Claire Thompkins makes an excellent point on the distinction between creative thinking – which is good – and wasting time
– which isn’t good. To an untrained observer, it can be difficult to tell the difference. I’m reminded of a story I heard from Gordon MacKenzie, who at the time called himself the Creative Paradox* at Hallmark Cards. The story went something like this:
A man in a $900 business suit looks out the window of his office and sees a field full of cows lounging around, chewing the grass, enjoying the breeze, talking about things not related to the office. "Alright," the man screams, "you lazy artists get back to work."
Most of us have jobs that require some degree of thinking, some measure of creativity, some amount of ingenuity, so make sure you allot plenty of think time. If you’re like me, the best think time is alone, lights dimmed, gazing out the window or flipping through a magazine. The worst time, at least in my experience, is during brainstorming sessions at work.
* I misheard MacKenzie's title when I first learned of his presentation, thinking it was going to be Donald and Daffy - you know, a created pair of ducks.
Yes, I think group brainstorming is overrated. I wrote recently about creative thinking and quoted an article that said individual brainstorming, particularly in places you won't be interrupted like the shower, yields more and better ideas than group brainstorming.
Posted by: Claire Tompkins | May 9, 2006 12:37 PM | Permalink to Comment