Creativity working outside your comfort zone brings insight.

how you respond, how you feel in that situation. learning how to handle fear, and being okay with failure: you win and you learn delving into the unknown I began to see a lot of my best work seemed to come as a result of my unconscious working on things when I wasnt really attending to them. The first thing he discovered is that the creative architects knew how to play. They could get immersed in a problem. It was almost childlike, like when a child gets utterly absorbed in a problem. The second thing was that they deferred making decisions as long as they could. This is surprising.

The creative architects had this tolerance for this discomfort we all feel when we leave things unresolved. Why would those two things be importance? The playfulness is because in that moment of childlike play, youre much more in touch with your unconscious. The second is that when you defer decisions as long as possible, its giving your unconscious the maximum amount of time to come up with something. Cleese made a point of illustrating that creativity is not the domain of the creative class." He told the story of how Einstein and other lauded scientists and Nobel laureates describe their breakthroughs as visions. Guy Claxton, the author of Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, says there are two kinds of thinking: one dependent on reason and logic, and one thats less purposeful, its more playful, leisurely, and dreamy. In this mode,

we are mulling things over, almost meditative, pondering a problem versus earnestly trying to solve it. He says allowing the mind time to meander is not a luxury. You need the tortoise mind, such as Einstein described, as much as you need the hare brain." The hare brain loves clarity; it wants everything to be expressed in a very simple, straightforward clear way. Tortoise mind doesnt expect clarity; it doesnt know where the illumination is going to come from. The language of the unconscious is images. That also means a lot of times when youre being very creative you can feel very confused. You dont know where you are or where youre going. And you can tolerate that and continue to defer the decision. Because youre taking your time in tortoise mind, if you have a question, youre much more likely to get interested in the question." One other important distinction

between the two is that hare brain always treats perception as not being important, when in fact how you perceive things is enormously dependent on your emotional state. And when youre more relaxed and focused, youre much more likely to be more aware. The tension between impulsive action and contemplative thinking is a very real one, particularly in this real time, over connected world. But, says Cleese, dont let that get in the way of giving yourself time for deeper, unconscious thought. Now I want to explain about getting into tortoise mind. The enemies of tortoise mind are anxiety and interruptions. The moment you get anxious or interrupted you go back into hare brain. What you have to do is give yourself a place where youre not going to be interrupted for about an hour, because it takes time for your thoughts to settle. You have to create

boundaries of space and then you have to create boundaries of time. You need to give yourself the time to let these ideas come up because it deals in the confusion and images and very subtle things." The unconscious has this extraordinary knowledge; the trouble is it doesnt come up very clearly. Thats why you have to give it time. Thats why when you start on something thats fundamentally creative, dont bring the old critical mind in too quickly. Let the thing fall, find out when it is. And then, by all means, bring hare brain in to evaluate them, because youll get ideas, but not all of them will be good. 1. John Cleese: Dont work; play Cleeses revelation is simple: Creativity is not a talent; its a way of operating. Though he admits being creative is a difficult art, he argues (using scientific research) that creativity is in no way related to IQ.

Cleese concludes, standing on the shoulders of scientists like Donald MacKinnon, that creative people are those who play at work. Play releases the creative spirit because play has no real purpose or end goal. Without a goal, there is no stress, and creativity can run riot. Cleese mentions Alfred Hitchcock who, when a script deadline was fast approaching, would pause and tell a completely unrelated story to the frustration of those in the room. Hitchcock didnt trust stress and deadlines to motivate his screenwriters, and he used the random stories to shift the focus from the looming pressure and get them to think creatively. The lesson for leaders: Let the people working for you play, play, play. Dont let them be overburdened by routine and mundane tasks. Build on their curiosity. 2. Ricky Gervais: Do something;

anything Ricky Gervais recently said in an interview with Esquire, "You should bring something into the world that wasn't in the world before. It doesn't matter what that is. It doesn't matter if it's a table or a film or gardening-everyone should create. You should do something, then sit back and say, I did that. His point is clear. Creativity doesnt boil down to works of genius. Its really about doing something, anything, with your own two hands. Nothing does more to instill a sense of pride. The lesson for leaders: Let your team create. Help it not to be afraid of failure or the pedigree of its creations. The simple act of creating will increase team members' confidence and expand their imagination. 3. Louis CK: Throw out your garbage In an emotional tribute to George Carlin, Louis CK admits his own

creativity was spurred by George Carlins work habits. Every year, Carlin would create a new hour of comedy and throw out all of his old jokes. This baffled the young Louis CK. How, he asked, could anyone throw out jokes he has worked so hard creating? But Louis CK realized he was in no position to question Carlin. He was broke, his jokes werent getting laughs, and his career was tearing his family apart. Louis CK decided to throw everything out and start over. And it worked. Louis CK started telling deeper, more interesting jokes that related to his life. Audiences ate it up and demanded more. Creativity can be unleashed by a constant purge of your old, comforting ideas. Renewing your old routine with fresh material can tap new springs of creativity. The lesson for leaders: Dont let your team members rest on their laurels. Encourage them to throw out or rotate

their ideas, no matter how creative they might have been at one time. Let them search for better answers, fixes, and solutions--even if there isnt an immediate necessity. 4. Jerry Seinfeld: Think about PopTarts for two years Seinfeld admits that he can spend up to two years writing a joke. Thats what people want me to do, he explains. That is, the audience wants Seinfeld to spend his time wastefully so he can come up with great material. In an interview with The New York Times, Seinfeld explores how he comes up with his jokes. He begins by simply thinking of something funny and going from there. For example, he once decided that the word Pop-Tarts was funny. From there, he began to write material about how the frosted breakfast treat left a lasting impression on his elementary school days.

From these humble roots, a joke was born that has been featured in various late-night bits and stand-up performances. The lesson for leaders: Dont be fearful of the trivial. Sometimes creativity doesnt begin with a brilliant idea; it starts with a simple observation. Encourage your team to observe and observe deeply. And remember, it may be a long process. 5. Woody Allen: Put your brilliant idea away In the documentary American Masters: Woody Allen, we get to see Woody Allens sloppy, carefree creative process up close. Every year, the writer and filmmaker goes into a drawer filled with his random notes and sifts through them. When he finds an idea he likes, he writes a script around it, polishes it, then puts it away until he begins shooting. Woody Allen is a big proponent of not

overworking material. Though he will allow his actors to play with his scripts, he doesnt believe in reediting his work constantly, lest it become stale, forced, and dry. The lesson for leaders: Encourage your team members not torture an idea to death. If it doesnt click right away, tell them to put it in a drawer. There will be time to come back to it. Pragmatic leaders understand that creativity has to be nurtured and that it thrives in an atmosphere where it is welcome. As a leader, you set the tone. If youre willing to give others the opportunity to play, explore, fail, throw out ideas, think about the mundane, take their time--and sometimes break the ice by telling a bad joke--then you will create an atmosphere that will stimulate new ideas, new processes, and new directions and take your company to new heights. No kidding.