The fool in business
The fool has a central place in creativity.
For centuries the king had his fool. It was the antidote to being surrounded by yes men. The fool can stand conventional thinking on its head.
Most corporate employees focus on short-term, time-critical, functional, and results-driven events. We say things like ‘results-driven’ all the time as if it is a virtue. But within a creative context, results are not guaranteed. They are a side benefit. This is like the mythical Scottish village of Brigadoon. If you go looking for it, you won’t find it. But value emerges out of the creative process.
Creativity needs a completely different mindset. More than that, it needs a different way of being-in-the-world than operational management. Business schools aren’t practicing academic birth control because they churn out graduates who think alike. This is not surprising. Typically management consultants are valued by the school they attended and the quality of their education. These people may be very intelligent, but are they successful in adapting to a world that thrives on the new?
New ideas look foolish.
I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that if an idea didn’t appear to be “mad” in the beginning, it probably had little or no value. Generally, when I throw out an idea that I truly believe has merit, I know it will be received one of two ways. There’s that blank look of non-expression, going right over their heads (irrespective of the level of education). Then there’s the reaction that for some strange reason, I will mention it in the first place. I refer to that reaction as sheer mental whiplash. That’s the real indication that I’m on to something, and go back to my apartment and search for the first blank piece of paper available. I’m may not have a designation in mind at that moment, but I can always expand on it at a later date. Eventually, my ideas will end up in the right hands, and not for one second would I concern myself with the possibility that they could look foolish.