Work In Colour - Work. Think. Live. In Colour
Tuesday 24th May 2011 | 9 comments
Last week I went to Melbourne for the launch of Creative Innovation 2011, a conference at which I'll be presenting a Juicy Thinking masterclass in November. I attended last year's conference as a participant, and one of the things I loved about it was that some things didn't work very well.
You see, Tania de Jong created this conference not just to talk about innovation, but to model it. And as I've written here before, unless you take risks and accept a (sometimes pretty high) failure rate, you cannot be innovative. By definition, to be creative is to move away from the certain, the known and the safe, and to try new things - and the result of those kinds of experiments can never be guaranteed.
It was precisely the places where the conference didn't quite succeed that made it so successful, because they demonstrated the rough edges of creativity and innovation. Of course, for a commercial and critical success (which it most definitely was) you need to have ironed out most of the kinks, so there is a overall sense of value and interest. But the occasional brave failure is not a bad thing - far worse to follow a tried-and-true recipe for bland, safe, mediocrity.
Later in the week, back in Sydney, I went to the latest Brandenburg Orchestra concert. Handel arias, quite sublime. Though all was perfect that night, I remembered other times that artistic director Paul Dyer has taken risks with programming or orchestration, risks that most often result in something quite wonderfully out-of-the-ordinary, but every so often, don't quite come off (at least in my opinion).
With both the Creative Innovation conference and the Brandenburg Orchestra, it's the near misses that define their level of innovation, and ensure that they are doing what it takes to remain creative and brave enough to deliver truly remarkable artistic and commercial successes the rest of the time.
So, here's to brave failures and near misses. I've certainly had my share of those - have you?
Tag: creativity
A very thought-provoking post indeed. I'm struggling at present in a (workplace) culture that is hung up on perfectionism and where innovation and creativity, while overtly valued, are in fact stifled by over-reliance on (letter-perfect) proposals and submissions before an idea can even get over the line. Culture change is slow, tedious work but posts like this give me a measure of strength to continue. As always, thanks Joanna!
Thanks Deb. Glad to be a small beacon on the culture change highway - it can be tedious and frustrating, but necessary work. Good luck with it!
Interesting post.
We have some land currently and search and search and think what we can do with it.
The main point it: it is hard to think it all through unless you are an expert in the field. The lack of expertise we have to meet with creativity and courage and the lack of fear of failure..... I am working on it :)
Astrid, thanks for this. Maybe it's a combo of upskilling and then taking a calculated risk?
I recently learned that I was 3yrs old when I decided that I needed to be perfect, long story. Having children has taught me that all is not perfect and I will be forever indebt to them for that. Failure is only but an opportunity - I have to convince myself of this everyday but boy, I'm so glad to continue to learn this lesson. It frees your mind and allows you to go places you've never been before and that's where the true treasures lay. So hears to risks (calculated somewhat) and opportunities!
As a Mum myself, I totally agree with you, Laura, that perfection is not possible! In fact I read a study years ago that suggested that a perfect childhood (were there such a thing) is a really bad preparation for an inevitably imperfect world...so here's to risks and opportunities, indeed!
I want my home to be free flowing with friends coming to rest and recouperate whilst I glean excitement from their happenings in their world. They can read, paint, draw, walk beach or bush, swim, tour in car, write, sleep, watch movies, drink wine or just laugh and relax and eat healthy food. I need to stay vital and interesting so they will want to travel here to stay. I may even end up as a B & B.
Annie, that sounds like a plan. I look forward to visiting when you open up!
Hey, Annie
I come and teach Yoga and enjoy the situation you will create.
It sounds awsome what you describe. It seems like all the good experiences that nourish our souls.
I wish you well.
Keep us posted! :)