5 Myths About Creativity that are Killing American Innovation

Tuesday, 06. 9. 2009  –  Category: Ranger Wireless Solutions

Recently, there have been many articles talking about ways that local and national government can spur innovation.  The fact is, however, that businesses and individuals already have all they need to come up with creative solutions and innovative products.  Instead of asking for handouts that essentially give us answers, let’s break down some of the stigmas associated with creativity and innovation and realize the opportunities we already have in front of us.

Myth #1: Creativity is Something Special

We build up certain products and ideas into something almost reverential, a level of thinking and development that we could never achieve.  The reality is that less than 10% of all creative solutions even fall into what one might call the “revolutionary” category, game-changing items that alter their respective industry.  That means that more than 90% of all creativity comes in the form of “evolutionary” solutions, or items that build off an existing idea and enhance the experience for users.  There is money to be made in either arena.  Why spend your time trying to go for revolutionary when evolutionary ideas might be immediately within your grasp?

Myth #2: Failure is Not an Option

Like it or not, our upbringing and educational system has molded us to adopt the perfectionist’s mentality.  We are pushed to be right all of the time, and never make mistakes.  While we pretend that there is room built in for exploration and discovery, the educational culture really expects that we progress answer to answer as soon as possible for maximum success.

What is the end result?  We become afraid of failure, and so when pressed with conflict we end up not trying at all.  This is the exact opposite of the innovator’s mentality, which sees mistakes as stepping stones to success.  Visit a painter’s studio and you’ll realize that failure is just the first step of the process.  Before a painting is sold or put up on display, the artwork itself will go through many revisions.  Often, a canvas will get repainted over many times before it settles in its final form.  Sometimes, that layering actually leads to the artwork’s character and appeal.  The same is true for new ideas.  Sometimes it takes layers of them to create a masterpiece.

Myth 3: We’re Looking for One Good Idea

Much like our aversion to failure, we too are ingrained with the notion that there is exactly one answer to any question.  We believe that once we find an answer it is time to move on to the next question.  But you cannot be looking for just one answer.  Many ideas, while phenomenal at conception, fall apart quickly when they go through the gauntlet of questions that come up in development.  Has someone already done this?  What will it cost to produce?  Will people buy it?  Can we really make it work?  In order to build a foundation of innovation, you have to expect some ideas to fall through.  Therefore, find as many good ideas as possible.  That way at least a few will survive to development.

Myth #4: Only Certain People are Creative

This may be a blow to many people’s ego, but the fact remains that there really are not people that are inherently more creative than others.  It is an often held belief that creativity is associated with certain types of jobs—artists, advertisers, designers, inventors.  Why don’t we associate great ideas with accountants and lawyers?  Do they not create?

It comes down to how we define the process.  Creativity and innovation, in their simplest forms, are about problems solving.  In that context, who of us doesn’t consider themselves to be capable of problem solving?  While some of us have honed our skills more than others, we are all perfectly capable of coming up with solutions to a problem.  And with the right environment of encouragement, the next great idea could be just one or two cubicles away.

There is also something to be said about our portrait of the inventor, alone in his workshop coming up with moments of brilliance on his own.  While it is a very romantic notion, one that many try to live up to, it is also a bit distorted.  Great inventors, like Thomas Edison, relied on a team of people to help bring their ideas to life.  The same is true in most businesses, where teams (sometimes across departmental lines) come together to create innovative solutions.

Myth #5: Creativity is a Waste of Time

You can have the most dynamic and innovative employees in the world and it doesn’t mean a thing if the culture in which they work doesn’t value their output.  An organization full of “nos” and “that will never work” expressions may come up creatively dry.  Why is that?  It’s simple self preservation.  Why would we choose to share even our best ideas when we know everything gets shot down before it even gets started?

These kinds of negative reinforcements are in each and every department of every company.  There is no hiding from it, as it arguably ties back to our human nature and our desire for dominance.  Therefore, we have to create an environment that resets these standards for interpersonal interaction and limits the verbal and non-verbal signals we (at times inadvertently) give off to others that actually dissuade us from speaking up and sharing our ideas.

In the end, it’s about seeing results time and time again.  And that’s something every American business could use right now.

David Fleming is the Director of Corporate Communications for RANGER Wireless Solutions, a CornerWorld Corporation.

Tags: bailout, creativity, David Fleming, environment, failure, ideas, innovation, product development, strategy, United States