Attendance: Chris, Mike, Vora, Chris D.
There is a common misconception that creativity is not important in business. In fact, some people believe creativity is frowned upon. That may be true in some cases, but creativity actually plays a huge role in business. Think of any highly successful person or business, and you will undoubtedly find that they somewhere along the way learned to be very creative.
The creative habit was the third book in our group’s five part series on productivity and effectiveness. The book was an enjoyable read, and made for a surprisingly good discussion. This is the first time so far that the group has gone the full two hours, and I think we could have kept going longer if we hadn’t run out of time.
Now allow me to be candid for a moment: My initial reaction to this text was something like this, “well this is great if you want to be a writer or a director, but how on earth does it relate to business?” It’s not that I didn’t think creativity is important, it is that this book is written by a dance choreographer, and is the subject of English and Theatre class curriculums. The majority of her examples discuss things she learned from creating her shows. Is she really writing to business people? What is here for a CEO?
Upon reading the book more thoroughly, I realized that it certainly applies to business. Even though the examples are slanted towards theater, art, and Broadway, much of the book is actually about establishing rituals, finding new ideas, leveraging history and planning projects. It is absolutely relevant to anyone seeking to become more effective.
Now, doing the right stuff is important (Drucker), and so is making sure you are getting stuff done (Allen). But just doing these things alone is not going to make you into anything exceptional. If you really want to excel, you are going to have to learn to be creative. Creativity is a skill that can take effectiveness to the next level. It is one of the few things in this world that really set apart the greats from the worker bees.
–Questions used for Discussion–
1) What is the central idea or premise of the creative habit? What are some of the problems or issues raised?
2) What role does a book by a choreographer about creativity play into a book club about business? How do you think it fits into a book series on productivity and effectiveness?
3) What are some of the ways that the concept of creativity is used in the business world?
4) Most of the chapters in the creative habit have exercises in the back. Has anyone had a chance to complete some of them? What was your experience like? What are some of the more interesting exercises you read about?
5) Tharp believes that rituals should be a part of our lives. What types of rituals is she considering? What importance do you place on rituals? Why are they important in the creative process?
6) What is creative DNA? How do you think this concept of creative DNA can be leveraged in a business setting?
7) Tharp goes into great detail about the many types of memory. What is the importance of memory in business?
Scratching is the process of searching for ideas. How can you find the best ideas? How do you know a good idea when you see one?
9) Before you can think outside of the box, you have to start with a box. What do you use for box, what would go into it?
10) Tharp advocates careful planning, but cautions against blindly sticking to a plan. In your own work, do you tend to see people over planning or under planning? What are some of the mistakes commonly made with planning? How do you strike the proper balance?
11) Tharp claims that skill is one of the most important components of the creative process. Why is skill so important? What skills is she referring to? How can you develop your own skills?
12) What have you learned in this book that you can apply by next Tuesday?
I love that you are using this book in your MBA program, you see . . . I lead a double life. For more than ten years now I have worked in the telecommunications industry as an instructional and graphic designer. At the same time I am also a professional actor, set designer and stage director with a college degree in Theater Performance with over 150 productions to my credit.
When I graduated from college I had a hard time finding theater jobs and so I started interviewing in the business sector. For many years I was surrounded by colleagues with MBA and Computer Science degrees, and embarrased to admit to anyone that my degree was in Theater.
Over the years I have become one of the most sought after resources for any project we do. Why? Because I don’t think like any of the business people I know. I feel have an easier time problem solving than many of my colleages, I tend to think wholistically. I remind people on a daily basis to remember that “how” we communicate an idea is just as important as the idea itself.
Just wanted to say, I think it’s great that you’re using this book. We need more thinking like this in the business world.
Check out two other books: “Caffeine for the Creative Mind: 250 Exercises to Wake Up Your Brain,” and “Caffeine for the Creative Team: 200 Exercises to Inspire Group Innovation.” Both books are by Stefan Mumaw.