Blog 4 - Creativity

I believe creativity can come through different forms. Personally, I experience creativity though art, when I draw or write music, through brainstorming, coming up with ideas for businesses and products, or identifying better ways of doing things and solving problems. I consider myself as a creative person, but when I force myself to think of something or try to come up with something in particular, I feel that my mind blocks out and shuts down. I believe that several things can influence a person’s creative ability such as mood, state of mind and the surrounding environment, and in order to best stimulate and enhance creativity all these aspects should be aligned.

Although some of one’s usual work is individual, most of the time we will get to work in teams and try to come up with the best solutions and alternatives to resolve the given situations. Sometimes it is not only about creating something tangible, but it can be also about introducing a creative thinking process or a leadership process. Most of the time people get to work in teams, so it is very important to know how to communicate, listen to people and try to develop creative ways to motivate and influence people.

 There have been times when I have felt especially creative and I find this has always been when I am in a state of happiness and relaxation, sadness and need or simply heavy stress. I consider myself an extrovert and like to express myself; nevertheless it is sometimes difficult to find the media. The need to express and the need to satisfy is typically what drives me to feed my creativeness.

After I graduate in May from my MBA studies, I will become a consultant. I have always liked to learn new things and in business, learn about new industries and different areas. Every time I have changed my job position, I learn about the current procedures, understand the processes and requirements and then try to find better ways of doing things. For this I am required to optimize my own and my team’s creativeness.

I sometimes have trouble coming up with new ideas and find it complicated to create things from scratch. Nonetheless, I feel that when we learn new information and we associated with it with a need or a trend; we are able to connect the dots and sprout out new ideas. I especially get inspired and like to apply things I read in books or magazines. For example, before I started my MBA at McCombs, I worked at a carpet manufacturer in Monterrey, Mexico. I read an article from Harvard Business Review that said that employees are happier when they give away or donate part of their salary or bonus.  I set out to start a charitable association that invited all of the company’s employees to participate in helping the poor in Mexico.

The culture of the company where you work has a lot to do whether there is a creative environment or not. There have to be the correct incentives ant he correct motivations for people to take the risks to propose some new ideas. Most of the time, professionals are too busy allocating time in their daily tasks to find time to be creative. A company that wishes employees to be creative needs to provide the time, the environment and the resources for employees to go through their thinking process. When employees are rewarded for new and creative ideas they come up with, the company will strive with creativity. Nevertheless, an employee who works with repetitive work and who has to follow directions will not be concerned with implementing creativity to improve their work.

I do believe I am capable of being creative by myself, especially for several types of activities. Sometimes, it is necessary to think by yourself, quietly and come up with ideas that resolve an issue. This can lead to great things that can also be improved through research, advocacy, implementation and feedback. Sometimes, it is necessary to brainstorm with a group of people, hear the different view points and identify the best solutions that are the product of several people’s given experiences. I believe a group can sometimes be more creative than an individual. Most people are curious and like to criticize what they feel can be improved. Each of these thinking processes is different and the group can be capable of creating something highly valuable, if organization and coordination is provided.

The author of this article makes a good point when he says that creativity is not something we inherit, but a skill we can learn and develop. He says that creativity is something we can improve and become better at in our work and in our lives. I do believe this is true, but I also believe that some people are better than others. As I can work and practice intensely to improve my tennis skills, a professional tennis player was born with special skills and characteristics that provide the capabilities to as good in the sport as he is. As I can probably improve and play decent tennis, I can also come up with good and creative ideas at work, nevertheless I can be sure that I will never be as good as Roger Federer in tennis, and most likely not be as creative as Steve Jobs or Bob Dylan.