In a recent article in
Businessweek, Doreen Lorenzo, president, frog makes several points with
respect to creativity, employee value, innovation and conviction.
She argues that businesses have accepted the notion that
"creativity" is a desired trait in employees. Creativity does result
in the production of a lot of ideas. However, that alone is not sufficient for
innovation within organizations.
What truly makes creative individuals effective is the degree of conviction behind the
specific ideas that they may have. This conviction helps them stay strong in
the face of inevitable criticism and look at positive approaches to building
the support needed to convince the organization at large.
What she calls conviction, Daniel H. Pink would call "Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us".
Overall she makes a convincing case for convicting creativity on
grounds of ineffectual impact while institutionalizing conviction as a key desirable trait in employees.
What use is creativity if you're lost in a company that's stuck on doing things the "way they've always been done?" Are we headed for a hard transition when long-time managers retire and new thinking enters the C-suite? Or is the existing crew doing all it can to reshape the new thinkers in the traditional mold?
ReplyDeleteBusinesses are becoming smarter and have had to move more quickly in order to exploit new opportunities. The rapidly changing marketplace provides the motivation needed for increasing the rate of innovation (negative feedback from missed opportunities is quick and fatal). I am hopeful and see the rate of innovation increasing overall though certain companies may fall by the wayside.
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