facts and creation

“Without the hard little bits of marble which are called ‘facts’ or ‘data’ one cannot compose a mosaic; what matters, however, are not so much the individual bits, but the successive patterns into which you arrange them, then break them up and rearrange them.” – The Act of Creation

I find it tragic to watch bright, energetic youth become lethargic and uninspired in the workplace.

Yes. Tragic. Because it is such a waste of not only mindpower but, well, will power.  And it is also tragic to the work company because lethargy does not lead to ideas/ideation/creative thinking.

To me? The real problem lies with the older folk (in manager positions) who seem to lack a comprehensive relevant view of learning.  Or maybe better said … they have an archaic way of viewing the way it should be done.

There are a lot of leaders (management whatever you want to call them) who appear to be guilty of classifying learning as being a difficult and frustrating experience.

This is in combination with the fact they also tend to have odd views on ‘how to make it fun.’ Oh. And to complete that thought … they have a belief that they have to ‘make it fun’ because learning is difficult/frustrating. Therefore it is a flawed belief system.

Look.

Creative thinking and innovation does not arise out of a vacuum but must be supported by a culture that encourages people to experiment. To experiment with facts, with ideas and products. With the hard little bits of marble as it were.

Original thinking and new ideas has to be nurtured and rearranged in successive patterns … not destroyed and scattered.

We can all encourage creativity by helping young people learn to assess the bits of marble and take intellectual risks in their work & ideation. Does this have to be “made” fun? Nope.  And it is, frankly, silly to think it has to be.

Instead this is like providing a spark to combustible matter. I am not suggesting it should be painful but rather fun is slightly less relevant than providing the inspiration to learn and become engaged.

Ultimately I don’t believe management should teach people how to create ideas.

The goal should be to prepare young people to be competent and original in their thinking.

Do that and they will create mosaics like you have never seen before.

Oh.

And in successive patterns.

(by the way … that is a good thing)