CRE- A- TIV- I-TY!
Let’s hear what a few Regarding Thinkers have to say:
“Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought…Creativity is intelligence having fun…Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere… Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein.
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." -Maya Angelou
“Creativity takes courage.” -Henri Matisse (French Artist)
“There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who, with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into sun.” Pablo Picasso.
“My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” - Ken Robinson (British author)
“Creativity is piercing the Mundane to find the Marvelous.” -Bill Moyers (American Journalist)
There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns. -Edward de Bono (Physician, Commentator & Originator of Lateral Thinking)
MY TAKE:
Creativity at its finest is finding a rhythm, a beat, or a melody within endeavors that usually have NO MUSIC SHEETS. It begins with a defiant Breaking of the Rules and an embellishment of Non-Conformity (when everyone else is playing it safe). It’s a stepping out of the customary line of followers and taking the BOLD route.
Most people associate (& expect) Creativity in the Arts (painting, music, literature, and dance), as well as fashion design, culinary skills, or having a green thumb…But I celebrate it MOST when its portrayed in Sports, Social Approach, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, and as a Coping Strategy.
I vigorously APPLAUD it when it manifests as an Improvised Expression of Emotional Intelligence or my favorite- an ad-libbed ‘Conveyance of Understanding’ utilizing Abstract Thinking! ISN’T THAT what parables are all about? It can take on a myriad of forms… Man, it’s not just thinking Out Of The Box- it’s the REFUSAL & DEFIANCE to be BOXED-IN! To me- THAT’S Creativity! You feel me?
STORY-TELLING TIME:
Circa: 2005
Setting: I flew from Cali to Florida to interview for a Special Investigation Unit (SIU) position which opened in my company.
Parties Involved: Me, Jim Smallwood (SIU Supv, a good guy) and the Claims Manager (a straight out UPPITY-UP).
Background: At this time, I was a successful SIU Investigator with Auto & Homeowner Claims experience. Florida was looking for someone different to fill their roster and they thought perhaps someone coming from a different state could strengthen their ranks.
THE INTERVIEW:
After the typical intro questions (‘How would you describe yourself? What do you feel is your strongest asset? What weak points would you like to improve on? Give me an example of a time when…..’ You get the picture…Then came the Defining Moment of the Interview….
Claims Manager: “Prove to me you can do this job.”
Me: “I’m already doing the job. I’ve been proficient for the last 8 years. You can see my reviews.”
Claims Manager: “I need you to prove it!”
Me: “Ok, give me a file & I’ll tell you what needs to be done.”
Claims Manager: “No file, just give me proof.”
Me (attacking it from a different angle): “O-kay…Give me a scenario.”
Claims Manager (out of the blue aggressive): “No scenarios, PROVE IT!”
I just looked at Smallwood incredulously, like ‘Is this guy for-real?’…
Smallwood (trying to pacify the Claims Manager): “He answered all of our questions.”
Claims Manager (insisting): “No, I want him to PROVE IT.”
Me (laughing deep inside at the comedy this is turning into & thinking ‘man, this is a frick’n joke’ …then, I had a sudden epiphany): “All-right, alright…Do you have a piece of paper & a pen.”
Claims Manager (to Smallwood): “Give it to him.”
So, Smallwood hands it to me….And, I proceed to draw a Box in the middle of the piece of paper and an “X” just outside the Box.
Me (to the Claims Manager): “What do you see?”
Claims Manager (ill-mannered): “A Box and an ‘X’.”
Me (to Smallwood): “What do YOU see?”
Smallwood (accommodating): “Same thing.”
While both managers were waiting for my elucidation, and in that time (within the succession of seconds), I recalled ALL the countless hours I spent preparing, the effort it took to fly out there, get a hotel, a rental, and now this Uppity-Up Mo-Fo is making me jump through interrogation hoops. Man, a switch just FLIPPED in me with the realization that this Uppity-Up had no intention of EEEV-ER considering me…That’s when I took OFF ‘The I want the job Hat’!
Me (challenging the Claims Manager with the same spirit he challenged me): “COME ON, that’s ALL you see? Look again…”
Claims Manager (obstinate, throwing it back on me): “What do YOU- SEE?”
Me: “Ok, I’ll tell you…Yeah, there’s a Box and outside the Box is an “X”- on a piece of paper that’s on top of the table that sitting on top of the floor in a room inside the Claims Building that’s located in the city of Jacksonville, Florida…You see, I’m look’n at the BIG PICTURE, I’m not looking at this little-bitty piece of paper that y’all are looking at…”
(I continued)…”Just like any claim- there may be Red Flags but if you know HOW to ask the right questions, they can be resolved. That’s what SIU is all about: They separate claims that look fraudulent on its face but merit payment- from those non-meritorious claims that warrant denials after gathering material evidence…”
ME (Cocky smile 😊…not giving a DAMN & one impulse away from gett’n up & say’n ‘Adios!’): “Big Picture, gentlemen… BIG PICTURE!”
Claims Manager (matter-of-fact): “When can you start?”
End of interview- HOMERUN…. Triiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip!. Go figure- Man, you can’t make this stuff up!
P.S.
You can’t have Creativity without confidence because it’s a Declaration of Identity. Ask any Painter and they’ll tell you- You must first SEE yourself as an Artist! So true, once you VIEW YOURSELF as an Artist, it’s a GEAR you can always SHIFT into. Why? Because The Artist sees everything and every occasion as a Canvas and a Playing Field to express his or her Chi!
B.P.S. As Flint would say, “CRE- A- TIV- I-TY!” The Go-To Gear …from the Look-Out Post.