Steven Weber in a publicity shot
I have no idea who Steven Weber is, but I’m going to find out. He posted a piece on The Huffington Post today that I think is brilliant. In my view, it’s one of those things that needs to be said more often. The simple fact Steven brings up is this: creativity leads to prosperity.
Value is created with creative thinking.
Now, Steven actually said “Creativity and Prosperity: Not as Incompatible as You Think”. His focus is on the entertainment industry in the piece, but the broader truth is, it’s a cross-industry thing. Many managers believe that creativity is not something you want because it means a loss of control. And when creativity is suppressed they have the illusion of control, but what doesn’t occur is Innovation.
An example: I recently heard from a friend that she was not allowed to use a picture card deck as stimulus for a short creative session. Why? It hadn’t been approved by corporate! So, the deck has been bundled off to some unseen manager in the sky to be approved, but sadly, this will discourage my friend from ever bringing a new creative tool to the table. It will simply be viewed as being too much hassle. In the quest for control simple daily creativity is being squashed. This happens every day, in every industry, and, it’s counter productive. Managers need to realize they need to foster creativity in order to get the product and services into the market that sustains their business.
If you want to be more creative everyday, if you want a way to remind yourself to be creative — so you can innovate — please watch my TEDx video.
Steven Weber — my hat is off to you for making a great point. I now realize I remember your role in Single White Female. Hope to see you in a new film or TV show soon, but in the meantime keep writing those great pieces for The Huffington Post.
4 responses to “Creativity is Where Prosperity Starts”
Good one. This blog is ‘right on the money’ (though not meaning to suggest that prosperity is all about financial wealth). And there is no doubt that many executives and managers need to tune up their brains to foster creatity as the pathway to solutions. To me it is the only way – given that the right tools will help, getting businesses and public sector organisations better and faster towards realising their potential, surviving or, better still, thriving.
Thanks for your comment Mark. Creativity needs to become something managers actively create, and doing that would be entirely new for most managers.
How do you not know who Steven Weber is!? WINGS, man, WINGS!!
Studio 60!?
I do however enjoy this post.
I’d heard of Wings, but never watched it, so missed it entirely Thanks for your comment.