Any discussion of creativity always seems to come back to two questions: Are some of us born creative? Can someone learn to be creative?
Opinions diverge. I remember a creative partner of mine who strongly believed that the creative pedestal he was standing on was given to him at birth. Some research supports that notion.
Regardless of what science says, what does that mean? Does that mean it’s easier for some of us to deliver something creative? To a certain extent, does this mean that there are uncreative people and businesses out there?
“Releasing something new takes a lot of work—work that involves much more sweat than DNA-inspired impulses.”
I don’t know about you, but I personally have never witnessed an easy creative process. Releasing something new takes a lot of work—work that involves much more sweat than DNA-inspired impulses. And, what’s more, how can winning businesses and industries survive if they’re not creative?
Instead, we should think about it differently. To come up with something new and valuable for brands requires more than innovative genes. It requires that we take back our right to be creative—to empower ourselves to use our imaginations and connect the dots in nonconformist ways.
School, work and even society often tamp down that natural, youthful will to challenge the status quo.
But in our line of work, we must fight back and exert the effort to question, challenge and debate the status quo. It is through this curiosity that we can accomplish great creative.
