176 THE CREATIVE INVESTMENT TEAM
Workshop participants sometimes resist when I tell them that
creativity involves pain. Just like exercise: When all is said and done,
you need to put on your sneakers and do it. And, typically, if you’re
not used to exercise, you’ll be sore afterward. What I try to offer
clients is a fun, hard workout. Think of it this way: You can get
good exercise playing a vigorous game of tennis or walking 18 holes
of golf... or you could do jumping jacks for 30 minutes. All of
these would raise your heart rate and burn off calories. Most people
would agree, though, that a game is more enjoyable. My intention
is to design creative sessions that are both productive and fun. But
sometimes, try as one might, creative projects are just hard work.
I often refer to Michelangelo’s plaint: “People would not be so awed
by my creations if they knew how hard I worked to produce them.”
Along these lines, John Cleese gives this advice: Set aside 90
minutes for creative thinking and then assume that the first 30 will
be awkward and unpleasant. The trick is knowing that the first
part will be tough and preparing for it. It’s easier to endure the
discomfort if you anticipate it and know that it will ease after about
30 minutes. Too many otherwise creative people never make it
through that first circle of fire. They quit after 10 minutes and miss
all the good ideas that were waiting just around the next corner.
(Some joggers would say that this is similar to “runner’s high”; gut
it out through the pain and you get a payoff. I wouldn’t know. In
20 years of jogging, I’ve experienced runner’s blister, runner’s head-
ache, runner’s stitch, runner’s charlie horse, runner’s “quick-where’s-
the-bathroom?” but never runner’s high. Oh, well.)
Another obstacle on the road to full-blown creativity is the
temptation to play it safe. No one ever wins by crowding into the
center of the herd. Of course, no one who does that ever looks
foolish, either.
Investment professionals wrestle with this dilemma every day.
It would be easy to put a finger in the wind and discover which
stocks are most popular. It would be safe to buy those stocks be-
cause, after all, everyone owns them. Another variation on this14-25 ware 176 1/19/01, 1:15 PM