The Business Book

72

I N N O V A T I O N M U S T B E

I N V A S I V E A N D P E R P E T U A L :

E V E R Y O N E , E V E R Y W H E R E ,

A L L O F T H E T I M E

CREATIVITY AND INVENTION

O

ur fondest childhood

memories are often those

that involve the freedom

of play, and the unbridled use of

imagination to create and live out

fantasies. As human beings we

never lose the inner joy of creativity,

but it tends to be suppresed by the

responsibilities of adult life—we

trade the playground for the office.

Like the playgrounds of our

childhoods though, companies that

embrace creativity and innovation

as “invasive and perpetual”—as

consultant Stephen Shapiro puts

it—are exciting places to be.

Google, Facebook, and Procter &

Gamble, for example, are renowned

for hiring and nurturing creative

people, and for rewarding

The desire to create

and invent is deeply

embedded in all of us.

For businesses,

establishing a climate

of perpetual creativity

motivates staff...

As children, creativity

comes naturally...

...but for many adults,

it has to be

worked at.

...and improves the company’s

competitiveness.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Creativity

KEY DATES

17th century Polish poet

Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski

applies the word “creativity”

to human activity. For more

than a century and a half, the

idea of human creativity is

resisted—“creation” is

reserved for describing

God’s creative act.

1970s Influenced by the work

of psychologists Abraham

Maslow and Frederick

Herzberg on the subject of

motivation, businesses begin

to design jobs that allow

employees space for

creative freedom.

2010 IBM lists creativity as

the most sought-after trait

in business leaders.

2013 Bruce Nussbaum’s book

Creative Intelligence states

that creativity is the greatest

source of economic value.