Five Mistaken Assumptions Business People Have about Creativity and Innovation

Continuing on with my exploration of creativity and innovation in the “workplace”, let me share some common myths I encounter as I talk about creativity in the business world and the role of leaders as creators. The notion clearly is dissonant to many who hold the prevailing belief that work is work and creativity is play or at best only for the arts. As I peel back what underlies this notion that creativity and business are integrated rather than disparate.

Here are some of the common beliefs that block creativity from business that are well worth a critical examination.

1. Creative types are different than business types.

Stereotypes abound. On all fronts.

We stereotype innovators with beliefs like: Creators are free spirits and undisciplined. They only work when they feel like it. They are only in the arts, like musicians, artists and authors.

We also have stereotypes about business types: They are Type A. They are only analytical and never intuitive. They are focused solely on productivity and work hard. Creativity is not important for them.

Here is the reality.

• Innovators have an amazing amount of discipline and focus.
• Some of the best business people are extraordinary innovators (think Jobs, Disney, Bezos, Musk)
• Innovators balance creativity and focused execution. So do the best business people I know.

2. Innovation requires a really big idea that dramatically changes everything.

We tend to be captivated by the exceptional. And yes, every once in a while there is someone with a really big and new idea. And much more often, there are many who innovate incrementally. Making something just a bit better. Who find a way to provide better customer service, enhance an existing product or service, find a way to add value in new ways or to streamline an internal process.

Incremental innovation lowers the bar in which it makes creativity accessible to us mere mortals. It mimics evolution – small changes over time. Incremental innovation has taken us from land lines to smart phones. It has taken us from bicycles to Teslas. It requires only that we find one way to improve or a way in which we can combine two disparate ideas into a new one. I can do that, you can do that. In fact, we do that all the time in business and call it continuous improvement.

3. Creative people bat 1000.

My father had an apt observation. He would often say that the difference between an amateur photographer and a professional is that the amateur takes one picture and expects it to be excellent while the professional takes 100 and hopes there is one good one. Innovators and creators know that it takes two things: practice and production. No one gets good at anything without years of practice and along that path there are plenty of failed or less than stellar attempts. And even when proficient; innovators know that most of their ideas will come to nothing. But they know that it is from the process of producing many that the valuable one emerges.

The lesson for business is to find space for experimentation. Where the best output of an effort is getting smarter. Where progress, not perfection is the aim.

4. You can create at will.

You can’t. Inspiration comes and inspiration goes. However, that does not mean that you don’t keep at the task at hand. I’ve studied the habits of the innovators I admire and they share a commonality – a strong work ethic. No matter if they are feeling particularly inspired or not, they show up and do the work. Hour after hour. Day after day. Some days are magic. Others are not. None the less, they continue on.

That being said, there are some things we know about fostering creativity and innovation. Our brains and bodies are most creative when we are well rested. Innovative ideas tend to surface when are minds are relaxed. Putting ourselves in certain environments often spark new connections and ideas. These include:

• Places of reflection (think nature)
• Places of beauty (think art museums or beautiful gardens)
• Places that are unfamiliar (think travel)
• Places of play (think time with a 5 year old)

5. Getting the idea is the hard part; after that it’s easy.

Ideation is only the first step of the creative process. And for some it is very hard. And for others it is very easy. Either way, it is only the first step. A critical one, no doubt, as there are great ideas and there are not so great ideas. Some are lower risk; other higher. Some have marketability; others don’t. Some come at just the right time; others miss altogether.

Innovation is actually a multiple step process. Six by my count:

1. Ideation
2. Exploration & Testing
3. Prototyping
4. Executing
5. Refining
6. Completion

Each step along the way has its joys and its challenges.

• It’s great fun to share your idea and it stinks to have it shot down by others
• Putting together an implementation plan feels good, but it is easy to be overwhelmed at all it will take to make the idea a reality
• Executing and doing the work moves your idea forward, but is just old plain hard work. And work that, in this moment, is fraught with uncertainty.
• And after all that hard work, your innovation hits the intended audience. And guaranteed that changes will be in order. Back to the drawing board!
• As surprising as it may seem, completion may indeed be the hardest step. For you must let go of improving, of adding, of tweaking. You must overcome your vulnerability to share your creation with the world. You must implement the process, ship the product or offer the new service – all without totally knowing if you have a hit or a miss.

I hope that I’ve not deterred you from the path of integrating more creativity and innovation in business. For without it, your organization’s sustainability is at risk. It is not an easy path, but one that can yield great results for the effort.