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Archives For creativity
To get out of the reactionary rut we have to actually be proactive, but unfortunately, reactive busyness is rewarded. We need to stop reinforcing the incorrect reactive behaviors and start reinforcing the proactive activities that will enable an organization to really move forward.
In the Tech Republic white paper, Get out of the information technology reactionary rut, Robert Bogue points out the paradox of pro-action with the following example:
Team members who are nearly always proactive are seen as unnecessary overhead because they’re not solving the real problems of today. They are sometimes seen as idealists who never seem to be around when problems occur. Conversely someone who is always reacting and not pro actively planning is seen as someone who is working hard but not necessarily working smart. In other words their diligence is rewarded but the fact that it is necessary due to lack of planning is shunned.
To get out of this reactionary rut or trap we need to:
- Actually be proactive.
- Stop reinforcing reactive behavior and reinforce proactive activities.
These activities can include:
- Cutting ourselves some slack – create opportunities to be proactive
- Scheduling Time to be proactive – start early or get some help
- Force High Return Activities – prioritizing or building a task list is a simple start.
The bottom line is that when we are proactive we are also in control.
In the book Out Of Our Minds, Ken Robinson makes and thoroughly supports the argument that creativity, and the subsequent innovation that is spawns, is fundamentally hindered by our educational system. Robinson refers to septic focus of education and the fundamental problem and develops the following four points to effectively support this position:
- For historical reasons, education is preoccupied with academic ability. This is based on the deep seated assumptions in Western culture about intelligence.
- Academic ability promotes particular forms of intellectual activity. They are important, but they are very far from being the whole of human intelligence.
- The results have been beneficial in many areas and disastrous in many others. There is a tragic narrowing of intelligence, divisions between arts and sciences, and a profound waste of creative capacity. Very many people leave education never realizing their real intellectual capacities.
- In the new world economies, this waste of human resources is potentially disastrous. The abilities that are now most needed are being left to waste despite the massive expansion of education and the pressure to raise standards. Organizations and communities are paying the price.
Robinson isn’t just critical of the system–he provides many worthy recommendations. Most of these recommendations take into account the following three priorities:
Identifying – providing systemically for the identification and development of creative strengths and abilities of all individuals in the organization.
Facilitating – providing for the conditions with the organization as a whole through which creative processes are actively supported and encouraged.
Employing – harnessing creative outcomes to the core objectives of the organization.
Clearly, we have a long way to go.
Over the past several years I have collected many links to some exceptional videos that challenges us to rethink education, teaching and learning. Each Wednesday I will post a link or embed one of these videos in the main blog page as well as add it to the Wednesday Watchlist in the sidebar in hope that it will stimulate thinking and discussion on how we can improve our learning environments.
I will be starting this weekly post with what I believe is one of the best videos on creativity and learning. Sir Ken Robinson makes the argument that Schools Kill Creativity and offers several suggestion as to how we can correct this problem. The original video was post on the TED at a much higehr resolution site but I have chosen to use the re-post on Youtube because of if Youtube’s broader accessibility.
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