Risk, Creativity, Initiatives, Ideas, problem solving, China

There are many perceived risks associated with creativity. Some of them are more valid than others.

The first perceived risk arises because, if you never do anything, then you are never likely to make a mistake. No-one would ever spell this out too precisely, but it is at the back of many people's minds. An initiative is a potential mistake - so do not take initiatives, and then you can never be blamed for making a mistake.

Most organisations I have worked with claim to be creative. In truth, however, they operate on the usual principle of 'maintenance and problem solving'. This means keeping things going much as they are going and then solving whatever problem arises.

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
Missed opportunities are not easy to detect. No-one gets blamed for not using an opportunity, but you do get blamed for making a mistake.

In some changing businesses, doing nothing means that eventually the business will be run into the ground. This does not much matter if the process takes longer than your tenure of an executive position.

Where it becomes obvious that changes are needed, then you still do nothing until everyone around you has changed. You let them take the risks. Then you copy them or come in with a 'me too'. That passes for smart strategy - and in some ways it is.

ANARCHYThe second perceived risk is that there would be anarchy if everyone tried to be creative.

There is a perceived dichotomy between rigid routine and creative anarchy. Once creativity is permitted, there is the belief that everyone will be running around trying out new ways of doing things and nothing will get done.

Having to deal with the expected deluge of creative ideas can seem very daunting, even if it only means turning them all down. Most people prefer change to happen through a slow evolutionary process, rather than energetic creativity.

Having an idea and deciding to use that idea are two separate things. It is the business of creativity to have ideas and to show the benefits of these new ideas. It is the business of judgment to decide whether the idea is worth using.

There may be excellent ideas with lots of foreseen benefits, but the cost of change is such that the excellent idea is not worth using. Most organisations that claim to 'have too many ideas' really have too few good ideas.

DISTRACTION
The third perceived risk is that new ideas may be a distraction from the ongoing business.

People have jobs to do. If someone sits around trying to be creative, then that person's job may suffer. That person may become less effective because part of his or her thinking is focused on possible new ideas.

Part of the fear here is that new ideas are more fun. By contrast routine operations may be seen as rather sterile and boring. There is a risk in allowing people to have fun.

It is seen as being all right for the long-haired 'creative type' to have ideas, but not for the sober-suited executives, who are there to get on with running the business much as it is.

HASSLE
The fourth perceived risk is that any idea is going to mean a lot of extra hassle.

Here the fear is not that the new idea may not work, but that even if it does work, there is a lot of hassle associated with getting the idea up and running. Anything that involves persuasion is a lot of work. Anything that deviates from the norm is a lot of work. Anything that requires ongoing thinking is a lot of work. People do not like to make extra work for themselves.

IT MAY NOT WORK
The fifth perceived risk is that the new idea may not work in practice.

Unless it is a known or copied idea, there can be no guarantee that a new idea is going to work. The very fact that it is new means there is uncertainty about success. Hollywood film-makers are said to want to go on producing 'Son of Lassie' and 'Grandson of Lassie' movies. If the film 'Lassie' worked in the first instance, then derivatives are more likely to work than totally new stories. It is reported that Sam Goldwyn once said: 'What we need is some brand-new cliches'. That is to say, something really new, provided it was exactly the same as before.

A new idea promises benefits, but those benefits may never be delivered. It may be that the idea itself is faulty. It may be that the timing is wrong. It may be that competitors outsmart the new idea. There are many, many reasons why a promising new idea may never work.

DISASTER
The sixth perceived risk is that the new idea may turn out to be a disaster.

The new idea may seem attractive. The new idea may seem a 'saviour' for the organisation. All resources are placed on this one bet. The bet does not come off. The corporation is dragged down by the failure of this promising and exciting new idea. This can easily happen when a really good idea is a little bit ahead of its time. Years later somebody else succeeds very well with the same idea.

BAD IDEASThe seventh perceived risk is that there are also bad ideas, and this may be one.

There can be exciting new ideas which are bad ideas and which simply do not succeed in the market place. Usually there is some exciting aspect of the idea (for instance, selling something in the huge China market) and this aspect prevents examination of other aspects. If it were possible to decide in advance which were the good ideas and which were the bad ideas, then creativity would have rather more practitioners. Anything to do with the future is uncertain, and new ideas are all about the future.

UNFORESEENThe eighth perceived risk is that unforeseen circumstances may arise.

The idea may be excellent. The implementation of the idea may also be excellent. But then there are unforeseen circumstances. There is a postal strike just when a mail campaign is about to be launched. The regulations are changed with regard to investments. There is a local war. The price of a basic ingredient is increased. There is a health scare about some aspect of a new product. Competitors come in with a big price cut. Fashions change.

There are so many things that can happen and which can change the performance of an idea. For all these reasons, and some others, there are risks attached to creativity. So many people prefer not to get involved in such risks. They know that new ideas are important - even vital - but somehow that is someone else's business. Let others take the risk and then take up and copy what seems to be succeeding.

SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER?
The answer depends on the nature of the organisation and the nature of the market. Some markets are fast-moving and some are not. In some sectors there is fierce competition and in others there is not. The cost of entry may vary from sector to sector. Technology changes may be rapid in one sector but slow in another. So general principles have to be very general.

Principle 1. If you never use creativity you are operating at way below potential. This is because there are improvements and opportunities to which you are not getting access. You may indeed survive, but are falling far short of what you could be.
Principle 2. Creativity provides opportunity - judgment provides choice. There is no need to be frightened of creativity. In the end it is judgment which decides whether to use an idea or not. Creativity provides the food on the buffet. Judgment chooses what to eat.
Principle 3. Creativity can provide simpler, cheaper and more profitable options. We usually think of creativity as complicating things. The proper use of creativity can often simplify things and provide better profit margins.
Principle 4. You may restrict your own creativity, but you cannot restrict the creativity of others. You may simply get left behind in a fast-moving field. Catching up may then be very expensive or even impossible.
Principle 5. Creativity may be defensive as well as offensive. Your competitors are moving ahead. You need to be creative to compete with them. There is little choice.