Creativity

Individual Creativity

One of the hardest interview questions I’ve faced this year has been “When was a time when you were creative?” The worst part about this question was that I worked in an advertising agency where creativity was absolutely mandatory for survival, however, my particular position allowed almost zero opportunities to be creative. My position as a media buyer was very mundane and routine. I worked on clients such as American Honda and Acura Motors and these were both clients that the agency had held for over thirty years. Media planners allocated budgets by market and we implemented very structured buys, with little variation from year to year. This was one of the main reasons I decided I needed to come back to school and pursue an MBA. I craved creativity in my life, and a job that allowed me to brainstorm ideas, pitch them, and work cross functionally with various departments. One of my best experiences during my years at my old ad agency was when I started taking Ad Bookshop classes. For a period of time I was extremely interested in the creative side of advertising and wanted to explore the possibility of becoming an art director. I took night classes for three 9-week semesters trying to develop skills to build my own portfolio. These classes were invigorating and really allowed me to explore my creative side. Although, I feared I did not have the artistic skills necessary for such a role. A positive aspect of this class was that we were reassured that the ideas behind our ads were far more important that the artwork we displayed. I really enjoyed exploring this career path but ultimately there was a great deal of work I knew was ahead of me and feared the stress and uncertainty of pursuing this path. Also, I was just flat out afraid I wasn’t “creative” enough to actually be an art director. At the time, I believed creativity to be an inherent skill if you were going to be extremely successful, and not something you could learn. All my life, I was envious of people I thought were truly creative and gifted; whether it was friends who were amazing stylists, artists, interior designers, copy writers, art directors, etc. I have always felt I wasn’t good enough to have a truly creative role but I'm hoping that my MBA experience and future role as a brand manager will boost my confidence!

Organizational Creativity

Obviously working at an advertising agency I was surrounded by extremely gifted and creative individuals. I believe our organization was very creative and has done a tremendous amount of great work for our clients. This has been particularly evident in the success of Honda over the last 30+ years, and the fact that our agency has been able to retain this client for so long. However, I do believe our agency was conservative in terms of really stepping out of the box with their creativity and advertisements in comparison to other agencies. This is partially due to the agency and in large part due to the client. I think a lot of times creative’s (art directors and copywriters) feel that their creativity is stunted by client guidelines. There is a constant battle between creative’s trying to impress clients and have their ideas accepted. It was particularly interesting and exciting to witness the agency in a full-scaled pitch for new business. These pitches involved a lot more creativity and agency wide involvement (strategic planning, media, creative, account etc.). I also think that in terms of successful advertising it is important to gain the input of all departments within the agency to gain insight, rather than just the creative department working in isolation, which is what I believe our agency could have improved upon. Every department was very independent, however the companies overall mission was to create one cohesive brand message for our clients. I believe greater success would have stemmed from cross-functional collaboration. However, this might have been something that was implemented from a top-line perspective, that I was unaware of since I was at the bottom of the ladder.

Individual/Organizational Creative Capabilities

I believe I have what it takes to be creative by myself, but that I need an opportunity to explore my creative side and a confidence booster. It’s also difficult for me to really get my ideas down on paper. I think I am also afraid to pitch my ideas and often find myself presenting them in a joking manner because I’m afraid of rejection. I’m very much looking forward to opportunities this summer in my internship at Wal-Mart to work on projects where I’m able to practice my creative side and gain feedback on my particular projects. I most certainly also believe that a group within an organization is capable of being creative. I think this ability is enhanced by a company culture that encourages and rewards creativity and innovation. Our world is definitely moving towards one where continuous innovation is pretty much vital to a companies ability to stay alive and often times this is born in teams. 

How to be Creative by Jonah Lehrer

I think this article poses a lot of great points but that it is often difficult to see things within oneself such as the ability for everyone to be truly creativity and that it’s a set of cognitive skills you can work and improve upon. I think it’s extremely beneficial to note that the toughest problems are solved in moments of insight (i.e. post-it note example). I also think it's true that if you feel like you’ve hit a wall it will be very hard to spark creativity, and that by stepping back and relaxing (or nothing thinking) one can have a better chance of developing an insight. Additionally, I agree with the author’s statement that creativity can be improved upon if we increase the volume and diversity of information to which we are exposed. I don’t necessarily think we can always trust ourselves to know if one approach is right over another, but that it’s important to discuss your ideas with others and gain support to really push an insight all the way.