Creative Role Models

by Brian Clegg

We’re often asked for examples of role models – companies that really make the most of their creativity and benefit accordingly. This isn’t always easy to do. Many companies that do operate in a very creative fashion keep themselves to themselves. Others provide great examples, but the nature of the business makes it easy for others to say ‘they’re not like us’. I’d like to major on one company that definitely isn’t a role model (but might seem like one) and comment on two of the more obvious real role models.

Let’s start with Microsoft. Hugely successful, very creative, you might think. Let’s see what they do. Big problem. Microsoft is creative, but it uses a strategy that very few can follow. This is what you have to do. First, by being in the right place at the right time become hugely wealthy. This strategy is going to require lots of cash. Next turn out uninspiring products into a practically monopoly market. Become even more wealthy. Nothing very creative yet, but here comes the good bit. Now you’ve got lots of money, look for opportunities and buy creativity from elsewhere. Either buy small companies or buy their products. Repeat to taste every few years. That way you can do very little about being creative yourself, but still present a creative face to the marketplace.

As that’s a very hard model to follow, why not try instead the 3M approach. There are many aspects to this but here are two to focus on. Firstly make sure your culture is one that supports creativity. A culture that accepts that creativity will involve making mistakes (and learning from them). A culture that combines trust and communication to give ideas a chance to blossom. And secondly, give people some freedom. The classic 3M approach was to say you have half a day a week to work on anything you like. The company must benefit from any outcome but it has to be a day on something totally different from your ordinary work. With the aforementioned trust and communication, this can deliver huge benefits.

And then there’s St. Luke’s. While 3M is the sort of company many of us can say ‘if they can do it, so can we’, because St. Luke’s is an advertising agency there’s a tendency to think the lessons learned don’t apply across the board – forget it; they do. Again two learning points from St. Luke’s. First openness is an essential for creativity. Providing there’s proper trust, there shouldn’t be ANY piece of company information that isn’t available to all the staff. And that includes everyone’s salaries, and why they get those salaries. Honesty at this level (and what is keeping secrets from people you trust, other than dishonesty?) will lead to some short-term disruption, but will result in a very different, more creative group. And secondly throw away organizational restrictiveness. Form and reform groups around tasks. There’s no reason why most people shouldn’t have much more varied work than they do, bringing new insights and ideas. Get some change underway.

Brian is a director of Creativity Unleashed Limited and author of a wide range of books from the creativity guide Creativity and Innovation for Managers to his latest bestselling popular science book, INFINITY.

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