Creativity as a business principle

I’ve had an extensive history in a creative industry called TV. Funny enough people always think that creativity is something magical that can not be institutionalized. Ask most companies about how they foster creativity or where it’s written down and you will get an answer to the extent that it is not something that can be made explicit. I think Catmull’s article proves otherwise. Various elements and processes can be created in a company to…create creativity.

I wouldn’t want to get myself into a discussion here about what creativity is. There are many opinions and visionaries out there that will do a much better job at that, I’m merely pleading to start seeing the creative process as a business process that can and should be documented and might become one of re most valuable assets of any company (but primarily in the creative industry).

The future is empowered by creativity

As technological innovation increases, crucial benefits and competitive advantages no longer derive (just) from technological capabilities. Instead, I would argue that most technologies will become generally available to all companies and increasingly consumers. As a result it’s not about techology, but about what you do with the possibilities the technology provides. Or in short: it’s about creativity.

Now, from a business perspective, that might sound nice, but it’s quite hollow. Because what does that mean? Does that mean that you have to hire those ‘creative’ people that can hardly be managed? No, not really. It means organizing your business around the process of creativity and making it tangible. Or in other words: making the magic explicit.

There’s no blueprint for such a process, but Ed Catmull hints at some interesting processes to institutionalize creativity. The fact that it was published as an article might hint at the act that we as a society don’t see the value of it yet. But to me, it’s like publishing the secret formula of Coca Cola. Then again, in this age of adaptiveness, letting go and opening up, Catmull might have just opened the floodgates for a network like organization of creativity. And there’s much to say about that…