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No Radio? No Worries

I've been living in a sensory deprivation tank for six weeks.   My car radio is still busted, despite 3 replaced fuses.   My first two days of commuting in silence, without NPR News, audiobooks or station-switching, were long and painful.   I was fidgety and restless without my morning information and multi-tasking fix.   

By day three, I was out of withdrawal and actually felt more focused.    I was more in control of my own thoughts and direction for the day, instead of letting a 3rd-party do the thinking for me.   I was ready to tackle the day -- on my own terms.

I will eventually get the radio fixed -- I can't live without news and weather forever -- but it's nice to know that I can create my own forecast, my own state of mind, and the ability to create without clutter.   

Create While You Wait -- tinkering as a process

You just completed a creative project.  And now you must wait for feedback from:  the portfolio review, the audition, the interview, the spiral-bound proposal.    So you're pacing the floor/biting your nails/watching the clock/indulging in junk food or junky TV.    Your usual motivation has gone missing!

But if you truly have time to waste and nothing to lose, why not use the time to tinker?   Let those"dead times" yield interesting ideas instead of pure anxiety. 

Here are some of my favorite ways to tinker: 

1. Go to Home Depot/Lowes/Hardware Supercenter and look at the plumbing & electrical fittings section -- spend $20 on unusual fittings/wires/fasteners and turn them into quirky sculpture (or just arrange and re-arrange them to get the neurons firing).

2. Raid a youngster's toy chest for Lego bricks/Knex/Tinkertoys (there are so many parts, they'll never miss a few) and build something with your hands.   My 9-yr old son regularly does this after homework to relieve stress and I can't believe I didn't think of it before.

3. Doodle -- in a book that you can close to curious eyes -- or be brave and doodle on a huge sheet of paper -- even if it's several sheets of regular paper taped together

4. Take a sketch pad to a busy place and start sketching -- the busier the place, the less conspicuous you'll feel.   

Interior designer Alexandra Stoddard calls her process "puttering".  She rearranges things around the house, fluffs pillows...  For me, art and interior design do not go hand in hand (and she would not have anything to re-arrange or fluff in my home -- extreme makeover is more like it).  But she has a process to inspire her.

Choeographer Twyla Tharp uses movement as her process and methodically works through a series of moves as part of her process.

I used to dread supervising my son's playdates (I enjoyed watching him have a good time, but would make an awful lifeguard or security guard, because it's hard for me to stay alert if I'm sitting still).   I took along my sketch book and tiny watercolor kit along, and ended up with sketches for a series of paintings that I'm still working on, four years later.  Who knew?

Chris Rock, Business Strategist

Multi-tasking in front of the TV, I read a book on corporate strategy while watching an Inside the Actor's Studio Interview with Chris Rock.  Chris Rock's business advice was far more useful. 

It shouldn't surprise us that comedians have serious advice.  Comedy might easily be the toughest creative profession.  Few businesses require the same levels of idea generation, product delivery, stamina and nerve.

Comedic success can be painfully short-lived.  Chris Rock emphasizes that, with the exception of a dozen luminaries in Hollywood (Spielberg, Geffen, et al.), everyone is auditioning.   

He believes that if you accept the fact that you're always auditioning, you see the world differently.  You keep your skills honed.  You constantly evaluate and differentiate your personal brand.  You see each human interaction as a chance to connect with others.  You understand your unique talents and look for different ways to demonstrate your value, so you don't get typecast.

As a comedian, you create original material by drawing upon your own experiences.  And you constantly test your material in the outside world to make sure your product is authentic.

Sounds like relevant business strategy and career strategy for the rest of us. 

Creativity Isn't Restricted to the Creative Department

As both a technology executive and artist, I continue to get unsolicited career advice on combining my two vocations, including "you should be in advertising" or "you should design greeting cards"...   I don't mean to disparage well-meaning career counsel, but if creativity just lives in the creative department, then say good-by to innovation.   

Creative thinking is required for every corporate function (creative accounting excluded).  Stuart Jackson's article in today's Wall Street Journal Finding Tomorrow's Winners Today -- Try Firms with Fresh Perspectives suggests investing in companies with a creative twist on their market space -- and there's not an ad agency in sight.   

Thankfully, there's no shortage of creative thinkers, and they don't have to pack a travel easel to be inventive.  But how do you find them in your organization?    IDEO,  the industrial design firm, has come up with a process for characterizing innovators and nurturing their entrepreneurial instincts.    Their 2005 book, The Ten Faces of Innovation will help you see ingenuity beyond the creative department and dig deeper into the product development process, regardless of the market space you're in.    You might find yourself in one or more of the "faces", whether you're coming up with the concept, corralling the forces in your organization to deliver the product or putting the final product into your customers' hands.   I initially identified myself as a "cross-pollinator" and "hurdler", but have since been characterized as an "anthropologist" and "storyteller".   Regardless of the label, I'll keep the book as a reference to encourage everyone in the organization to contribute new ideas.   

Taking Bias out of Brainstorming

Successful teams have strong personalities -- when brainstorming, these personalities can become caricatures:  the naysayer, the vulcan fact-checker, the polyanna, the emotional chest-pounder, etc.  Bias squelches creativity.   Good ideas, cloaked in emotion, never see the light. 

One way to take bias out of brainstorming is a methodical approach.   There are many structured brainstorming processes designed for long, complex product development cycles, but small processes and small companies can get bogged down with all the details.   

An approach that's worked for me over the years is the one of "thinking hats" where everyone on the team has to take on different roles (or "hats") to think through the situation from multiple angles.   The red hat is the emotional hat, the black hat is the devil's advocate, the white hat is fact-based, the yellow hat is the sunny optimist, the green is the creative hat and the blue hat is the integrator that brings them all together.   The method is 40+ years old, but it still feels fresh.  The book is short, once you skip the overly congratulatory introduction by the author.  Add a Post-it Note easel pad, place the six points of view around your conference room, and make everyone try each role at least once -- you'll have a more balanced view of your situation -- and a better end product as a result.   

Who wants to be labeled "doom & gloom naysayer" or "naive optimist" anyhow?

Checkers Checking Checklists -- Being Busy and Getting Nowhere

Doing is fast.  Thinking is slow.    I feel more productive when I check off one little task on my to-do list, no matter how tiny.    Then I feel anxious because I haven't started my bigger project -- the one that really needs "think time" to be successful.   

The reality is -- most to-do items ARE tiny!  Those of us who love to be busy (or hate to forget details) tack on small tasks like "schedule oil change" along with "develop the concept for the next white paper series" or "brainstorm next-gen product line".   These items are not equal -- but with long lists and busy days, they just become part of the same list.   Although the"list-driven" life feels busy, it stop us from moving forward.

I've started to track my bigger projects in blocks of time in my calendar -- I need to commit to the effort it takes to build something of substance.   When your calendar is viewable, or shared by others, blocking off project time is a necessity -- because others will schedule your time before you can!   I have used the same acroynm for project time for years:  GSD (aka Get Stuff Done).   I once had an admin that thought The GSD Corporation was my most important client, and I never told her otherwise.    It preserved my project time without making me feel guilty or indulgent.   Come up with your own acronym (looks like I'll have to change mine now!).   

No worries.  I'll still remember to get my oil changed once in a while.

Business Inspiration from the Art World

Art has the power to inspire us.  The real creative inspiration, however, may come from artists themselves.   They need to think differently every day - so they know how to get through creative logjams.

Great Resources for all of us, Artist (or Not):

Books:

Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit, is one of the best tomes on the creative process.  Her creative challenge as a choreographer is multi-dimensional, since she needs to bring together movement, music and the visual arts.  I keep her "exercises" close by as a constant reference, and her autobiographical notes add a human touch to her hard-driving persona.

Wolf Kahn's America is popping with color -- but it's not just eye candy.  Kahn is matter-of-fact when talking about his work and the creative process. He doesn't get swept up into flowery artist statments.    He's just doing his job. 

Alison Stanfield provides business backbone for the artistic spirit.  Art schools offer little support on "how to build a business".  Her ArtBiz Blog offers daily encouragement, expert advice for navigating a world of subjective opinions (and constant rejection) and a community of others.

Artists need to think like businesspeople to support themselves.   We need to think like artists to stretch ourselves.      

Starting a New Project by Thinking like an Artist

   Like a blank piece of paper or a blank document, a blank canvas is frightening, only bigger.

I generally paint large:  on a 30 x 40" or 24 x 24" canvas, with big hardware store brushes.   So how will I possibly fill up the space?     By the time I get started, I have the opposite problem, and have to edit the composition to get it all in.

So what gets me going on a new painting?    Like a musician playing a few familiar chords before starting to riff, I need to start with a process.   In other words, I need to build the springboard before I can jump.

Starting with Random Thoughts:  Most artists "tone" a canvas before they start painting -- covering the entire surface with a middle value tone to use as a baseline for what comes next.    I once ran out of paint when on location and toned a canvas with the remnants of my palette.   I had 5 wet colors left on the palette and the result of my "toning"  was splotchy and random.    But it had a life of its own, and started the direction of the painting for me.

Sketching out the planes, skipping the details:  After toning a canvas, I'll take a big stick of charcoal and draw large, messy planes of perspective -- they usually look like huge "X"s and determine where the focus and tension will be.  I never outline the shapes of what I'm going to paint.  Once I draw too much, it will skew my vision and I'll never paint the big picture.

Destroying for the Sake of the Greater Good:   If a part of my painting is great, but doesn't work with the overall concept, I will paint over it.   It hurts, but paintings don't work unless the whole is much more than the sum of its parts.

Turn Everything Upside Down:   I turn my paintings constantly as I paint -- that's the only way not to get stuck in the details and know if the composition is working as a whole.   

Let it Rest:   Although most of my works have 40-50 layers of paint, I'm not going to get an A for effort.    If my mind is blocked and I can't think anymore (painting is decision-making on steroids:  a decision every 30-45 seconds, everytime I mix a color or lay down a stroke)  I have to turn the easel around and walk away.    I'll think differently when my mind is clearer.

Getting Unstuck -- Taking Cues from the Creative World

You're prepping for a strategy meeting but have no fresh thoughts to add to what's already been done.  An impromptu brainstorming session makes you feel like a newbie comedian at the improv.   We can all get stuck in an idea rut.    Fortunately, having "idea block" in business is not the same calamity as it is for "creative" professions.

Artists, writers and musicians must tap the well of creativity for a living.   What do they do when the well is dry?    There are hundreds of books on the subject.  And they're useful resources for all thinkers -- Michelangelo or not.

Written for writers, useful for the rest of us:   

Natalie Goldberg originated the concept of "timed writing" as a daily practice, which is helpful when you're staring at that blank page.  Her recipe:  set your watch or kitchen timer to 10 minutes each day and write whatever comes to mind (I think her words are "feel free to write the worst junk on earth").   Some days are junk days, period.  But one must consistently work through the junk to find that treasure of an idea.  My favorite of hers is Thunder and Lightning -- I have worn out the audio version attempting to inspire creativity during long commutes.

I'm not a fan of the horror genre, but Stephen King has done an admirable job of deconstructing the creative process.  His book On Writing is thankfully free of fluff, pep talk, and life-affirming statements.   So of course, he's inspiring, because he's not trying to be.

Taking cues from creatives makes sense.   They're under a heck of a lot more pressure than most of us to come up with something new.