Imagination, curiosity, and courage
#177 - Aug.2024 [merging sequence with weekly retros]
Imagine this: one of the most important companies in the manufacturing industry assigns you a highly strategic project. The task: develop a new adhesive for the aerospace industry that is both highly durable and resistant.
After many attempts, your team has not yet found the perfect formula. In fact, the project started to feel like a failure there are rumors that the investment will be canceled.
What would you do?
Well, this is what happened to Spencer Silver. Likely, you haven't heard about him much but he was a scientist at 3M which was assigned with this same challenge.
It was 1970. After many attempts, Spencer invented a type of glue that seemed to have no practical use. It was the exact opposite of what he was looking for except for one very peculiar nuance: this adhesive could be reused.
But Spencer didn't give up. He talked about his invention all the time. There are even rumors that people called him "Mr. Persistent". This went on for many years— 9, to be exact —until, in a conversation with a friend, he finally found what he was looking for. His friend was frustrated, trying to find a way to bookmark his choir sheets, and thought of using the adhesive since they didn't damage the pages.
The rest is history.
In 1979, 3M launched the famous Post-it notes. Post-it became one of the company’s best-selling products for 3M. You might not know Spencer but for sure you have seen and used his invention.
A big success that started with an error and a curious person trying to find creative solutions.
Sometimes we think about creativity as a thing reserved just for "artistic" roles: architecture, graphic design, fashion...but how can you be creative, let's say, in a role like an accountant? or a lawyer? or a doctor?
You can become creative if you want to solve problems. From the most trivial topics to the biggest challenges of today's world, all solution starts with a hint of creativity. Creativity is one of the things that makes us human and we are all born with this gift.
The problem is that many of us leave it forgotten.
As professionals, we separate creativity from problem-solving. We often see creativity only as a behavior, not a tool everyone can access.
But we need more professionals who can connect ideas from different domains - just like Spencer connected the needs of his friends to his invention.
Professionals who are not afraid of failing when trying to find new ways to solve problems.
Professionals who do not see creativity as something exclusive to certain careers or a gift reserved for a few.
Professionals who can put their imagination into practice, who are curious enough to seek new paths, and who have the courage to make decisions and act.
We need Creative Lawyers.
Creative Doctors.
Creative Biologists.
Creative Managers.
Creative [your role].
Use your imagination
Everything starts as an idea. It’s a representation of something that doesn’t exist yet but has potential. There are two important things about ideas:
The first one is that ideas are created from the sum of our experiences and knowledge.
When you hear “connect the dots,” it means looking within your catalog of past experiences and finding common elements. This means that the more you expose yourself to new knowledge, the larger your catalog.
I like to think of it this way: what we consume is upstream of our ideas.
Today, we consume information all the time. From online content and social media, but also through conversations with friends and our social interactions. Everything adds to our catalog. That’s why it’s important to be very critical of how we invest our time and what type of content we consume.
The second thing about ideas is that they are very fragile. They are like seeds: if we don’t care for them, they die. This happens quite often. Many people give up too quickly. They put so many early constraints that ideas never fully developed.
Being curious
Ideas are shaped by sharing them with others.
They grow by seeking perspectives and not only by thinking about everything that might not work. This is where curiosity comes in.
Have you noticed that over time, we become less curious?
I like to see curiosity as the fuel of creativity. It’s what drives us to seek more information. It’s that inner impulse that makes us ask questions: “What if...?” or “How could we...?”.
Curiosity is a force that moves us forward.
The people we most admire for being creative don’t necessarily have the best ideas. Instead, through their curiosity, they have the patience to ask questions, connect the dots and shape their ideas over time.
The courage to act
It takes courage to be creative.
We often limit ourselves by thinking: “This isn’t going to work,” or “What if they say no?”. Spencer persisted for nine years! Why do we lack the courage to persist?
The fear of failure is one of the key enemies of creativity and innovation.
Having courage means, in practice, making decisions. It’s about turning the abstract into the concrete. It’s about experimenting to see if we’re on the right path or if we need to decide to pivot.
We turn inventions into innovations by having the courage to test them, to fail and to learn. Is never linear. Quite the opposite. It feels like a rollercoaster. But with courage and focus on a problem, you are likely on the right path.
Creative Revolution
We are facing what I believe is a “Creative Revolution.”
Yes, a Revolution. A change.
In fact, it’s interesting that Revolution and Innovation are synonyms in the dictionary.
Today’s technology allows us to do things that were not possible before. The Internet has radically changed the way we consume information, and now, there’s a new shift with generative AI technologies.
It’s fascinating when you consider you can now create specialized agents to help you with a topic. We are entering an era of virtual teams that can be created in seconds (human + agents). You can have specialists one prompt away.
The creative revolution is based on tools and a digital community that allows us to create new products and services. All this is within the reach of the majority of people.
The entry bar for many industries is lower than ever.
Your creative skill
Develop your creative skills by:
Exposing yourselves to different areas of knowledge. You never know where inspiration might come from. If you’re curious about a field, seek to learn more about it. If you’re passionate about a hobby, explore it.
The more contexts you have, the broader your knowledge catalog will be for generating new ideas.
Conduct more experiments: It sounds a bit scientific, but it’s simpler than it seems. Experimentation and creativity go hand in hand. Having a creative mindset means being willing to test your ideas.
Experiments can be as simple as talking to a friend to get feedback on an idea or doing quick research to see if the idea makes sense. Find ways to discover new information that can help you make decisions to move forward.
I’ve always argued that there’s something very particular about human creativity.
Even with all the technological trends, there’s something unique in the way we humans create ideas and turn them into reality. It’s part of our nature.
Throughout our history, we have been in constant search for solutions—from simple problems to the great challenges we face as a society.
We are capable of imagining incredible things.
We are curious enough to seek out what lies beyond the unknown.
We have shown that, with the courage of our actions, we can reach wherever we dream.
