Creativity: If You Know What You’re Doing Completely, You’re in the Wrong Place
As humans, we like to have some sense of certainty about what will happen as a result of our actions. That “certainty mentality” is understandable, but it may be the very thing that blocks you from great creativity and success.
Here’s a quote from Jerry Seinfeld from the book “Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV” which was about NBC’s dominant run in the 80’s and 90’s:
“All creativity should be exploratory. If we know what we’re doing completely, we’re not in the right place.”
This quote sums up the heart of great improvisation and creativity. Waiting until you have 100% certainty will cut off your creativity and slow you down so much your competitors will jump ahead of you.
This is not to say you should act foolishly. However, by adopting an exploratory mindset instead of a certainty mindset, you open the door for tremendous creativity, flexibility, and innovation.
Here are three simple ways to bring this mindset to the workplace:
- During idea generation, don’t shoot down ideas because you don’t know where they will lead. That is exactly the place that great ideas come from.
- Rather than getting stuck in over-analysis, take small actions that let you observe results and make adjustments. By not waiting for certainty, you open up the possibility of unexpected positive results.
- Instead of being scared by “experts” or “focus group results,” take calculated risks and see what happens. If Seinfeld had followed the “experts” advice or listened to what initial focus groups said, it never would have made it on air. Not every bet will work, but if you never make a mistake you are probably not reaching far enough.
Acting from a place of uncertainty can be scary, but it can also be exhilarating – and extremely profitable. Mitigate your risks, explore ideas, and take small actions.
If it was good enough for Seinfeld it should be good enough for you…
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Does your team or organization need help with its creativity, innovation, or ability to deal with change? If so, give Avish a call – 484-366-1793 – or send him an email to talk about havign him work with your group! !
6 Responses to “Creativity: If You Know What You’re Doing Completely, You’re in the Wrong Place”
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You nailed it – certainty is false security. Knowing there are aspects of your idea, plan, strategy… that you aren’t certain about lets you pay closer attention to those areas while MOVING forward. Thanks for bringing this front of mind for me!
Thanks for reading and commenting Dixie! I like the thought that “certainty is false security” 🙂
If you do you’re in the minority – most folks don’t like it at all! 🙂
See, the problem is, we’ve gotetn lazy. Most of us are cynical about ever being successful, whether it’s in our work, life, marriages, or whatever it is we want to get out of life. That cynicism has gotetn us in the habit of saying “Yes, but…”So true The technology is the one to blame, it makes us lazy and mean.
Are people cynical? Or bitterly complacent? Lazy? Or living “lives of quiet despair?” I don’t think this is a new problem, we can always find something to blame, we can always CHOOSE to become lazy and mean, but the truth is that being lazy and mean doesn’t take any less energy than being happy and content or optimistic and successful. It isn’t that it takes more energy to be successful, it is that it takes a shift in focus, a transformation of belief. And THAT is a hard thing to accomplish.
Your wsebite has to be the electronic Swiss army knife for this topic.