As usually happens, my life this week has conspired to test out a previously academic theory around creativity. In other words something went horribly wrong, without warning and I found myself watching helplessly as my carefully built up structures fell to pieces around me.
What surprised me the most in the aftermath of the big important thing being lost, was a sudden explosion of euphoria, followed swiftly by a sense of freedom, and quickly after an avalanche of new ideas, solutions, and possibilities. The worst thing had happened, someone had moved the goal posts without my permission and my response was a pure rush of creativity.
So the question for me here is, how do we allow space for accident in our creativity? The word design tends to imply a predetermined strategy, a thought-outness which belies the need for spontaneity and the unexpected. I suppose that's why we use the term 'by design' to convey a sense of things being in their proper place, planned out and set in stone.
But ask yourself how many organisations have developed in a particularly creative or innovative way due to a perceived lack or resources, or a string of events beyond their control. Accident is often the catalyst for great innovation, post-it notes resulting from a bit of dodgy glue, or the discovery of penicillin the suprising consequence of Fleming's bad housekeeping habits. It's all down to perspective, and the ability to spot an opportunity where others might just see disaster.
I'm not advocating the abandonment of planning and strategy completely, as a level of both is essential to the success of most ventures. What I am suggesting is that we retain a sense of openness and flexibility in terms of our desired outcomes, and if things fall apart suddenly, we take it as a creative gift.
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