The need for Creativity

A child playing with balloons suddenly burst one. Instead of crying or complaining, she simply tied up the balloon into a knot and made a ring from it. She used her creativity to change an unpleasant situation to her advantage.

Why is it that children can still be creative and innovative, while as adults we only look for set solutions to problems instead of thinking out of the box? Perhaps it is the years of conditioning and conformation to rules that smother our creativity.

Creativity is the mother of all new ideas and innovation. It is that bright spark that leads to development of revolutionary techniques and path-breaking inventions. Breakthroughs in science and technology owe their origins to the creative genius of some people. Just think what would have happened had not Microsoft founder Bill Gates create the popular Windows software? Or what we would have done without the invention of the smart phone or Bluetooth devices? Obviously these devices have originated from the creative genius of some people.

However, creativity is not the sole ownership of a chosen few people. Many of us have creative ideas that get buried under the push and pull of routine work. Our creative urges slowly die out from not being used. As a famous quote goes, “…We don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.”

The reasons for the death of creativity are many:

In general:

     Formal educational systems that focus on rote learning and strait jacketed syllabus

     Societal pressure to conform to rules and set expectations

     The pressure to earn a living rather than experiment creatively

At the workplace:

     Dull, routine work, with no scope for trying anything new

     Pressure to meet deadlines and targets

     Desire to conform to standards and set procedures

     Unsupportive work environment, that includes non-cooperative coworkers and excessive adherence to the rule book

     Opposition to original thinking from organizational superiors

      Lack of appreciation or incentive for original ideas

Organizations are in general focused on running as systems on certain fixed procedures and methods, and do not encourage individual creativity or radical thinking. The focus is on earning profits and delivering service or products, so activities like innovating and creativity are usually put on the back burner. Only the Research and Development Department does some original thinking.

In the present times, however, faced with looming market pressures and economic uncertainties, a number of organizations are forced to adopt change in their operating processes and structures. Innovation and change have become the mantra for survival in the tough economy. Even organizations hitherto resistant to change, like public sector organizations in India (banks, insurance companies, engineering companies) have had to yield to market demands, and introduce newness and originality in their processes.

The need of the hour, therefore, is to encourage creativity and innovation and generate new ideas that will change the future. “Thinking out of the box” has become a necessity these days, a strategy for survival in these tough times. Creativity needs to be nurtured and encouraged and not stifled under convention and rules.