/The creativity Issue

Losing creativity in business is a bit like losing a limb. You don't think much about its importance until it's painfully ripped away.

Then, in the shock of your own cognitive disability, you realize how much you needed that creative flash to ninja problem-solve; to write erudite magazine articles for your boss; to perform better than your competitors. In short: to win.

It appears that creativity is becoming more central to winning in Industry. No longer reserved for the artistic class, creativity is now accessed by workers of diverse backgrounds, who are expected to engage in more right-brained calisthenics despite very left-brained expertise. As businesses begin to value this vein, it will become more necessary to harness creativity in new ways, for those who feel challenged by right-brained pursuits as well as for more seasoned Creatives who sometimes lose their mojo.

But creativity in business is not without complications and being creative in this context is often easier said than done.

Fundamental to creativity is a process of unbound exploration and interpretation of ideas, which in its purist form has no time delimitations. This is the process artists know well - an inward journey of contemplation and self-expression, where creative ideas are produced for no other reason than to be created. The cycle of this thinking is emotive, deeply personal, cathartic and often times traumatizing. Great elation can be achieved when expression touches the Center of The Universe, but things can also darken considerably with a perpetually sour note or the wrong shade of blue. As such, the reward of artistic creativity is not the pot of gold at the rainbow's end, but in the mastering of the (very long) chase.

Yet, business fundamentally rejects this idea. The bottom line doesn't have time to languish in "true" creative process and only uses it to achieve pragmatic solutions, i.e. results. This is inherently confusing for most.When we advocate for creative thinking in business we are actually requesting thinking outside of and yet within the box. Right-brained focused thinking, yes, but not extensively so. The result is creative stagnation and/or that which is unusable. The accountant is comforted by the bottom line and can't move forward. (Too myopic.) The illustrator doesn't see the bottom line at all. (Too wide.)

Then, there is the notion that to be truly creative one must embrace some level of social non-conformity, which in severe cases means mental illness or disorder. Numerous psychological studies have found a correlation between mental illness and high instances of creative thought, though this relationship remains scientifically unclear. This relationship is, of course, no surprise to those of us who have spent many years immersed in Art. Indeed, as a rosy-cheeked art school matriculate, I was exposed to simultaneously brilliant and socially deformed Gatekeepers of our craft: There was the concert pianist who, rumor had it, spent his nights underneath his Steinway; the fading opera singer with the schizophrenic rouge - a face that never left Die Fledermaus, circa 1965; the Texan dance maestro who sometimes (with no trace of humor or irony) spoke with a British accent. The social message is clear: you don't have to be crazy to be a creative genius, but it helps.

While "crazy" is not entirely unheard of in business contexts, the idea of full-scale, social non-conformity is also incongruent with its social values. When we call for creative thinkers in business, we are seeking those who can ideate within certain social parameters, not subvert them completely or tear them down. If the latter were true, there would be at least one (known) un-medicated schizophrenic on each strategy team. Accounting teams would be entirely Autistic. Your next presentation would be mimed... on horseback. Hence, it can be argued that without encouraged bouts of madness, businesses do not fully leverage the creative capacity of employees.

If "crazy" and "artistic" is the cultural gold standard to creative production, how can we tap these cognitive spaces in a more structured, functional way? Is this even possible in business and what does this mean for workers in a culture that typically values time and money?

Educators have long maintained that creativity is generated in students when tasks are inherently motivating. The spirit of motivation parallels the artistic process: Do what matters to you and you will always get it done in continuously new and interesting ways. Giving workers a choice of activities to complete, rather than set tasks, motivates ownership of what and how natural creative talents are applied and what is ultimately produced. Structure (deadlines, management) is implied, but not forced.

Improvisational theater exercises, where actors use acting and movement techniques to perform spontaneously, are also appropriate for business settings. They allow for workers to access creative freedom in socially acceptable (performance) spaces designated for adult play. You haven't lived until you have "become" a stapler; explored the wall with the lights off, or sung like a mariachi for five minutes. Scoff all you want (HR!), but this stuff works. It gets the body moving, the brain-juice flowing and builds far more rapport than a potato sack race.

In addition, improvisational techniques don't necessarily have to rely solely on in-office spaces and stimuli to push the mind forward. For example, the Tactile Dome in San Francisco offers team-building workshops in an extreme off-site environment that disables sight. A small team is forced to navigate an enclosed jungle gym of tactile sensations while enshrouded in complete darkness, relying only on hands and knees, words and ears. The result is solution-driven creativity as the group works together to improvise around each unanticipated physical and emotional obstacle. In short: when you are hanging upside down in pitch-black darkness, held only by a fishing net with no discernable bottom beneath your feet, your brain will impress you with its sudden ability to get you the hell out of there. (You are also never more happy to (literally) run into Bob from Accounts Receivable.) Moreover, the world will look very different when you emerge. You will never be more excited to work in Excel. You might even create a new template, or two.

But what about more unstructured pursuits?

People with mental illness behave in random and absurd ways that are dismissed by those without such disturbance as having little value. However, by indulging in unbridled absurdity, we free ourselves from social expectations, allowing everyday life to take on entirely new meanings as we act outside of our ingrained social role. The key is to pursue absurdity for no real reason, engaging with it just because (again, hugely problematic for most of us) and doing so in spaces that offer safe exploration (like, where you won't get mugged or arrested).

I long for a "Yelling Room" in my next work environment, or an office park dedicated to breaking glass. Delivering your PowerPoint deck backwards? Well, that's just crazy.

Let's pull out the rouge, climb a painted pony and get it done.

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