Why creatives should be like helicopters.

Creatives need to be helicopters and their leaders need to build the heliports.

One of my favorite books is ‘The Art of Looking Sideways’ by designer Alan Fletcher. It’s a book of creative ponderings and observations and in it he makes an analogy of helicopters and vending machines.

The Helicopters are those people who look at a project, or problem, from all different angles and perspectives. They hover over the terrain to see everything in its entirety in order to get the big picture. They then zoom in, get nice and close to see all the detail. They move around and see the terrain from as many different vantage points as possible.  And because they see problems from many perspectives, they are able to see endless possibilities.

Then there are those who are like vending machines. These are creatives (or creative companies) who have a range of standard solutions and ideas already in place. Clients put their money in the slot and out come the same old, off the shelf, solutions wrapped up a little bit differently. 

To be truly creative is to be like a helicopter.

The problem is that many companies in their quest to win over a client or get a project out, or find a creative solution quickly, settle for the vending machine approach. Yes it delivers solutions and ideas, but only adequate ones, not the best ones, not the great ones.

As creative people and as leaders of creative teams we need to be like helicopters, because being creative is all about seeing the world from different perspectives and from fresh and unique angles. It’s all about being open to as many possibilities as you can, because from possibilities come great ideas. If you limit the possibilities you see (by being vending machines), you then limit the value and quality of our ideas. To be truly creative you need to be a helicopter.

But there’s something even more important.

Without the right ground support, a brilliant creative will never get airborne. It’s vital for leaders to hire, develop and retain helicopters. Great leaders of creative people build heliports and maintain safe air space to work in. They know it’s important because that’s where the gold lies, and it’s what compounds their creative currency.

Great ideas come from possibilities, and you need to get on a different and higher level for that to happen. It will never happen if you’re stuck on the ground being a vending machine.

It’s a great analogy – thanks Alan.

Comments

[Luz]

What a powerful eye opener! Thanks!

[Charles van Heerden]

Hi Nigel,
Though I was not aware of the book, taking the helicopter view has often been used in strategic planning.

Sometimes you really need a more radical departure, which can also be referred to as the UFO view - a bit like imagining what a visitor from space may think about a certain practice.

The vending machine has stuck (excused the pun) - amazing how many people just regurgitate the same stuff!

Cheers
Charles