His answer was fantastic, because it summed up a very real issue about creativity. He said (and I paraphrase) ‘firstly you should be very happy you’ve had an idea worth stealing and secondly go find another one because the world is full of ideas’.

And he’s right - the world is full of ideas.  Ideas are everywhere and with right tools and knowledge it isn’t actually hard to come up with them, you can teach your people to do that, (and you should), you can even pay someone to do it for you.

The issue is not coming up with ideas, it’s coming up with ideas that make a difference, ideas that are valuable. Valuable to your clients, valuable to your people and valuable to your business.

When you think about it, it’s a lot like shooting ducks at a carnival. Because the ducks just keep on coming, there’s an endless supply of them. The ducks themselves are not the problem, the problem is actually hitting them…or more importantly, being able to hit the ones that give you the big prize.

I believe business often overlooks this. In an attempt to become a more creative organization, the emphasis is often placed on finding ideas, when in fact the emphasis should be placed on finding the right ideas – on finding the ones that give you the big prize. That’s a very different game.

It takes leadership. It takes vision. It requires environments that allow creative people to explore possibilities and take creative risks. And it requires the ability to direct and funnel those possibilities into real practical and workable solutions.

Anyone can shoot ducks. But it takes real talent to hit the rights ones and to keep hitting them consistently.

Here are some tips:

Focus on possibilities not ideas:
Great ideas come from seeing greater possibilities. So create an environment where your creative people can explore and investigate possibilities.

Work backwards:
Be clear about your endgame. That way you’ll know from the start, which ducks are worth aiming at. Creatives love clear direction.

Shoot often:
You can’t hit them if you ain’t shooting – and don’t worry if you miss a few. So create an environment of creative risk taking.

Why is that important, because businesses that understand the importance of creativity and how to utilize it are in better positions to lead thier competitors, outpace change, meet their clients needs and retain great people. But creatives businesses don't just appear overnight - they are designed. It's starts with a vision from teh top end and them a strategy to be creative.

So...it's been a while in the making but we have just launched our new 'Creativity 360 Assessment'.
We look at essential aspects of how your business supports and stimulates creativity and then deliver to you a range recommendations. The survey is divided into 4 key areas of leadership, culture, process and values.

Together, we select a range of participants from different areas of your business, including your leaders and seniors executives, creative people, innovative thinkers, your suppliers or peers, and as an option your clients.

It’s looking at these areas from the perspectives of different people that gives us a 360 degree view of how your company utilizes creativity.

For more information about the Creativity 360. Click here

Unfortunately most leaders don’t take the time to understand that creative people work, behave and think differently, and that in order to utilize their genius you need to provide them with a stimulating and conducive environment. So…here’s 5 mistakes that businesses make which will ensure their creative people will hate working for them.

1. Segregate them.
Creative people love hanging out with other creative people. It’s stimulates them, allows them to bounce ideas around, gives them a sense of camaraderie. So whatever you do, make sure your creative people get to network and hangout with others (within and without your organisation).

2. Same, same, same.
Creative people love variety. They are by nature curious. It’s what creativity is all about… trying new things, exploring new territories, it’s what keeps creative people fresh and inspired. So whatever you do, don’t keep giving them the same brief just because they did a good job last time. Mix it up, challenge them, and keep things interesting.

3. Contain their expertise.
In a recent survey we conducted, one of the key things that kept popping up for creatives was the ability to keep learning new skills. It’s important to allow your creative people to attend courses and seminars or just hang out in other areas with other people and learn how to do different things. And don’t be too concerned if it’s not industry or job related because it all adds and the best inspiration often comes from outside sources.

4. Play the money game.
Listen. One thing I know from experience is that most creative people really love stability of income and although it’s not always their major driver it is important. So you need to pay them well and pay them consistently. If you start playing games financially you’ll only upset things.

5. Act superior.
One thing you can never do with creative people is act superior or above them. Although Creative people understand and appreciate hierarchy and chain of command, what they don’t respect or like is someone who throws their weight around. Creative people are happy knowing someone’s in charge, and knowing what’s required of them, but they also need your respect. So lead them, mentor them, guide them, include them but don't manage them or boss them about.

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.

I used to play golf. I had to give it up because me and golf simply did not mix. But before I did I learned a few things.

Firstly, golf is one of those games that if you over analyze it you are screwed. There are literally thousands of things to get right. The back swing alone has a myriad of variants and then there’s the follow through, the grip, the club selection, the heckling from your so called friends, the mind game and who knows what else to consider. Add to that the fact that every golf pro has a different method of teaching you that by the time to you take it all in it’s a monumental miracle you hit the ball at all, let alone stay sane. 

So the first trick with golf is to let go and just let it happen, because the more you think about it the worse it gets. You just got to get into the zone.

Secondly there’s the whole focus thing. Golf is all about visualizing where you want that ruddy white thing to go by empowering it’s trajectory with every once of psychic energy you can muster. There is no doubt in ‘mind over matter’ or in golf’s case ‘mind over whacker’. How many times have you been ready to strike the ball when someone says, ‘don’t hit the water’ so what happens? No matter how hard you try, your focus and mind control is now on the water and that’s where that ball is heading.

So the other trick about golf is to understand what you see is what you get. In golf, if you set your mind the task, it will find a way of getting the ball there.

Creativity is like that.

Firstly, like golf, it can get complex. There are a million people out there talking it up, telling you how to do it and yes, there is a lot to it – BUT – sometimes you just need to let go and let it happen. The more you think about it the worse it gets. You just got to get ‘into the zone’.

And the other thing about creativity, again like golf, is that it works best when you are very clear about what it is you are trying to accomplish. When you have a simple, clear focus. Set your mind the task and it will find the solution, with or without you. And leaders of creative people especially need to understand this in order to let their people be totally on their creative game.

So here’s the thing. I reckon we complicate creativity way too much and by trying to make sense of it, and analyzing how it works we are simply fighting an up hill battle and ending up in a tangled mess.

It occurs to me there is a great divide, an ‘us’ and ‘them’ scenario, going on when we talk about ‘creative people’. By labeling certain people as ‘creative’ we are in fact excluding others.

Now I know that some people are more creative than others, and we should all be very glad of that, but the truth is that creative people, of all types and talents, can be found everywhere. In fact they’re on all levels of your organization and the sad thing is that most of the time you don’t even know they’re there.

And because business leaders often have a narrow view of who the ‘creatives’ really are, they are not able to fully tap into the creative potential and wisdom of their organization.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve sat in many brainstorming sessions and production meetings and have always been amazed at how often the meek, mild, quiet person in the corner, who’s not considered part of the creative team, is the one who comes up with the killer idea, or adds a completely new twist to the conversation.

So the ‘us’ and ‘them’ thing basically comes down to our view of who a creative person is. My view is that a creative person is someone who thinks differently

To be creative is to create. Whether it’s a new concept, a new product or a new idea. Being creative is about thinking and doing differently. It’s about being unique, seeing the world from different perspectives, challenging the norm and seeking possibilities.

And yes it is true that by their very nature creative people think and behave differently, that they are motivated by different things, and that it takes a unique set of leadership skills to nurture, direct and manage them. But that shouldn’t exclude the fact that creative people come from all levels of an organization, from all walks of life, and all industry sectors.

So we need to broaden our view of who they are and where they can be found and we need stop thinking of creative people as those people in the corner with ponytails.

Now I’m not saying don’t respect, exclude or sack your creative team, far from it, because you need them. What I am saying is be careful about limiting your perception of who is and isn’t creative.

And if creativity is all about finding new possibilities, then ironically, by limiting your view of who ‘creative people’ are, you are in fact limiting your possibilities and ultimately not being very creative.

Here’s a list of ways to absolutely frustrate creative people and in the process kill off their creativity and passion. Guaranteed!  Sadly, these things are seen all to often, so there are some tips on how to overcome them.

1. Tell them how to do something!
Creative people hate being told how to do something. They do however love to know what needs to be done and what the parameters are. As soon as you tell a creative person how to do something they’ll switch off - so just give them the ‘what’. Direct them, steer them, guide them and lead them BUT whatever you do, stop micromanaging and don’t tell them how to do their job!

2. Don’t respect them!
Creative people love to be respected for their talents and abilities. And yes they need to be told. In a recent survey we conducted, lack of respect, came up as one of the major frustrations creatives have, working for organisations. I’m not saying swoon all over them or dribble on their work, but I am saying let them know you appreciate them. But don’t do it because you’ve read this, do it because you really do, genuinely respect them.

3. Give them loads of red tape!
Creative people hate red tape! They tend to not be very good a detail. Now that doesn’t surprise me at all because it restricts your creative flow. If organizations bog them down in admin and bureaucracy then how are they meant to do the creative stuff?

4. Don’t tolerate their mistakes!
Having a workplace culture that tolerates creative risk and failure is paramount for creative people to thrive. Again one of the biggest frustrations of creative people is working for organizations that don’t tolerate mistakes or failure. Tata Group fosters a culture of sharing and learning from mistakes and failures. That’s where greatness lies. So creative people need to feel safe to throw an idea on the table without fear of ridicule.

5. Lock them into a finite process.
One of the great ironies is that creativity needs structure to thrive but that structure also needs to allow creative freedom. It’s a kind of loose/tight quality. Unfortunately business likes certainty and method and so in it’s quest to make creativity work it often implements cookie cutter processes that only inhibit creative flow. You need to have a framework that knows when to turn on and off the creative controls and direct creativity to your desired outcomes. 

6. Lock them into 9 to 5!
Creativity doesn’t work 9 to 5. The creative process needs time to do it’s thing and so leaders need to harness it’s potential by providing environments that let our people be flexible with time. Am I saying come and go as you please? No. However, remember creative people like boundaries but within those boundaries they also require freedom. So a workplace environment that allows freedom to utilise time to get results is where you need to aim.

Recently we conducted a survey, which went to both creatives and business leaders, and some of the results are quite surprising.

One of the questions we asked was, ‘in business should creativity have a commercial value?’ Pretty straight forward and as you would expect most people answered ‘yes’. In fact - 90%.  Which is not all surprising when you think about it because unless creativity leads to a positive business outcome it isn’t all that useful. It needs to add value to your clients, your people and ultimately your company’s bottom line

BUT…what was surprising was the result from another fairly straightforward question. Do you fully utilize the talents of your creative people?’ Only 16% of people answered yes!

Now I don’t know about you but that rings some bells for me.

On one hand business emphatically understands the need for creativity to be of commercial value. Yet only 16% make full use of the abilities and wisdom of their creative people to achieve that. What’s even more amazing is that they know that they don’t!

It’s a bit like knowing you have to get a heap of stuff across a canyon but only using 16% of the bridge’s capacity. You’d either limit how much you carry across, do multiple trips which of course would take longer, or perhaps hire more trucks. Either way it’s inefficient because you have a very useful bridge with the ability to do the job.

So why is that? Well primarily it comes down to the fact that creative people work very differently and in order to lead them we need to understand them.

One of the challenges businesses face when working with creative people is that they think, feel and do very differently. So you need to understand why they think differently, how they do things differently, and what motivates them. Leading creative people requires a different set of skills. Leaders need to be mentors, guides, champions, custodians and not managers, bosses, or superiors.

And if you think that’s all a bit one sided then, yes there is room for many creatives to get their heads around how their leaders, businesses and ultimately clients think and work as well, (but that’s another topic for another day).

And if we can start to bridge the gap in understanding how creatives work and why they think the way they do then we are well on the way to bridging the creativity gap and improving the wisdom and genius we have at our disposal.