Earlier this month, I was fortunate to be speaking at a conference in Cape Town. One of the speakers before me was John Hunt, Worldwide Creative Director of TBWA. He was talking about the learnings he’s picked up from the years he’s been in the ‘ideas business’. He’s distilled these learnings into 20 observations all [...]
Courage is the last of the six behaviours, but it is potentially the most important one. Courage is about being brave to think the big thoughts, to follow your conviction and stick your nose out. To be creative, you need to have courage. Why? Because creativity inevitably implies doing something that’s a bit different – [...]
Signalling is a subtle but hugely effective creative behaviour. When you signal, you essentially help yourself and those around you navigate the different mindsets that help (or hinder!) creativity. Supporters are natural ‘signalers’. Their motivation is to create harmony and by signalling, they enable others to get in the right mindset before having to react [...]
Momentum is about creating a buzz and sense of urgency around the things you’re working on. It’s about passion and action. Momentum-makers come in all shapes and sizes, and can most often be found amongst Sculptors, Supporters, Selectors and Stimulators. Sculptors create momentum because when they make things real, others are able to engage with [...]
Realness is the act of turning ideas from mere thoughts into something real. This is typically done through visuals, words or even prototypes. Realness is important because it helps make an idea tangible so others can wrap their heads around it. Only when people ‘get it’ are they able to help really build and give [...]
Greenhousing refers to the practice of protecting young ideas so they can grow from being vulnerable into being strong and healthy. Greenhousing is important because our ideas are rarely born fully formed, but need time to take shape before they can be evaluated. With Greenhousing, it is the Spotter that takes centre stage with the [...]
Freshness is all about how you search for stimulus and fill your mind with freshness so you can break out of conventional thinking in order to generate truly unique ideas. Freshness is something Stimulators are naturally good at. Fresh inputs and unique perspectives are some of the things they bring to the creative table. Freshness [...]
People often ask us: “So how does the 5 Creative Creatures behaviours compare to other creative tools?” Most frequently mentioned are Edward de Bono’s Thinking Hats, IDEO’s Ten Faces of Innovation and the ?What If! creative behaviours. Because the Creative ID is based on your preferred creative style, by simply knowing your creative strengths, you [...]
One of the barriers holding people back from thinking of themselves as being ‘creative’, is the fact that creative people are thought to possess a streak of genius. Albert Einstein. Pablo Picasso. John Lennon. Even Bono from U2. People like are up on a pedestal. This pedestal makes creativity feel unattainable for mere mortals like [...]
Why is it that ‘creative’ is such a difficult word? It covers a multitude of sins, yet often gets pigeonholed into meaning one thing. It’s ubiquitous, yet elusive. It’s a club we desire to be a member of, yet a label few people apply to themselves. Undoubtedly, being creative is important, it helps us achieve [...]