“Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man” by Salvador Dali (1943)
After the industrial revolution, organizations used, as a synonym for management, "control" and, with that, established a do (or accomplish) directed to the function and to the execution. This mentality conditioned our whole education and related the work in a simplistic way to "doing right". In this way we killed all the autonomy, authenticity and possibility of individual creation (which is always linked to experience and, therefore, to error). It brought an erroneous understanding that the only creative person is the one who has fanciful ideas or the one who lives in another world. He relegated the "creative" individual, that is, the one who creates, to the borderline individual [1], which is partially correct because in today's society the creative individual is outside of society that only "does" or manages [2] a Process established by others.
Creativity - contradicting our present moment - is not exclusive, at least should not be, of passionate, intense and extremely authentic individuals. This is due to the fact that - in order to be creative in today's times - tremendous strength is needed to break with the cultural preserve [3] because we receive messages every time that we must "adapt" to the organization we work with or to the rules To which we are conditioned. Unless it's really a borderline and social rules do not access it or simply have no influence on how you live your life.
Creative genius is a clear way of understanding creativity. I use a simple example: for me the creative is "who painted the Sistine Chapel and not who was thinking of the thousands of ways to do that". Creativity is volitional action that expresses something, is full of meaning and that intensifies the very meaning of life. Creating has a broad understanding and can be applied from starting a company, executing a project, painting a painting, building a house, making a sculpture, applying for political office, etc.
What was your last expression in the world? Which is the most significant?
When we think of creativity, it is very common to think about the question "create what?" Or "create for what?" These are often questions that fill us with anxiety because we are distressed to respond with reason and forget to look at our feelings or our Desires and desires which is usually the place from which the truest answer comes.
Identifying what action our worldly expression will take may take time. The deconstruction of models learned from childhood, through parents and acquaintances, takes time and is often an unnoticed, unconscious process. In the emphasis on doing today one does not know that deconstruction is the most important hidden step of creation. Abandoning models and known ways of living the moments and life itself hurts because it is a solitary process, because one must enter alone in the path of creation. Although we are in the time of building together, the beginning is lonely, painful and frightening. Jacob Levy Moreno, creator of Psychodrama, associates this moment of creation as his birth and as far as I know we are born alone.
After the study of various artists and entrepreneurs, I realized in their biographies that everyone went through a unique moment, the step of faith, from the moment they took their steps and took the first step, they created another life for themselves, for The society and the people in its environment. Only with great courage, that is, only imbued with your intuition or heart can you make the passage. The lack of courage not only prevents creativity, but prevents life itself. Over-thinking not only procrastinates but amputates the full life that could be had when we attain our integral creativity. When we bet our soul to achieve that action that will echo our expression to the world - that's where the turning point is.
The Turning Point and the construction of the future.
Organizations around the world spend a lot of energy and money on strategy and innovation processes without actually connecting with themselves. The process toward creative maturity is a matter still far removed from the reality of management. Although it is desired, few organizations have the courage to embark on this experience of the unknown. It is much easier to launch into processes that are known and proven by "other organizations" or organizations of weight than launching themselves in a process that few people know about or are not aware of.
Support for organizations that wish to be creative or to become creative must be done in such a way as to ensure a disconnection from short-term results. It is only possible to establish a transformation process when there is an understanding that maturation occurs in the long term. Only by being sustainable and coherent in the present does one establish a healthy process of growth for a full future. Currently in a world where nothing is fixed and everything is changing at all times - creative organizations navigate without constantly needing evaluation of the external context. They act from their inner nature and with that their coherent actions become unique and highly impacting.
The construction of this new business future must be accompanied by a high commitment from a very influential group within the organization. All decisions regarding the process can delay or kill you. There are organizations that can not overcome the trauma of bad transformation processes made, especially when it comes to creativity. Excessive cynicism and immediacy can seal the future of the organization for a very long time.
The process of maturity and freedom
All growth has processes that are rising and dying, processes that strengthen or weaken something or something. When we establish a process of creative maturity it is interesting to realize that we are constantly in a clash between these two types of influence. Creativity today is a very rich process but at the same time very difficult to establish due to high disbelief in long processes of transformation and a value that has become forgotten, freedom. Conservative organizations have not yet fully understood this value and misunderstand freedom with debauchery or irresponsibility. Modern organizations can have the right understanding and strike a balance between freedom, chaos and organization.
I found the idea of a creative organization very interesting, where do I start?
Every journey is already a beginning. Most likely the history of the organization already has some creative moments. It takes a different look at this story in order to value it and, based on values that already exist, to build new ones from a future that one wants to create. Establishing an initial vision of where one wants to get allied with the awareness of values one has and wants to possess or transform provides great drivers of the experiences necessary to become a creative organization.
From these initial actions it is necessary to take a great deal of courage and want to find the new world, that is, to be born - in the dirtiest and most unpleasant concept one can have in that term. Contrary to the established idea in social convention that generating something new is beautiful and wonderful, when we act in reality, it is painful, dirty, and extremely unpleasant. Yes, painful to leave a pattern (ideas, beliefs, habits and values) established and dirty, because in the first moments of establishing something new (a new idea) will generate estrangement, and at the beginning of this new practice, the results will be very Short of the real potential it has (for lack of expertise) and will certainly generate discontent. Dirty also because it exposes established fragilities, critical blocks and weakening dynamics of creativity and after the learning period, the establishment of something new will surely strengthen the organization, groups and their culture in a more creative way generating unique and consolidated results.
If you were not frightened by the above statement I believe your organization still has a glimpse of possibility to become creative.
[1] borderline: "borderline" is a personality disorder of cluster B whose essential feature is a pattern of behavior marked by impulsiveness and instability of affect, interpersonal relationships, and self-image. Source Wikipedia.
[2] Manager is the individual responsible for the planning and control of the execution of the work of his subordinates in the day-to-day of a certain company. Source Wikipedia.
[3] The cultural preserve "is intended to be the finished product and, as such, has acquired an almost sacred quality. ... These ideas of perfection were associated with the very idea of God. Retrieved from the book Psychodrama by Jacob Levy Moreno.