Creativity Central [Marty Baker]

Like an earthquake, every eureka moment has a series of aftershocks.  One of the most fascinating of these after sights is discovering your blind spots.  Typically, you'll hear lines like "The answer was right in front of me and I couldn't see it."  "I was solving the wrong problem."  "I never challenged the conventional thinking."

Isn't fallibility great?

Years ago, Russell Ackoff, a teacher at the Wharton School wrote a great article called "Infallibility."  I am paraphrasing some of the highlights because it sheds some more light on our blind spots.  In an experiment conducted by Alex Bavelas at MIT, subjects were taken into a room where slides were projected.  The slides were produced by waving a flashlight in dark room over unexposed film.

The subjects sat at desks in front of two buttons.  They were told to press one of the buttons after each slide. Here's the twist.  If they pressed the "right" one they would be paid, if they pressed the wrong one, they would get nothing. 

There was nothing said about what parameters determined the "right" choice.  After a few slides, most subjects began to formulate theories to explain the rewards they received and soon they were quite sure that their theory was correct. 

When the experiment was completed the subjects were asked to reveal their theories.  Then Bavelas told them that they were rewarded at random.  They was absolutely no relationship between the buttons pushed and the rewards.   Most of the subjects were surprised, but insisted that they theories were correct.  They would not abandon their theories.

Story 2 from Ackoff.  C. West Churchman and Philburn Ratoosh at U.C. Berkeley developed a management game played by a team of four.  One acted as a CEO, the others as managers of manufacturing, marketing, and finance.

The teams were asked to improve the performance of a simulated firm.  The simulation was generated by a well-known mathematical model from which an optimal solution could be derived.  (Note:  all the students who were used as subjects had attended a class on this model and its solution had been presented.)

On each team was a student who served as the financial manager who was told the nature of the model and its solution.  They were asked not to reveal this information to their team until they received a signal from the experimenter.  "They were asked to pretend that they made they made the discovery on their own."

Only a small percentage of the teams adopted the optimal solution when it was proposed to them. 

Now, the follow up.  Churchman and Ratoosh described the experiment and the results at many meetings and seminars.  The explanations of the failure of the teams to implement the optimal solution was discussed and corrective actions suggested at these meetings. 

Churchman and Ratoosh recorded these suggestions and tested them in the same experimental situation but with new subjects. The probability of implementation was not significantly increased.  Ackoff's takeaway.

"Those who do not know but think they do are more dangerous advisors than those who do not know -- but know it."

Ask yourself "where are my blind spots?"  (Yes, very difficult.)  A better option is to keep an open mind to unconventional solutions.   I will give you an example I've used in seminars.  Let's say NASA is losing money. What if they collectively decided that they weren't in the space exploration business but in the trash business.

What if all the nuclear and garbage waste was transported into massive floating containment spheres?  What if that were a multi-billion dollar business.  (Enough to finance other space missions).  I give this freely to NASA with apologies to the Universe.  (Maybe hurtle these pods into the Sun).  

Take 30 minutes and list possible blind spots. What assumptions need to be challenged?  What processes are going to lead to better outcomes?  

 

 

 

 

Inspired by a Leonardo Da Vinci sketch from 1490, a high-tech bicycle called The Ride By Ellsworth is answer to a problem suffered by hundreds of thousands of cyclists. According to Tom Clynes of Popular Science, Leonardo Da Vinci help create a new shift in how designers think about bikes.  "Any cyclist knows the pain.  You slam on the breaks at a red light.  Then, when it turns green, you're stalled in 21st gear.

The Ride by Ellsworth -- uses ball bearings to make infinitely fine adjustments through its range of gear ratios.  twist a dial forward, even from a dead stop and it's no sweat to peddle uphill.  Twist it back, and you can smoothly accelerate.  It's an revolutionary cruiser that even Leo might call magnifico."

 Fallbrook Technologies built the hub which they call the NuVinci -- consisting of two rotating discs and set of spheres between them.  This is an example of applied creativity -- of looking to other sources (not other bicycles) to innovate. 

 {re} energize your brain

 

The barely functioning brain.

When you are thinking or watching TV, most of the different parts of your brain are barely functioning. Which explains the success of CBS's Big Brother and Paris Hilton's "The Simple Life." But there are some activities that really energize the brain.

Chances are you haven't heard the name Ryuta Kawashima. He is a professor of neuroscience at Tohoku University. He has recently started the Functional Brain Imaging Center. His book, Train Your Brain, is a truly remarkable book. He has taken images of the brain during various activities. The result was a breakthrough method of understanding how and where the brain becomes active {re} engergized.

The two activities that light up the brain are 1) solving simple math problems slowly and 2) reading aloud. His 60-day program has proven to rejuvenate cognitive function. I recommend the book highly, and even if you don't reach a Mensa quality brain in 60 days, you will at least have a remedy for brain fog.

 

 

 

If you tap into the zeitgeist you'll see the phrase "The Long Tail" becoming a hot discussion topic. Coined by Chris Anderson in 2003, his theory is outlined in a great book The Long Tail:Why the Future of Business is selling Less of more. Anderson's idea is best described by a case study he wrote for Wired Magazine. (October '04)

 

"In 1998, a British mountain climber named Joe Simpson wrote a book called "Touching the Void," a harrowing account of near death in the Peruvian Andes. it got good reviews but, only a modest success is was soon forgotten. Then, a decade later a strange thing happened Jon Krakauer wrote "Into Thin Air" another book about a mountain-climbing tragedy, which became a publishing sensation. Suddenly "Touching the Void" started to sell again. Random House rushed out a new edition to keep up with demand. Booksellers began to promote it next to their "Into Thin Air" displays and sales rose further. A revised paperback edition, which came out in January,. spent 14 weeks on  The New York Times bestseller list. Now "Touching the Void" outsells "Into Thin Air" more than two to one. What happened. In short, Amazon.com recommendations. The online bookseller's software noted patterns in buying behavior and recommended and suggested that readers who like "Into Thin Air" would also like "Touching The Void." People took the suggestion and wrote rhapsodic reviews. More sales, more algorithm-fueled recommendations and the positive feedback loop kicked in."

Novelty has a life cycle.  Some long, some remarkably short.   Among life's cruelest truths is this one:  "Wonderful things are especially wonderful the first time they happen, but their wonderfulness wanes with repetition," writes Daniel Gilbert in his fascinating book, Stumbling on Happiness.

Psychologists called this habituation, economists call it declining marginal utility and advertisers call it time for new campaign.  Ironically, the more novel the experience, the faster we tire of it.  I call this the "Hootie" moment.  Hootie and Blowfish came out of nowhere and had a hit album -- Cracked Rear View.   The radio stations blasted this album into the stratosphere and then like Skylab, there was a serious crash and burn.  16 million albums sold. We were Hootized into serious backlash. (Unfortunately, it was the radio stations, not the group who created the problem.)

 In creativity seminars there is a predictable and seemingly inevitable cycle.  During the seminar most participants are actively engaged.  Their neurons are firing, adrenaline is pumping and they enthusiastically believe in the power of creativity and creative tools.  After a week or so, gravity pulls this feeling back down to Earth.   The creativity tool is put on the habituated back burner along with the Hootie album, pasta machines, and a zen garden kit.  The brain is bored.

In seminars, our goal is help people make a habit of creativity or a least open a door to possibilities.  But maybe we are doing a very (un) creative job of follow up.   There is almost a creative backlash.  In my experience, people get back to the business of business.  They get re-absorbed in usual business culture until the next seminar or guru comes along.

Most leaders I talk to say "Honestly, I don't have the time."   Or without "guided creativity" they often don't produce results that truly have an impact on their business.  The returns on ideas don't show up on this quarter's balance sheet. 

According to Edward de Bono, to get creativity in back in business, "you have to make it an expectation."  Businesses want to embrace innovation but "creativity" and "non-patterned" thinking is typically not encouraged daily because it uses that precious commodity -- time.   But I will put the creative ball back in our court.  Maybe we've sold you novelty and not an mindstyle.  Perhaps we've motivated you for a day, maybe a week. Our collective goal is to plant the seed of possibility.  What is possible with a habit of creativity?  Think Pixar.  Think Disney.  Think Ideo.  Think Hallmark.  Think the "old" Sony. Think CBS -- three different versions of CSI. (In an odd twist of irony, Disney's Michael Eisner turned down CSI.)

Ultimately, it's about creative capital.  How important is it to a company?  Or to a individual leader?  So maybe the question isn't "Did you have a nice day?"  But "did you have a creative day?"  Now, I will put on Cracked Rear View, dust off the pasta maker and get "Jiggi" with it.

 

 

 

 

Hyperbole?  Hype?  No.  It's a method I've used to achieve incredible results.  It does carry some risk especially in companies where the dynamics are top down or people bruise like an over ripe peach. Here are the seven words.  How Can I Help You Fail Today?  Most meetings follow the basic four system:  Information download, pep rally,  GPS (where are we) and scolding.  Instead of asking people what you can do to help. Ask How can I help you fail today?

By reframing the "help" question, you get to "real problem" of what or what can't be accomplished.  Here's an example leaving political correctness aside:

A leader asks "how can I help you fail today?

Mary:    You can help me fail....by setting artificial deadlines.  (or not setting realistic deadlines) It's due Friday, but then we have all next week to tweak.  

Lamar:  You can help me fail...by not giving me all the information you have on the subject until the last minute.  

 Keith:   You can help me fail... by ignoring my requests for adding two temps to help get rid of backlog.

Sandy:   You can help me fail ...by not helping us define priorities.  

Carmen:  You can help me fail ... by being too busy on the day we need your approvals.   

Chaos in the boardroom?  A leader embarrassed?  Authority diminished.  Yes.  But if the project or customer service is king, let's look at the real dynamics.  Underneath all the "good feelings" between the leader and a team is a rising tide of resentment.  You can help me fail by not giving me the tools to do the job."  What would it mean if you knew the truth?   Greater productivity?  Yes.  Because now you have a stakeholder of the problem, rather than an employee.   

Think of it as a psychological intervention.   If you are a little anxious about learning or telling the truth, then it means that the organization is failing on some level.  Think about Nasa?  About Pre 9-11 (lack) of information sharing.  About Enron.   Seven words. A big opportunity to change the way you lead or participate. 

Fact:  Godzilla won the lifetime achievement award from MTV.   Godzilla, the nuclear-infused T-Rex, whose mission was to stomp down the main streets of some obscure Japanese town in a fit of rage has finally been given his due.  Cut to:  an advertising agency I recently consulted with.  It was rows of grey with a hint of red -- it looked like someone had taken the design plans of the IRS and used that as a blue print. It wasn't an agency, it was hell with a floor plan.   Research has proven that the more creative the environment. the more creativity will flow.  Was it too obvious? 

Most Presidents of Agencies or companies with marketing departments don't relish the thought of taking a client on a tour that includes a mini disco ball with a naked Barbie pole dancing underneath it.   But if your creative department looks like a 3-piece suit, then you've seen one of the signs of the creative apocalypse.   

Let's hear from someone worthy of a Nobel thought.  "It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty."  Albert Einstein.

In their amazing book, Juicing the Orange, Pat Fallon and Fred Senn talk about the beginnings of Fallon, McElligott Rice. "Before we launched our agency, we ran a little moonlighting operation called Lunch Hour Limited.  What stuck us was how effortlessly, quickly and completely we could leverage our creativity outside the confines of our respective offices.  Lunch Hour Limited enabled us to do the kind of high-profile work that excited us but that would never see the light of day at our regular jobs.   We realized that if we could escape the workplace politics, the bureaucracy and paranoia wafting through the typical ad agency, then we could unleash tremendous passion and energy."

Here's their blueprint:

• The single-minded devotion to, and the belief in, the power of creativity
• The belief in family as a business model
• Seeing risk as a friend
• Success as a business imperative

• The necessity of having fun.  (notice the word necessity)
  

What does your office look like?  Cold, lifeless?  Or something like Ideo or Pixar where imagination is the wall paper.  The only person's office I wouldn't touch is the accounting manager.  Creative accounting may be going a little too much Godzilla.   

"What information consumes is rather obvious : it consumers the attention of its recipients.  Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention."  Herbert Simon, Nobel laureate.  Before your mind wanders, I want to take you on a brief excursion of the state of information. According to the School of Information and Systems at UC at Berkeley:  the internet contains 170 Terabytes of information -- which is 17 times more information than the Library of Congress print collections.  Five years ago, more than 31 billion emails were sent everyday.

Get this: a typical issue of the The New York Times contains more information than the average person in the 17th Century was likely to encounter in his or her entire lifetime.  And speaking of dead trees, over 18,821 magazines published in 2004. Okay, so basically information has become so prevalent, so omnipresent , consumers begin to have what's been called by professor David Mick "hyperchoice."  Most of us are beginning to tune out or beginning to have symptoms of ADHA.

 The key?  Stop writing as if your audience has unlimited time or attention.  This is the primary subject I discuss with marketing managers and company owners.   You are heavily invested in your product or service, but the consumer has no reason to be.  If they spend just 5 or 6 seconds with you -- what's your message?  It's not so much that less is more, but that you have do more with less.  For most, reading corporate speak is obligation not an avocation.  We need to be more creative in how we GRAB ATTENTION!

 Thanks to Paul Brown and Alison Davis for their helpful insights.