REAPING THE WHIRLWIND:
MANAGING CREATIVE
PEOPLE
The creative process is a cocktail of instinct, skill, culture and a highly
creative feverishness. It is not like a drug; it is a particular state when
everything happens very quickly, a mixture of consciousness and uncon-
sciousness, of fear and pleasure; it ’ s a little like making love, the physical
act of love.
— Francis BaconIntroduction
In this chapter I try to give the reader a whirlwind tour on the topic of
creativity. When I insert the word creativity at Amazon.com almost
200,000 results come up. Obviously, a whirlwind tour it will be. I will
touch upon some of the salient aspects of creativity and its effects on
organizations.
Managing logical and orderly left - brain - oriented people is usually
a pleasant experience. The organizational world suits their specifi cations.
They like analyzing anything and everything; rules and regulations
make them feel secure. They do what is proper and correct; they
conform. In contrast, creative right - brain people are a pain in the neck;
their drummer is slightly off - beat. Their way of doing things is disor-
derly, unorthodox and unconventional, and their playful, intuitive
methods can wreak havoc in a by - the - book organization. Their thought
patterns are divergent, relational and associative; they deal with problems
by circling them in a zigzag, erratic fashion until they come upon a
solution.
CHAPTER 12