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a-Creativity : i-CreativityCreativity loves a crisis. Especially at times of crisiswe need creativity. Indeed some of the most creativesolutions in human endeavour have come aboutbecause of a crisis.

But what do we mean exactly, by Creativity?There is artistic creativity: the visual arts, music,literature, design, architecture, film and video, TV andradio, crafts and advertising, for example. These arethe kinds of artistic creativity on which the concept of

the creative industries is based. Examples of artisticcreativity are numerous and obvious: the art ofLeonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, the literature ofShakespeare, the music of Mozart. More recentlythere have been modern classics in design,architecture and cinema.

But there is also a more general kind of creativity,which we might call ingenuity, innovation,invention, lateral thinking, or simply problemsolving. We can find this kind of creativity in all fieldsof human activity: for example in science, education,politics, finance, engineering, agriculture, health care

and warfare.

Here are just a few illustrations of creativity outsidethe arts:Sending steam trains in tunnels under the streets ofLondon to build the first worlds first undergroundrailway system;Providing education by radio to children isolated onfarms in the outback through the Australian Schoolof the Air;Winning Olympic gold in the high jump by leapingover the bar backwards, as Dick Fosbury did;

Online brokering of small loans for enterprises thatchange the lives of people in some of the poorestcountries of the world through non-profitorganisation Kiva.There are thousands more examples like this.All these are ingenious innovations but would not bedescribed as artistic in any way. Yet they are certainlycreative solutions to problems.

The fact is: Creativity is everywhere.But we have a problem of terminology. The wordCreativity has two meanings (at least). This can causeconfusion and can prevent us discussing creativity in

the most comprehensive and useful way possible.

In the English language, the word Creativity usuallyimplies artistic creativity. You might say that the

word Creativity has been hijacked by the arts sector.Hence the word is skewed towards a definition ofartistic creativity and does not comfortably suit themore general meaning of creativity (ingenuity,problem solving, innovation etc). Consequently somepeople will say they are not creative meaning thatthey are not talented artistically, even though theymight be ingenious engineers, innovative farmers orinventive educationalists. Ironically, many peoplewho are indeed very creative dont relate to the word

creativity. Thats what I meant when I wrote in mybook: Creativity is not the monopoly ofthe artist.

So, for the sake of clarity, lets use two words.I suggest:a-Creativity for artistic creativity of all kinds; andi-Creativity for the wider version ofcreativity: ingenuity.

People with a-Creativity have a lot to offer to others.Their artistic creativity can benefit other people andsociety at large in all kinds of ways. At the same time,

people with a-Creativity have a lot to learnfrom others.

Indeed they (I should say we, because I includemyself) have a lot to learn i-Creativity from people inother sectors of the economy beyond the creativeindustries - in the fields of science, education,politics, engineering, sport, etc. We need to getout more!

In my experience of working as a managementconsultant advising hundreds of creative enterprises

in countries all around the world, I have found thatmany people who define themselves as creativeare often highly creative in the studio but not whenthey are in the office. They somehow switch off theircreativity when it comes to doing the business side ofthings. Perhaps they believe that business is boringand non-creative. In doing so, they fail to recogniseother forms of creativity beyond the artistic sphere.

All of us need to use i-Creativity to develop ourcreative businesses, cultural projects and socialmovements in the most imaginative and ingeniousways, especially in times of crisis, to achieve success.

By using the word Success, I mean the unique kindof success that each of us wants, defined in our ownpersonal terms.

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We can be creative in the studio and we can becreative in the office too. In other words, we can becreative, not only in the goods and services wedevise, but also in the way we manage ourenterprises. Yes, we can combine artistic creativitywith smart business thinking. Thats what I meanwhen I use the metaphor T-Shirts and Suits.

Here are just a few examples of how people in threedifferent parts of the world have made theirenterprises even more successful, by bringingtogether a-Creativity with i-Creativity; bycombining artistic creativity with smartbusiness thinking.

Banda Calypso found that people were pirating theirCDs and selling them on street corners in Brazil,without paying any royalties to the band. The bandcould have tried to stop this illegal practice. Instead,they used i-Creativity and found an ingenioussolution. They realised that this was a great way to

publicise their music and build audiences for theirconcerts. So instead of fighting the pirates, theyencouraged them. They used the pirates as theirmarketing department. They sent master copies oftheir CDs and even the artwork to street cornervendors, so they could sell them cheaply in all thecities, before the band arrived. The result was thatBanda Calypso built a huge following and all theirgigs were sold out. Now they make enough money tofly from city to city in their own private jet. They havemusical creativity and also use business creativity.Sometime, giving things away free is a smartbusiness move.

In Vietnam, two art galleries in Ho Chi Minh City(Saigon), were competing for customers, trying toattract tourists to buy their paintings instead of theirrivals. But they used i-Creativity to realise that aswell as being competitors they could also collaboratefor the benefit of both their galleries. Sometimes its aclever idea to co-operate with competitors, so theyused the concept of co-opetition a creative blendof co-operation and competition. They realised thatthey could both sell more paintings by joining forcesto attract customers from around the world. Together

they set up an e-commerce art gallery to sellpaintings from both their galleries online. Byingeniously co-operating with a competitor, bothgalleries sold more paintings.

British sculptor Steve Messam has received grantsfrom public bodies such as the Arts Council ofEngland to create his amazing works of art. Butsometimes grant funding is not available especially

at a time of financial crisis. So he used his creativitynot only in the studio but also in the office to think ofways to finance his projects. He used techniques frombusiness using his i-Creativity, looking outside theworld of the arts. He had the insight to realise that hisworks of art could also be tourist attractions andcould be used to promote the geographicenvironment in which they were installed. A sculpture

called The Drop, a gigantic drop of water, was to belocated in specific sites in the English Lake District, sothis could be an opportunity to promote tourism inthe region. He approached the marketing team of thetourist authority and made them an offer theycouldnt refuse. He talked to them about hissculpture, not in terms of artistic merit but in thelanguage of commerce, and presented them with abusiness case to demonstrate that it would be a goodinvestment for them to finance the sculpture projectin terms of Advertising Equivalent Value. In otherwords, by investing in his sculpture they couldachieve more publicity than they could buy in

conventional advertising to reach their target market.The result was that his project was funded this way -and he didnt compromise his artistic vision at all. Icongratulate him, not only on his a-Creativity but alsohis i-Creativity.

So lets use i-Creativity to develop our projects moresuccessfully, by learning from other sectors abouthow to be ingenious in terms of raising finance,innovative in devising joint ventures, inventive inusing intellectual property, being imaginative incommunicating with customers, thinking laterallyabout using appropriate legal structures, and beingsmart in trading internationally.

In conclusion, by recognising and respecting bothkinds of creativity, we can open our eyes to amazingnew possibilities and find ingenious solutions inevery field of human endeavour. We can then adoptand adapt these ideas for our own purposes, in a waythat is consistent with our own values and objectives,to achieve our own unique version of Success.

So lets celebrate creativity in all its manifestations.Lets explore all kinds of creativity that exists

everywhere, and learn from other people in all walksof life. Lets recognise and respect not onlya-Creativity but also i-Creativity.

In this way, even in times of crisis especially intimes of crisis we can make our creativebusinesses and cultural enterpriseseven more successful.

Copyright David Parrish 2012. www.davidparrish.com

Some rights reserved 2012. Creative Commons Licence

This article is based on David Parrishs presentation atTEDxNapoli on 14 April 2012

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