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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Setting up the conditions for creativity

      A couple of weeks ago I spoke on innovation at a conference on that theme for the civil construction sector. One of the many fascinating things about creativity is its need for the right conditions before it can emerge - both in our brain and in our organisations.
      The brain is a very energy-hungry organ: just 2% of our body weight, it appropriates 20% of our energy intake to fuel its work. Yet oddly, when we're daydreaming or even just staring vacantly into space, its energy use is much higher than when we're intensively focused on a task. This intensive focus is important and productive, and when in that project execution mode, we feel satisfyingly efficient - but we're not necessarily being creative, as Gay Claxton noted many years ago in his marvellous book, Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind.
      By contrast, when we're in "vacant" mode, a number of major areas in the brain start working together in what neuroscientists now call the "default network", when the brain seizes the opportunity to get back to its most important work - sifting, sorting and finding patterns in the vast amounts of sensory input that bombards us every day. It's not surprising, then, that brain science and studies of famous thinkers and modern innovators are leading us to the conclusion that this default mode is a key supporting condition for creativity to emerge.
      One example is that of the eminent German chemist Kekule, who for many years had been trying to work out the structure of the benzene molecule. Giving up on his research one winter's afternoon, he left his desk and sat in an armchair in front of the fire. Dozing off in comfort, he envisioned a snake with its tail in its mouth - and awoke to realise he'd solved the problem: the snake represented the benzene ring.
      Even with such insights, however, our moments of inspiration can wither and die without the right organizational support. It's too easy to think that bright ideas are all we need, but while they're necessary, they're not sufficient. Stephen Shapiro says that companies wanting to nurture creativity must dedicate a budget and set up supporting processes to bring bright ideas to maturation. Norman Chorn suggests organizations also need a CCO - a Chief Creativity Officer. This person needn't be burdened with the responsibility of being the source of all of a company's creativity, but he or she does need to understand and support the creative and entrepreneurial processes that Chorn and Shapiro talk about.
      So after several months of intense work leading up to the Frankfurt Book Fair, I'm about to give my default network some dedicated time by going on a week-long meditation retreat. And I'll be taking a notebook with me....

Find out more about Guy Claxton's thinking here. And click on their names to find out more about the work of  Stephen Shapiro and Norman Chorn.