The following was taken from an electronic newsletter published by Dr. Firestien, on September 25, 2003Welcome to Insights From The Road, the e-newsletter of creativity from "The Gold Standard of Creativity Training," Roger L. Firestien, Ph.D. Enjoy!
Don't wait for the BIG Idea
Some of my closest friends happen to be artists, musicians and writers. Go figure... One friend, Carmelita*, designs and makes delicate pieces of pottery. Another friend, Roland, is an extremely talented sculptor. I have one of his pieces in my home. The detail in it is amazing. Both of my friends are very artistically successful. Roland, however, has a problem. No matter how hard he tries to sell his work, he has difficulty getting commissions for new sculptures. Roland had been through two agents, expensive advertising-and still no luck.
Recently, Warren, an artist friend of Roland's came to town to meet with some clients. Warren's primary art is landscapes and still life. Warren has painted, in his estimation, over 8,000 works and has clients all over the world. He paints every day, whether he's working on a small personal piece or a large commercial work.
I began to consider why Warren was so commercially successful and Roland was not making sales and gaining clients. And then it occurred to me: Warren constantly produces work and consistently shows it. He doesn't wait for the big commission to come around. He paints small pieces and big pieces, landscapes and still life. Warren will admit that some of his pieces are "better than others" - but that doesn't mean he doesn't show each piece and offer it for sale. While Roland is toiling laboriously over the detail in one piece, and waiting for inspiration, Warren has produced three.
So what is the creativity principle here? Don't wait for the big hit, the home run, the stunning breakthrough-when a number of smaller incremental ideas and steps may solve the problem just as well. Sometimes clients tell me that they really need the big idea, the earth-shattering breakthrough that will radically change their business. When I hear this I know there is trouble ahead. Why? Because most of these clients wouldn't recognize the big idea if it hit them in the face! Their business systems won't support it, their people won't understand it, and the radically new idea will take years to get to market...when they have only months. In these cases, I tell the client that yes, it would be great to get that big breakthrough, but it is equally important to recognize multiple incremental improvements.
Another creativity principle is: Quantity breeds quality. The more ideas you generate for solving a problem, the greater are your chances of getting a good idea. As Dr. Linus Pauling, the Nobel Prize winner for chemistry and peace stated, "The best way to get a good idea is to have lots of ideas." Similarly, George Bernard Shaw was once quoted as saying, "When I was young I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. I didn't want to be a failure, so I did ten times more work."
According to Warren, the best way to sell lots of paintings is to paint lots of paintings. Somewhere in the heap will be some very good pieces of work. Keep this quantity breeds quality principle in mind the next time you are coming up with ideas for solving a problem. Don't make Roland's common mistake of using up all your energy to get the solution "just right." Recognize and affirm gradual progress.
These principles worked for Pauling, for Shaw, for Warren. They will work for you. Who knows, you even might get that big breakthrough you are looking for along the way.
Sincerely,
Roger
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