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CREATIVELY MESSY

Is creativity the preserve of the few or an untapped possibility for the many? The messiness of the web enables the origination and dissemination of wonderful examples of creativity – why not unleash the same potential at work?

Creativity has a sort of mystique about it. It is more often than not seen as the preserve of a gifted and privileged few. It bugs me in the marketing world where the word “creatives” is used to delineate a narrow subset of the people who work in that industry. In the BBC too there was a bizarre, and pervasive, distinction between creative jobs and everything else, as if creativity wasn’t possible in every role. Isn’t it creative if an accountant comes up with a game changing way of measuring things? Isn’t it creative if a manager changes her interactions with her staff in a way that transforms their relationship?

Social tools afford the possibility to democratize creativity. On the Internet no one knows you are a dog. What does it matter who someone is, what they look like, or what their job title is if they come up with a stream of creative ideas or solutions to problems? Your possibilities for sharing your creative ideas are limitless, and the technology to bring them into form has never been so accessible. My teenage daughter produces informative, creative, and entertaining videos which she then shares on the web. Imagine if she applied that creativity to understanding your organization, sharing her knowledge, and making your business ...

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