Unlocking Creativity summary

Imagine you’re a team leader. Recently, you’ve been having difficulty with a member of your team, a talented but eccentric guy. He’s got a history of failing to meet deadlines, sometimes simply abandoning assignments altogether. A perfectionist, he also iterates obsessively, tinkering with prototypes rather than delivering.

You like the guy, but it’s just not working out. So you call Leonardo da Vinci into your office and fire him.

If you’re thinking, “Hold on, I’d never fire one of the most brilliant people of all time,” then pause a moment. Yes, history recognizes Leonardo da Vinci as a genius, but the man who painted the Mona Lisa probably wouldn’t fair too well in the current market landscape. He was a chronic procrastinator, extending deadlines for years, and sometimes never meeting them. 

Most of today’s leaders would fire Leonardo for a simple reason: he had an iterative mind-set, and they have a linear mind-set, which is the first creativity-blocking mind-set we’ll explore.

The linear mind-set approaches projects like this: First, you do your research. Then you analyze the data you’ve collected. After that, you make an execution plan based on your analysis. Next you create a budget for the plan. Then, you execute it.

No one can deny the importance of research and analysis, but there’s no way to make a perfect plan prior to embarking on a project. Unforeseen obstacles will rear their ugly heads. Unimagined problems will arise.

That’s why it’s better to adopt a less linear approach to production. First, build a working prototype. Then launch it. After that, evaluate its reception. Then adapt based on that evaluation and build again. And then repeat the process.

Skype’s Director of Design, Peter Skillman, once created a design challenge that made the effectiveness of the iterative approach particularly apparent. Here’s the challenge: using 20 pieces of uncooked spaghetti, a bit of string, some tape, and a marshmallow, make the tallest structure you can. The twist: the marshmallow must sit atop the completed tower.

Business school graduates ended up being among the worst at this challenge. They treated the task linearly, devising a concrete plan and then sticking to it. More often than not, their towers toppled when the marshmallow was placed on top.

Six-year-old children proved to be much better tower builders than the MBA holders. Da Vinci-style, the kids iterated, using the time not to plan, but to experiment.