Description
Many people believe that creativity is a rare gift, something you are either born with or not. We look at great artists and innovators and assume they are a different breed. This book argues that this idea is wrong. Creativity is not a magical, inborn trait. Instead, it is a skill. More than that, it is a habit that anyone can learn and develop. If you do not feel creative, it is likely that your innovative spirit simply has not been encouraged. The good news is that it is never too late to start. By adopting new habits of thinking, you can nurture and unlock the creativity you never knew you possessed.
So, what do these creative habits look like? A core practice is learning to combine ideas that seem completely unrelated. When you merge two different concepts, you often create a surprising and novel result. For example, imagine combining an alarm clock with vocabulary flash cards. You might invent a clock that only turns off after you correctly answer a language question. This might seem silly, but it could be the perfect solution for someone struggling to stay motivated while learning. Another key habit is to “reframe” problems. We often get stuck seeing a problem from one limited perspective. By changing the context, you can find solutions you would have otherwise missed. A company called Bespoke did exactly this. They took artificial limbs out of a purely medical context and put them into a fashion context. They started making stylish, beautiful prosthetics, turning a medical aid into a fashion accessory that made wearers feel more confident.
When you face a challenge, your first idea is rarely your best one. In fact, the most obvious or easy solution is often a major roadblock to true innovation. We tend to stop at the first “good enough” answer. This is a trap. The best ideas usually emerge late in the creative process, after many attempts and continuous questioning. To push past the obvious, you need effective brainstorming. A truly great brainstorming session requires two things: the right space and the right people. The space should be large, open, and encourage ideas to flow. Cover the walls in paper; use sticky notes on the windows. Make every surface a place to map out thoughts. The people should be a small, diverse group, ideally no more than eight. It is vital to include all stakeholders—not just the designers and bosses, but also the marketing team and even customers. This brings a wide range of perspectives to the table.
To have great ideas, you need starting points. The more you know and the more you notice about the world, the more material you have to work with. Creativity relies on constant, careful observation. Sometimes, the most fantastic ideas come from noticing trivial details in your environment. The founder of the Climate Corporation, a company providing weather-related insurance, got his idea simply by noticing that a local bike rental shack was always closed on rainy days. This is a skill you can train. You can practice by actively quizzing yourself on the details of your surroundings—what color are the walls? How many chairs are in the room? Another way to sharpen your observation is to break your daily routine. Take a different route to work. Eat lunch in a new place. These small changes force you out of “autopilot” mode and help you see the world with fresh eyes.
No one likes to fail, but failure is one of the most important steps in the creative process. We learn the most from our biggest mistakes. Instead of fearing failure, we should learn to embrace it as the next step toward a solution. Think of it like a science experiment. You test a hypothesis. If the results prove you wrong, you do not quit; you reformulate your theory and try again. Thomas Edison famously tried thousands of materials for his light bulb before he found the one that worked. Your failures will always guide you to a better alternative. The popular app Instagram began as a location-sharing app that nobody used. But the founders noticed that a few users liked one small, experimental feature: sharing photos. They focused on that feedback, and the result changed the world. This requires an environment where it feels safe to take risks and experiment.
The creative journey is often long and filled with setbacks. To keep going, you need the right attitude. The most important part of that attitude is simple, unshakeable self-belief. If you believe you will find a solution, you eventually will. Neurosurgeon John Adler was convinced that radiation therapy, then used only for brain tumors, could be used on other parts of the body. The medical community was skeptical, but he persevered through constant setbacks. His belief led to a robotic radiation system that is now a vital tool in fighting cancer. You can reinforce this belief through language. Randi Zuckerberg at Facebook renamed her department from “consumer marketing” to “creative marketing.” This simple change made the team see themselves differently. They began acting with a more creative mindset and their performance improved dramatically, all because the expectation of creativity was now part of their job.
Your physical environment has a profound impact on how you think, feel, and act. You feel different in a library than you do at a sports stadium. Smart companies use this knowledge to design workspaces that promote creativity. A playful atmosphere, encouraged by things like pool tables, can lead to more playful and unconventional ideas. The most important function of a creative space is to encourage interaction and collaboration. In one experiment, teams were given pieces of jigsaw puzzles and told to solve them. The teams in a room with separate tables for each group failed to cooperate. But in a room with only chairs and no tables, the teams naturally merged, shared their pieces, and solved all the puzzles quickly. Even small changes, like shifting furniture to support teamwork, can turn a boring office into a creative laboratory.
Everyone loves a good game. We are motivated by challenges, rules, and the promise of a reward. You can use this to stimulate your own creativity. This is called “gamification.” One company rewards employees who file a patent with a rubber brain to display on their desk. This provides social recognition and makes innovation a fun, rewarding game. Constraints can also be a powerful creative tool. Working under pressure, with limited time or resources, can force you to find inventive solutions. The author found that students produced more creative work when given three small assignments with two-week deadlines, rather than one big project for the whole semester. This “problem” of a lack of time actually improved their output. A lack of resources can do the same. The famous scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail that uses coconuts to mimic horse sounds was not a stroke of comic genius—it was a solution to having no budget for actual horses.
The main takeaway is that everyone has the potential to be creative. It is not a gift for a chosen few. By nurturing the right habits, fostering a positive attitude, and building a stimulating environment, you can fill your mind with innovative ideas and unlock your own inner genius.
