When you hear “He thinks differently”, part of your perception may translate to “He’s weird” and you might be right. But being weird is only a bad thing on the school bus and possibly on the playground. As we become adults and enter creative careers, sometimes intermittent “weirdness” is a good thing.
In the creative environment, weirdness can be a big advantage as long as “said weirdness” is tempered with appropriateness and relevancy. But what are we really trying to accomplish? The creative environment asks us to simply think differently. And why is that a good thing? Because unique perspectives grab our attention, are thought provoking and often times allow us to see things in ways that we hadn’t considered before and that is a good thing.
So, how can we all be weird…I mean…how can we think differently? Wearing a flower-potted hat and goofy bow tie is not the answer, and doing that might cost you your lunch money on the school bus. What you want to be able to do is come up with ideas that are unique, relevant and memorable.
Start by noticing the subtleties in a given situation. For instance, looking at a photograph, what’s in the background? Examine the details beyond the obvious focus of attention. A visual trick used by painters and visual artists is to squint your eyes (essentially blurring your vision) and notice basic shapes and colors. Try to see your subject (or challenge) from a different perspective that is beyond the main focus.
What if it is a concept that you wish to approach from a unique angle? Can you squint your eyes on this? Yes you can. Visualize your subject matter. For example: You want to motivate a sales group to increase performance. Think about this group of people, mentally place them in a room together and start to think about what this room has to offer. Forget about their company specifics for a moment and think about what might grab their attention, what might get them talking and what might make them smile. What are the tools they use on a regular basis? Cell phones? Demo devices? Laptops? How can we captivate these people using stuff they use regularly? Think about this group socially…or culturally. What would appeal to them outside their business environment?
Keeping a sharp eye on innovative technology is always a good thing, but I believe that a great idea can exist on the head of a pin and does not have to be very expensive at all. It’s all about approaching your objective from that unique perspective. Anything associated with your initiative is also connected to it in some way… so don’t walk in through the front door. A unique approach typically slides in from the side…or drops in from a bird’s eye view.
Let the silliness out. This is always a good idea to cleanse the creative palate. There’s always the guy at the conference table that shouts out “Monkeys!” Yes, no one would question that monkeys are funny. But if that is not the answer, it may open the door for the outrageous, which then will set the table for the unique, which could lead directly to the IDEA.
Thinking differently is not a light switch that you can throw on and off. It’s a process that is more like holding a spot light and panning it across a dark room. Eventually you might find something that you didn’t notice when all the lights were on. So, the next time you are faced with a creative challenge, let your inner weirdness out. It’s OK, we’re all grownups now and your lunch money is safe.
Tags: creativity
Nice post, Bob. I find that the most creative people I know aren’t necessarily overtly weird, but they tend to be intensely observant. Great point about approaching a concept from a unique perspective.
Thanks!