingdom, the fittest do survive, but its also those animals that perhaps arent among the fittest but avail themselves of the strengths of the group who survive as well. We would do well to learn from them. To prosper, we must become like the animals who travel in packs and establish a connection with the collective. The global creative thinker chooses the third response listed in the second trifecta: that of connections. Looking back at Pangaea 2.0 we see thinkers from across the globe connecting ideas, talents, and values, causing a transformation to business, culture, and lifestyles everywhere. We identified how the power of collaboration was harnessed within such an era, and this is no better exemplified than by the level of innovations and products
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seen in the world today. Yet because of our web of interconnectedness, we also respond with an array of connecting activity. A View on Connections So what do we mean by connections? One way to think about connections is through our association with something or someone else. When we look back to the first trifecta of curriculum, classmates, and colleagues, we find three ways we can look at the response of connections. Our first way to connect is from the perspective of learning something different, like when you make a new thought connection. This small act (which conversely occurs regularly when surrounded by other creative thinkers) leads to major discoveries such as in the examples of serendipitous events. When we consistently make such thought connections, we are slightly more prepared to deal with the rapidity of change, or the curriculum. The chapters ahead will show how we can make room for this consistency. The second way to connect is through a resource: introducing or being introduced to someone (perhaps a new classmate) who provides a much-needed resource like a job or someones contact information. Whether you are on the giving or receiving end of this kind of connection, its important to pay it forward- doing this means weve recognized our responsibility (note how were responding in ways that allow creativity) of connecting. Again further chapters will provide advice for various kinds of connecting and social networking. For now its important to realize the benefit and how one large classroom should imply
the abundance of resources previously unattainable prior to our age of connectivity. Finally, connections often act as community connections to provide other valuable resources found in personal or social relationships such as recognition, support, or goodwill- features only found within a trusted community, in which our new colleagues may come in handy. In following sections where our discussion moves towards proactive suggestions, we will examine the traits that are required for this type of community. All this shows how weve expanded the word connecting to suggest a need we all have to participate with others. For these three reasons, the power of connections has become a mainstream tool for businesses, as well as creative thinkers. Puzzles Lets say we were to use the first kind of connection as our response; what would this mean for the enhancement of creativity? What really qualifies as a thought connection? Calling a random thought an idea is based on the notion that youve somehow made a connection between one set of thoughts (wants, needs, and views) to another set of thoughts. This is because ideas, or in this case puzzle pieces, often come one at a time or in unpredictable chucks. They can originate through an outside stimulus, such as a person, event, or moment that sparks inspiration, or be simply internal, the result of many pieces of unconnected information you have rattling around in your head. This completed puzzle is usually a desired outcome such as a finished project or an achieved stage of improvement. To put it another way, these outcomes, if broken into pieces, represent individual ideas, some great, others not
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so great, that manage to connect to one another. Finding one puzzle piece allows you to find another, then another, until the final outcome is realized. This is where our ability to connect these concepts becomes important, and in later chapters we will discover ways you can experience these events. Effects Many things can happen when we use connections. With our previous responses, competition and even collaboration, we saw a downside; yet with connections, it can be argued that a downside does not exist. Even a bad connection is a good thing because now you know which road to avoid. We can clearly see how a resource connection leads us to perceive our classmates as teachers. We can create a healthy herd of thinkers. This mindset stems from recognizing that people who come from outside our domain bring a fresh perspective and help to enhance creativity. In upcoming sections, it will become clear that this response to our increasing access to one another (classmates, and colleagues) has created perhaps the highest plateau of synergy, exploration, and inspiration in the business, art, and cultural world today. Through our use of thought, resource, and community connections in ways that help creativity weve learned to use our last response in todays world. From understanding the opportunities of Pangaea 2.0 to answering those opportunities with global creative thinking to then recognizing the first trifecta as the things, people and events that may alter our focus from the creativity sorely needed today, were left with a seeming hierarchy, at the
top of which reigns collaboration, followed by connections and with competition at the bottom. But this kind of thinking may defeat our purpose. Instead, we must think towards creating a new strategy for creativity, raising ourselves to a higher plateau. By taking the creativity-releasing traits from competition, collaboration, and connections and combining them into one mindset, one that dutifully reflects our times, we end up bringing the best from the second trifecta together to form one response focusing solely on the enhancement of creativity within each and every one of us. In this way, the global creative thinker can create a fourth alternative, not listed in the second trifecta employing a strategy of collabetition, where at last idea growth and freedom exist.
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Chapter 7.
Enter Collabetition: Collaboration and Connecting for Competitive Ideas
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. Viktor E. Frankl It may seem that I am trying to change the world with the ideas proposed so far. On the contrary; evidence shows it is the world putting the change in us. Looking back on world history this is how it has always been. Call it a renaissance or a revolution, change comes in the form of an imperative condition. It is not until a discovery of a problem is made that this change begins to take effect. First our thinking comes under question; then after whats called a paradigm shift follows our response, where we are forced to either choose from a set of familiar replies or create altogether new ones. Reflecting on our discoveries so far, weve considered an alternative in our response to a world of increasing idea competition and creation. The global thinker looks to compete, collaborate, and connect in a new way, not only to survive, but also to thrive. But more importantly, he or she doesnt do it alone or against anyone.
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basic collaboration has evolved; at least for the moment, our perception of it has followed its function, resulting in our use to its maximum potential. As global creative thinkers living in 2.0, on top of what we already know, we must see how this new kind of response can be applied to creating a new kind of security not just for companies, but also for teams and creative people from around the world, competing with their imaginations. Creativity and the Second Trifecta Meanwhile, lets recap how each response from the second trifecta contributed to the emergence of collabetition. When we examine the creativity-enhancing traits of each response, we can account for the amalgamation Im proposing. First, we confirmed how some forms of competition are out, as their nature of conflict draws us away from the source of creativity. But we also saw how self-competition that is, striving towards a level of quality or achievement, helps us to better our work and ourselves. Logically the first half of what competition represents failed to meet these requirements, so by omitting the striving to defeat or become superior to mindset, what remains is simply a striving mindset. What quality or level of striving we are reaching for exactly will be determined on what we extract from the remaining responses. Secondly, yet in the same way, we confirmed that responding with collaboration isnt without its obstacles, such as idea hoarding; but overall, this behavior helps us to work with others to build better, more complex innovations creating remarkable things to come. From a working with to create mentality, it was concluded that we align ourselves
Figure 7.1 illustrates the proposal before you, advising that the second trifectas best join forces into one. What remains is a new mindset that siphons the best creativityenhancing and creativity-producing traits from this trifecta; unlike its parent responses, however, its meaning is more open to variety and manipulation, a trait sorely needed in a world of choice and greater flexibility. Through our recognition of the relationship between stimulus and response, the label collabetition suggests that weve created an alternative, one that mirrors the behavior of the global creative thinker. A behavior not unlike collaboration and connecting, and not quite competition, but a combination of three mindsets: ones that, due to a global playing field, were already undergoing a state of change. Collabetition, as it pertains to creativity and the creative life, is not only a more versatile behavior, but as well exhibit in a later section on principles, is the only behavior whose focus is on enhancing creativity in all areas of life. Collaboration enhances creativity, of course, but
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to become true creators. And because this response did the most for creativity, we conclude that it should naturally come before competition and connection. Finally, we confirmed how responding to rising stimulus using connection (or connecting) gives us access to ideas and resources we may have missed out on had we failed to link ourselves to the opportunities by way of a new thought or a new person. Since connecting comes naturally to most of us living in 2.0, many are already convinced of its immediate benefits to the creative faculty. Three Become One Now taking the best from all three behaviors, we can identify how collabetition describes our evolution into a response-effecting creativity, while at the same time describing what should be done to engage that response in the form of principles, or natural laws. In the face of change, the previous chapter talked a great deal about what our response should be. Todays behaviors mirror our reaction to perceived events and circumstances and as a result, how we compete is changing, in addition to how we collaborate. As I began noticing this evolution in various creative areas of life, I decided to label this revolutionary set of behavioral phenomena. Analogously, the term Spanglish (Spanish peppered with English) is an example of behavioral phenomena acted out in language. As a result of close border contacts and large bilingual communities, a new term merging two words was created to describe a different kind of communication. In a similar way, global creative thinkers exist in more adjoining, expansive communities using collaboration while peppering the striving mentality found in its more
popular cousins, competition and connection. Through connection, collaboration, and a healthy competitive mindset, this new response implies that we are working together with people and principles, to achieve a level of competitive creativity or innovation. Some may reply theres nothing new about this behavior. While this is partly true, I think what is happening to elicit such a skeptical response is that this behavioral hybridization has finally found a place to spread its wings in the 21st century. Previously, the limitations associated with collaboration perhaps caused it to be taken for granted by those outside the arts and sciences. In fact, it had not evolved yet. Now with the proliferation of 2.0 methods of sharing, exchanging, and collaborating, I observed that those engaged in this new kind of behavior were benefiting in many ways. Consequently they were competing and advancing themselves with their creative ideas. Though competition for market position has increased, so has the frequency of collaboration among competitors. Individuals and companies now ask more than ever what are the opportunities for cooperation and collaboration, creating a shift in concern not just to compete, but also to increase our creative value. Were expanding the existing pies and creating new ones. Blue Ocean Companies, a strategy authors W. Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne created, follows whats called value innovation. This logic calls for companies to focus on not beating the competition, but making it irrelevant by creating a leap in value for buyers, thereby opening up new and uncontested market space 1. Yet again individuals are taking cues from companies and organizations setting up on their own, discovering profit and purpose using fresh ideas to enhance the lives of others around the world.
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Effects In addition to companies large and small, creative thinkers, with their new-found power to innovate globally, are following suit- leaving behind the years of talent competition thinking, and evolving into talent collaboration thinking. While talent competitions hand out prizes at the end (with new enemies as a bonus), talent collaborations technically dont end, but rather come full circlewith handouts such as intricate ideas, global companies, lasting partnerships and friends, just to name a few perks that you can experience. So far weve learned that instead of trying to choose between three responses, we can avoid confusion by using (or creating) one response that serves creativity the most. This isnt simply collaboration plus competition. Yes, working with other people is part of it, but most importantly, collabetition suggests that we also work in accordance with natural laws, or principles--which, incidentally, make up the majority of the inner workings of this new behavior and which deserve explanation. As it happens, we saw barriers or negative side effects experienced when using the second trifecta. People were using these tools in ways that impeded creative progress and produced what can only be described as territorial, greedy, or selfish results. As we discussed, these reactions were the result of human responses: pressure to follow the norm, discouragement with that norm, personality differences, and petty disagreements, to name a few. Frankly, they were not aligned within a foundation of unchanging principles. A condition arises: we cannot rely on those responses that stem from our moods, circumstance, or perceivable advantage. Like the weather, these are subject to change.
Today more than any other time in history, results will vary. So we must choose responses that do not change because they remain rooted in timeless values while at the same time influencing better creative thinking. The creative faculty within all of us is here to help us integrate this new response, but it needs a foundation. Just as the mighty sequoia tree could not be mighty without the strength of its roots, collabetitions strength rests upon its roots: timeless principles that have stood firm for centuries.
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Chapter 8.
Principles and the Laws of Nature
Our ability to create a quality of life is a function of the degree to which our lives are aligned with external natural laws we call principles. Dr. Stephen R. Covey To access collabetitions true effectiveness, to achieve a level of creative competitiveness by way of collaborative responses, we must consider what role principles have in making this mindset work. From our experience with collaboration, competition and connection gone awry, we saw the problem behind their misuse is that there are no rules or principles to which we can refer beyond their definitions. While a definition merely tells us the meaning of a word, a principle, in effect, tells us how to achieve what we say the word means. Because people with our natural imperfections and moods sometime use these words or responses outside of their characteristics, our goal is to make principles that work regardless of circumstances, to our advantagehow to shape what you will as James Allen says. First we need to see principles as essential truths. And truths have a timeless nature. When we can agree with this part, we must naturally conclude that a truth is the starting point or foundation for a commonly known fact or idea. Put essential truths together, and you have what is called a principle. What determines or says what will happen when
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we think a thought or behave in a certain way is a job left to those principles. How we are to use them begins here. Why Use Principles? Some will ask, Why attach principles to creativity? To answer frankly, it wasnt my doingIm just the messenger. As we will see, principles are attached to everything in nature, even our thoughts. And to become better creators, we must simultaneously agree with a set of key essential truths. You see, all creation, in the mental or physical realm, must begin with agreement. Without infallibly, when certainty is absent, all that remains is chaos. For example, we all know the laws of science and have, whether we like it our not, made our agreement with them. Look at the space shuttle, modern mechanics, hydroelectricity, and so on. Surely it must follow that to create something we have made these agreements with other natural laws and principlesand consequently this is the way we advance over the millennia. These wonders suggest that to invent a thing, or to put it another way, to alter your relationship with it so that you can mold it to improve your life, we must first possess knowledge of and agree with its condition within the natural worldhow its fundamental characteristics function in the universe. When a metal-smith becomes aware as to the degree of temperature that melts gold, she can then use this essential truth to fashion precious jewelry. When an oil painter understands the rules of perspective, his works reflects the depth of his understanding. Whether its the laws of physics discovered by scientists, the laws of human nature espoused by psychological
leaders, or the moral and spiritual principles given to us by pastors and rabbis, the most effective teachers and creators are always bringing us back to essential truths and principles we are always too busy to pay attention to. To better understand their philosophies, theories, or hypotheses, they use an essential truth argument rather than relying on an ethical or value-based argument, which are matters of taste, opinion, or moods. Great teachers throughout history all seem to agree that while values govern a persons behavior, it is principles that ultimately determine the consequences of that behavior. Should we concern ourselves with becoming better creators, we must discover the essential principles that direct and control the tool we most valuethat is, creativity. How does this work exactly? Another way to look at how principles work is to compare them to laws. Whether in nature or the universe, most of us have heard references to these kinds of laws before. A law in this case also suggests an essential truth or assumption, which can also be called a principle. Now, laws govern every natural system: the mind, the body and our physical world surrounding us. As I said earlier, principles govern the consequences of our actions. In the same way, provided that we break a law (say the law of gravity), there are degrees of consequences. For our purposes in this book, it should be noted that when we ignore or attempt to short cut these laws or principles, the consequences are killers or stifles of creativity. This outcome runs counter to what we want to if we are to succeed in a more global, a more competitive, and a more collaborative Creative Era.
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Some Helpful Views Principles are also understood on a subconscious level meaning, we arent constantly recognizing or reminding ourselves of their role in our world. While someone plays football, they dont remind themselves of the laws of physics or gravitation, but rather focus on performance and winning the game. Witnessing how gravity works has been ingrained in our brains for so long that to grab our attention wed have to play football on the moon to notice its wonder. Still when basking in the glory of a discovery or creative idea, we sometimes forget those basic laws and principles which have played the most pivotal roles. We may take responsibility for catching a football in the end zone, when in truth, it was gravity working behind the scenes acting as our co-conspirator towards victory. Our task here is to remind ourselves of some basic laws and principles and perhaps introduce a few we may not have recognized before. Its vital to do so because today our hectic lifestyles have forced us to drift away from laws and into quick-fix thinking. In his books, Dr. Covey consistently reminds us how damaging this mindset can be in preventing our efforts from reaching true effectiveness. When were in this kind of thinking, we want our fast and easy solutions that shift our problems outside our control. Instead of working to better understand a few essential truths, we instead reach for the simple pill, the three easy steps, all so we can get on with the hectic pace of our lives. But this leads to misalignment and that leads to inconsistent results. We dont realize what we did right to get a result or what to avoid in the future.
Here arises the difficulty in proposing an alternative behavior for all of us. A world of immediacy only makes time for immediacy since this is all it can bear. Still, I believe creativity is the way around this difficulty, but as we will learn in the coming chapters, laws in nature and laws with people apply to creativity and creative thinking. For the consequence of a misalignment to law, we only need to look at the decline in nutritional value in our food. Fast food is a perfect example because we have altered our relationship with foods properties, breaking a natural law, and thus created a nation of obesity where other laws are broken. Obesity is handled through prescription drugs, emergency surgeries, and other quick-fix solutions, rather than exercise and a balanced diet and lifestyle, until more laws are broken. Blame shifts uncontrollably from things to people, and on the cycle continues. But laws by definition adhere to nature. When these natural laws are followed, food is free of chemicals and retains its nutrients. Because we understand the essential truths about the nature of food and of our bodies, people slow down to eat it and take responsibility for the results, rather than shifting the bill. This is a modest example, but my hope is that Ive have struck a chord and that you will continue to explore this proposed alternative with me into the next section. Above all, principles help us avoid confusion, providing some order to the disruptive chaos of 2.0. In order to create the new security weve discussed, the more uncertain things become, the more we need to grasp onto the already stable.
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Alignment with Principles Lets say we choose not to live out our creative lives by principles. What is the alternative? Weve already witnessed a few in the second trifecta. We saw that a response is like a ship; unless it is given an anchor, that is, principles to keep it firm and steady, theres always a possibility it will shift in the tide to places you did not expect it to go to. Moods also change with the weather and are unreliable. Lets continue with our metaphor of the ship. A ship knows where it must go and has a map to get there. But along the route, without fail, will come an occasional storm that can throw the ship off-course. Similarly in our lives, there will always be circumstances, events, and not-so bright days ahead. But with an anchor, well always have stability and confidence in an otherwise uncertain monsoon. To compare and contrast principles from moods, C.S. Lewis writes, No feeling can be relied on to last in its full intensity or even last at all. Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last. But feelings come and go. And since principles are rooted firmly into the ground, they last. We can rely on them to work despite our changing moods and circumstances. To begin designing principles, first decide on a standard for yourself. Before you take on an external principle, ask yourself what your internal principles are. Taking in everything weve examined thus far, do you value a more creative life? If so, what will you do to keep it that way? In the course of our journey, this must be your first value or truth. But how do we go about creating our own principles based on the values we have and the laws of nature? Most of us, whether we know it or not, already use principles in
our lives. We may refer to them as core values or beliefs. For example when two people dispute some unfairness one person might say, I cant let that slide based on principle. This person is pointing out some unspoken value or belief he holds to be the truth or standard for whats considered fairness. If anything or anyone goes against (breaks) this principle, this statement implies there are consequences. In the same way, to take on an understanding of any other essential truths, first understand the ones you already possess. By giving this a chance youll begin to notice even the universe, lets call her Mother Nature, has an unspoken value she imposes on everyone. Some call this the universal law or the laws of nature. When we break her laws, consequences surface, like global warming and ozone depletion. To summarize, its principles that govern the consequences of our actions. Rather than continuing to hurry, we must tap into our values and our internal truths by asking ourselves, Are we headed down the right road? If the answer is yes, then enjoy that road, slow down to discover its essential truths. This is one of the rules understood by the most creative thinkers. Only then will you discover the value of a principle-centered life. So what are these essential truths that direct creativity and, more importantly, how do we activate them? Complete answers lie down the road in the next chapters. For now, before exploring the practical applications of these principles on the micro level, Id like to introduce the three areas these principles will address on the macro level. Macro since these three areas can potentially encompass a great deal. Knowing what to do (through tools and practical application) is one thing. Knowing what area of your life
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will be served by what we do (a view or sense of the big picture) is another. They are: 1. the private life of our creative fulfillment. This is our relationship with self, our thoughts, beliefs, and habits. 2. the public or social life of our creative fulfillment. This is our relationship with others, and our perception within that society. 3. the contribution or purpose-seeking area of our creative fulfillment. This is our relationship with our calling, the need for significance, essentially the desire within each of us to become part of something special and manifest this alongside others. These areas will not change and are indivisible. As the first trifecta can and will change, eventually a new stimulus will arise to affect creativity, but in the end these areas and their truths will never change. Moving on to the micro level: that is, a smaller, more specific concentration on what to do by using daily tools with a focus on our thinking, fueling the engine of collabetition starts with our next chapter and the principle of the idea magnet, which will explore the creative potential our minds have of attracting better ideas to our curriculum. Chapter thirteen follows with the idea harvester, a principle which is designed to prepare us for the increase in classmates by examining two kinds of collaborative environments and how our relationships in these environments could be more harmonious, allowing us to reap better ideas. Then in chapter nineteen our final principle of the idea factory attempts to address the influx in and our greater access to colleagues by once again suggesting actions derived from principles that influence us towards better creativity.
Part Two
Principle 1
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Chapter 9.
The Idea Magnet
Before you can do something, you must be something. -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe A common trait in highly creative people is the ability to discover breakthrough ideas almost without observable effort, and it is my assertion that this ability ultimately rests within a certain mindset. The first part of that mindset requires that ideas must be drawn to them before they can be processed into something of value. This mindset also contains a realization that focus and personal surroundings play a pivotal role in the creative attraction process. And people with this mindset somehow know that an idea will come to them in the time it is supposed to. They seem to understand, perhaps unknowingly (or with intuitive knowingness), that collaboration with the natural laws is the first critical step to idea birth. Not surprisingly, they will not communicate in these exact words. They captured an idea because of who they are, essentially how they think. This thinking is within your reach as well. Becoming attractive to ideas means aligning oneself with the thoughts, people, places and circumstances that naturally align with our future of ideas. It means becoming idea magnetspeople who draw into their minds ideas in harmony with their most dominant thoughts, conditions, and surroundings.
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Attracting Ideas: Dinas Story After I graduated from high school, my parents sent me to prep college in London. I think at that point, I didnt know what I really wanted to do. I was going by what I was told I should do. When I came to the US, my dad wanted me to go into business administration or law. They (my parents) always thought I was going to be a lawyer (probably because Id always talked and debated). When my father returned, I told him I had switched majors into fashion merchandising, and he went insane. Nobody in our family has ever gotten into fashion or was seriously creative. My mom though I was just messing around and that Id just get over it. Two semesters later I decided to move to New York City. And with the help of four jobs, I did it, and my parents were very supportive. Im glad that my mother and father were able to see me graduate twice from F.I.T. To this day, I am creating. Before my dad passed away, he sent me articles about the growing fashion industry, and my mom is very supportive in that shes helping me promote my clothing line at home. Im very thankful. My dad left me in a time where I had very good people around me. The hardest thing for me was to make good friends. In two years, I made the best of friends and came to realize it was because of the way I dealt with negative energy. Since then, Ive been attracting nothing but positive people. People that have been able to help me in so many aspects in my life, its amazing. The more Ive been attracting these positive people, the more negative people seem to drift away from me; and now I dont even know their whereabouts. I feel sorry for jealous people because we could have learned a lot from one another. I replace the anger that they have for me and think about what I have and the privileges I was given that they never got. I think happy thoughts and begin to create. All their energy is put into something really negative, and
for me instead of attracting this negative energy, I let the energy arrive, change it to positive, then take it in. Personally, all I have to do is I think about the future, dream about it, and if the dream is still there, then its a set goal. For a while I didnt realize that it was a meditative process but now I do. The things that I want, and also everything that I said I wanted, I meditated on it and Ive accomplished most of it and theres more to come. Creative beings possess an ability to produce outcomes creatively. Seen in this way, creativity seems more controllable if viewed as a kind of instrument; and like all instruments, it works in accordance with how a person plays it. We are in charge of the notes, not the other way around. We can play a tune provided we are in harmony with the laws that govern how this tool produces music, or for our case, how our mental tool produces creativity. Dina understands why her outcomes started changing: a simple mental law at work. Her story exemplifies one of three mental laws that work to shape our experiences. Three Mental Laws 1. The Law of Attraction The law of attraction says that we attract concepts, people, and circumstances in harmony with our most dominant thoughts. Just as physical laws govern what objects do, mental laws govern what our thoughts do. By govern, I mean that a law says what will happen as a consequence if we think or act in a specific way. The law of gravity says what will happen to a person who leaps off a cliff. Similarly, mental laws determine what will happen as a consequence
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when we think in certain ways. More specifically, its our thoughts that produce things, so it should follow that the effects produced by these laws dictate who is creative and how creative one can become. 2. The Law of Good Infection A second law is that of good infection. The law of good infection was no better illustrated than by C.S. Lewis who noted that good things as well as bad are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire; if you want to be wet you must get into the water1. Just as the apprentice studies under the master, for a skill to mature or ideas to be acquired, fulfilling our potential creativity requires us to surround ourselves with the people that emit its energy. Do you ever notice that when a new friend comes into your life, you begin to take on some of their mannerisms and personality traits? This is because we are infected by the energy they send out. This kind of infection can influence our being, thereby causing us to do more creative thinking. We can trace healthy competition to this kind of infection. 3. The Law of Gestation Recall when we noted that ideas are first presented to us in seemingly disparate puzzles pieces, thoughts that, we hope, are used for problem solving or task completion. This is where understanding the law of gestation comes into use, which states that the development of an idea requires time. Whats more you must follow through on an initial idea no matter how silly or weird it may seem. When you let the
development stages happen, ideas begin to compound on themselves. You must step on the first stone before the second can appear, and so on, to complete the series of events that will lead you to the idea youre looking for. How many potentially great ideas were thrown out because they werent given the time to fully bake? Lets say for a moment that you cant attract ideas or dont have time to. Instead of trying to microwave creativity you must realize that ideas, even those of the creative kind, are not spawned from a vacuum. To experience the final outcome, a creative idea, we must respect its process rather than impose our own to it. New ideas must come out of something or somewhere, so we must go to the source. But when we arrive we must let this law regulate the development of that idea. The Workings of Idea Magnetism Now that we understand the fundamental laws that govern how ideas are drawn to us, how do they prepare us for the new curriculum? There are several reasons why the new curriculum can be burdensome. As we learned in an earlier chapter, the subject matter changes constantly, oftentimes leaving our current storehouse of information obsolete. The bottom line of idea magnetism is to ensure that we not only draw fresh ideas to our minds but in addition find the right ideas to deal with this pace of change. There are three stages to examine before fully understanding the totality of idea magnetism. The first stage begins with an example from nature. Take the chameleon, which adapts to its environment to survive, changing color to collaborate with its natural surroundings, allowing it to stay hidden from predators.. In this sense, the chameleon is lucky because it knows its natural ability
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to make it in the world. We humans, on the other hand, dont immediately know what our abilities, gifts, or talents are. The knack for public speaking, the sculptors eye, the athletic prowessall must be discovered first, then honed and nurtured. To arrive at these greater creative abilities and ideas that allow us to thrive (or survive), we need to copy and paste from the chameleons handbook and collaborate or work with nature in order to find our talent or discover our breakthroughs. After we work with nature the second stage is to look at our beingness. Goethes earlier words ring true insomuch they are the closest things we have to any consistent, reliable explanation for why the results in our lives are so very different for each of us. Before we can create ideas, we must first become the kinds of thinkers who have the ability to draw them to us. Nature or nurture, personality or personal choices: Everything we have started began with a mindset, a beingness. This means looking at our thoughts and recognizing how they mold our outer resultsa fact especially geared towards creative output. Then we reach the third stage, where taking the intrapersonal approach becomes the means by way of molding our beingness. By intrapersonal I mean looking on the inside of oneself, where the private life exists, and taking inventory of where we place our thinking. As we go in, we literally and figuratively take a stock of the beliefs that serve as well as the ones that do not serve: replacing what we dont want on the shelf of our minds storehouse with beliefs and ideas that will serve us. As will become clear in a moment, we attract into our lives our most dominant thoughts, rather than what we wish. Summarily, ideas that have the potential to reach you rest solely on this
beingness, and who you are can be molded depending on your willingness to let nature help you. Earlier we contrasted our creative potential to an instrument. In music, we use the term harmony to suggest that the musician or musical tone is doing something right, something pleasant to our ears. When a sound is not in tune or is out of tune it suggests that the musician is doing something with the instrument that is not in full agreement with the kind of tune she is attempting to create. What may come out in her playing may not necessarily be wrong but merely a sound the player doesnt like. Whats more, she may have the wrong instrument or perhaps even a damaged one, even though its principle still applies. When she becomes in tune or in harmony with the instrument (understanding what the instrument needs her to do), she creates melody and rhythm. Instead of altering the instrument, she aligns herself with its potential by first understanding what the flute or the cello expects. Now, our creative faculty is that instrument with which each of us, at this moment, can create a proper tune in life. A harmonious relationship, a synergistic staff, a noteworthy project or invention can be created successfully if we are so inclined. To do this begins by first understanding the instrument of creativity and that it adheres to three mental laws. What we must do next is probe into the root or the essence from which ideas spring: our thoughts, the notes that make up the tunes we will begin to play. There is a reason this is important: Reminding ourselves of the new curriculum, creativity inflation, and the constant pressure put on each of us to assimilate new innovations, can we afford to continue to play it by ear? The answer is no; we must become harmoniously connected with our
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creative instruments. Rather than winging it purpose and intention must be thrown in. Evidence in Conversation In this section, well look at some practical evidence of what were calling idea magnetism. Rather than using quotes from well-known authorities here (well save that for the next section), lets take a peek at the words and phrases you and I use everyday. Have you ever said or heard anyone say one or more of the following words or phrases? The project didnt go very well. She and I just werent on the same frequency. Wow, we were really on the same wavelength in that meeting. I really like working on this team. There seems to be a real electricity in the air. How about we meet for lunch and brainstorm on the project? You wouldnt believe how this spark of an idea came to me over the weekend! To use a metaphor, has a light turned on in your head? Notice the common theme in each phrasing: the theme of energy. We may not realize it but these phrases bespeak idea magnetism because they point to the laws that exist in the natural world. Magnets are everywhere in the natural world; they make up the Earths pole, theyre in your cell
phone, and in your credit card. But theyre also in us, rather, in our minds. Electricitys role in the body is now being recognized, acknowledges David Bodanis. In Electric Universe he states: The brain is electric at its core; invisible waves stream out from our brains with a wavelength of about two hundred miles. And the commonplace terms we use in conversation leave clues to this exchange of energy. We see evidence of this in emotions and responses. When we feel sad its quite possible (and perfectly natural) that others can feel itthey ask us whats wrong, avoid us, or are emphatic. You know the phrase misery loves company. Our moods attract like forces. Of course, we cant always control our emotions. But we can control our thoughts, and its imperative that we think in certain ways to attract the right people and ideas in order to play the right tune. Evidence from Authorities Lets continue to seek advice on how our thoughts determine what ideas come into out life. The power of thought, specifically, our effective use of thinking coupled with belief, was no better demonstrated to children than by Mabel C. Bragg, writer of The Pony Engine, which first appeared in The Kindergarten Review in 1910. Although she never claimed to have originated the story, the earliest version, Thinking One Can, was written by an unknown author and published in Wellspring for Young People, a childrens Sunday school publication in 1906. This tale inspired the popular classic many of us were exposed to as children. Since its first printing in 1930, The Little Engine that Could is one of the more well-known versions that personified the small locomotive who succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain by chugging on with its motto
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I-think-I-can 2. The phrase I think I can, now trademark of Platt & Munk, has become part of the American vernacular 3 . Compare this to the revolution of the past 40 years where today weight loss experts teach people to chant, Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. And seminar gurus promise greater self-esteem if only wed say, I like myself, again and again to ourselves in the mirror. In a similar vein, coaches teach their professional athletes that in order to win, they must visualize themselves succeeding on the field. Even with all these observations, it wasnt until later in life that I began asking myself, What are these methods trying to tell us? I dont mention this to recommend or endorse chanting phrases or mantras to meet our goals. However, I do understand what they are trying to do. What exists is a common recognition of the power our thoughts have over the quality of our lives. In fact, it would appear that these thoughts create our lives. The concept is this: Our ability to do or not do lies within our current though paradigm--or to put it another way, if we think we can, we can do. The very idea that we can do allows us to do, since ideas are born out of a thought universe. In harmonizing ourselves within a thought universe, its crucial to recognize, as I said before, that thoughts, like pictures, are things. And over the centuries, old masters have tried time and time again to bring us back to the truth. From every century, these masters have attempted to remind us of this powerful and still immutable law. In my parents generation, Earl Nightingale shared his discovery when he proclaimed, We become what we think about. His strangest secret transformed a generation and continues on through Nightingale Conant, his self-improvement collaboration with businessman Lloyd Conant 4.
In the early 1900s, James Allen, noted philosophical writer, poetically wrote, Mind is master, power that molds and makes, and man is master and evermore he takes the tool of thought and shapes what he wills, brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills, he thinks in secret and it comes to pass, his thoughts are but a looking glass. 5 Psychologist and philosopher William James said, The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind. In 1937, Napoleon Hill, mentor and advisor to the wealthy industrialist Andrew Carnegie, interviewed many of the most famous people of the time and concluded that we can all Think and Grow Rich. He shared his discovery in his book of the same title across many languages, selling over 30 million copies. Look at Roosevelt who said, Provided that you think you can, or cannot, you are probably right. Noted preacher and author Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote 46 inspirational books--most notably, The Power of Positive Thinking, published in 1952, which sold around 20 million copies and translated into 41 different languages. Famous American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, A mans life is what his thoughts make of it. William Walker Atkinson who wrote a great many books on New Thought in the early 20th century proclaimed: You are today setting into motion thought currents which will in time attract towards you thoughts, people and conditions in harmony with the
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predominant note of your thought. Your thought will mingle with that of others of like nature and mind, and you will be attracted toward each other, and will surely come together with a common purpose sooner or later, unless one or the other of you should change the current of his thoughts.6 Atkinson and his contemporaries believed that our thoughts have a drawing power in that they attract to us the thoughts of others, things, circumstances, people, and luck, in accord with the character of our most dominant thoughts. Strong thought long continued, he believed, will make us the center of attraction for the corresponding thought waves of others. All ideas, whether poor or magnificent, seek to accomplish a singular theme: a personal improvement. Since we are increase- or improvement-seeking beings, it should follow that to meet this demand we become creative beings. Creativity is to this day one of the most singularly unpredictable moments in human psychological development. Some say that ideas come when youre relaxed. Others share tales of deep moments rife with pain and stress as the stimulation for their imaginative thought process. Various types of stimuli have been known to spurcreativity, so to define all of them here would not only be beyond the scope of this book but would be limiting to how creativity can and should develop. As always with creativity, something will be left out. But there are specific guidelines to attracting a great idea or creative thought. We move on to examining how the mental laws discussed in this chapter work together to help tune your mental antenna in everyday life.
Chapter 10.
Search and You Will Find: Suggestions for Idea Attraction
In the idea economy, an experienced brain is an asset. Daniel H. Pink Weve all felt the pressure of needing a solution to a problem or coming up with a new idea to improve something. More often than not, this pressure is the cause of not having enough time or having no clue as to the next step. When I find this to be the case, I fall back on the power of thought to attract ideas by turning on the search engine capabilities of my mind. Since the law of attraction says that we draw to us concepts, people, and circumstances in harmony with our most dominant thoughts, the great part about this kind of search is that you dont even need a computer to begin. Here, searching illustrates another method or approach to attract and locate useful information. Online search engines are powerful because they incessantly gather information. Metaphorically, we can perform the same task. When this happens we become inventors. The word invent is derived from the Latin word invenire and means to find. How we harness our daily information, and even whether or not we can find it, is the most important (and overlooked) part of the creative
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process. One of the ways to get the results youre searching for is to unleash the power of the ultimate search engine, or what Malcolm Gladwell calls the internal computer of our mind, your brain 1. Your mind comes standard equipped with problem solving mechanisms. Using the first law in attracting ideas says we need to unlock our internal computer, tapping into resources yet unseen so that spontaneous creativity naturally occurs. The rest, of course, is up to you. Here are four suggestions. 1. In the morning, write down three observations. Do this before the hectic day. This activity is comparable to journal writing since it involves a ritual of personal daily writing. However, our motive and intention in doing so is different. Here our goal is to activate the power of focused attention. Since the law of attraction states that thoughts are things, what we focus on in our daily thoughts will become our reality. To communicate either in audible speech or through effective writing is like creating areas of space for your mind to tackle new thoughts. Now, why is this recording of focused observations important? Each day, our lives are overwhelmed by a barrage of people, places, and ideas clamoring for our attention. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, as ideas come from connecting seemingly random pieces of collected information. The conundrum is selecting out of this torrent of stimuli whats useful, important or relevant to your situation or task. When you write your three observations, you neednt concern yourself with how good they are. They can be
anything. What are you plans for this particular day? Who would you like to speak with? Perhaps youre looking forward to a particular circumstance or event. How would you like it to go, and what would you like to see change? All these queries start in motion a chain of events in the mind. As the search begins, you enter queries into your search engine, otherwise known as the subconscious mind, and begin each day not with a to-do list but with a to-focus-on list. To-do lists keep us routinely busy rather than exploring how we can meet our overall purpose for doing something in the first place. You start the morning with your highest need, concern, or desire based on purposeful thinking, not reactionary firefighting. Youll begin to notice things you may have otherwise ignored due to the stresses and urgencies a day might bring. Like finding the lost pieces to a puzzle, life becomes an Easter-egg hunt, and youll wake up anticipating what you may find next simply because youve created the search criteria on purpose rather than allowing the day to provide it for you. Finding time to do this is a habit anyone can develop, like brushing your teeth or going on a morning jog. Some people do achieve this habit by facilitating a reliable workspace. Nevertheless, without the seed of insight these observations may bring, youll find yourself constantly in what-if mode or couldhave-been thinking, confused as to the meaning of lifes constant flux of seemingly random puzzle pieces. 2. Carry a notebook or voice recorder wherever you go. Ideas come when you least expect. Years ago, an idea hit me while riding on a crowded subway car. In that distracting moment, I found myself without a pen, pencil, or paper to record this idea for some
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later date. Fortunately a stranger had a pen on loan so I was able to rescue this thought from the land of ideas long forgotten. But how many times do we find ourselves in this situation with no way to record ideas that may develop into vital solutions? Pretend a farmer gives you ten seeds to plant. The seed are diverse; some are coarse, round, and tiny, while others are oval-like, softer and dense. A few have a hardened, shelllike appearance. Since youre not a seed expert, you decide to get planting anyway, perhaps the only productive action to take. With each passing week, out come the tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, and on it continues. In the same way, all ideas are seeds that are planted when you record them. Just as a farmer wouldnt toss aside seeds that may one day provide food, you shouldnt throw away ideas simply because you arent sure what will grow out of them. Dont concern yourself with their current validity. Most ideas arrive like unlabeled seeds, without an indication of what they could become; this is simply due to their need for the gestation period (the third law that we will discuss later). After all, The oak sleeps in the acorn 2. But in order to gestate, ideas must be captured, taken from the mental realm and brought into the realm of reality where they can grow. We remember what we record, notes Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life. Write it, record it, and wait for it to grow. 3. Ask more questions. Be very curious. Youll find incredible insights. As creative beings (people who seek improvement), we are always taking in our environments through a series of steps: search, identify, process, understand, and apply.
With the occasional practice of calibration, valuable ideas are discovered. Yet whats important is how this all began in the first place. Curiosity opens up our minds to begin the search. Search engines know so much because they are fed with a torrent of references and ideas. We ask questions of them, and the answers are returned based on relevancy or popularity. Like creating a pipeline into a flowing stream, information is siphoned by these terrific bytes of algorithms and fiber optics, all physical things analogous to the nervous system of our brain. Chasing information is what makes them so powerful. As our minds are a billion times stronger than any search engine could ever be, chasing information should not be so difficult for us since information is everywhere: online, on a billboard, in the paper, in a conversation with a stranger. Just remember that nature rewards the curious. Youll begin to see more prophetic signposts that can be interpreted as ideas waiting to be discovered. As long as we can be like children (this statement makes many adults cringe) in the sense that we rediscover our curious nature, the result is that we wont miss out on ideas that always seem to bypass the know-it-alls. 4. Write your key problem down in your notebook; then write ten answers to it. The goal of this exercise is to mentally download all the thoughts and concerns that may be in your head. The immediate benefits of this activity are clear. Bringing your worries from the thought world (ideas trapped in your head), into the world of reality (ideas written on paper) can have a calming effect on your day. Your problems in life, like a complex math problem, need an answer. When we
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wrestle with ideas in our head and dismiss the benefits of working out those problems on paper, this activity is tantamount to attempting to solve a complex math problem in your head. Even Einstein knew better than to commit this blunder. You wouldnt physically carry more that you could handle so why would you mentally carry more that you can handle? Retrieve strength by setting your current issues down on paper. Start with any question like, How can I get a student loan? or What could I be good at in six months? As you write, note how the process becomes more challenging after the first five to six answers. Once you are past this point, you begin to take longer, perhaps even struggle for the next four answers. Realize, though, how important it is to continue. After all, we are working a mental muscle. It will feel like your instructor has come along and put on another set of weights during your workout; where resistance along with benefits are increased, the decreased speed of the workout should naturally follow. Although performing at slower pace is a natural occurrence of this increase, the power one gains sustaining this type of exercise strengthens the mind for larger tasks, heightening our ability to take on heavier ideas and concepts. Just as without a consistent workout each time you revisit the weights, your body becomes sore, without the occasional mental download you place a bottleneck on your creative capacity. If you are to do more, to create more, force yourself to continue by remembering that a mind that is stretched can never return to its original form. As hunters and gathers of information we can prepare for this ongoing curriculum by using our thoughts to conduct a daily search; only then can we start attracting
the people, places, and circumstances that can help us be more creative. Since an idea fueled world remains in constant motion, naturally it follows that the problems and solutions in your field are changing daily, some by leaps and bounds, others by slight improvements and variations. Survival, no less staying on the cutting edge in pace with this curriculum, means persistent searching. The hardware is our brain; the software were running is creativity. What we enter in this software is knowledge, information, and facts in their unpolished, disconnected state. It is the job of the softwarecreativity--to make them beautiful, valuable, or remarkable.
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Chapter 11.
Idea Attraction through People: Suggestions for Good Infection
Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward, and we want to sit in their radius. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. - psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger As I explained earlier, much of how we attract ideas occurs when were around certain types of people. By using the law of good infection, people, like all things, can transmit waves of invisible energy much like a wireless device emits data we cannot see. This kind of infection can influence our being thereby causing us to do more creative thinking. Although we cannot see these waves, we acknowledge their existence as working forces. Similarly, we transmit infectious waves of energy that communicate to others. By now it should be fairly evident why it is important to surround ourselves with certain types of people. Our thoughts, like radio stations, can be changed to any frequency we desire. Thought waves vibrating from the people you surround yourself with or focus your attention on, if done on a consistent basis, become yours and vice versa. We can attract the people we want in our lives by
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willing our thoughts to be emboldened, but this can be difficult to do on our own. To assist with this transformation, we can cultivate a confident mindset by finding those who encourage one in their own lives. Overall belief in our ideas comes not only from personal confidence but also from a supportive, positive group we can trust. To continue exploring how this principle can impact our demanding curriculum on creativity, the following suggestions provided are centered on a people-attraction theme. In short, people and their ideas are infectious. So its important to hone our mental antennas in order to surround ourselves with certain kinds of people. Here well use three suggestions to how ideas can be drawn to us by way of the law of good infection. 1. Notice the daily challenges people are having. How can you help fill their needs? I know this suggestion puts others first, but its when we attempt this mindset that creative ideas come to us. Again, to combat the bottleneck placed on creative thinking of the myopic kind it is important to address the new curriculum by seeing ourselves as servants who can carve out our own niches. Building or creating niches instead of competing for them depends on adopting a people-focused mindset, a job most suited for global creative thinkers. In this suggestion, whats been added is another kind of focal mission. Determining from others what doesnt work presents us with an opportunity to identify our niche through more observational writing. As you begin to jot these observations down, links will appear in the form of insights and ideas. Eventually these ideas will amass, and then compound to reveal better insights.
We should notice how, with respect to creativity, the law of attraction works when we decide what to solve as well as what to focus on. Looking for problems gives the subconscious mind something to do while you go about your daily routine. This is what happens to many unsuspecting innovators. For instance, Arthur Fry came up with an idea of using the adhesive to create bookmarks while contemplating a hymnal in his church choir. Along with Spencer Silver, a researcher at the company 3M, this later became the idea for Post-it Notes 1. 2. Notice what people are currently using to go about their lives. We all seek improvement, so be a trend creator. Here we move from innovation to improving. The rapid pace of trends are what living in the 21st century is all about. We see trends in fashion, market trends, and so forth. Overall, trends are a general direction in which something tends to move. For instance, jobs are lost, body parts pierced, stocks prices rise and fall--all because of trends. This is where we need to achieve a mindset of allowing our culture to infect us in a more useful way and take up positions as trend-spotters. You could be looking to purchase a home or design spring patterns; perhaps you are searching for the right college. Keeping an eye out for a trend means an idea will appear to help your decision. Trends, and locating them, are probably the most important ability to master in our lives. Still focused on people, be sure to write down creative work that impresses you. While you search for the remarkable also notice that we havent stopped the search for ideas. As our powerful search engines look for clues left
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behind by the creative class, the doors are blown wide open for serendipity to walk right in. According to Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, Serendipity is finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else entirely. This concept is illustrated by many inventions we see daily. A notable example is Silly Putty. As the story goes, while looking for a substitute for artificial rubber, James Wright of General Electric invented the Silly Putty toy for children when he dropped boric acid into silicone. What was originally created as a scientific accident became a household hit in the early 80s. Wikipedia continues to note that according to an MIT web page on inventions, Ironically, it was only after its success as a toy that practical uses were found for Silly Putty. It picks up dirt, lint and pet hair, and can stabilize wobbly furniture; but it has also been used in stress-reduction and physical therapy, and in medical and scientific simulations. The crew of Apollo 8 even used it to secure tools in zero-gravity. 3. Participate within like-minded groups. From our earlier exploration, the law of good infection or, for practical purposes, the company we keep, becomes a key determinant in our level of aspiration and inspiration. This is because collectively, thought vibrations are passed seamlessly from person to person, resulting in what author James Surowiecki calls polarization 2. Furthermore, we noted earlier how people are more likely to take on the traits, beliefs and behaviors of others in their most dominant group. If we accept this notion, its apparent that people who feel they are not creative usually dont surround themselves with enough creative energy even though this energy is everywhere, particularly
in people. Look at this force thusly: the company you keep is your company, implying that like a board of directors within an organization, our like-minded set of peers share our vested interests. Like a company, organization, or any corporate entity, you want certain qualities from the people within your organization that make you stronger while at the same time dissipating your weaknesses. A company dislikes those who contribute destructive emotions, bad work habits and so forth; likewise your company (You, Inc., as Tom Peters coins) along with those you choose to socialize with most of the time, are your partners in the company of socialization. In the words of Don Quixote, Tell me thy company and Ill tell thee what thou art. Furthermore its in our social interactions good infection is displayed through the phenomenon of emotional contagion, the tendency to express and feel emotions that are similar to and influenced by those of others. To accomplish this empathy our subconscious mind uses cells in the brain called mirror neurons. Provided we accept that emotions are contagious, we must be careful to play the right tune when seeking board members. While attempting to find these like-minded people, we should be asking ourselves what kind of energy we are bringing to the table. After all, these members are valuable for the ideas or units of information they transmit to us. These units are what science writer Richard Dawkins calls a meme: which represents how through imitation and infection, ideas propagate and become valuable. Therefore we must conclude that what springs from the broadcast of our memes reveals another clue towards creativitys dependence upon the laws of cause and effect. Also remember that creativity is communal. We look towards experts and specialists to advise us on decisions
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were wrestling with, as well as strong personal ties whose talents can inspire us towards greatness. On top of this, we also seek others that feel the way we do and share our outlook on lifes present challenges. Do you want to feel a certain way but no longer have the juice or creative spark to keep it going? Remember, the outlook you keep corresponds with the company you keep. Unless your company lifts your outlook, consider hiring new people. From our recognition of the law of good infection, can we be prepared for the new curriculum? The evidence affirms we can be. Still, a sobering reality is that some of us wont be able to rise to that higher level without shifting to a people service mindset on top of finding good company. Our people focus plays an important part in the progress to the creative life. From the influence of our personal relationships we actually become different people along our unique timelines. A particular saying comes to mind: Take a look at your five closest friends. This is who you will eventually become. I believe that this is another way of saying that those we choose to interact with most of the time will provide us with most of the opportunities we will draw from life. I use the word opportunity to suggest emotional and material gainsuch as friendship or a valuable resource. In the very same way, our personal relationships act to form our own expectations-in other words, our desire of whats possible for us is made possible through comparison to those around us. Provided you dont see yourself as creative, the implications here suggest that perhaps you dont surround yourself with enough creatively minded people. The challenge lies in finding a way to rise above what you dont want from these personal relationships, such as negative peer pressure. The
power of social acceptance or need for approval and social recognition is our wild card--it comes from the people we respect and are likely to emulate. Its safe to say we come to model or strive alongside the behaviors of others around us, whether or not it serves us to do so. This is good competition that leaves us more competitive in the end.
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Chapter 12.
Idea Attraction through Places and Circumstances: Suggestions for Gestation
I consider the process of gestation just as important as when youre actually sitting down putting words to the paper. Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka We all may have asked ourselves at one point why ideas seem to pop up in some of the strangest of places. One prevailing myth that continues to grow in popularity is that ideas come while youre in the shower. What is it about the smallest room in the house? Is it the movement of water? The white tiles? Perhaps its the soap? And its not only the bathroom receiving this mythical praise. We saw in the examples of serendipity that our best ideas often dont appear to us when were stressed, wrestling consciously with a problem, or doing our best to force out solutions. They come when were listening to music, playing around children, or simply in a relaxed state of mind. I dont mean to imply that problems cannot lead to creativity, only that our very best stems from particular circumstances shown to favor openness rather than stress. Most of the time ideas come to us outside of work, away from cubicles, far from the bricks and mortar day-to-day routine. Obviously
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we cannot control events in nature, but I think what we do have the ability to control is worth investigation here. These suggestions show how ideas can be drawn to us by way of the law of gestation. Gestation in the figurative sense means that a duration of time must pass for additional ideas to be acquired or figured out. Cramming and shortcutting may work temporarily, but in the longterm the law of gestation comes to govern whether or not we receive the ideas we need. Our hidden potential to attract creative ideas occurs in every moment whether we recognize it or not. How we respond to events, people, and circumstances determines this outcome. For this choice to become easier, once more we look to our final law. So, again, we look inward to the mind; our level of understanding of how the mind works in this way is directly correlated to how the creative faculty part of that mind brings ideas to us. In the final analysis, we dont have the luxury of not knowing when and how this faculty works. The same is true with our physical bodies. Whether we think it will help or not, the popular media is always telling us something new about our bodies. Similarly, its in our best interest to learn all we can about our minds and how they become activated the way that they do; the places and circumstances which surround us also conspire towards creative thinking as well. Most creative people know what they can do to activate their ideas; provided you want to know how, all you have to do is ask them. Heres what I found when I asked. 1. Engage in something inspiring each day.
Inspiration is the fuel for creative thinkers. Its this fuel that gives birth to the ah-ha! moments, periods where an idea has gestated without our realization. So to encourage the gestation process, what types of actions are needed? Weve all heard people warn, You are what you eat. Of course, our cautioners didnt mean to suggest that when we eat chicken wed begin the transformation into a rooster or a hen. Really what this phrase implies is that our bodies take on the properties that exist in the food we consume. Eat too much fat, and you will become fat; or eat healthy vegetables and you will take on health. Naturally, this would not be difficult to prove. But what if I told you we are what we allow into our minds? Like your body, your mind takes on the properties inherent in the things you put in to your head. Watch or listen to things that hold negative and depressing vibrations (recall our example on energy), and you will begin to take on those characteristics. The challenge is that with so many stimuli to sift through, engaging in positive inspirational activity can be likened to the search for true organic food in a fast food culture. Still, do as Walt Whitman says and dismiss what insults your soul. Yet, what really qualifies as inspiration? The word inspiration suggests some external stimulus or energy that arouses the mind to special or unusual patterns of thought. From the Greek culture the word literally means breathed upon. Our mental antenna attracts this expelled energy to our minds; so as an earlier suggestion notes, we must be careful to record thoughts. Reading, writing, talking with a friend, watching, observing, its all the same. The goal for this method of idea magnetism is not only to search and be curious but also to become a sponge for inspirational energy. Here we begin to look for it on purpose, using
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intention as a base for motivation. Truth be told, a talent is a skill like any other skill. In time, with practice, one can hone and acquire a talent. This is why we call creative people talented instead of gifted, a more innate sense of talent. Most people will agree that with this criteria, the lumberjack and the flutist are one and the same. Anyone can practice a thing and become skilled at that particular craft, yet when combined with inspiration, or what Power of Intention author Wayne Dyer describes as being in spirit, any particular talent can transform itself from a task of effectiveness to a incredible work of greatness. Inspiration consumed each day will have remarkable effects on your mental state throughout the day. When you are in spirit you begin to push forth to the next stage in your level of creative thinking. Yet without the fuel of inspiration, youll begin to feel a kind of dehydration, sometimes called a mental block. This standstill can be avoided by the purposeful focus on inspirational activities. 2. Meditate, relax, play or walk within nature. Dont force creativity. Ideas come naturally and favor the relaxed mind. The campus-like companies of our day (i.e. Silicon Valley, Nike, Apple) have always impressed me as to how they inspire creativity. Note that we must inspire creativity, instead of managing it like an object or thing. These companies employees are encouraged to take full lunch breaks, create their own eight-hour workdays, and engage in recreational activities like basketball or pingpong throughout the day. I understand how this may not be an ideal scenario for most companies. Still, what do
these organizations know about creativity that others do not? Im not altogether sure a ping-pong table would make a difference at an accounting firm, but I do know that for super-creative giants, such as the companies mentioned above, to create and compete, theyd better understand how creativity is fostered. Guide number two works with the law of gestation or what some teachers also refer to as incubation. The bigger the creative request made of your mind, the more it demands an equal share of time to go to work to bring ideas forth. Controlling what you do with your body produces corresponding results in your mind. We must recognize that being creative is the expression of being alive. One does not have to necessarily be engaged in painting or singing to be creative. The way in which you conduct yourself throughout the day influences your output. If you are under constant creative urgency beware. As long as you are putting out fires at work all the time--if youre not a fireman--you will find yourself creatively blocked. In my opinion, many socalled creative people neglect this part of a creative life. I do not suppose this is intentional, only that day-to-day life demands more from us than every before. Yes, the 21st century human has been presented with a large challenge. What Im proposing here is while we must attend to important matters, we only need to laugh, be at rest, and fix our minds on the ideas we want, and they will arrive in time. 3. Have faith. Believe the idea is already in your possession. Then be patient. When you inevitably find yourself waiting for that time before the ideas arrive, shave some time off the wait by practicing good ol faith.
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However you choose to express your spirituality, in most teachings the quality of faith, or the ability to trust in something you cannot yet see, remains the most important component. Faith, C. S. Lewis writes, is the art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods. Can you see, then, how faith is tied to principles? By resting on what we believe, what we value, coupled with a strict adherence to the flow of the universe, our moods (which only produce momentary results) will not have time to take root. Positive belief, or whats also known in most spiritual circles as a confident knowingness, appears time and time again in teachings and philosophies the world over. This kind of knowingness states that belief that we are already in possession of the idea will present us with the idea sooner that any other method of idea creation. Several other teachers refer to this as a confident expectancy or an intuitive knowingness. Our connection with a force larger than ourselves, one that will make a way even when it seems like there is no way, is what the very definition of faith and positive believing entails. Although it is not my intention to place creativity within a religious context, a corresponding belief in the ideas we have and will one day have is necessary to attract additional ideas. In truth, all great ideas had to have first been believed in before they achieved success. When we have no proof that we will acquire a valid idea, we must fall back on our positive belief. Positivity, notes Kay Redfield Jamison, author of Exuberance: The Passion for Life, is also a facilitator for creativity and problem solving. Whats the takeaway? Believe in your heart the things you desire most, positively imagine that you already have them, have faith that all will be well, and creativity will find you along the way.
Looking back at the past chapter, we realize how better ideas usually come over time and sometimes when we least expect them. Most experts claim that better solutions or final pieces to a puzzle arrive after we sleep on it, take a break, and believe in ourselves. This theory is based on natural laws that suggest that time must elapse for a thing to grow and develop. How can what we discovered about this final law prepare us for the new curriculum? When we employ the consistent gestational actions above, the discovery of ideas compounds on itself. Its like finding missing puzzle pieces to a picture in your mind (your end goal). Just as in a puzzle, things start making sense as more idea pieces are collected. Working with gestation may seem frustrating at first. Sometimes the best way to connect the seemingly insignificant ideas that pop up (and theyre only insignificant because we havent attached them to a larger, more significant context yet) is to recall how the law of gestation governs the time creative ideas are drawn to you. Take heart while you wait: If you havent found a solution, identified the problem or located the hot trend, continue to use the law of gestation as a process until the proverbial apple lands on your head. Youll begin to notice that 10 hours of creative work in one day isnt as effective in creating these connections as 10 hours spread out over seven days. Gestation is funny that way--patience is your virtue. The Principle of the Idea Magnet: A Summary Collaborating with natural laws works to attract better ideas.
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Preparation for becoming idea magnets begins within us by our collaboration with natural laws, specifically the mental laws of attraction, good infection, and gestation. The rightness or quality of the ideas we receive as a result (creativity) depends on how we play our instruments, or to put it another way, use our thinking faculty. Idea magnets become more self aware from writing daily observations, and a burning curiosity spurs this on even further. Moreover, through good infection, we are always attracting people, ideas and circumstances in harmony with our most dominate thoughts. Meeting others with similar beliefs and interests is at a high level of importance. As a consequence, serendipitous events begin to appear, which may seem to the uninitiated like luck or fate. Furthermore, as circumstances and people begin showing up, inspiration is heightened, providing assistance or leading the way through mentoring and advice. Once we learn to collaborate with this law, it will draw to us like opportunities to be more creative. And finally with a greater understanding of how gestation directs creative output, we realize that keeping pace doesnt mean moving at a faster one. When you practice these mental laws, you will find methods to activate them beyond those suggested. Becoming effective in the creative life happens from learning how to deal with the hectic lives we find ourselves occupying. But make no mistake: This occupation is voluntary. Moreover, mental attraction comes from thinking in a certain way, and that means realizing how powerful thoughts can be. It is clear that finding ideas is simply a matter of deliberately using our focused attention or collecting information as part of the search. Whether its that new career or a great friend, were always searching
for something or someone. Daily exercise as human search engines can bring us ideas through better search results. Those that are idea magnets manage their private lives in a way that allows them to perform at levels of high creativity. Lifes opportunities arise from this kind of management. And today, the creative life means scheduling time to nurture this part of the mind in more stimulating, relaxing ways, thereby transforming it into a powerful search engine. We turn now to our social life, learning how to better collaborate with people to further these opportunities. But how does one gather ideas from these people? The next principle will lead the way.
Part Three
Principle 2
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Chapter 13.
The Idea Harvester
For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians - Chapter 6 verse 7 The following conversation is an excerpt taken from an online public discussion forum on www.omidyar.net, a mission-based investment group committed to fostering individual self-empowerment on a global scale. Community members gave feedback, recommending various types of business plan software, shared related links to other helpful websites on this topic, and a few even offered their professional services for a nominal fee. As to be expected however, one person played the devils advocate. Erics position represents that competitive machine in all of us. His question, and the response from Jim, the original poster, could not be better examples of todays fears about sharing ideas and, correspondingly, todays opportunities to share ideas. Although just about anyone with a computer and a connection to the internet can view what you are about to read, for privacy reasons, Ive substituted the actual name of Jims company to that of said company.
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Harvesting Ideas: Jim and the Omidyar Network Posted Topic: Business Plan Workshop Forum by Jim (23 point comment score) on Tuesday 07, September 2004 I figured the first step to move a project out of the realm of ideas and into the realm of action is a business plan. Some of us who are not MBA-types have little or no experience with business plans, but have great ideas that are ready to move forward. Would it be feasible to use workspace on Omidyar.net to create a sort of business plan workshop, where the community can collaborate and contribute its varied expertise to the development of a business plan? Reply by Eric (48 point comment score) on Friday 17, September 2004 13:44:41 PDT I clearly understand the value of collaboration in general, getting insight and help, and even the potential of collaborating online. What I dont see clearly is how collaboration with this much public exposure allows the poster to maintain competitive and first mover advantage for a business or start-up. I hope I am not old-fashioned and missing something obvious. I joined the Omidyar Network to further extend my own similar values of collaboration. But do people feel comfortable posting serious business plans in a public workspace, and (are there business and investment people listening in?) will investors, bankers, and possible business partners look seriously at a business plan that has been posted online in a public or even membership-based forum? It would seem to me a forum like this might serve a very useful purpose simply in sharing experiences, tips, and resources, rather than actual plans. Hope these questions are helpful.
Reply by Jim on Friday 17, September 2004 14:27:26 PDT Excellent question -- it crossed my mind as well. Heres my thinking on the question and why I decided to go public with the development of the business plan for said company. 1. Since I dont have closed access to the kind of people I think I need to expose the business plan to, and I dont have credentials to gain access, and I dont even really know who would be interested in this project, Im going public with the hope that someone will see it, find it interesting, and pass it along to others who may be interested and contact me to get involved. 2. I dont think my idea is so unique that anyone couldnt figure it out. If it is unique, maybe its patentable. Ive developed a time-stamped prototype, and I believe Ive got at least a year to file for a patent. If someone takes the idea and runs with it, I can either make a case for ownership or not. If somebody does run off with it, I take that as evidence that its a good idea--which helps me. Rather than risk being accused of stealing my idea, anyone who thinks its worth stealing would be better off hiring me to develop it for them. Thats fine with me--Im trying to make a good job for myself, not get rich (although Im not opposed to getting rich--thats a good job, too). 3. As far as investors are concerned, if youre an investor, and youre worried about losing first mover advantage, send me a check ASAP and well get first mover advantage. 4. Said company is a platform that depends on userparticipation to work. A certain amount of transparency
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5.
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is required to engender trust. It makes sense for the business plan to be apparent. Nobody understands said company better than I do. In fact, I already know the mistakes that someone trying to steal the idea will make. Anything built on a stolen idea will have bad ju-ju and kill community. Said company wont work without community. I dont think Im going to publish financials. The rest is no big secret.
for the correlate: To reap on a farm requires that we nurture the land before we can harvest the crop. But instead of harvesting on the farm of chickens and cows, today in the technological age, we are responsible for harvesting knowledge and information, which can one day turn it into valuable creative works or solutions. We must be the kinds of people who can cultivate ideas within people before we harvest ideas from those people. This requires a great deal of interpersonal ability, a feature we will explore next. The Law of the Farm The idea harvester is a reaper of ideas from todays farm, which represents our growing body of classmates. And creativity is the harvest that springs forth from collaborative acts. The harvester gathers ideas and uses those ideas to increase creative valuevalue that is more likely attainable when compounded with the diversity and experience of other people. If look to the law of the farm which says we can only reap what we sow, we see how harvesting has more to do with how well we work with people than how well we work on our own. Powerful ideas are usually discovered by groups of people, so we can conclude that the idea harvester knows what the literal harvester does: Great care must be given to cultivate the farm (the relationship with others) before the crop (a valuable idea from others) can be harvested. The easy task here is to recognize that our own unique ideas gain greater leverage when introduced, tested, and critiqued within collaborative groups of classmates. Harder is to recognize how this happens harmoniously. Returning to the example at the beginning of the chapter, not just anyone could have garnered this much assistance at one time. Jim and others who harvest ideas
Jim provides us with an example of idea harvesting. The term harvesting in the figurative sense implies achieving a result from a particular set of actions. These actions can also be called cultivation: planting seeds of trust, respect, and so forth to maintain the collaborative environment where naturally classmates feel comfortable helping us. In fact, its important to note how his story illustrates the laws consistent with harvesting, a principle that only works when we let go of our fears and place the creative good above the highly sought-after need to maintain a competitive foothold in life or in business. Ironically, to do this means first thinking creatively beyond whats expected and opening ourselves to something new and more beneficial to creativity. Provided that we are willing, a door is open to receive ideas from our prolific array of classmates. The plain truth is that useful ideas dont always come to us; we must instead go to them, to those environments where ideas are being shared. Whether in our companies or as global creative thinkers, to make sure the willingness to share these ideas is present when we arrive, we must to use a metaphor: Plant carefully before we can reap plentifully. We can look to natural law
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from collaborative environments are engaged in a different kind of cultivatingone of relationships. Its this mindset of cultivation that presents more opportunity to the person who is willing to take full advantage of what collaboration represents today. Although he met with some skepticism, Jim saw everything except opponents. However, I realize that for most people, this kind of perspective might be too much of an ideal. I can understand Erics side. So Im not suggesting we all share our ideas in this way (not because it wouldnt be a grand movement, more so because it would mean sameness), but on the contrary Im suggesting that we all can share our ideas--meaning that with greater connections from technological evolution, we now have the ability to share and harvest ideas in a more advantageous way. This is an issue of the market being ready or the fruit being ripe enough paradigm. In the same way that a mother protecting her child will let her little one know when its safe to go outside or when it is all right to taste a hot meal, my position is to suggest that the time is now to do what many of us have been wanting to do for some time, but because of ignorance, unfamiliarity, or danger were just afraid to do. The crucial difference is that today, collaboration is so much more than it use to be. Its more flexible, more attainable, and less confined by time and locale. When good soil exists in a collaborative environment, there follows an outpouring of support that was especially beneficial for those harvesters. Competitive behaviors and toxic work environments that inhibit or shirk creative flow are decreasing. From deep collaboration to loose collaboration, this behavior has made itself more available
than ever before to various comfort levels. It is now safe to come outside. In fueling collabetition, the principle of the idea harvesters aim is refining the social relationships of creativity with those we collaborate with (and eventually could collaborate with). Improving the harvest--what we reap from people--means we must elevate our interpersonal abilities with those people, returning our social and professional interactions with others back to the priority they deserve. In this matter, creativity is no exception. In the Omidyar.net example, Jim received feedback on his business plan by tapping into a heterogeneous kind of environment of like minds united in one mission while promoting their own personal and professional mission. Although facilitating a business plan forum has inherent advantages in the online realm, this kind of idea sharing is not confined to the online realm. In fact, as I plan to demonstrate, idea sharing is possible just about anywhere at anytime. As it happens, this idea sharing is the easy part. The elements that make this happen are what we need to cover. Whats more, our takeaway from this particular example should have less to do with business or economics and more to do with how we respond to the increase in classmates. Remember we said due to the global playing field, classmates suggests an increase in people whose ideas are available to us. I will continue to emphasize that these people, with their potential for diversity and collective wisdom, can either be perceived as our allies, teachers, or opponents. Social Life on the New Farm Since the term harvesting implies a result, we must move
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our attention to the actions that manifest these results. Looking back to the idea magnet, to manifest ideas we used an intrapersonal approach because it involved expanding the creative mind of the individual. As we move on to define the essential truths comprising collabetition, we find the next principle, the idea harvester, takes the interpersonal approach. By focusing on improving our relationships, our social lives, we find creative individuals are collaborating harmoniously within groups of other creative individuals, or as the first trifecta states, other classmatesa situation that, in our aim to enhance creativity, appears rife with complexities. Unless we desire more creative results its important to explain why this approach is necessary. Theres an often ignored people element involved in idea generation. Unlike a physical resource that is measurable, knowledge is infinite, especially when those in possession of it are truly motivated and inspired not only by their work, but are taken care of intrinsically, on the interpersonal level. This is because our success in all things creative requires the assistance of other people in various respects. Whats right for me? we ask when searching for a helpful idea. Most of us are then left with, Am I making the right decision? After some pondering, its natural to look to the feedback (or ideas) of others who can provide effective roadmaps. By increasing our level of interpersonal ability, conditions can be created so that harvesting ideas from others not only becomes easier but increases in quality. Because were dealing with creative output, what were after is more than just influence. With idea generation, theres a catch. Before we harvest ideas, we must be the kinds of classmates who can cultivate ideas from other classmates. Our greater understanding of this truth helps to use the
increase in these idea associates to our advantage leaving the potential to make our own ideas better. Well begin to see how harvesting ideas from these people becomes directly linked to the harmony of those relationships. Our classmates, due to each ones unique expertise, are people Id like to describe as idea enhancers. Because these idea enhancers can also be influencers of our ideas, an idea harvesters goal is to not only find these types of people but also obey the very law that governs creative output from people. Global creative thinkers that make up todays farm adhere to this system, carrying with them the same arrangement of transactions and exchange. Knowledge, talent, ideas and information, otherwise known as the new crop, are things we rely heavily on others to have, provided we want to compete and create remarkable ideas. Todays farm, or in this case the working environment where resources can be reaped, relies on working with others to process ideas instead of things, to make improvements as well as innovations. Since this new crop of ideas exists in our minds, this new farm not only depends heavily on the free and open exchange of information, but in addition on how well we can interact with one another (hence the phrase free and open). Now that weve demonstrated the benefits of this kind of harvesting, the challenge for most of us becomes obvious. We must start with several questions: How are your collaborative relationships with people? Do you find others in your work or organization hoarding information, backbiting, and competing? Provided you do, what crops or ideas are you harvesting in your professional and creative life? Have people dramatically altered what could be idea-
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producing behavior when in the presence of the competitive machine? Coupled with the increase in classmates along with the new curriculum, have you prepared yourself for the demands of reaping a larger crop of ideas? In a more connected world, the quality of our relationships with the classmates we are about to meet should be viewed as the key ingredients to any goal or creative endeavor. Why is this so? Well, what is it like to have a quality relationship? Unless you have one I could not convince you of its benefits. Just imagine at least twenty people conspiring towards your well being. Sound impossible? Not for Jim and most certainly not for you. But exactly how does one conduct such a harvest? What are the seeds we have to plant to not only get people to help us, but to elicit deeper levels of creativity from them? The answer is in our actions. Preparing the New Crop Remember that the law of the farm states we can only reap what we sow, meaning that we can only gather ideas from others with whom weve cultivated our relationships. The more careful and deliberate the cultivation, the better the harvest. Since many of us are already engaged in mostly competitive behaviors, to begin cultivation we must first put our actions towards dismantling the competitive machine. With obstacles such as the competitive machine, this kind of cultivation requires a deeper understanding of how our interpersonal abilities influence creativity. The coming chapters will focus on achieving the harvest through cultivation, planting seeds, and deliberate maintenance by suggest ways we may a) work more harmoniously with other
individuals and b) through these collaborative relationships gathering more ideas. Similar to the law of the farm, the new crop of ideas cant be forcedso it follows that neither can the people possessing them. For people to share their best ideas openly and freely (the crop) suggests that we cultivate our loose collaborative relationships as well as the deeper collaborative ones. But this isnt always so easy. Remember, we said a creative life comes out of personal emotions. Whats more, as feeling beings, our protective, delicate nature as well as our ego drives may prevent this kind of cultivation. To tie this kind of cultivation back to the real farm, as it happens cows are known to give sour milk on the condition they feel slighted or uncared for by a handler. If cows can do that, imagine (and some of you dont have to) what we humans can do. Similarly, as the law of the harvest applies to creativity, you cannot extract creativity from people without first cultivating a mutual understanding with creativity. Are we simply talking about motivating a person, kissing up as it were? Well, with people motivation is everything. But we are not talking about simple motivation, such as the carrot and stick, two-faced compliments, or the kissup strategy. The area of our hearts and minds that expresses the highest level of creativity sees right past this. So to motivate creativity, disingenuous acts wont do. Some might suggest money to solve the issue of motivation. But where things become complex is when creativity is thrown into the equation. Lets again use creativitys comparison to love from the introduction to make my point. Can a true, deeply honest love be bought? Very few people will say yes. This is because deep inside, we understand that to foster human phenomena such as these requires much more than a physical or an extrinsic
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thing to take it to higher levels. With a person, for a time, money or other incentives will do as a motivator; but if we think that is all that is needed, we are fooling ourselves. Creativity requires much more. Ultimately, the idea harvester does not see his or her classmates as things to be manipulated to get what he or she wants. Contrary-wise, a healthy crop is the result of the farmers nurturing, of a purposeful cultivation. Likewise, healthy relationships are to be cultivated first, and then results are to be harvested. Managers cry, My subordinates wont obey my orders. Still, they cant see that their approach to the crop has become obsolete. And provided you are a creative person Im sure you can see from that complaint how the approach fails. Today our authority must come from the heart, not the position. Weeds will grow when you dont care for your farm, and likewise, people treated in a certain way who feel like youre only out for what you want, who suspect duplicity, deceit, and hostility, will only produce a bad crop of ideas. And all along you may have falsely jumped to the conclusion that these people you were bossing lacked talent, when they simply desired more cultivation. To avoid that end and to further our aim of enhancing creativity, cultivation of ideas must begin with you. Taking the previous sections to bear on this one, we concluded that various types of behavior are known to enhance creativity. Whats more, we also said the main obstacles to collaboration start with the competitive machine. So the logical approach to harvesting higher levels of creativity from people is to suggest ways of dismantling that machineovertaking it with the collaborative one. Whats at stake are potentially valuable ideas held back
by the new crop: our access to a growing number of classmates. So before we suggest ways to begin harvesting in our deep environments, lets start with the basic foundation of every harmonious setting, and the actions that keep them together.
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Chapter 14.
Harvesting Ideas: The Tools of Cultivation
Change the method of cultivation, not the soil. -- Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard Is it still possible we think that the creative life is exempt from how we treat each other on the social level? Many people and organizations still believe so. But for future harvesters, preparing to gather better ideas to compete in a Creative Era means first cultivating the right landmore specifically, the right community or environment within the organization. How can we discern whether harmony exist in the new farm? More importantly what are the tools for cultivating the soil within that farm? Cultivation In keeping with the interpersonal approach of this principle we need to recognize the importance of what author of Bowling Alone Robert Putnam refers to as the collective life, otherwise known as our social connections or bonds with other people, whom Id like to call jury members due to their weighing in on key decisions, an important aspect in an idea connected world. How we relate to others in those social circles can either be of paramount support
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to our levels of creative thinking and behavior or, in the case where a lack of creativity to be present, a hindrance. Now, the lack of creativity from these members depends on our paradigms, or ways of looking at our group. For example the first kind of thinking says, I dont like my harvest (companys results or idea people); perhaps I should move to better soil (better company and hire new idea people). If we accept this way of thinking, we will end up disillusioned, bouncing from place to place searching for the right land, or the perfect soil, when by nature (and by principles) soil is not perfect. Remember what essential truths tell us. Everyone knows soil needs to be cultivated first before it is useful. After all the soil is the essence, a place or condition favorable to growth. We have to create that condition. Keeping with the harvest analogy, the word cultivation is appropriate here because it implies we can develop or improve something, in this case a relationship, so we can receive better results, i.e. a better harvest. Americans who put in a forty-hour workweek log over two thousand hours a year in the workplace. Provided that you fit into this category, you see your co-workers more than you see those closest to you. Due to the years of shared experiences, its common to find our work-mates entering our extended circle of peers. Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong observes how teammates float somewhere in between acquaintances and relatives 1. With that said, choosing those farms we commune or socialize with can and should be a free and open practice. For now the greater concern rests within the kind of expectations these individuals bring into our collective life rather than of the background of individual. Assembling a strong jury, or in this case a supportive community who is on your side, starts by examining four means or tools of
cultivation. Classmates can help sure, but will they help you is the question we need to ask ourselves. These four elements or actions make up the rule of social expectations and consequently influence how strong our community is and whether or not we can depend on the input of others to influence our lifes decisions--because the honest fact is, they will influence us anyway; the pull of belonging is simply too great. Four Actions of Cultivation I want to now present the four essential tools necessary for effectively cultivating a collaborative environment--in a sense, a commune of people. Whether at work or online, these elements must be present in the people within the group, just as a harvester would need to require the land be fit to begin cultivation. The first tool is communication. There are critics today who sound the alarm, warning us that todays community involvement is waning, disappearing beneath fiber optics and technological advancements. That with more media available there appears to be less genuine communication. What theyve intended to present is the shift from the visceral type of face-to-face communicating to the virtual computer-to-computer type of communicating. Incidentally, the method I advocate is the one that builds high quantities of communication. When fastest and easiest remain the dominate methods of communicating in a culture, I believe the slower, relationship-building method becomes all the more important to the progress of that culture. In the past, human beings have always managed to evolve new waves of communication, so I believe we will find a way to be fast and effective, simultaneously getting
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things done, while the glue that is meant to hold our connections to others remains sticky. Communication can be used to build the next three tools of cultivation. The second tool is reciprocity. Robert Putnam writes, The touchstone of social capital is the principle of generalized reciprocity--Ill do this for you now, without expecting anything immediately in return and perhaps without even knowing you, confident that down the road you or someone else will return the favor 2. Using his assertion, we can see how the behavior of reciprocity within a community is responsible for sharing of resources, acquiring knowledge and personal or financial assistance and conversely finds us in using the collaborative machine. Pay it forward, also a commonly used phrase, is based on the idea of societal reciprocity. Respect is the third tool, stemming from our willingness to show consideration towards others while feeling the freedom to be ourselves, receiving respect at the same time. Our treatment of others is at the very core of respect. But not only that, how others perceive our character can result in either an outpouring of or a lack of respect. Within a collaborative setting, respect become vital to how people treat one another and determines whether the competitive machine exists instead of the collaborative one. It has always been evident that people require respect, of all other rewards, for higher levels of creative output. Dr. Covey provides the model: You can buy peoples backs but you cant buy their brains; thats where their creativity is, their ingenuity, their resourcefulness. Our final tool, trust, boils down to our deepest hope and desire, in other words, a confident knowingness that circumstances, people, and events will work in our favor. Without trust in the word of others hope would cease to
exist leaving a diminishing of community involvement. In The Anatomy of Hope, Jerome Groopman, M.D., writes: Hope is constructed not just from rational deliberation from the conscious weighting of information, and it arises as an amalgam of thought and feeling. He continues, To have hope is to believe that you have control over your circumstances. To put it another way, on the condition that we feel deep down uncertain or unsure, hope ceases to exist, causing people to distrust others and their environment--naturally leaving a broken community. What weve done up until this point is identify the actions that take place to sustaining communities. A group, clique, social network, or a community online or offline that uses communication, reciprocity, respect, and trust in a manner opposed to its intended purpose can be likened to building a house of sand. When we pervert our words, a breakdown in what we intended to build will always follow. Let me explain what I mean with another illustration. A gang of thieves, in secret, knows theres no honor among them; yet they must socialize if they are to reach a mutual objective. Thus they are forced to communicate about how to achieve the common goal; they contribute time and effort knowing that they will receive assistance in return. They must have some respect for one anothers skills in order to join forces, and they must trust that others in their gang will not betray them. You may think it strange to use such an extreme example, but stay with me. Socialization in communities, whether in gangs or church groups, must make use of communication, reciprocity, respect, and trust (albeit temporarily in some cases) to achieve the synergistic ends they require. By the act of socializing we find ourselves adhering to this
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unspoken social rule to achieve groupness. This rule is determined by how communication, reciprocity, respect, and trust are used by each individual who can potentially make up this group. To put it another way, the results we seek are not determined by the tools, but instead on how we use the tools. The same can be said of respect. We can be sure when humans recognized the social rule called respect, it was founded upon noble, amiable intentions instead of the fearful, power-based version used in gangs and similar organizations. Still, provided that we want a supportive, nurturing community, we must be careful to watch out for the quality of these four tools, making sure we use them as they were intended when seeking our juries, or in a broader sense, our communities. When we do so people will begin to offer their ideas to our needs and vice versa. Cultivation at Work To inspire others to apply their ideas towards fulfillment of our needs, lets again look at Jims use of the tools we went over: Communication: Jim was willing to start an interesting thread post and keep all respondents informed, replying to each at a time. He kept communication open, positive, and productive. Reciprocity: Since others within the community voluntarily give feedback points to others, Jims total points also displayed his reciprocity, showing a good amount of contribution and exchange on
his own part, and ensuring hes a fair player in good standing with others in this particular network. Respect: Jim displayed an equal amount of respect for all the ideas presented to him in spite of naysayers of the proposal. He could have been defensive but instead kept an open mind. Trust: Similar to eBay.com, the Omidyar network has a person-to-person comment system, so members know whos received positive feedback points and negative feedback points. Members gave Jim positive comment points (at the time amounting to 23) showing he built a reserve of trust.
Understand that this is just one example on how to use these tools in one particular type of collaborative environment. As we will see in later sections, the settings will change, as will our methods and actions towards gathering the crop of ideas. Similar to the farmer, the harvester is first concerned with the tools at his or her disposal. Tools such as trust or respect are as commonplace as a plow or shovel is on a farm. Its important to note that social tools exist to open peoples hearts first, then their creative abilities. Obstacles to Cultivation Very often in a collaborative position, the creative thinker (and by now this should be you) secretly asks him or herself, Is this person going to express care and consideration on the condition that I share this idea?
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Can I trust and respect this person? Let me explain why seemingly personal emotions apply to creativity and collaboration. Now that the curriculum demands that we learn and grow each day, we must look upon the people we work with online, offline, and in the workplace as a community of classmates from which to harvest ideas. But this is easier said than done. A more accurate depiction of the work place reflects the usual suspects of the competitive machine: comparing, complaining, and criticism 3. The most popular approach to these viruses is to simply command them away. My personal experience at a former workplace is a perfect example: Our employer called the entire staff together one morning to address his concern with gossiping and blaming, and what it had done to diminish company morale and production. He proceeded to identify the problem (without naming names, though everyone knew who was involved in the issue) and similar to a chore on a to-do-list, he applied a quick-fix technique in the form of two words: Be nice. This message, while noble, was met with silent nods meant to placate our employer. After the meetings conclusion, we all went back to our desks with something else to gossip and complain about for the rest of the workweek. His intentions were in the right place: to return his team to a state of collective harmony. Yet because principles govern our responses, the foundation of those intentions was insufficient. However in his defense, perhaps his qixfix actions were the reflection of a busy day: one that was likely bursting at the seams with deadlines, meetings, and the occasional fire-fighting. But when we say we desire
lasting effects and ideas, then turn around only to use short-term techniques, we belie natures immutable law. Indeed the intention was to fix, but he did so by reacting to the circumstance; rather than falling back on the essential truths that acknowledge the hearts and creative minds of the staff. Two questions surface: first, whos to blame here? And second, couldnt the staff just as easily create such harmony without being commanded to hold hands? Perhaps this reaction of blaming is altogether unhealthy. After all, where can it lead us except to more blaming? This approach is merely another reaction based on our moods: shifting the blame to someone else we perceive is more response-able instead of where it really belongs. At bottom we recognize that what is reaped from any social interaction belongs to everyone in that interaction. Only in this way can change-mastery take root, and we become creatively response-able. To take responsibility for the fruit of our interactions is based on principles. And in this case, it becomes clear that it isnt enough to simply command people to get along. That was a short-term technique. An alignment with laws helps us understand that good collaboration is intrinsic, not extrinsic. People dont want to be managed, commanded, or cajoled like things, but rather to be led and inspired through cultivation. In a similar way, ordering someone to be nice is just as futile as demanding that someone love you. This is again what Dr. Covey describes as going for quick-fix. Its taking the aspirin for the headache instead of working to keep the source of your stress to a minimum, or taking the diet pill instead of daily exercise and healthy eating. Its going for momentary efficiency over long-term effectiveness. Covey continues, You can go for quick fixes and techniques with apparent success, but in the long run,
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the law of the farm governs in all arenas of life. People who align themselves with principles understand and know what it means to pay the price to prepare the ground, to plant the seed, and to fertilize and cultivate and water and weed, even when they cant see immediate results, because they have faith that ultimately they will reap the fruits in the harvest 4. I believe the same results could happen for many of us. Adopting these tools is a vital part of the approach towards dismantling the competitive machine. Communication, reciprocity, respect, and trust all need to be employed as the new parts of a collaborative machine. Unlike the parts to the competitive machine, these tools increase camaraderie between classmates and lessen workplace divisions. But adopting this way of cultivation presents quite a challenge for most collaborative environments. How do you develop respect within a workplace filled with criticism? Or lets assume that everyones competing. In this condition, how can trust occur? Mark Twain once said, Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody actually does anything about it. Translated, people complain about climates and conditions they help facilitate, but rarely will anyone step up to change a system. But this is not you. Start where you can with your actions, your behaviors. A culture that sacrifices creativity dies when we say so. Remember, we are response-able. Only until then will the sun begin to break through those gloomy clouds. Meanwhile its essential to never let the soil go bad, avoiding the quick-fix by cultivating trust, communication, and so on. To build a strong and productive working relationship is the desire of every team.
To cultivate means to improve our soil, our foundation on the new farm. Without soil that has been prepared with trust, respect, reciprocity, and communication, there can really be no tapping into that personal, higher level of creative output. But that is only the beginning, a strong foundation for growth. Now lets learn how to apply what weve learned thus far by identifying the right seeds to plant.
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Chapter 15.
Creative Chemistry: Planting the Right Seeds
With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see. American poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox Have you ever felt a kind of creative chemistry between yourself and another person? Can you recall what that was like? Did you just click professionally and creatively? And as a result, were your defenses down? Perhaps you went beyond the call of duty because of this chemistry leaving your sense of knowingness about the projects outcome assured. Did the group experience a productive outcome as a result? And finally, would you believe me if I told you that chemistry (or lack of chemistry) was the x-factor, the most neglected variable, that led to whatever outcomes you harvested? Whether you realized it or not in this situation, you planted a seed early on in the collaborative relationship. On the positive note, something you did or saidyour being-ness, a compliment, or even a mutual connection was established that facilitated the process. I used the analogy of energy before to explain the idea magnet; this example is also applicable here. Id like us to see creative energy as collective energy: Like electricity it
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is conducted through lines of cable wire. People carry and transmit energy waves of trust, understanding, hostility, and other human emotions. This energy is then focused on powering a reaction or behavior from the person receiving it. I noted in that chapter that the words we use in everyday conversation signify movements in that creative energy. Now, due to technological breakthroughs, idea influencers and enhancers have given a new brand of higher exposure to this kind of exchange, leaving the battle between who you know versus what you know to become practically equal. With collaboration becoming as ubiquitous as competition, not only is who you know important but in addition, who you can get along with is becoming the new skill in our age of integrity, and is the job of the idea harvester. Why is this the case? I believe that in 2.0, people have been given more intrinsic freedom to choose who they want to become, and thus collaboration has evolved to be more flexible in both loose collaborative realms (such as online communities) and deep collaborative realms (such as large companies building products or servicing needs). What resulted from all this is the global creative thinker, who behaves more intrinsically and is self motivated by his or her own pursuits instead of extrinsically-motivated ones such as money or fame. Whats more, with the proliferation of options, people dont have to stick around a poorly run operation. They know they can leave and find something thats more agreeable with their personalities. Were beginning to see essential truths take root: A person can be motivated to work with another through financial gain and other extrinsic rewards only for a time, but unless we want the very best from these people in the
long run (i.e., to release the next level of creative potentiality and harvest it), there must exist a kind of chemistry. Creative Chemistry The presence of creative chemistry, otherwise known as a mutual rapport between creative participants, is an important key to the intrinsic motivation of creativity. The presence of creative chemistry also says this: Individuals that get along in a team environment create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, creating an environment where weaknesses are made irrelevant by the strengths of others. With everyone contributing at this level, what will the harvest be: plentiful, or meager? It will be beyond plentiful, even abundant. This is because chemistry between individuals surpasses individual raw talent. Players on a sports team must work together to win the game, regardless of the individual talent of each; all the talent in the world would make no difference provided that there was no healthy interaction between players. In the same way, bickering, duplicity, and egomania lessen your competitive strength like weeds choke the good fruit; without weeding out competitive tools, any crop will be overcome. The reader may question why this deeper understanding of their classmates--how to cultivate and then to eventually harvest creativity from them--has to do their own individual wants. After all, some people would reason that their companies, or their managers, or somebody else in a position of control should be culpable for facilitating this kind of relationship between employees or members. I believe they are partly right. Our leaders should lead us properly towards our goal. Yet it is incorrect to think
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that the world needs to be fixed before we get our own acts together. We must adopt a worldview that says we are active, initiating, change agents who can create our own reality, rather than passive, reactionary, responders to external stimuli. While interpersonal skills may seem unimportant in the short run, it is because they arent short-term activities. But ask yourself: Is reaping a healthy crop a short-term activity? What about building a relationship that has been previously neglected? Can you rush trust? Youll find a correlation exists between the social realm and the natural realm because of deep underlying essential truths: Relationships need cultivation and seeds must germinate. Furthermore, what I mean to suggest here is not that you wont be able to find groups, teams, or communities in loose or deep collaborations succeeding under various kinds of interpersonal conditions. I mean to point us to the better question, that is, what would that group, team, or community be like when they achieved a more harmonious plateau? Again this means breaking with fruitless paradigms. In a 2.0 world, the if it aint broke, dont fix it model of thinking will no longer make the grade. What Creative Chemistry Is NOT To those who will naturally play devils advocate to this ideal, let me make something clear. Creative chemistry doesnt mean that people share the same backgrounds or personality types. This may help with camaraderie but is not an essential. As I said before, Im not going after sameness but rather creative outcomes. The more heterogeneity the better. Although all relationships require a degree of personal integrity to function, what
were dealing with here are person-to-person interactions built on a mutual understanding of not only the goal, but also one anothers creative potential. The commitment to meet this goal depends on how much each person trusts, respects, reciprocates, and communicates with the other. 3M, the makers of Gortex and scotch tape, exemplify this attitude in their organization. CEO Desi DeSimone believes in creating a culture of cooperation. Everybody at 3M is encouraged to call up any other employee and tap into that persons expertise [i.e. harvest ideas from one another]. We should always have people from as many disciplines a possible taking to each other. Desis system discourages turfiness and breaks down the walls between business units, going far to stimulate creativity 1. Now that we have the tools of cultivation (communication, reciprocity, respect, and trust) coupled with our knowledge of what type of seeds we want to plant (the kind that create chemistry between classmates), the natural system would remind use to wait until the crop ripens before a sufficient harvest can begin. But what do we do in the meantime? We all we know you cant just plant seeds in the ground, walk away for three months and expect a plentiful crop when you return. No, we need to deliberately water and weed, to maintain and calibrate the soil and seeds provided we are to see our desired results. Essential truths tell us anything neglected will entropy, or, put another way, when we ignore the process of interpersonal development, what currently exists between people will eventually wither and fade. After such a turn of events, we might begin hesitating to ask for help, or holding back ideas because we think the person were sharing with may ridicule them. We find ourselves strangers again. We may
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have established this mutual rapport in the beginning using the right tools but its up to us to keep it going if we are to reach the harvesting stage. Reaching this stage comes in the form of more collaborative actions and takes us to the following chapter.
Chapter 16.
Debits and Credits: Maintaining the Soil
The more you are willing to accept responsibility for your actions, the more credibility you will have. author and entrepreneur Brian Koslow What has building our personal relationships done to put us in a creatively driven economy? First we should realize its not only 2.0 that is responsible for our movement from physical capital to intellectual and social capital. Twothirds of the value added to todays products comes from knowledge work. Twenty years ago it was less than one third, writes Dr. Covey, who also notes, In todays information knowledge worker age, only one who is respected as a whole person in a whole job, one who is paid fairly, treated kindly, used creatively and given opportunities to serve human needs in principled ways engages in cheerful cooperation, heartfelt commitment or creative excitement 1. We can see how respect ties to creativity here as the new world of connections asks, What is your credit score? This implies that, in a more connected world, our classmates are mainly concerned with our credibility. In the process of the harvest, we need to immediately discern whether someone is genuine or duplicitous.
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We should see this as another essential truth of our social system. Lets look again at our day-to-day words for clues that illustrate this truth of credibility. Lets take the phrase: Any friend of Jacob is a friend of mine. What has been implied in this sentence? Similar to a kind of collateral or loan given in good faith, Jacob has somehow reaped the benefits of his friends credibility, borrowing what his friend has already harvested with others. This also implies that Jacobs friend has built up such a reserve of goodwill that he can call upon Jacobs credit and extend it to others. In a larger, more competitive, idea hoarding environment, this is a powerful concept that can mean the difference for greater creativity when we really understand it. Given all this, what is your credit score? That is, what is your perception, rating or limit and how are you extending it to the people whose help you will eventually need? Take a moment to think about this, and when youre ready lets continue deeper into the origin and application of this idea to the social life of creativity. Ive come to find that its the relationships we have with others at work, home, or in our daily lives that wind up creating the whole experience, pleasant or unpleasant, that is our day. Also, cultivating our collaborative relationships with people in all things was an idea I tried to stress in the previous section. But as a cold and contrasting reality, behaviors such as backstabbing, maligning, and gossiping continue to reign supreme as the dominant culture at many places of employment, and perhaps it does in yours
as well. Before I knew better, I used to participate in this negative culture that I feel is responsible for the attrition of the creative spirit. At the time I thought it was fun to gossip, but in hindsight, I know now that I was simply contributing to a symptom of a larger disease: namely, the competitive machine. This chapter moves from the idea that we need to plant seeds of chemistry to suggesting how we can achieve and maintain whats been planted using what I call debits and credits. Secret Scoreboard I asked myself, Why is it, in our working relationships, that we deal with some people in one way and some in other ways? As I began to study relationship-building techniques from other sources, I noticed how we as human beings tend to keep score in their relationships. The emotional bank account, to borrow a metaphor from Dr. Covey, could be viewed for our purposes as debits and credits. Similar to a financial bank account, in an emotional bank account between people, there exists a system of withdrawals and deposits. Covey says we should start making deposits (we should see these as collaborative actions) and stop taking withdrawals (we should see these as competitive actions), and I believe he is right. As a simple idea debits, then, refer to actions and behaviors that involve taking from the score (our overall perception of a person), while credits involve actions and behaviors that involve giving to the score. In the same way, our job here is to insure that we make the right deposits that keep our score with others high. The assumption is that a low score (an unfavorable rating) hurts us and begins creative attrition. This score--rather, this
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perception--serves as a barometer for how motivated our classmates will be to help. In a Creative Era, the scorecard that reflects our standings with other people has become a key ingredient in the harvest. But hasnt this always been the case? Havent people always kept this kind of score? Yes, but in 2.0, our reputation travels fast in a more connected world. Most of our values, beliefs, lifestyles and opinions are already on display for the world to see, accessible through todays most popular online search engine. My mom would sometimes say, If only we could see into a persons heart. Today, to some degree, its quite possible that we can at least have a peek. Tips for Debits and Credits In this way, communities such as eBay.com and Omidyar.net represent virtually how we as human beings in reality use scores to help our decision-making. Of course there are millions of us that do not yet exist in the online world. In 2.0 this fact may be hard to believe, but the truth is (strictly accounting for areas that possess this technology) that many people go without personal websites, online profiles, and the countless hours of virtual chatting. Yet in the real world, how do we know our score, our perceived credibility or standing with others? When interacting with people, do you know whether you are making debits or receiving credits? Here are some questions to ask: 1. Can others take you on your word with confidence that you will not flake? The more we show duplicity, the lower our score becomes.
2. Do you understand another persons position instead of projecting what youd like onto them? In other words, do you know what a valuable deposit is to them? Dr. Covey suggests that we seek first to understand before being understood. 3. Do you genuinely express signs of courteousness? Are please, thank you, youre welcome, and Im sorry cemented into your vocabulary? (I warned you this idea of debits and credits was simple, but if we cannot master simplicity, what are we to make of the more sophisticated demands on our behavior?) 4. Do you convey loyalty instead of duplicity? Or do you find yourself talking about those absent thinking that it will increase your standing with those present? Again, remember others are secretly keeping score. Go for the credits of camaraderie instead of the debits of duplicity. 5. Are you an angel advocate or a devil advocate when it comes to giving feedback? While its true both are necessary in any idea-sharing environment, this doesnt change the fact that you might be talking to a person who needs positive feedback before hearing negative. Although our goal isnt popularity, put the relationship first by understanding what motivates creativity in others. After answering these questions, Ive discovered a great deal about myself and I hope youll do likewise. Above all, what youll notice is an untapped ability to change the outcomes that affect your creative output by relating to others differently. Richard Florida brilliantly observes, Innovation is social. The best ideas arise out of diverse
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casual contacts within the organization or group 2. This act of synthesis can only come from our bonds with other classmates. And its these others that we will find in our social networks, our jobs, and our communities, who can make a large impact in our creative journeys. Social Capital Its true we are more connected today. But are we connected (and connecting) in ways that actually matter? If you ask people what truly matters, its the social wealth we really speak of. Our family, loved ones, and close friends make the list for most people. This leaves me confused, and perhaps you feel likewise. If social wealth is important, why hasnt the price of social capital gone up in todays world of fast food style communication? Most answers point to our unawareness of a few essential truths. A culture that trades efficiency for effectiveness has only led to disillusioned people boasting about their 200 new virtual friends. Sadly, if any of these people were in a jam, how many of these so-called virtual friends could be relied upon? How many have actual social capital or high credibility? Few do, of course. In this new world of connection, abundance is high, but nutrients are low. Its low because nowadays you have to look for it, beyond the clutter of consumption and abundance, and pass the road most traveled provided that you really want to find the true source of sustenance. To make the transition into real social wealth requires looking towards harvesting a different kind of capital. Previous sections provided the tools. Lets say we do increase our debits and lessen our credits with others. What will happen then? This kind of effort leads to wealth
in the form of our bonds with others, or what Robert Putnam calls social capital. The quality of communication, reciprocity, respect, and trust in communities produces this social capital. To understand it further, lets breakdown the analogy: When most people hear the word capital, they naturally think in terms of money or assets. Still, I believe the intention of those who coined this phrase was to illustrate how social bonds, like financial bonds, are a similar currency between people that in a sense can accumulate with specific effort and exchange. After all, a neighbor who can help you emotionally or with quality time in difficult periods should be viewed as an asset. Wealth between people involves not only monetary gain; in addition there exists gain emotionally. Earlier we used the word credibility: People are given credit for time deposits and emotional deposits. Social expectations are in one sense not only analogous to money but are equally as important for accomplishing tasks and motivating people. Whether we realize it or not, we all possess a reserve of social capital. The question is how much do you have? While some of us may be more disconnected face-toface, we are more connected online; and the potential for expanding the realm of ideas has reached global proportions throughout virtual communities. So logically, idea people, with their sharing and exchange activity, thrive on (and are subsistent upon) this kind of capital. From current trends, to software, to friendly advice: people who share that deeper connection only social capital can provide will build the future of ideas. I believe Jim the idea harvester knew this. Since we rely on our social network to connect us to people and ideas its important to raise our own levels of social capital. With so many occupying a virtual space,
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opportunities to find like minds are great. And along with that, opportunities to increase creativity follow suit. So how does one raise social capital? Lets look at two ways: 1. First understand how harvesting creativity between classmates is tied to social capital. What Ive found points to the essential truth: Human phenomena thrive upon moral authority or conditions (and by moral authority I mean to suggest the good influence that comes from trust and respect of ones character and not the power and control that resigns one to obedience). Aristotle referred to this character as ethos, or perception of ones nature by others. Unless a persons character reflects trustworthiness or goodwill, they lack credibility; and as I stated in the principle of the idea magnet, they will attract other people with lack in the same areas. 2. After you build your reserve, focus on persistent maintenance through beneficial effort and exchange. Acts such as simple kindness and understanding help to build creative chemistry, thus dismantling the competitive machine and removing obstructions that may come as a result of too many debits. With effort the logs are removed from the dam, leaving a torrent of ideas to flow. By recognizing the unspoken system of debits and credits among people, were more open to securing a positive score with new strangers, friends, and coworkers. This score is paramount in a more connected world where our character is always on display. The watering and the weeding, essentially the maintenance of our professional and creative relationships start by deliberately monitoring our responses so as to build a reserve of social capital we can use. As we deepen our understanding of whats required of the harvest, its easy to see that this is the kind of edge we need to position our talents and ourselves competitively.
Chapter 17.
Harvesting Ideas in Deep Collaboration: Adopting a PET
We believe the next brilliant idea is going to come from somebody other than senior management, and unless youre trying to harvest those ideas, youre not going to get them. entrepreneur James Lavoie Were all wired differently; the way in which each of us sees the world is different. Just as youll find some people are born with nearsighted vision while others are born farsighted, we each have our own mechanism through which we see the physical world. In the mental world, this mechanism is the way in which our minds perceive the world around us. Some are glass-half-empty people; others have a glass-half-full view of the world, and as I said before, some are angels advocates others devils advocates. The observation is not one of right or wrong, but one of achieving the results we want. Now that we emotionally and intellectually understand the essentials of cultivation, planting, and maintenance, we begin our focus on ways to harvest in two ways. The first is deep collaboration, the most common form of which exists in the workplace where our unique sets of wiring play important roles in the creative process. Our goal here is to recognize these differences first and place them into a
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context that facilitates people helping one another in deep collaboration. Deep Collaboration What constitutes deep collaboration? Examples are found in our jobs and our communities. A common thread is that these environments subsist based on a specific joint endeavor and place. They require our deep emersion and commitment. In the workplace or community, everyone involved must contribute; thus everyone has a major stake in the harvest his or her nucleus may provide. In such settings, there is always diversity and uniqueness, so we should conclude (especially within an organization) that we will constantly be introduced to more classmates. The deeper the collaboration (the more people involved), the more you will need to monitor on your harvest. Why is this? Once more wiring comes into play. Monitoring the Harvest There is a mechanism that exists in each of us which introduces unpredictable challenges even to successful creative teams immersed in any joint endeavor. Its a mechanism we looked at before, its what makes us human our moods. Like the weather, some days bring comfortable sunshine: Everybodys in a good mood and getting along is easy. Other days bring torrential downpours of deadlines, crises, and urgencies. These are the days where no one seems to get along with each other. So, of course, we turn to rooted principles to protect the precious harvest of ideas. Groups that collaborate in synergistic ways under such circumstances have probably adopted those principles.
You can do likewise by a concept combining purpose, ego, and talent, also known as adopting a PET. Adopt a PET This cheerful analogy (adopting a living thing we must indulge) can suggest several concepts: the need for more security, the need for friendship, and the need to give to someone or to something outside yourself, such as love. All of these give you a sense of meaning and dedication. This is why I chose the term pet. Id like for us to see adoption as taking up or following a method or idea, and what better pet to adopt than this kind. As you might expect, there is feeding involved, nurturing of the essential nature of the pet, and a concern for the big picture, or to put another way, a concern for how that pet might fit in to your life. Provided that you find yourself working inside a team or in a group of people that lacks vibe or chemistry, perhaps youve adopted a sick PET. Lets look at how these three words apply to harvesting ideas by examining their place in the process of joint endeavors. Purpose Have you ever been jazzed about a desired outcome? How about a trip to your favorite destination? Perhaps youre anticipating the completion of a project that you have been working on for months? What drove that love, that excitement for this thing? Author Thomas J. Stanley asserts, Its very hard to compete with someone who loves what they do. Finding love for what you do starts an infectious exuberance,
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which if focused correctly becomes purpose, the essential ingredient for high levels of creativity. So what is the responsibility of purpose? For a team, group, or joined project to jell, all the players involved must be made aware of the projects purpose. Running off a to-do list (although important) will not suffice. A strong sense of purpose speaks boldly to the heart of a person, while a simple to-do list whispers timidly to the brain. Before you can harvest exceptional ideas from a group of people, they must be so moved by a particular aim or a goal that it becomes wired in them. What is conveyed has to be mixed with desire and a vision of what will be. This is exemplified by John Yokoyama, owner of The Pike Place Fish Market, who writes about turning around a hostile work place by adopting a new paradigm. This paradigm doesnt simply require compliance but enables the creativity of its employees to choose buying into shared values. Its Yokoyamas observation that: People are not objects to be persuaded and motivated into action; fundamentally people are creative beings. Once you accept the powerful creativity of employees you simply need to present the opportunity for them to grow and generate. When inspired to think beyond the policy manual towards a greater purpose, workers value their ability to create profit and serve others 1. Of course, arriving at purpose suggests we enjoy what we do. Without this intangible resource we call enjoyment, much of what we see today, from computer technology to entertainment, would altogether become absent. Individuals, companies, and nations who can go on enjoying their work contribute a great deal to the whole pie. A happy worker, a person who enjoys their task, gives back tenfold in time, talent, and creativity. In contrast, the individual
that dislikes or even hates their job takes tenfold just the same. This is the worker that bites his or her lip each time the management suggests an idea, trying their best to keep the demon at bay. This is a hear no evil, see no evil clich who smiles hello but thinks, The hell with you; this is a blame game worker who wouldnt jump on a live grenade, literal or figurative, even to save a fellow comrade in battle. He would as soon as pass the grenade at you than to diffuse it himself. Upon closer inspection, this is the professional who feels that she is doing time at her professionserving a sentence doing a task she despises. This is the person who lacks purpose. Lack of passion, lack of purpose or meaning, lessens human contribution and weakens creativity. Here we begin to see how creativity is correlated to purpose. While this type of person may have a valid reason for this feeling of imprisonment, this daily shirking of natural ability transforms them into a living automaton behaving mechanically with no trace of creative spark, all the while longing for some sense of purpose that will breathe life back into their heart. But we are not tin men, nor is this Oz. We can decide to walk the yellow brick road or change direction when we wish. Workplace conditions and peoples expectations all lie entirely outside our locus of control. They are external, and its for that reason we must depend on a steadfast anchor from within. A moving purpose, such as the one conveyed by a coach to her team during the final seconds of play with a game on the line, can have a powerful impact on her players and perhaps the outcome of that game. For this reason our compulsion to do better is urged on when the why for striving towards a destination is properly defined, leaving the individuals involved convinced of the larger context or meaning of what they are here to do.
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Why are we here? Does what were doing matter? Finding these answers is the job of everyone in the deep collaborative effort. Leaders can then use these answers as inspiration to spur people on; however, as weve learned in previous sections, each persons mission or sense of purpose must be intrinsic. It must come from the inside, energizing the creative thinker past obstacles and foreseeable barriers. When people know why they are there, they begin to link reasons discovered to themselves (personally) and see that they are contributing to something that is of great importance. Move yourself and your group by adopting a passionate enough why, and youll begin to breathe a new sense of purpose into the project, the team, and the outcome. Ego The second letter in PET stands for the ego, a familiar concept. To deepen our understanding here, allow me to detail a synopsis. The old school ego was founded in 1923 when Sigmund Freud wrote about the ego and the id. At that time Freuds meaning of the ego was positive, meaning a person was adaptive or in balance and in control. Today, however, ego has picked up negative connotations, indicating conceit, vanity, and egotism. Harvesting ideas within deep collaboration states that we must achieve a harmonious balance of the egos old school definition. Todays definition, representing the part of our conscious that seeks a sense of self-importance, competes for attention and then, as a result, stands in the way of a teams ability to get the most out of its creative abilities. Whats more, ego can also be likened to pride. Too much pride is responsible for our competitive feelings
of wanting to be better than for the sake of comparison against others and not for the sake of a harmonious family, a synergistic workplace, or collaborative community. Ego gratification and attention grabbing seem to be part of todays culture. I believe this kind of behavior will always exist to a certain degree. But when we use ego for the one job of self-attention, this activity is likened to using a rake for the task better suited to a shovel. If we place ourselves ahead of the harvest all we get is a rotten crop. We need to understand that one of the jobs of the ego is to learn delay of gratification in order to develop appropriate means to attain what [we] need 2. Charles Derber, professor of sociology at Boston University, conducted research examining the exchange and distribution of attention in social interactions. Involving some fifteen hundred interactions in various designated settings such as family households, workplaces, and classrooms, he concluded in his book, The Pursuit of Attention: Power and Ego in Everyday Life, that the quality of any interaction depends on the tendencies of those involved seeking and sharing attention. Competition develops when people seek to focus attention mainly on them; cooperation occurs when the participants are willing and able to give it. In cooperative interactions, attention is distributed to each person according to his or her needs, while in competitive interactions attention is typically dominated by those most powerful 3. Here the solution is straightforward. The asset producers, in this case those in possession of talents and creative abilities, must be made aware of their unique places on a team. When creative people are made aware of their valued place, as opposed to the feeling that theyre just cogs that can be replaced or that their talents and
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contributions are not as important as others, theyre able to curb the ego. When I know theres no deficiency of attention in this environment, Im able to relax and focus on the creative task, using my abilities to shine with others instead of shining brighter than others. Whats more, with my ego at bay Im able to give and share attention genuinely resulting in a self-sufficient atmosphere. Instead of nurturing a comparison-based culture we should promote even the smallest players as giants that influence successful outcomes. As a result their self-interest and selfimportance is overshadowed by their dedication to the purpose of the mission, to everyones benefit. Talent Our final letter in PET stands for talent. Although talent is represented in each persons natural creative qualities, what makes our PET do tricks is a balance of talent within deep collaborative environments. For this reason, facilitating this balance begins with searching for roleplayers, not simply place fillers. From my observation of effective teams, role-playing equals team alignment, and its those teams that harvest ideas consistently. For teamwork to exist, everyone takes responsibility for knowing what other people are doing in the context of a project. Just as a soccer player knows exactly where his teammate will be when he kicks the ball, fellow team players ensure that each weakness is made irrelevant by a strength shared by another classmate. In these cases the trust level is so high that individuals on the team are comfortable communicating their needs for help. As was illustrated earlier, just having a team of all-star individuals will not predict success. The talents on the team
must be balanced. Lack of talent distribution can cause a disharmonious team, as people may find it uncomfortable to shoulder a disproportionate amount of creative energy. And since creativity should not be rushed, this presents a dilemma between the tasks deadline and the amount of able minds on tap. Heres a suggestion for creating a balance of talent: Using the guides for establishing creative chemistry and an enriching community, simply ask the team. This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but we must realize that the competitive machine runs deep in hierarchical work cultures where talent workers are often viewed as subordinates. After they adopt the purpose, rest assured that people will genuinely want to make the projects work. Envision the outcome first. Go with how you want to feel instead of reacting to the program of the day. Adopt a PET that puts the fair distribution of talent towards a happy joint project. As a result, a great harvest of ideas will follow. With the creative team as the engine, the key to purpose is turned to get things started and the ego brake is released. Now youre ready to go, and talent provides fuel throughout the creative process. These suggestions do not require large sums of time, effort, or money. We can all begin the change by making effective deposits with people one on one, nurturing the working relationship as opposed to viewing it as an obstacle. In my opinion, with people its the little things that truly make the difference. Drawing on our discoveries we find deep collaborative harmony exists on purpose and not by accident. Although it would seem everyone wants this kind of culture, too many environments exist in which lack of purpose, need
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for attention, and an imbalance of idea work detract from creativity. The ability to momentarily forget ourselves and shift our focus to this PET weve adopted, attending to its needs instead of our own, will yield a harvest that, in the end, fulfils our needs in a way we could never have imagined.
Chapter 18.
Harvesting Ideas in Loose Collaboration: Expand your Circles
The greatest genius will never be worth much if he pretends to draw exclusively from his own resources. Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe In this section, we move on to the importance of harvesting ideas within groups of people working in loose collaborations. Because of its fewer obligations, loose collaborating presents another option for the person whos less likely to participate in deep collaborative circles, as well as for those who want to build as many kinds of collaborative relationships as possible, just as Jim the idea harvester did. Loose Collaboration Flexibility of time and location constitute an environment of loose collaboration, providing conditions to meet classmates who share in similar interests globally. Creative thinkers using this second kind of collaboration work together not just on projects (although that does happen) but usually in the joint endeavor of sustaining the virtual realm that allows them to trade ideas as well as harvest them. Because a specific team doesnt exist,
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figuring out who has a resource available or useful idea to share that can enhance your own ideas are just some of the defining behaviors in loose collaborative environments. For these reasons, we must modify our approach as idea harvesters to correspond with this kind of collaboration. As a reminder, its important for creative thinkers to find these places because of what they mean for the future of our own ideas. As Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi writes, Useful ideas are likely to arise from centers where people from different cultural backgrounds are able to interact and exchange ideas 1. With these insights, its clear to see how harvesting in these kinds of environments, let alone finding them, means expanding our circles. Key Circles To begin harvesting in a loose collaborative way, besides interpersonal cultivation, another requisite is that we expand our circles. Here, a circle suggests the mental or physical conditions surrounding us. It could be your circle of knowledge, circle of resources, or circle of friends. If you find yourself hesitant about this idea, heres a simpler way to look a it: Expanding your circle is like vacationing abroad, trying a new cuisine during this vacation, and even learning that countrys language youre vacationing in. You can clearly see how this kind of activity enriches your life. The farther you venture into different circles of experience, the more fantastic discoveries you make with the mind as well as with the body. Not only is there the likelihood of obtaining a new perspective on what you already know, but in addition, you may stumble upon the serendipitous events described throughout this book.
Because creativity is so unpredictable, we should ask ourselves why we would continue to conduct ourselves in predictable ways. Our break with our everyday habits and norms into a realm of harvesting inspiration is the beginning of our final three suggestions. 1. Break one habit per day. This first suggestion deals with our circle of knowledge and attempts to answer why we should engage in loose collaborations and how to find them. The word creativity presupposes a simultaneous break with an old way of thinking and acting. We can also say, to begin something new, we must stop something old. So how can you truly be creative (and enhance creativity) when you arent always discovering something new? If we consistently break habits, creativity has room to come in and find you rather than the other way around. Habits can be great when they allow us to reap great ideas. But when a habit keeps us in sameness or mediocrity, it becomes a ball and chain. Breaking one habit a day is a concept brilliant in its simplicity. Its as simple as sampling a new dish at a local restaurant but brilliant because on the other side of habit-breaking lies discovery. Ironically, doing away with the part of us that likes to stay comfortable and predictable means the creation of a new habit. Start small, as this exercise may not be so easy in the beginning. Perhaps youre not accustomed to trying new things, meeting different people, or sampling information that for the moment you cant make heads or tails of. The hardest thing for any person, creative or otherwise, is to step into new, unfamiliar territory. However, I do think people who already engage in creative thinking hold an advantage
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simply because they welcome challenges. Furthermore, growth and development are why many creative discoveries are made in the first place. After breaking the predictable, this works to release the flood of ideas. 2. Networking. No, not that kind of networking. What happens after weve opened our minds up to finding these new environments? Networking happens, of course, an expansion of our circle of resources. Keith Farazzi, experienced networker and author of the book Never Eat Alone, writes on the importance of this activity: People outside my circle have access to a whole inventory of knowledge and information unavailable to close friends. Through Keith, as well as many leaders in the same field, I came to appreciate the value of expanding my circle through networking. Moreover, I learned not to limit myself to the skill set of my immediate circle provided I wanted to enhance my creative growth, and by following this advice, came to write the very book you are reading today. For many of us, however, the simple mention of the word networking conjures up images of brown-nosing, quid pro quo, business card transactions for the purpose of conducting shark-like deals. But the idea once again is to nurture relationships with people outside or within of our circles of knowledge, business and otherwise. Whenever the act becomes fake, it probably shouldnt be done at all. The kind of networking we want is based on the principles outlined in this chapter, planting seeds and cultivating instead of digging up seeds that havent had a chance to take root. Provided that one cultivates while monitoring debits and credits, business, social, or whatever,
networking comes across effortlessly when the opportunity arises. It was management guru Brian Tracy who noted, Your success in life is always determined by the quality and quantity of people who know you in a positive and favorable light. In a more connected world, our weak ties, those found outside our circle, end up having more of an impact on the ideas we gather in loose collaborations. Our next principle explores this concept in further detail. 3. Winning Friends, Influencing Creativity. Lastly, for loose collaborations to achieve harmony we must build our circle of friends. People skills have changed in the 21st century, claims the Dale Carnegie Center. The speed and tension that comes with high technology has changed our expectations. No matter what your line of work, even if its in one of the technical professions, your degree of success depends on your ability to interact effectively with other people. A good friend is hard to find is a widely used aphorism-for a reason. Its based on a collection of true experiences across all demographics. But those of us who prefer loose collaborations have come to discover that it has never been easier to find various types of people to connect with--so much so that, in my observation, the word friend has lost all useful meaning. Well, what was it meant to mean? We can have various kinds of friends, just as one may find varying degrees of closeness in all types of relationships. Still, the word friend should suggest a relationship of like, trust, and respect. Because most of the classmates we meet will simply occupy the acquaintance category, its important that we refer back to the law of the farm if we desire to reap ideas consistently. Without the tools of cultivation,
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we will simply end up surrounded by loose, uncommitted acquaintances in exchange for the fickleness of popularity. If we are to influence our creativity, we must win real friends. So, how do we win real friends in such a loose environment? add sign First,post be willing to pay the price. Making friends we must is related to harvesting in that we can clearly see what happens when efficient means are used. By breaking the law of the farm in our relationships we lose our edge. If we continue in this way we neglect the price of effectiveness: marring relationships instead of mending them. Clearly, a real and useful friendship needs to be developed and cultivated rather than relegated to a simple click of the mouse pad. We may have gained a friend by fast food methods, but when you need to call upon that friendship, there are no nutrients to sustain you. Secondly, to win real friends, become one who harvests rather than one who hurries. The important elements of friendship can only arrive when we respect the stages of growth and cultivation that only come in time. In addition, we should see the people who occupy our friend category as those who understand the essentials of cultivation and act accordingly. They should be people we rely upon, and not merely fans. And finally realize that to build harmonious relationships with new people means recognizing what your personality type is. Are you gregarious or bashful? Do you love to please or are you somewhat territorial? No matter your personality type, without including the benefits you can offer, you may only go so far in winning people as idea-enhancing friends. Are you prepared for the influx in classmates? Assuming
you are and wish to become an idea harvester, do you continue to acknowledge your new tasks while at the same time relying on the time-tested approach of sowing and reaping? As hunters and gathers of information on the new farm, its essential that we not only prioritize creativity, but in addition prioritize each person who makes up that farm. The Principle of the Idea Harvester: A Summary Improving our collaborative relationships works to harvest better ideas. In concluding the suggestions presented in the principle of the idea harvester, one individual who stood on the shoulders of his team comes to mind. It is my opinion that he harvested by standing on fertile ground. In his popular book documenting his Tour de France career, Every Second Counts, Lance Armstrong wisely observes, To work alone is to become surrounded by rivals. We all need companions, and no one ascends alone. Why engage in a collective effort rather than an individual one even when you wonder, whats in it for me? Selfinterest is isolated. When you work in collaboration, you are responsible to each other and much less likely to shirk your responsibilities or cheat your partner. Teamwork is not only performance enhancing, its comforting. If you truly invest yourself in a team, you guarantee yourself a return on your investment; and thats a big competitive advantage over other less committed teams.
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Without a doubt, idea harvesters recognize that creativity comes from a persons heart. A more humanistic method, and a less bureaucratic one, motivates people to give their all. Moreover, its the little things from simple kindness to the curbing of egos that support the creative process and account for a consistent and plentiful idea harvest. We also concluded how harvesting was a principlecentered response to the increase in classmates. In his book Principle Centered Leadership, Dr. Covey observes, If you get a strong culture which is principle centered then you have released the energies, the creativity, and the talents of all of those people inside that culture. And to create that culture, we must put collaborative behaviors first rather than competitive ones. How we harvest the crop of ideas from this new farm of people involves a corresponding increase in our interpersonal skills, a focus on how we cultivate those working relationships, thereby nurturing people into teams and then into communities. Whether we become involved in deep collaboration or loose collaboration, this kind of behavior gives the creative thinker an opportunity to expand his circles, taking his unique vision to higher plateaus. From our use of collaborative thinking, a readiness to make productive deposits, and an ability to expand our everyday pool of knowledge, we plant seeds that will one day spring forth with abundant resources. We can then use these harvested results to further ourselves and our ideas to make huge footprints the world over. Now that we know how to better engage ourselves in collaborative environments, its the job of our final principle to show us how creating these kind of environments is
becoming the key indicator of the Creative Era, helping creativity soar to even greater heights.
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Chapter 19.
The Idea Factory
If you create an atmosphere of freedom, where people arent afraid someone will steal their ideas, they encourage each other, they help one another. actor Robert Redford, on the Sundance Film Festival Mark Hurst believes its fun to bring people togetherand it shows. With tens of thousands of subscribers worldwide to his Good Experience newsletter along with other awards and accolades, Marks more known for popularizing customer experience online: a focus on making internet technology easier to use. His belief in connecting others (among many other factors) eventually inspired him towards creating an environment that would host a diverse collection of speakers. And in the fall of 2002, he officially announced that the first Gel (Good Experience Live) conference would be held in the spring of 2003. In our conversation he notes that, to Gel is to bring together many different components. Good Experience Live (held in New York City, Copenhagen, and with two more events scheduled for 2007) is a conference about the combined thoughts and patterns from people and speakers. Although he is the founder and host, he admits to viewing his role more as a facilitator than say, as a boss or as a leader. As a result of this mindset,
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highly creative individuals such as Mark are manifesting ideas not just for their camps but also for everyone who wants to be involved. This gelling or collective effort of diversity is the new method of producing ideas and is having a large impact on communities, corporations, and most of all creativity. On Tuesday December 6, 2005, we talked more about the significance of the Gel conference. Producing Ideas: Mark Hurst and Good Experience Live As for the particular content, Ive been writing about Good Experience for several years before that, but mostly in the context of customer experience and business. I wanted to show the connection areas of thought, research, and work between and in other areas of experience. I felt that it was a conversation that was not being had elsewhere. The idea of experience design for example is mostly monopolized by the design community. There was user experience, mostly closeted by the usability cottage industry, customer experience (we used it a Creative Good), and in addition there are some companies who use it in terms of marketing or customer relationship management. There are a lot of very different constituencies talking about experience. In the art world and education (and increasingly in healthcare and finance), theyre all using the word experience in their own niche. And so intellectually, I was attempting to bring those together to show people that experience in a bank is related to the experience of urban design; or in using a technological product. Theyre all related and there are patterns of good experience and frankly, bad experience, and that you learn no matter what area youre working in. Its cross-disciplinary, and what better way to show the patterns that are common through different experiences
than to bring together different speakers and attendees in sessions and venues around New York City? Some people have said it seems a little unfocused, but I say that it is partially by design; we are attempting to gel many different thoughts and ideas, that when coming together, generate inspiration, thoughts, and learnings on a level that, by definition, you could not get at a more niche oriented conference. We are gelling such a diverse community that the patterns we learn as a result are just about the biggest patterns you can get anywhere in the field of experience. Thats what I was aiming to do. And I think we have had some success with it. At Gel 2005, Theo Jansen, an artist from the Netherlands, spoke. This guy builds intricate and beautiful 30-foot creatures that walk on the beach and are powered by the wind. You might ask, What does that have to do with anything? On one level it doesnt because this is not a conference on how to build beach creatures. On another hand it has to do with everything because he is bringing together many different disciplines--science, art, environmentalism, biology, genetics, spirituality, evolution. His work speaks for itself. On the surface it may not be applicable, but by immersing yourself in the experience of Gel, youll naturally begin to see patterns and thoughts. We dont predetermine what people should take away. I create sort of a petri dish of experience, people, community, and connections and let the days learnings take place as they will. My conversation with Mark coupled with a unique experience at the GEL conference allowed me to realize that the more we explore our ideas with other people, the more thought connections we discover. On top of all this, the more thought connections we discover, the more we begin to attract and harvest new ideas. By bringing colleagues together, communities like GEL, Omidyar.net and the rest
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push past the boundaries set by the competitive machine and become the foundation for advancing creative thought today. In the most interesting way, these nuclei take us past those boundaries, past our own expectations, and into new circles of thought and personal interaction. Now, this is important because, after all, we cannot ignore the richness useful creative thought brings into our lives. Communities such as GEL illustrate the law of collective effort and exemplify the kind of environment in which those mental barriers are erased and new behaviors allow creativity to spark. Unlike idea harvesting, where we looked for environments which ideas could be reaped, here we move to building those environments where creative ideas are given a chance to spread their wings and soar into uncharted territory. While idea attraction is one method and harvesting ideas another, producing ideas go beyond understanding mental laws and principles of cultivation to understanding how roles of facilitation in the areas of voice, connection, and sharing help to create those environments where ideas are generated beyond the normal boundaries of creative thinking. Early on, we saw how Pangaea 2.0 and the corresponding effects of such a shift gave way to a global playing field. Using the analogy of more colleagues, I attempted to show our possible responses in the face of more people who, in varying degrees, can do what we do and who know what we know. When you place value on creativity first, your view must expand to see colleagues as allies and teachers instead of opponents and rivals. Its the former kind of view that takes our creative value and multiplies it. Whether we search for improvement in our personal, professional, or creative lives, given the influx of colleagues, its important
to play our part in creating the kind of environments that entrust their participants, connect those who are disparate, and facilitate a culture of sharing and exchange. These kinds of factories are paving a new path in a creative age. I believe each one of us can help create environments that increase creative output. But it must be done deliberately and by design. They must in a sense be atmospheres of freedom. By understanding new methods of production, otherwise known in the traditional factory sense as style of management, this building is possible. The principle of the idea factory attends to the big picture, the future of creativity, and the part within us that longs to be part of something significant. It suggests ways we can all play a role in creating these kind of idea producing environments where we find our private and social lives becoming key ingredients to enabling such a picture. In continuing to fuel collabetition, the aim of the principle of the idea factory is to produce more ideas from and for all of us. Building and maintaining the factory-what we produce from people--means we must tap into our universal need to become part of something special and manifest this alongside others, thereby fulfilling the purpose-seeking area of our creative life. To meet this need the idea factory employs workers (colleagues) who wish to become part of this production. When these global creative thinkers assemble towards a purpose, creativity is then compounded at an exponential rate for everyone involved. Why does this happen? To answer that question, allow me to present our final law.
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The Law of Collective Effort Collabetitions final essential truth is the law of collective effort. The law of collective effort as it applies to creativity says that when the knowledge and performance of two or more individuals combines, the results will be greater than the sum of the separate individual parts. Some readers may conclude that this law is just another form of synergy or cooperation. Well, of course, if we mean that in the same way passion is a kind of love or that affection is as well, then we are right. With respect to collective effort, there are several models we can look to, some of which I mentioned earlier, for examples of this universal principle at work. Dr. Coveys idea of the habit of synergy suggested so. Darwin also suggested this with his theory of co-evolution, which says that when two or more species evolve alongside one another, this act can enable the species to evolve both farther and faster than they would have done in isolation 1. Whether we are producing things or producing ideas this law acts upon what we aim to produce, allowing us to achieve results that may have been unimagined in the absence of this laws benefits. Although there are some similarities, where do these two means of production differ? The Building Process: The Traditional Factory In the early 20th century, we saw an innovation of mass production in the form of factories. These factories functioned towards key aims: to gather and concentrate resources, namely in the form of workers and capital. Factories, especially today, are also known for their skill in assembling pieces into parts and then parts into products.
A method familiar to most, the traditional factory also illustrates the well-oiled process of hierarchies, where positions of skilled workers, their supervisors and their managers pervade the production-of-things landscape. To further ensure that things get made, traditional factories make use of this hierarchy through command and control techniquesmanaging their assets, machines and people. The common phrases Just do your job and If I wanted your opinion, Id ask for it reflect the styles of management. And indeed, management is what these entities required as the contributions of the factory workers were limited to the expectations or roles given them by their positions on the factory floor. For some time, we saw a period where this kind of production supplied desired results. However when we began to embrace this paradigm of the industrial age in an age of creative thinking, managing people as things, productivity declined. It would seem that purveyors of this mindset did not see 2.0 coming.
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one you already have will help increase what you currently produce in the global domain. The Building Process: The Idea Factory The premise of this principle is this: For better ideas to compete on a global creative playing field, we need to build the kinds of environments that produce ideas from all of their peoplecreative or otherwise. This means the simultaneous creation of new roles where the collaborative creative energy of our colleagues builds businesses, revitalizes communities, and inspires other individuals to engage in creative change. First why use the term factory? With ideas, using a factory analogy describes a synergistic communal environment whose increase in ideas stems from the collective roles of individuals who facilitate the reciprocal flow of knowledge, connecting its people, and the exchange of resources. This convergence, or coming together toward a common point, leads to the production of ideas, hence the term idea factory. We should note that any environment that prevents the release of ideas from everyone is following the traditional or industrial method of production. As a sign of the times, the concept of this kind of factory has begun to gain more notoriety over the years (on an internet search, idea factory returns almost 40 million results). Its usages describe methods for organizing creativity, producing innovative ideas, and increasing competitive edge in the marketplace. In one example, Luc de Brabandere writes, The reason for an Ideas Factory is due to the regrouping of the economy around information as opposed to the industrial empires of previous eras 2.
Figure 19.1 demonstrates the basic operations of the traditional factory where top-down management relied upon workers to produce the thing intended. Understand there is nothing wrong with this style, unless you want a level of ideas, concepts, and imagination from everyone, which has heretofore been taken for granted. Regardless of what youre producing ask yourself: Am I tapping into all of the creative energies of all my people? If yes, congratulations; be proud of yourself and your creative thinkers. But if the answer is maybe or no, consider how incorporating a new kind of factory into the
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This new usage of the word factory is important in two ways. First most people would say that their colleagues have meant much to their professional and creative success in life. When we look back on our lives it was their professional advice, emotional support, and constructive criticism that made all the difference in our growth and development. Secondly production or the act of producing is the very essence of creativity. As creative beings, we can call upon this power of production through physical or mental means, producing ideas being the mental approach. But given that our product is ideas, to simply transplant the approach of management, hierarchies, and rewards from the industrial factory to the idea kind will not work. The heaviest obstacle in the way of producing ideas is that many are still trapped in old factory habits. Obstacles to Idea Production Before we examine these habits, another important question surfaces: As the economy converts into a more information based one, why has it become more crucial to tap into the creative energies of everyone? For some, the answer provided here might serve as a rude awakening. With the valued crop of information coming from the new farm, talent people now possess the capacity to do harm to their companies by simply doing the bare minimum. But why does the creative person in the traditional factory do this? In preparing the new crop, chapter thirteen pointed to a lack in honest cultivation. But there are other reasons to examine. In traditional factories to avoid talent abuse (we saw how we can avoid this using the Adopt a PET guide found
in chapter seventeen), some workers feel the need to curtail their full abilities to management. On top of this repression of ideas theres also a similar need to conform to the structures of that management. In the same way a group of military vehicles under the same orders must go at a certain pace to keep uniformity, traditional factory workers feel the pressure to curb their natural abilities to go along with the cultures set expectation; only to suppress their true reservoir of talent. On the inside these people are bursting with ideas that their environment may never, ever recognize. Are your feelings or experiences able to relate to this tendency to curb your talent? For managers, leaders, organizers or anyone who is responsible for directing a creative team, an affirmative answer to that question could do more than hurt your feelings: it could also hurt your organizations progress. How can the law of collective effort work when those efforts come up short or not at all? A culture of suppression and submissiveness appears to be the by-products of this convoy-like, traditional style of production where its bureaucratic effects loom over our communities, schools, and government institutions. The end result this culture has on ideas is self-evident. Not so in the idea factory: an environment immune from these effects. For a moment, imagine the kind of uniformity that doesnt lead to conformity; imagine loyalty to an environment that promotes and sees value in your insider information; imagine working in an atmosphere with an abundance of social and emotional capitalwhere the energies of other like-minds become unified rather than polarized. If you build it, they will come.
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Summary: Producing Things versus Producing Ideas Lets recap and contrast how each factory gets built. To build a traditional factory requires: Monetary capital. Without large sums of money, building and maintaining remains a challenge. This capital is housed in a bank. Assembly lines. Industrial production employs highly specialized workers situated alongside a series of rolling ramps. Extrinsic rewards. In effect the carrot and stick, these are bonuses, stock options, vacations to Hawaii, etc. Hierarchical management. The game of chess is a fair example: king > rook > pawns. Titles and Positions. These are given based on experience, workload, and other factors. Robots and repetition. At any given period, the products are the same, so work must be the same.
Circular management. There is no ladder, just communication from everyone, to anyone. No one is afraid to approach a fellow colleague for help. Roles and Positions. Since theres is no management assigning titles, positions are viewed as roles. These roles are transitory, self-governed, and left up to individual creativity and accountability to handle factory tasks. The next chapter will explore what these roles are. Curiosity and creativity. These are the direct opposite of robotic and repetitious work. Exploration is not only encouraged but is necessary.
Now that we understand the foundation of the idea factory, we must go inside to examine how its workers keep the production of ideas going.
To build an idea factory requires: Intellectual capital. Earlier we said this was patents, trademarks, new brands and ideas. This capital is housed in the creative mind. Assembly of people. Whether online or offline this represents groups gathering together for a purpose. Intrinsic rewards. Remember purpose? This answers the why rather than the how of doing things.
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Chapter 20.
Producing Ideas: The Maintenance Process
Where people excel as economic animals is in their ability to produce ideas, not just physical goods. Richard Florida Due to its mental means of production, idea factories rely on a circular system; there is no hierarchy. We shouldnt be surprised at this finding. Creativity relies on a circular relationship rather than the pyramid or ladder, so there is no boss in the idea factory. A boss is one who makes decisions or exercises authority. But in an idea-producing environment, there is no role or position for this kind of person, just as there is no role or position for the mechanic in the emergency room full of heart surgeons. It doesnt mean a boss lacks value, but instead a boss, like the mechanic placed in an ER filled with desperate individuals in need of care, is forced to take up another cause or another position where he or she can be of use to the environment. So what position or role will suffice inside the idea factory? Lets answer this by first illustrating the possible tasks that arise in the maintenance process of this kind of factory. Factory Tasks For products to work solving everyday needs, traditional factories and workers must assemble parts in such a way as
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to achieve the most innovative outcome. For ideas to be better, its essential that people get together, or, to put it another way, assemble. Analogously, the idea factorys parts and labor come from its people, its creative generators (the assets that produce creative thought). Its these voices or parts on an assembly line that need connecting; with the sharing (collaborative activities that take place when the parts assemble) representing the labor; following with the ideas and innovations that manifest as a result become the product. As loose concepts and themes jump from one person to the next (brainstorming), these ideas undergo a metamorphosis. These transformations are what produce new products, the improved relationships, and the unique collaborative endeavors. But they are an often-ignored part of how business is conducted. To that end we discovered that assembly, connecting, and sharing enable this setting. Yet if there is no boss or hierarchy dictating these tasks, how are such results possible? Becoming Facilitators The principle of the idea factory suggests ways the global creative thinker should play a role in creating and maintaining those collaborative environments. Similar to sustaining a harmonious family or successful marriage, sustaining an environment that produces results cannot be done without each person in that relationship/environment, seeing themselves as role players or co-conspirators to this outcome. In this principle, because we are attempting to sustain a collective effort to produce the ideas, were required to
bring a great deal more altruism to the table. Besides having to give up the self, we must take on a role or combination of roles to a point where effort and contribution are inculcated in ones persona. Above all its our roles into a servant position or someone who makes a productive influence on their surroundings that is the most vital element towards idea generation. Well call this a facilitation mindset. Just as there are positions on a team, organization, or factory, to build and then maintain the idea factory, we must all take up the positions or roles as facilitators--people who take it upon themselves, in small or large deeds, to ensure the overall goals of the community. But we mustnt stop there. To ensure our production, we must go one step further and decide on exactly what we should facilitate. To meet the tasks previously described, idea factories depend on the collective effort of facilitators (role players who help others) in these key areas: 1. Voice 2. Connections 3. Sharing Lets briefly explore why (above all areas) its these three that are vital towards the production of ideas. To create an idea factory, people must first buy into an idea or purpose that they feel is worthy of their pursuit. However, after the initial buy-in (assembly), the law of collective effort must manifest, and either a loose collaborative or deep collaborative environment will take shape. As I said before, these environments work together for a myriad of reasons and on a myriad of issues, those
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of which may concern all in the effort. To create deep or loose collaborations between people, everyone needs to be autonomous. They need an environment of freedom to be heard and to feel comfortable expressing their ideas. Because of this fact certain idea workers must be facilitators of voice. We noted earlier how in this factory the people are the parts which need connecting. Primarily these environments connect us with those who share our professions as well as with those outside our professions, thus making us collaborators in a unified goal whose collective efforts increase our creative value. For ideas to be better, its essential that people connect also because their minds contain the assets that form creative thought, and those thoughts transform for the better based on that law. These facts tell us that there must exist idea workers who can make those connections happen: there must be facilitators of connections. Finally we observed that the factorys collaborative activities are its labor, that is, sharing, exchange, and cooperation. And the assembly line represents the sharing that takes place. What keeps this going? Idea workers who value this area are called facilitators of sharing.
Figure 20.1 shows how these new workers operate. Observe how each person has the leeway to talk to the others. Even though there is no hierarchy, this doesnt mean a system does not exist. This level of production uses a timeless system. Rather than being motivated externally to generate more ideas, for all of us creativity is fostered within a circle of communication, reciprocity, respect, and trust among creative professionals, peers, and colleagues. These roles are essential to collecting the effort from everyone.
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I should make it clear that only in a perfect world, could we all take on these roles. In our world, however, this is far from the reality. The good news is, we dont have to be all roles at once. How you attract and harvest ideas can help you discover what your role might be. For example, if you like harvesting ideas in deep collaboration (environments that require more interpersonal skill) then you have the makings of a connector. Or lets say you attract ideas when in a like-minded group; naturally you recognize how important creative expression is to idea generation so you extend that courtesy towards others. Id say youre a facilitator of voice. Summary Recognizing this law, understanding our roles, and motivating people in a new way are important parts to the production of ideas. In this way you become a helper rather than a hinder. You also break down the competitive machine with the collaborative machine. Why should you become a helper? What will you gain? By focusing on these three vital areas of facilitation, not only is idea production possible but additionally we become responsible for sustaining the very conditions that help us stay competitive. When we add to the pot, we do our part to sustain a co-evolutionary system. This act of making things easier for others eventually makes things easier for us in turn. Our vital roles enable or maintain the overall purpose of the environment, and consequently everyone reaps the rewards in such a collective endeavor. When we synergize with other talent (other colleagues), we produce ideas and influence our rank in the global arena.
To summarize, idea factories require people who: 1. Believe in the law of collective effort. This also means using collaborative behaviors that help the factory. Handle tasks based on individual strengths and responsibility. This happens through a role or combination of roles that help the factory. Act out our roles as facilitators in three keys areas vital to idea generation: voice, connection, and sharing.
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How can we become more proficient in these areas? The remaining chapters will look at the three areas of facilitation, their corresponding beliefs, along with their meanings and how these have become the collective effort of todays idea producing environments.
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Chapter 21.
Facilitators of Voice in the Idea Factory
Voice is unique personal significancesignificance that is revealed as we face our greatest challenges and that makes us equal to them. Dr. Stephen R. Covey The aim of this first role as facilitators is to provide the air of freedom so that individuals can find and express their uniqueness, drawing out their intrinsic nature. Creating a factory for ideas begins by emboldening our fellow colleagues, also known as the knowledge workers or the global creative thinkers. Facilitators enable the voice in others and believe in the kinds of environments that nurture such a process. Belief in Environments of Voice How does a person new to the idea factory process keep their role going? First, belief in the value of voice comes at the heart of building a synergistic environment. You see, your voice is unique. Voice, though not a new concept, should be defined here as the unfiltered expression of ones self. To put it another way, your voice is what makes you you. It isnt your style of dress, high-ranking professional position, or any other trait outside of you. Voice is your being, voice is who you are, and not what you do or what you have.
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Second, a person unfamiliar with this environment must see how they depend on this voice in the form of collective effort; then, as a result, people actually want to work with one another. What this suggests is that people engage in unfiltered expression within a community purpose. They enjoy one anothers company because they all recognize this as a safe place, where if they choose, they are free to express ideas. Only when I know my voice will be heard or recognized by others I respect will I go deeper, making myself accountable for my ideas. Deep down we are all longing to connect to our environments in this way. Pioneer and actor Robert Redford exemplified this belief through his creation of the Sundance Film Festival. An environment of voice was created that promotes original thinking and new formulas for problem solving and creation. The Search for Voice I honestly relate to and admire these passionate words: There is a deep, innate, almost inexpressible yearning within each one of us to find our voice in life 1. As more and more people begin the search for ways to express their voice, creative thinkers no longer see themselves as things to be acted upon, left to be managed and given orders, but instead as a co-creators in the idea factorys mission. We have unveiled the age of the fully autonomous creative, presupposing that our voice has more value than did voices in an age of traditional methods of production thirty years prior. Contrast this view to an era that said its children were to be seen and not heard or that the boss was always right. Not so in the Creative Era; your level of ideas matters because those thoughts are valuable
components waiting to be put on the assembly line of ideas and pieced alongside another person, producing a stronger, more competitive, more valuable idea. You may be thinking, Well, how can I find and transform my voice into this valuable asset? This is what we are all here to find out. Perhaps you can find your own value by looking to help others find theirs. But youll find the most help in the right environment, one that evidences a global creative mindset. In such places youll find consentient people: idea magnets and idea harvesters acting in harmonious agreement. But beware: as the 2.0 effect looms upon us, this quest of finding ones voice gives the impression of easy attainment. On one hand, it appears that the search for channels that reveal our distinct vision has become effortless. While on the other hand, we must be careful not to spread ourselves in far too many areas. This act dismisses natures ability to grow what we dominantly focus on. To put it another way, our choice of voice can become a dilemma; yet is nevertheless why we see people reinvent themselves every so often, making use of several professions over a lifetime. Colleagues have always possessed the title of multidisciplinarians: a scientist slash chef slash philosopher and so on. The difference today is that the purveyors of an information revolution will continue to invent new disciplines (by creating then servicing new needs and markets) faster than the mainstream can recognize them. But along with greater modes of creative expression follows an equal increase in people choosing to exercise that expression. Once youve found your voice (your asset), how will you stand apart in your choice?
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Voice Inside the Idea Factory Instilling the element of voice in your factory (environment) is not as difficult as you may think. First, it depends on your willingness to do this more than any other activity. Belief must certainly precede behavior. Only then will you see results. Whether you choose to build online or in your home, environments of voice have key traits in common. For one, instead of determining whats going to happen and when (this can be viewed as the ineffective management method), these nuclei allow their members to naturally make things happen in a manner that reflects the mission. Its because freedom, discovery, and creativity are so closely related that this free flowing condition becomes important. How do I know this to be true? Our inner truths have rebelled for years in search of this opportunity. After all, this truth (that humankind must engage in self expression to be fulfilled) is tied to our struggle for freedom, equal rights, and the choice to decide on our values. Countless eras highlight key inspirational leaders at the forefront, all of whom have motivated the masses across periods marked by hardship and despotism. And today we, modern individuals, have come to reap the results of this foundation put down before us from past struggles, some continuing, others long since won. As a consequence, those of us that live in nations of freedom encourage voice and live with more opportunity. Compare this to those countries, nations, and communities that squelch or try to suppress the voice of its citizensthe very people, in my opinion, responsible for adding creative value when given the chance. In some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, these are the less creative areas in comparison to most of the world.
Taken in full scope, many of us who have witnessed this can agree on one fundamental rule: If you take away someones option to express their inner being, their passion withers, their voice silences, and their level of contribution follows suit, often giving way to rebellion and hostility. However on the other hand, give people the opportunity, the motivation and the forum to express this inner uniqueness, and the road to discovery and value creation begins for everyone. This involves not only the discovery of self for the individual but and more importantly, the emboldening of the creative spirit. We all know places where were free to be ourselves. In fact, this is the very reason were attracted to themby definition there is air in the room. We should recognize these as environments of voice. When the people I talked to described these places, I concluded that they believed in the power these places held; here a connection to the people coupled with a direct association with the kind of work involved were listed as some of the key determinants for free environments. Its those beliefs that will carry us into the how we can enable voice in others. Enabling Voice So we know why voice is important. Not only does creating voice give us the opportunity to find or express ourselves, but also facilitating voice means giving creativity an opportunity to become manifest in others. I mean to suggest that by facilitating or making easier expression for others, in turn, we facilitate creativity within others. This is how we become facilitators of voice. In the same way, when we facilitate a persons need to be respected, nurtured, or understood, we facilitate the
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possibility of other doors opening: doors to love, or doors to companionship. Weve become enablers of this activity. This is only possible when seemingly smaller credits are made towards others in hopes for an expected greater return. Let me provide an illustration of the value of voice in others. Most are familiar with Aesops fable The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg in which a poor farmer and his wife discover that one of the geese in his flock has begun laying eggs made of gold. The asset producers in our lives, to borrow a metaphor from author Dr. Covey, are the golden geese. Lets say, in continuing with his illustration, notions such as love, money, recognition, and creativity are the assetsthese things we value are our golden eggs. As a correlation, your spouse, your career, and your friends are the asset producers, the geese that are responsible for producing those golden eggs we hold so dear. Here, the takeaway is simple: Care for the asset producers, and you take care of your ability to receive more golden eggs. Keep in mind that an asset doesnt imply property but rather a person who gives a thing that is honestly valued. We must not regress to old factory ways of thinking. Analogously, todays family member, friend or coworker is an asset producer whose main assets are the ideas between their ears. And since your voice is synonymous with your creativity, no collective should begin without this step. If it does begin without providing the asset producer with what she needs, what then? Well the answer is simple: We cut off our access to more golden eggs, or in this case more creativity. There are so many ways to enable the voice within people. We demonstrated how formal authority of power does an idea generator no good. Its moral authority theyre
after (remember the scoreboard). At bottom, each of us craves emotional identification with our leaders. This doesnt come from a boss or a manager. In the realm of creative production, it is shown that people are moved to follow a leader of their own volition and out of a genuine commitment instead of fear of some extrinsic loss. Unless we are truly seeking to create this kind of environment, we must motivate creativity from where it springs from: the heart and mind of the entrusted worker. We can all have an inspirational effect on the people in our lives by adopting new roles of voice motivation. We need to monitor our perceived roles with those we encounter so as to be sure to make others feel important, and to feel heardthis way they know they matter to us. I believe this is a form of leadership we can all handle. In the final analysis this, above all, is the ultimate form of talent investment. Whether we acknowledge it or not, there always exists a scoreboard. We secretly recognize who treats us fairly, respects our worth, and heeds our voice. And its to these people, employers, and businesses that we willingly give the bulk of our imaginative energy. Idea factories begin taking shape when you move a persons heart while providing them with a place to be heard. Facilitators of voice know this--and, conversely, if youve ever been in an environment where you felt limited or restricted, you feel this to be true as well. An unlimited access to the golden eggs of todays knowledge person means they are given this atmosphere of freedom. Above all, this chapter asks us to define our roles as facilitators of voice, and then intentionally provides a correlation to creativity and how others view our roles. The point is for us to evolve our roles and beliefs with the
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times. In addition to who we are at present, because of the need for voice favorable to inspiring creativity, we must seek to reinvent ourselves by taking on roles and positions that give autonomy to the asset producers. On a global playing field, newer colleagues share similar concerns, causing an interdependent reality to grow. Due in large part to a collabetition mindset, the influxes in these colleagues need not mean less for you and me; in fact, the opposite reflects the reality today. Together, we realize great things can be created. Looking at this first facilitator, weve seen how giving others the space, courtesy, and even the platform to share their personal, professional, and creative experience may actually lead to more ideas. When you enable the voice within people in your life, they will return to you more of themselves, and more golden eggs, than ever expected. This growing of creativity happens because of the assembly line nature of the idea factory (exemplified by the law of collective effort). The more parts we enable to be presented, the greater the asset and the greater the return on this timeless investment. What remains in the building of our factory is an understanding of another important area of facilitating the connection between these idea parts.
Chapter 22.
Facilitators of Connections in the Idea Factory
Experiments have shown that in human relations the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts and that through interaction we can produce ideas beyond our capabilities as individuals. William H. Whyte, Jr. With our ears and hearts open to receive the ideas of others, an atmosphere of freedom has been created. Now that weve adopted a role in creating these environments of voice, people will begin to assemble, making up the parts of the factorys product. An environment that finds people assembling under a mutual purpose enables colleagues to connect their thoughts, needs, and offerings. We explore how that happens in this chapter. Chapter six discussed the importance of modern types of connection. What we begin to see is that for everyone, progress begins when the needs, offerings and interests of our colleagues and ourselves are given a place to connect within the purpose of the environment. Heres where the benefits of this kind of environment begin to manifest. Creativity with people, writes Mark H. McCormack, author of Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age, means linking individuals who are seemingly unconnected and finding a mutually beneficial reason for them to get together.
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Facilitator of connections (our connectors) is the role given to those who link people who need ideas with people who have ideas. Malcolm Gladwell observes: connectors, because of the number of weak-ties they know, see a world of possibility, are intensely social, and occupy many niches. They are people we rely upon to connect us with new information1. Because the connector type recognizes the talents of her colleagues, she is often asked do you know someone who can help me with such-and-such, or, do you know someone who needs people who can do so-and-so? If we are to be people who facilitate these connections, we must begin with a belief that our sum professional ability is greater than what any of us could do individually. Belief in Group Wisdom Taking on the role of facilitating connections begins with a belief in group wisdom among participants. When we look at highly creative communities, their mark of excellence stems from this belief in collective wisdom. Remember thought connections from chapter six? Group wisdom, or the two heads are better than one approach, depends on an expanding talent pool of skilled individuals who bring fresh perspectives to the table. Creative solutions, ideas we are searching for, solutions to problems that have left us perplexed--all are most likely to be found through heterogeneity of ideas and people. The end product of the idea factory is only as good as the parts on the assembly line, so when it comes to people and their ideas nothing is trivial. The smallest widget is equally important as the largest battery. So all ideas, large and small, should be seen as valid because they make the collective smarter.
The alternative is a bottleneck of ideas. Homogeneous groups, remarks James Surowiecki, find it hard to keep learning because their people bring the same skills to the table. Their experts occupy only certain forms of intelligence. Its narrow. Alternatives are reduced because gains ultimately come from their diversity 2. So in one sense, our role in enabling connections becomes expanded to our individual circles and those circles ability to contribute to the environmental or communal circle. Provided you harvest in one of these idea environments, your perspective or circle, if expanded enough, can add greatly to the wisdom of the nucleus. We may have the small but vital part which, if not added to the assembly line, causes everyone to miss out on an idea we could have harvested. The Connector In part three we learned that to harvest consistently we must truly understand our crop. The connector takes what we learn on the social realm from the idea harvester and applies cultivation tools towards a creativity generating community. Provided we are to activate this role, we must first lend a helpful link so that others can find their connections as well. Linking people occurs when we are looking to create an association or a kind of relationship between one person and another person. Linking is something that happens every day and in various circles all over the worlda world in which many people find jobs through friends and apartments through acquaintances. Fully embracing this role once again means a hard look at our relationships with people connecting on our behalf: We must really get to know people as we should truly want to
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be known by them in turn. Business, writes Ram Charan, as well as all types of creativity and innovation, is a social process that requires collaboration and communication for idea generation 3. But what does this particular activity mean for the production of ideas? It has been said that our times great innovations were spawned from critical linkages between people and their ideas. More likely than not, these ideas came from individuals from completely unrelated backgrounds. It can also be said that sometimes the single puzzle piece doesnt make sense until a larger area is complete first. These repeated patterns of completing large puzzles are created from an abundance mentality that causes skilled individuals to see their so-called competition as valued teachers, partners or as links to other resources. If were open to it, the more frequent that dialogue between colleagues, the more ideas will result. Taking a look at Mark and the Good Experience Live story from this principles introduction, we see that, through the conferences goal of exploring the idea of good experience in a variety of contexts (the factorys purpose), he found assembling people into groups and groups into communities inspires them to not only find useful ideas but to create new forms of business as well as social relationships. As their needs and offerings unveil themselves in this atmosphere of voice, what they learn from one another encourages the exchange of valued resources. This is an important characteristic of the idea factory. After all weve learned so far, environments where disparate people connect really appear to be the warm-up to the real game of the business world. Business, after all, writes Mark H. McCormack, is all about bringing disparate people togetherfor example, buyers and sellers, employers
and employees, and entrepreneurs and investorsand forging a commercial connection between them 4. Although creativity as a tool for creating value has several business implications, we must see that when we achieve this kind of value--linking disparate colleagues and creative thinkers together--we will begin to participate in this warm-up towards commercial endeavors. In this sense, we could naturally conclude that before coming up with any remarkable ideas, some assembly is required--that is, the assembly of people and then the connection of their ideas. After assembling, many if not all ideas need the help of another puzzle piece, namely the brainpower of another to make a complete and usable part. This is where linking others or talents become so important. Summarily, the idea factory principle makes it possible for us to experience a wide variety of creative goods and services. These services that we take for granted, as well as todays complex innovations that make our lives easier, are the result of many minds working collaboratively. Where walls of competing once stood, ideas and the people who express them are now free to exchange information. In his book Lucky or Smart?, internet entrepreneur Bo Peabody suggests that when you create an environment (idea factory) where smart people (colleagues) will gather, be smart enough to get out of the way to let serendipity happen 5. This means using collabetition to override the competitive mindset that has been habitually killing ideas for too long. Given the right personality fit, people who see themselves as connectors in idea production are facilitators so much more. As I stated in an earlier section, to increase our rank in the global arena means making connections
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with our access to colleagues who, when viewed as a collective effort along with talent, can offer a great deal. In some strange way, these behaviors are how ideas happen. We rely on our freedom to link with others on all levels, be they financial, project oriented, or in a social context. Connection is community and community is, after all, the fundamental basis for our survival in todays complex world. In a community, we seek solutions that can unravel the complexities of this modern era that come from diverse groups of talented professionals. In this chapter, we explored two of the more important stages relevant to being a facilitator of connections. Connecting people creates links that can transform skilled parts into diverse, multi-disciplinary groups capable of solving complex issues while generating collective ideas. Now that weve explored the voice enabler and the connector as positions in the new area of production, will these acts be enough to stay the production of ideas? There is one more role that comes after assembly and connecting: the facilitation of sharing.
Chapter 23.
Facilitators of Sharing in the Idea Factory
You dont just exist in an environment, you help shape it. author and speaker Benson Smith Throughout Collabetition, weve explored the importance of belief. Now that youve come this far, do you believe that when enough talented people are working with one another towards a worthy purpose, everything is possible? If so then you know the key to that possibility is that everyone must be laboring simultaneously. In our new factory, sharing is the labor that begins in the mental realm. Assisting this exchange of information, knowledge, and resources along with an ability to contribute in proactive ways to the factory, makes up the role of the facilitator of sharing, the final position that delivers the product. Belief in a Sharing Culture So what should our attitude be in this chapter? From the perspective of our private and social lives, a belief in shared roles means, based on the mission, doing your share or equitable portion of work for yourself and others. With the proliferation of file sharing on the web, sharing (most exemplified by peer-to-peer software applications
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and open source technology) has moved from a hot buzzword to a legitimate method for getting things done. Companies depend on it to maintain their edge, as do creative thinkers, who feed on this free system to be in the know. Sharing or reciprocity becomes the glue, the social contract keeping things balanced for all. Sharing can be likened to a form of loose collaboration; the act of sharing conspires jointly while the sharers remain unaware of the unselfish acts of others, secure in the greater purpose. Whether economically or experientially, in todays hyperconnected world where information, knowledge, and other resources move about at dizzying speeds, our value is created on this plateau of sharing. On the micro level this means the sharing mindset can move us towards a piece in our goal, a piece, which more likely than not, has made the difference in totality of your life. A piece of vital information or the exchange of a timely resource became the catalyst for propelling you to where you are today and, moreover, where you are headed. So logically, we should look to expand and apply these beliefs on the macro level, incorporating them into a culture. When building an idea factory, the importance of highlighting a culture of sharing should come as no surprise. The lifeblood of our society rests on an attitude that makes sharing its top priority. After all, a culture of sharing says that we all must participate towards a mutual goal. Only a culture of sharing can keep up with our high demands and expectations. As I pointed out before, each of us has been given gifts, expertise, and abilities presently lacking in someone else. When each person believes in the sharing culture, individuals on teams make up for their weaknesses through the strengths of others.
Sharing mustnt be viewed as just another mindset here to push upon us one more nice trait. Because we are suggesting the adoption of roles governed by principles, rather than going for congeniality from everyone, we should try reaching for a mindset that strives for whats equitable, fair or just. Nice is good, but we must live in a real world, a world that, as we have seen with fair and unfair acts, is shared by people of various temperaments. Heres the point: If you share, even if you are not nice, at least there will be progress in the realm of creativity. But on the other hand, if you do not share but are nice as all get-out, we again wind up in a fruitless popularity contest. Okay then, pleasantries arent a high priority here. This poses a similar concern: Does everyone share in this real world? Of course not, and for practical purposes this is why this final element of sharing, one of exchange, is so important. Additionally, I believe that in the real world Ive come to know, particularly in the realm of creative progress, I dont think we would have arrived at such terrific advancements had we not kept a sharing mindset alive. If only unspoken, this expectation of sharing even among the new arrivals in the Creative Era should be perceived as an asset, rather than simply another humdrum obligation. Here Ill demonstrate how the belief in sharing can work on various levels to maintain the existence of an idea factory. In addition, well see how, through a culture of sharing and contribution, we can go from the assembly line to the proliferation of new ideas. Sharing in the Idea Factory According to the role of facilitating sharing, those who believe in becoming proactive towards a sharing culture
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should trade the labor. Unlike simple transactions, this better type of exchange means we take away a weakness by providing strength. For example, say you have one person who is gregarious but very disorganized, and another who has poor communication skills but excels at managing. The two can benefit from each other. Both can meet more people through one persons extroversion, and while the results of those meetings can be catalogued by the shy organizer. In any event, trading labor will model the opposite of hoarding. Idea factories instill a code of exchange, and this collaborative exchange helps to increase the scope of possible outcomes of ideas. Although this role may vary in your home or office, the spoken or unspoken belief in exchange has to do with requiring everyone on board as equal participants. So why dont some people believe in sharing? I believe the issue here comes down to personality differences. A better guess might be that people are just afraida fear traced back to the competitive mindset. Although sharing is an admirable ideal, I dont believe were all meant to share or to take on the role of enabling such a culture. This fact of nature, however, doesnt make this role less important. Because these differences in personality present a problem for sustaining collective behavior and subsequently come to weaken the groups problem solving ability, facilitators of sharing are necessary to counteract that effect. Addressing the collective problem, James Surowiecki in his book The Wisdom of Crowds highlights experiments he calls public goods games. In these experiments, Surowiecki notes that 25 percent of people in groups are selfishrational in the economic sense--and always free ride (do not share or contribute), while a small minority
are altruistic and contribute to the public pot while fully aware of these free riders. The biggest group he noticed were the conditional consenters. This large group contributes modestly until they see that others are free riding, which makes them feel taken advantage of. And we all know what is possible when contributors feel like they are being taken for a ride. We see the results in many environments that rely on equal contribution. Academic projects, your local church, social security--all are sustained upon the expectation that most people will contribute. Wed like to bring our best to the group table and oftentimes do so, but as time passes and we notice others get by with little or no effort, we shirk our own responsibilities. The mission for those working in Surowieckis experiment was to instill trust within this majority of conditional consenters. And in Surowieckis experiment, most did this by punishing the free riders, confiscating their share of benefits that the group provided. As a result the free riders soon learned to work within a system that was created to benefit all involved. Another example of the role of exchange is displayed in the world of online peer-to-peer file sharing networks, a common characteristic in the loose collaborative environment. Some of the most notable networks, Gnutella among them, have a connection preference which is a feature that allows you to limit who is able to connect to you based on the number of files they have to share. You may toggle between allowing freeloaders (people who have nothing or very little to share) and only sharing your files with those who have a certain amount to share in return. This norm of fairness evinces the unspoken rule that most people will participate so long as they feel others are participating too. As long as we feel confident that hoarders
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or free-riders will be exposed for not obeying this rule of exchange, we will feel fairly treated and continue keeping the goal of the factory alive. Rules, it would appear, cannot force people to collaborate, at least given the behavior of collaborating their all. The role of responsibly constructing a sharing culture does one better by creating accountability for every individuals being in the factory in the first place. This final role demands us to ask of ourselves, to borrow a metaphor from Jim Collins in From Good to Great, Do I belong on the bus? Will your being on the bus (or in this particular factory) make for an easier ride or a more difficult one for all involved? Are the other colleagues on the bus better from your energy or weakened by it? Has your presence caused the discovery or improvement of an idea? Whether in the workplace or the home, the challenge to all of us is to answer enthusiastically, Yes! After all weve covered, you must now ask yourself what your role will be in the production of ideas in the 21st century and beyond. Are you what Malcolm Gladwell calls a connector? Or are you like Mark Hurst, using facilitation of voice as a tool for creative discovery, then getting out the way and leaving others the latitude to exercise their own voice? Do you see yourself more as an influencer, a shaper of ideas? Or are you a social butterfly or networker like Keith Farizzi? Do you wait to act, or do you initiate, like Jim, the idea harvester? These questions are presented not to fit you into a box but to get you thinking about who you want to be to your employers, your collaborators, and your community. Where do you see your place (or places) on the assembly line of ideas? Your role(s), and likewise the contributions you make, are the most important elements of this process.
I simply tried to narrow those roles down to the most relevant ones towards facilitating creativity. Depending on your imagination, the possible roles that can exist in an idea factory can be numerous, so its here I ask for your help. Technically speaking, the door is wide open for anyone to create whatever role they wish. Colleagues should take it upon themselves to create their own positions within the idea environment based on their strengths while their weakness are made irrelevant by the positions held by the strong suits in others. Surowieckis earlier experiment demonstrates how our individual personality differences, ranging from the altruistic to the selfish, make an overall impact in the ongoing quality of collaborative environments. Just know that, be you helper or hinderer, your role, and the beliefs it stems from, affects not only the people in your environment but also the quality of ideas produced there. And, summarily, your takeaway (be it contacts, resources, etc.) comes to reflect your level of contribution. By simply believing in the power of sharing, our roles, by easing the process of the labor within the factory, help us all invest in our collective futures. I also must acknowledge this is where most people will find taking on a sharing mindset so very difficult to sustain. Believe me, I am trying to take all things into consideration (the personality conflicts, the expectations of roles, obligations to your own needs) to create a flexible plan that allows us to arrive at better ideas. The reality is, some people dont believe in sharing. We noted earlier that hoarding, a trait in the competitive machine, causes a deficit of ideas. Creativity and being creative become mired in our irrational human behaviors; scarcity mentalities, and oftentimes our egos, pepper the workplace, families and
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organizational structures, resulting in the main barriers to this type of collaboration. What Im taking about regarding this last role is initiative. Yes, someone does have to start the process or create the factory. But once the process has begun, choosing to assemble in the idea factory is voluntary; participation is powered by your own steam. When volunteers assemble, begin connecting, and keep up their roles, they must all know that the position of initiative belongs to everyone, and not just to the chief organizer. Those of us whove secretly yearned for a free environment have at last attained it. However the parts we play in the course of sharing, connecting, and voice enabling are what truly make idea factories atmospheres of freedom. The Principle of the Idea Factory: A Summary Creating collaborative environments works to produce better ideas. The principle of the idea factory is perhaps the most challenging principle weve explored, but it is the most relevant to the future of creativity in our personal and professional lives. The environments in which we live, learn, work and play, in large part, not only create our experience of the world but also add to it. Pangaea 2.0, characterized by connectedness, can help provide our longing for this significance. Using technology (the facilitator of all facilitators), we all have the power to create or locate these places. Yet to produce ideas from all of us, we can either choose to live passively within these environments or become co-creators of them, one brick at a time.
Factory Concerns Before we close, what questions have been raised? Lets say you aspire to become the connector type and find little support in your immediate peer or work circle. And since we cannot activate this principle on our own, what is the alternative? More than one principle suggested that we expand and look for better creative circles but one thing gets in the way of this expansion. Your comfort is keeping you oppressed, advises management consultant Al Berrios. He poignantly observes, Your friends will never see you as the person you can be. They will always see you as the person youve always have been. The only way you grow is when your circle grows. In other words, if you are just the connector type, find those environments that magnify that strength. Eventually the people you meet will naturally see that as an asset and be willing to help you with your goals. Remember, a nucleus that produces ideas rests on an interdependence mindset (the law of collective effort); its mutually dependent on the assembly of our colleagues talents and willingness to take initiative. So take initiative towards expansion and remember that these principles are indivisible. If we dont have those colleagues we must work back to harvesting and use our cultivation tools to influence others. If we have difficulty harvesting, then logically we must go another step back and work on our private life, where the idea magnet and the mental laws allow our minds to play the tunes that can attract people, places, and ideas that correlate with our dominant thoughts. True creativity is exemplified by improvement; a move to a better, or if you will, higher plateau. Provided you are looking for that level of improvement, you cannot possibly stay the same, sharing similar attitudes as your peers. If they
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encourage you, friends like these deserve your appreciation. But when they dont the point is clear: If you want more, you have to be and do more. If your present colleagues and friends do not subscribe to any of these principles, they may try to nay-say you to keep you in the group. Can you hold steadfast long enough to draw to you like-minded people? Will you give up too soon, remain in your familiar circle, before you reap that much needed resource from those new circles? Can your relationships rise to a level of creative professionalism and social capital, producing the kind of insights you need in a more challenging playing field? It may take time, but the distance youve come thus far serves as proof to your dedication.
Chapter 24.
The Results of Collabetition
When someone makes a decision they are really diving into a strong current that will carry them to places they had never dreamed of when they had first made the decision. - Paulo Coelho So whos competing in the realm of ideas? How has the rising tide of collaboration turned these people to higher levels of creativity? And how are people using the principles outlined in this book to increase these levels? Here are some candidates Ive found: Idea Magnets: Based on the laws of attraction, good infection, and gestation, these are people who attract ideas in extraordinary ways. 1. Anyone who is open enough (has the money or volunteers for a free pass) to attend conferences like Gel is technically an idea magnet. Why? Youve read my words; now see what those whove attended have to say about their experience. Web address: http://gelconference.com/06/gel-is.php 2. Personally, I love my portable mp3 player, as Im sure you do. Yet we may do so for different reasons: mine allows
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me to keep a busy schedule and still find time for learning by audio books. Through instilling the words of authors who live by effectiveness, in a small still powerful way, I am practicing idea magnetism, keeping with the pace of change by utilizing my otherwise rock-out time towards learning time to discover much of the concepts youve read in Collabetition. Who else uses these portable devices to keep pace with change as well as be more creative? Check out this article by Liz Abend, staff writer at Pepperdine University who notes, The mp3 player has become a useful tool among national college campuses. Web address: http://tinyurl.com/fns9k 3. Sara Blakely noticed a problem. And like many of us discovered a solution only after she decided to get creative. Yet for her out of that creativity, arose SPANX Inc. As you read the interview, observe who she kept her idea from and who she shared her idea with. Also try to notice the reasoning behind both decisions. Above all else, its my opinion that her belief in the strength of her idea was the one key trait responsible for her success. Read more about Saras story on LadiesWhoLaunch. com: an online portal that helps women start and expand their businesses and creative ventures through content and community. Web Address: http://tinyurl.com/refep Idea Harvesters: Based on the law of the farm, these are people who collaborate with others to reap extraordinary ideas.
1. In Six Degrees of Bruno Faidutti, Shannon Appelcline describes a loose collaboration in the world of gaming. Web address: http://tinyurl.com/ml2xx 2. Bloggers (people who write online journals) can be described as idea harvesters that characterize the activity of loose collaboration. Author and blogger Hugh Hewitt declares, The best goal of a blogger is to get others in on the craft even if they are direct competitors. Every good blog will bring new readers to the blogosphere just as anchor stores bring traffic to the mall. Everybody wins when the customer base expands1. To witness the proliferation of ideas for yourself visit: Web address: http://technorati.com/ Idea Factories: Based on the law of collective effort, these are communities that produce extraordinary ideas for all who participate. 1. BetterTogether.org provides interactive ways to celebrate and learn from the ways that Americans are connecting, and provides tools and strategies to reconnect with others. Web address: http://BetterTogether.org 2. Established in June 2004 by Pierre and Pam Omidyar, the Omidyar Network derives its focus and values from Pierres experience as founder of eBay.
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Web address: http://Omidyar.net 3. Skinny Corp is another idea factory that creates environments where users can interact and mutually benefit each other. Web address: http://SkinnyCorp.com 4. The TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference is an invitation-only event where the worlds leading thinkers and doers gather to find inspiration. Web address: http://ted.com Would you say youre ready to dive into the current of ideas? The above are just a drop in the collabetition pool. There are numerous ways to employ these principles beyond the tools listed in this book. And with your suggestions you can help this chapter grow. In time these web links will shift and change, nevertheless if youre already swimming, dont hesitate to send me an email with your personal experience and observations where you see these principles at work by visiting www.collabetition. com.
Conclusion
You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it in himself. -- Galileo In this book, our goal was to enhance creativity using collaboration to become more competitive within the Creative Era. What spurred on this call to action was a more technological, global connection, which we called Pangaea 2.0, that ushered in the global creative thinker or whats been referred to as the knowledge or wisdom worker. In placing our attention on this larger context we used the double trifecta model to identify the stimulants and the respondents, which enable the choices currently available to this new thinker. In the final analysis, even though a hurried competitively dependent culture leaves little room for patience or politeness, we justified why these waning virtues (among the many presented) are the basis for essential truths that heighten the creative faculty and as a result must become the new priority. So to this end, we identified a new behavior by combining the mindset of collaboration and connection with a goal of competing through creation. Collabetition combines the best of this response, creating a fourth, indivisible alternative and aligning our creative lives with principles. Similar to other systems of survival and creation, collabetition, defined as a set of working with responses to achieve a level of creativity, is also fueled by our beliefs
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and behaviors, while relying on a foundation of principles. By deepening our understanding of how principles govern our private and social lives, throughout this book we discovered ways creativity might be enhanced. Whats more, this book frankly acknowledges that in the Creative Era competitive value begins more so with the individual, you, and not from any other source. What this means is that how much you learn each day, invest in people, and participate in places that push you to become more than you envision yourself to be make you the creator of your own competitive value. Applying These Principles So now that you have the manual, what do you do? To keep pace with change, start to surround yourself with people who take creativity seriously. Experience more positive progress by finding things that release who you want to be, rather than who others think you are. Support and encourage more creative peers rather than competing with them. Borrowing someone elses brainpower can help to absorb the new knowledge demand. Also dont forget to create a space that nurtures your creative side. This important step will help facilitate the personal writing time you need. After you follow through with these actions, consider the questions related to global creative thinking from chapter two. Use web sites like wikipedia.org or try audio books, which allow all of us to find information we want faster, increasing our ability to keep up with the new curriculum. Youll experience less of an obligatory need to do this and soon begin to see that enhancing your creativity can become addictive. Its the kind of addiction that makes
you feel good about starting and accomplishing tasks that stand out in a unique way. Lastly dont forget to guard your thoughts against whatever stands in the way of the attraction you need. Challenge yourself by asking, How can I attract the people, places, circumstances and ideas I want in my life? For a solution to the influx in the number of classmates we find ourselves surrounded by, we should connect with our newfound peers in more significant ways rather than on a common superficial level. To start the harvest, go to work tomorrow sowing seeds. Then to enable the sowing process, follow and apply the laws consistent with harvesting. Since the average person is unaware of their credibility rating, you have a head start you can use. Youve already noticed that as the first trifecta continues to rise, nothing should be taken for-granted; so you work hard to monitor your social capital in and out of your professional life. Skeptics should look at what other successful people are harvesting and ask them if they recognize a principle or set of principles that helps them achieve their results. Youll find their ship not only has a destination and a map but also would never set sail without the proper anchor. With the increase of colleagues, again place your creativity first through collaborative responses. Build factories; that is, start or help to maintain environments or communities that use your strongest abilities. Use your strength to contribute to the production, so you can reap the collective benefits of this kind of talent convergence. By establishing an altogether distinctive value, a value many others will never reach due to their steadfastness to the competitive machine, youll find you have an edge on less open-minded, obstinate people.
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On top of this dont wait for others in your immediate circle to fully embrace these ideas. A mark of true creativity is beginning, not following. You must be the change you want to see. Be yourself and others will gravitate to your inspirational energy and exuberance. The crux of creativity does, after all, fall upon your ability to be yourself. To be nobody but yourself, E.E. Cummings said, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight. But he also said to never stop fighting. And I agree. Inside all of us shines a desire, a calling that, for more reasons than the colors of the spectrum, most of us are attempting to ignore, to cover, or to suppress with a kind of warm security blanket. But as weve learned in this book, enhancing your creativity is the only reliable kind of security on the market. Dont be afraid to let go of that blanket and experience momentary discomfort. Remember these are inside-out principles so start with you; only then will you see the outside world transform to your ideas. Above all these statements, we must learn to act. Although Ive realized the power of books, Ive learned that they arent the only things that can spur us to action. However, knowledge acted upon is creativity. But without a disposition that allows you to take these ideas seriously, you may find ways to procrastinate. In Dairy of a Young Girl, Anne Frank writes about the advice given to her by her father: Parents can only give good advice or put them [their children] on the right path, but the final forming of a persons character lies in their own hands. Make the time to revisit these ideas often and with an open mind. In these last words, my wish is that a greater understanding of creativity has met you along this journey, and that it will be your partner in helping you go further
along your journey into areas that fulfill who youve always dreamed of becoming. Please write me with your thoughts, related stories, or critiques by visiting www.collabetition.com. My friends, thanks for reading and Stay Creative!
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Appendix A.
Understanding Creativity: A Criterion We Can All Use
The supreme goal of man is to fulfill himself as a unique creative individual according to his own innate potentialities and within the limits of reality. Carl Jung This book claims there is a creative person in all of us. Id like to use this claim as a starting point for the material that may seem superfluous to the flow of Collabetition. Since its purpose is to attract ideas by stretching our minds, release ideas by enhancing our collaborative relationships, and produce ideas by facilitating environments, I thought it only fair to devote time to providing evidence to this claim. The first question is, of course, Provided you see yourself as un-creative, how will you know creativity is within yourself? First, what is your perception of creativity? Is it frivolous? Only for the gifted? A large disparity exists in what each of us views as an effective way of communicating a human trait. Let me present a workable criterion that is sympathetic, clear and easy to relate to. For some months now, Ive gone around asking friends, strangers and acquaintances what they thought of creativity, and not surprisingly, I was a little confused by their collective responses. Several responses to my
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questioning were insightful and articulate, but I found that those that werent contained an equal amount of useful information. In fact, when people are questioned on the definition of creativity, the lack of a clear and concise response is often natural. The painstaking attempts to find the right words are telling signals that display how the concept of creativity, similar to other concepts, take love for instance, with all their definitions, rules, and practices, is really just a non-verbal process that relies heavily on raw intuition. Instead of shunning our intuitive nature, lets use this deeper knowingness to our advantage. Frankly, writing a book on creativity was like trying to capture lightning in a bottlethis process of defining how creativity works can become a downright frustrating exercise for several reasons. First of all, doing so means simultaneously opening other doors to a torrent of related questions. For instance, how does one find the data on creativity to back up these definitions? I found data, and it was inconclusive. Creativity works in more ways than you can possibly imagine. All right then, we may as well ask an equally more puzzling question: How does one define how love works? But wait, why did I jump to love? This question also elicits a great deal of responses. Just try asking several of your friends what love means to them. Im sure, as with the question on creativity, you will find a different response will be given each time, all of which, by the way, will correspond with each persons experience or intuition. The Love Criterion For the purpose of better expanding our present knowledge of the complex world of creativity, lets use love
the emotion as a way of providing a criterion to judge what were dealing with when we speak of understanding how creativity works and what is means for us. Since many of us intuitively understand the emotion called love--what it means to be in love, then to express love, communicate or give love, as well as loves benefits--it will be easier to understand how creativity can benefit us by making love our standard for understanding commonly used human phenomena. Here, a criterion is a basis for comparison or a reference point against which other things can be judged, evaluated, or better understood. In short, by comparison to certain standards or criteria, we come to deepen our knowledge of a thing. So to achieve a usable guideline for what creativity is, how it works, and who possesses it, I use the love criterion. Love, and the common ideals of love known to many of us, will be our reference point and will answer many of the questions posed throughout the course of this book. Its in defining what something is that dictates how we use it or if we use it at all. We begin the comparison by identifying what love is: Love is expressed towards something or someone. Human beings can love objects, people, notions and ideas. Love is a communal tool based on vibes and chemistry. Love is influenced by those who surround us. Love grows with use. The more you love the more you can love. The more others love with you the more you love with them. Love gains significance with time; connections increase and are realized as time elapses.
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Love nurtured can be attained. We are endowed with love, but it relies on effort. Love withheld or unused can be problematic as it limits ones ability to feel whole and to contribute in meaningful ways. Love is a changing agent. Introduce love to objects, people, notions and ideas, and it alters their state. Infallibly, a metamorphosis occurs to the thing expressed, and as a result, the objects, people, notions and ideas involved are similarly affected. Now, taking the criteria presented above, then replace the word love with the word creativity to see if you dont agree with the new connotation. Creativity is expressed towards something or someone. Human beings can create objects, people, notions and ideas. Creativity is a communal tool based on vibes and chemistry. Creativity is influenced by those who surround us. Creativity grows with use. The more you create, the more you can create. The more others create with you the more you create with them. Creativity gains significance with time; connections increase and are realized as time elapses. Creativity nurtured can be attained. We are endowed with creativity but its attainment relies on effort. Creativity withheld or unused can be problematic as it limits ones ability to feel whole and to contribute in meaningful ways.
Creativity is a changing agent. Introduce creativity to objects, people, notions and ideas, and it alters their state. Infallibly, a metamorphosis occurs to the thing expressed, and as a result, the objects, people, notions and ideas involved are similarly affected. If this new connotation resonates with you, then you should also know this is not a coincidence. The reason these traits link to one another (and follow similar behaviors) reverts back to an immutable law of human nature that applies to most modes of expression and communication regardless of a persons unique experience or perspective difference. Try inserting the word faith to further test this theory. The law would appear to stipulate that most levels of human phenomena--creativity, love, and faith, for instance--are made from a similar stuff. Its this stuff that permits three seemingly abstract forms of expression to share key similarities on an experiential level. So, then, what is this stuff that has somehow gotten into these common traits? Im not altogether certain, but what a common stuff implies is that these traits arent governed by opinion or right or wrong, theyre based on what we are hard-wired to believe is true for ourselves. This hard wiring comes from the universal laws set here by a being who desires that we use these abilities to our highest benefit. My approach to creativity is to adhere to this universal perspective. With this guide in hand, in addition to what you already know to be true (your intuitive hard-wiring), you can now begin to see that creativity works in much the same manner as love. How you should express creativity and seek its increase in yourself and others will no longer confuse you. Our criterion has demonstrated that creativity has the same applications as love has; hence the rules are naturally
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understood. With this comparison, not only should we be less confused by what creativity is, who should be creative, and so forth, but also we should begin to see the potential creativity could bring not only into what we produce but also to who we are and who we want to be. Our experiences are similar with regard to love and can be with regard to creativity. Although this book will not tell you who to be in this regard, it has suggested ways for that dormant part within all of us, our natural need for a creative existence outside of gifts and talents, to flourish and grow. Our pool of ideas waits. Start today by confidently dipping your toe in firstslowly testing and calibrating new waters until you venture into deeper oceans of mastery.
Appendix B.
Understanding Creative People: The Six Needs
To maintain creativity, as well as to influence and motivate those in possession of it, I present the Six Needs. These six needs help us to understand creative people much better by looking to what keeps this life going in the first place. From the concepts contained in this book, weve begun to understand that keeping up a creative life requires that it receive certain stimuli so we can respond more creatively. Here I illustrate the importance of these needs and demonstrate why a deficiency or absence in any of the following stimuli means a lack of creative output. To illustrate the importance of how lives are subsistent on specific needs, Id like to make another comparison. In one particular way, the creative life is similar to ones spiritual life. A spiritual life is also subsistent on needs: it could not exist without specific actions such as daily meditation or prayer, attendance at places of worship, participation in communal activities, and so forth. These actions play an indivisible collaborative role in what makes up the further connection to a spiritual source. While engaging in these actions, its like one is building a bridge to keep this life going, one action at a time.
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Maslows Hierarchy These needs are similar to psychologist Abraham Maslows hierarchy. Maslow discovered what motivates us as human beings by proposing that we function on the attainment of peak experiences or psychogenic needs. These needs (love being one of them) function on a hierarchy reflecting the priorities of our existence as reasoning beings. Many people find themselves using Maslows needs as a map to lifes terrain. In our case, once a person discovers their creative side, naturally, a desire to nurture this side arises. Whether you call this side a talent, a gift, or a knack for viewing things in a certain way, your unique traits can become trump cards, opening the door to expression, money, exposure, recognition, growth, and community. Like Maslows, some of the needs listed here may appear self-explanatory; nevertheless, its important to examine why these particular six made the list and how they may reveal our map of the terrain, providing support to our creative life. Once we know more about the territory, I believe we can get closer to finding out what makes creativity tick in others. Unlike Maslows hierarchy, yet similar to the three principles presented, these six needs are interchangeable and indivisiblethat is, to activate one need it may be a good idea to start with another need. Whats more, this list is alphabetical, not hierarchical, so we can maneuver about them any way we chose. 1. Community Community can refer to your group, clique, or social network. Creativity receives its strength from this strong
social network. Throughout this book, we see how important community is to maintaining a creative life, or any life for that matter. There is a deep, underlying reason for this assertion. Human beings, like other anthropoids, are social creatures in nature. We have an intense desire for belonging, a desire to be responsible for families, groups, clubs, working environments, religious gatherings, and even gangs. Only from our close contact within social circles can we gain access to love, acceptance and a sense of belonging (Maslows third need on the hierarchy). Yet another reason springs forth: We decide whats best for ourselves based on the expectations of our immediate communal environment. The problem for creative output is when we resign these decisions-making abilities to othersbecoming imitators instead of originators. All of this suggests that if were going to allow the community to influence our decisions, its important that we can rely on the jury we select, be they friends, families, or acquaintances who can steer us in a more positive, creative direction. Surround yourself with a good jury. A life of creativity rests on the shoulders of a strong yet supportive community, one that incidentally nurtures our gift for creative expression, provides financial opportunities by exchanging resources, gives praise and recognition, and receives and offers exposure to new people and ideas which then promote our growth and development. This kind of community is what the creative life needs in order to be fed. But on the other hand, if a person is stuck with a bad jury, suggestions are given with the outside partys interests in mind. You are stuck in the bonds of the social rule. What occurs is the kind of community that makes a burden of the creative life. When your wants, needs and expectations are placed as secondary, the pursuit of creative thinking becomes an
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uphill battle. As was established in the preceding chapters, it will be difficult to express creativity unless you can be yourself. What was illustrated from our earlier chapters suggests that we understand that the two, creativity and the degree to which you can be you, are synonymous. 2. Creative Expression I cant find the words, is a general sentiment that bests describes the feeling or need for creative expression in idea people. Whether through an artistic craft, an idea for improvement, or as an enhancement of ones personal identity, its essential to express your gifts to maintain a creative lifeeven if you have trouble finding the right words. Incidentally, creative expression may show up in numerous ways, from a unique style of dress or demeanor to an original artistic creation. Its obvious to some people that to be more creative, idea people need to find creative expression in what they are currently doing. But what do you think creative expression consists of? Its been emphasized before that how we define words becomes the role those words play in our life. Businesspeople define this word very differently from those who play music as a profession. So what is the point? Creative expression is what you define it to be. How is it defined for the people you interact with? Expand your definition, and as a result, youll begin to find the subtlest ways of allowing others to communicate that expression. Go about this task as a voice enabler in the idea factory would. Answers to these questions total a starting point, which if used properly, can eventually turn into platforms or activities for exercising your assets creative strengths. Remember, expressing creativity isnt always about art;
expression can happen when socializing with friends. Any time we get closer to relaxation and being ourselves--you guessed it--creativity follows. 3. Exposure Whether virtual or otherwise, exposure is how creativity gets noticed, or what a friend calls visibility for your abilities. Exposure is the chance sought by those expressing themselves creatively, and many agree that consistent exposure is important to those who are able to find an outlet for their gifts. Frankly speaking, it would seem many of our day-to-day actions are motivated by the need to be seen, admired, or perhaps revered by others. So much of what we do is in the attempt to land a break weve been anticipating for years. We all crave, openly or secretly, the kind of attention that can open up opportunities. The introduction of rapidly moving technology coupled with a file-sharing culture has added to the attention frenzy, taking exposure to overwhelming proportions and leaving most creative work with very little boundaries. Still, the fulfillment of the exposure need requires that we persistently look for new ways to develop our creative gifts to the point where others will want to take notice. In short, to get exposure requires that we achieve exposeworthiness. I dont want to give it away [for free], but [at least] theyre listening to my music is a phrase I overheard that best illustrates the paradox facing music in the modern age of technology. It would appear creativity desires to be exposed, even if how it is exposed is not on our terms. In this particular case, monetary compensation succumbs to
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the intense need for exposure. Exposure doesnt always supersede other needs, though it does present another way for the creative life to receive fulfillment. As creative thinkers, its also possible to be on the receiving end of exposure. Like a plant gets fed by its exposure to the sun, the intense rays of inspiration feed people who expose themselves to its powerful effects. And oftentimes, as the word suggests, its when we are exposed to a diversity of ideas and concepts that true innovation occurs. We saw this to be true in the law of good infection. In a similar way, exposing ourselves to interesting people or new kinds of information is like putting more fishing nets in the water, increasing our chance of catching recognition, expression, or our next need to make the list, financial opportunities. Whats our takeaway? Dont be afraid to expose yourself and the people you lead. Establish days of mind stretching and exploration. And above all bring the next need with you. 4. Financial Opportunities When we creatives find something we love doing or for which we have a burning passion, it no doubt will consume most of our valuable time, time that could have otherwise been used at a necessary task: making money. The obvious truth is that most of us, creative or not, need money to be fulfilled in life. Financial opportunities present an incentive towards a creative life. And its these opportunities that provide a reason to pursue more or less of something. However, many idea people will tell you that maintaining their creative life requires more than that. Po Bronson, author of What Do I Do with My Life?, captured the feeling by concluding, People really want to
find work theyre passionate about. He goes on to point out, Benefits and incentives are compromisesthey want to live to their full potential; productivity booms when this happens. So are we to ultimately conclude that financial gain is not an idea persons only motivation? My creative classmates provide an answer through a common sentiment: I need to pay the rent but also keep the mission. This dilemma (between the pursuit of passion or profit) will always plague the modern creative person. Although we all know how important it is to not have to worry about food, clothing, and shelter, beyond that lies the desire to live a life of purpose, or what Maslow referred to in his needs as selfactualization. Obtaining financial freedom and security rids us of fear and allows more time for creative thought. The irony in all this is that creative people add trillions of dollars to the countrys gross domestic product, which amounts to 50% of the salaries earned by the American workforce 1. But on top of all that, finding a way to receive payment from your abilities is not only survival, its also the ultimate compliment. It says that youve created something useful, valuable, or aesthetically pleasing. Yet with regard to increasing monetary gain though creativity, I wont pretend to have all the answers here. What I do know is that a balance must be achieved between making a living and creating a life. Creative people have always required more than monetary compensation to feel motivated towards the accomplishment of a goal. Still, in place of money, creative thinkers require other needs on this list if they are to become fully motivated. As great and necessary as it is, money should be used as a complementary motivator rather than a supplementary one.
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Highly successful people in any field usually have a high level of love for what they do, hence they profit immensely from that enjoyment. Review the tools of the harvest once more (namely Adopt a PET). Give creative people something to fall in love with, let them know their unique work made a significant difference and youll begin to see them feel just as rewarded as when bonus time approaches. 5. Growth & Development Most of us understand what it means to grow and develop. We attend schools and universities, read books, and find other resources of higher learning that may help us into our later years. But is all this part of growth or simply part of learning? I think these actions are part of learning, and Ill explain the distinction. Learning denotes a process of acquiring information. Parrots can learn to speak on their own, but no one would say that this is part of their growth. Instead, growth implies that we strive to reach some level of skill and maturity, and provided we get there, develop into people of value, more prepared for the world than we were yesterday. This is what Collabetition attempted to instill in us. While its true that a valuable piece of information can provide a wonderful return on the time invested it took finding it, I find the problem isnt if we can find knowledge or information to learn but instead how to use this knowledge to grow and develop; its how we can use these obtained resources to gain progress. Because of this fact, many question whether they can use what theyve learned to develop into the kind person they want to be, into the kinds of people who can add
creative value to their surroundings. So the question is, are we using what we learn to grow and develop? Acting in ways to turn knowledge into progress requires a creative mind. In the end, leading and motivating others to grow into more creative people may take an equal amount of growth on your part. Growing and developing your creative side helps you find progress through knowledge, and not just to learn a new trick. Its like this: While knowledge increases the information in your brain, growth and progress can only comes through creativity. Its your creative side that says, This isnt working, let me try something new. Your mind will then go beyond knowledge and create ways to engage in such growth producing activities. When our creative thinking matures, somehow we mature. We ask better questions and find better answers. Indeed, most people can learn and yet do not progress because they refuse to grow a creative vision for themselves. You, on the other hand, have made a great step in the growth direction. That youve come this far should signal how much growing and developing is part of your character. 6. Recognition If exposure is the chance to be seen for ones creative abilities, then recognition is how those abilities are acknowledged. Whether through appreciation, symbolic gestures of approbation, or awards and critiques from others, the need for positive recognition is a powerful reinforcer for those wishing to continue to motivate the creative person. The need for recognition in some cases rightfully explains why most computer geeks continue writing software programs free of charge for download
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online, or why scientists race to be the first to discover harmful viruses, and why graffiti writers risk imprisonment, even bodily harm, to tag their pseudonyms within dark subway walls. These creative thinkers are similarly tied by their motivation to not only become skilled at their chosen discipline, but for the equally important motivation for recognition--not for personal accomplishments, but creative ones. There is a direct relationship between how creative you are and how much you are recognized for that creativity. Because the creative life imports ideals from the personal life, we become emotionally attached to our particular form of creative expression. Provided that we want to motivate any trait that incorporates personal ideals, such as love or creativity, we have to first provide it with positive reinforcement. Everyone is creative, and I stand by this claim. Yet, just like no two fingerprints are completely alike, no one can be creative in the same way. Therefore not everyone can do what you do, so its important that some special reinforcement come your way so you can become motivated to press on. Author James Surowiecki points out, Recognition is the proper reward for genuinely new and interesting discoveries. Each of us intensely desires to feel important in our own way, and we can by exceeding expectations or provoking a new direction of thinking in others. For those of us who desire to motivate creativity in others we should, as Dale Carnegie says, Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise. Mr. Carnegie knew of our inherent need to be accepted and praised by others we respect and admire. Several companies I worked for have been known to
stage celebrations where peers cheer peers. This is not to be confused with the obligatory pat on the back from the higher-ups. These gatherings function to not only bestow appreciation and acknowledgment to deserving participants but in addition act as conduits for social mores, instilling trust and esteem for every individual on the team. With this kind of culture, any recognition given that is positive and sincere, feeds the creative thinker. As creativity motivators, provided that being recognized remains an important need for you, try Mr. Carnegies approach. Become genuinely interested in the uniqueness and talents of others, and in return they will be interested in you. While our three principles talked about what creative people have to do, the Six Needs talk about what must be given to them. Try these Six Needs out in your life. Provided you test this on your private life, the first thing you notice is the indivisibility of the needs. Youll see how community can be the focal point or gateway to all the other needs. Community is that one door which, if opened, leads to a hallway containing all the other doorsin this case, opening to the remaining five needs: Expression, a natural side-effect achieved from a supportive group of talented like-minds; Recognition, through the praise and compliments of others; Exposure, through new people, concepts and ideas; Financial Opportunities from building professional networks; and Growth and Development from supportive groups who reinforce individual identity and challenge people to push farther. Once youve tested these needs within your work or social life, dont hold back; give them in abundance, and
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watch the light in your creative classmates and colleagues shine brighter than youve possibly imagined.
End Notes
Introduction Daniel H. Pink, Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working For Yourself, (New York, NY: Warner Books, Inc., 2001). 2 Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class: And How Its Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2004) p. 8.
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Chapter 1. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Britannica Online, search word: Pangaea 2 Thomas L. Friedman, Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11, (New York, NY: Audio Renaissance, abridged edition, 2002). 3 Robert J. Sternberg(ed), The Handbook of Creativity, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 199), p.102. 4 Linda Stone, New Technology: Whos in Charge?, (Published: July 27, 2005 in Knowledge@Wharton online). 5 Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, (Minneapolis, MN: Highbridge Audio; Abridged edition, 2001). 6 Daniel H. Pink, A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future, (New York, NY: The Penguin Group, 2005), p. 192. 7 Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class: And How Its Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2004).
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Timothy Taylor, Economics, (Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2002). 9 Supernova Conference San Francisco 2005: Its a Whole New, Connected World. 10 Edward J. Larson, Evolution in the Air: Theory of Evolution, A History of Controversy, (Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2002). Chapter 2. Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat: A Brief History of the 21st Century, (New York, NY: Audio Renaissance, Unabridged edition, 2005).
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C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (NewYork, NY: HarperAudio, Unabridged edition, 2003). 2 Roy E. Plotnick, In Search of W atty Piper: A Brief History of the Little Engine Story, http://tigger.uic.edu/~plotnick/ littleng.htm 3 Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, search word: The Little Engine that Could. 4 Earl Nightingale, The Strangest Secret, (Niles, IL: Nightingale Conant, 1976). 5 James Allen, As a Man Thinketh, (Camarillo, CA: DeVorss & Company, 1979). 6 William Walker Atkinson, Thought Vibration, (West Valley City, UT: Waking Lion Press, 2006). Chapter 10. Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, (Lebanon, IN: Hachette Audio, Unabridged edition, 2005). 2 James Allen, As a Man Thinketh, (Camarillo, CA: DeVorss & Company, 1979).
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Chapter 5. Ramona Winkler, Sap Design Guild, http://www. sapdesignguild.org/resources/collab_glossary.asp 2 Timothy Taylor, Economics, (Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2002). 3 Warren G. Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration, (New York, NY: Perseus Books Group, 1997).
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Chapter 11. Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia, search word: Post-it Notes 2 James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds, (Westminster, MD: Books on Tape, 2004).
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Chapter 7. W. Chan Kim and Rene Mauborgne, Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant, (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2005).
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Chapter 14. Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins, Every Second Counts, (Westminster, MD: Books on Tape, 2003).
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Chapter 9.
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Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of the American Community, (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2000). 3 Comparing, competing, complaining, criticism: Dr. Stephen R. Covey calls these emotional cancers of life in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, (Salt Lake City, UT: Franklin Covey, 2001).
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Malcolm W. Watson, Theories of Human Development, (Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2002). 3 Charles Derber, The Pursuit of Attention: Power and Ego in Everyday Life, (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, 2000). Chapter 18. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Robert J. Sternberg(ed), The Handbook of Creativity, (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
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Dr. Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, and Rebecca R. Merrill, First Things First, (Roseburg, OR: Simon & Schuster Audio; Abridged edition, 1999). Chapter 15.
Chapter 19. M. A. Boden and Robert J. Sternberg(ed), The Handbook of Creativity (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999), p. 368. 2 Luc de Brabandere, The Forgotten Half of Change: Achieving Greater Creativity Through Changes in Perception, (Chicago IL: Kaplan Business, 2005).
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Charles Warner, Ten Commandments for Managing Creative People, http://www.charleswarner.us/mgtcreat. html
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Chapter 16. Dr. Stephen R. Covey, The 8th Habit, From Effectiveness to Greatness, (Salt Lake City, UT: Franklin Covey, 2004). 2 Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class: And How Its Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life, (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2004).
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Chapter 21. Dr. Stephen R. Covey, The 8th Habit, From Effectiveness to Greatness, (Salt Lake City, UT: Franklin Covey, 2004).
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Chapter 17. John Yokoyama and Joseph Michelli, MD, When Fish Fly: Lessons for Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace, (New York, NY: Random House Audio, Unabridged edition, 2004).
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Chapter 22. Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, (New York, NY: Back Bay Books/ Little, Brown and Company, 2000). 2 James Surowiecki, The Wisdom of Crowds, (Westminster, MD: Books on Tape, 2004).
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Ram Charan, Profitable Growth Is Everyones Business: 10 Tools You Can Use Monday Morning, (New York, NY: Random House Audio, 2004). 4 Mark H. McCormack, Staying Street Smart in the Internet Age, (USA: Viking Penguin, 2000). 5 Bo Peabody, Lucky or Smart? Secrets to an Entrepreneurial Life, (Roseland, NJ: Listen & Live Audio; Unabridged edition, 2005). Chapter 23.
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Hugh Hewitt, Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation Thats Changing Your World, (Carol Stream, IL: Oasis Audio; Unabridged edition, 2005).
Appendix B Richard Florida interviewed by Jennifer Robison, Managing Those Creative Types- The Gallup Management Journal
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Collabetition

For the Odunsi Family

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us

3 Principles for the Creative Person In All of Us