A friend of mine who is in technology operations told me, "I'm not the creative at all." I beg to differ. She has been incredibly creative and successful in the way she has redefined what her team does and the way they do it. Just because you are not in marketing, advertising or the arts, does not mean that you are not creative. I would argue that you can be creative in whatever career you are in.
I have another friend who is a plumber. When we remodeled our house, he did all of the plumbing. He is a perfectionist and each solder was done with intensity. When he finished I said, "OK, I never thought I'd say this, but your work is beautiful." The pipes were truly a piece of art and I hesitated to cover it with drywall.
Think about how you have saved your company money with an idea that no one else had thought of. Or think of how, through your ideas, you changed processes to make yours and others jobs more efficient. Look beyond just the arts for creativity- I would argue that Bill Smith, the father of Six Sigma was an incredibly creative person. Mr. Smith has changed the way the entire world looks at quality. Some would say that his method stifles creativity and innovation. But let's look at Medtronic as an example. Medtronic is known to be one of the most innovative medical device companies in the world. Medtronic is also known to develop devices with the highest quality possible using Six Sigma and Lean. Both creativity and operational excellence can live side by side, even within the same entity.
Creativity is more than art- it is a way of thinking and being. What do you think?
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Total agreement with you. I remember years ago working in a very 'creative' agency. Our media director was classically trained in GPRs and all the other media talk. Yet he was extremely creative in how he planned and packaged his proposals from the rep community to the client. His creativity really came to life in negotiations. Thanks for the post.
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