We’re often told that children are able to think unencumbered by doubts, uncertainty and the bias that we develop as adults. There have been studies conducted to prove it as well.

Kids doodle crazy things. They say things that are hysterical. And do some pretty outlandish things. One of my children is obsessed with making video games about poop. As a biased father, I think she’s creative as hell just like my other daughter who writes stories and directs her own movies.

However, educators, they have a different more scientific way of testing creativity. The emphasis in education is flexibility, originality and risk-taking. In advertising, we say it’s all about the work. We don’t really care how you get there. And if you asked someone in other creative industries like software, gaming or music they may give you a completely different answer.

I don’t like the focus being on whether or not a person is creative. We’re all capable of doing something creative in various aspects of our lives. In some areas, we’re more creative than others. I think it’s much more beneficial to focus on the work and not on the person.

Is the work creative? That’s a simple enough question. If the person performs creative work then they’re obviously a creative professional. Or maybe they apply creative thinking to areas that are not typically thought of as creative areas. I know a guy in IT who says he does this daily. I’ll take his word for it because I don’t know much about the IT industry. Maybe these two examples are equally creative people maybe not.

Posted on: February 22, 2022, by : Jimmy Gilmore