Truth/Smart Truth
Ordered Thinking
Become More Creative
Creativity And Architecture
My oldest son, Andrew, in Australia was asking me about ingenuity and creativity and how an individual might be able to improve in that area. I believe ingenuity is really important in business and in life and you can improve in this area with some effort. (I recently read something that John Callahan recommended, a book called "The Ingenuity Gap" by Thomas Homer-Dixon; get it, read it!) Here is my answer to Andrew:
"Andrew- I like most of what you have said about the importance of ingenuity with one notable exception. Many ingenious insights are a product of a few moments of inspiration, maybe as few as 50 micorseconds. Now I agree that often those moments of insight happen because: a) they are preceeded by a lifetime of study and thought on the subject, and b) there is a focused effort on the particluar problem.
And what focuses human minds fastest? Why the thought of being "hung in the morning". That is why, the threat of war, war itself, fear of failure, fear of peer review, fear even of parental authority, mobilizes individuals to be at their creative best. Human beings are most creative when their personal interests are threatened or their personal interests can be ameliorated to a significant extent.
Creativity results from these factors (some stress is needed but not too much) combined with periodic intense pondering of the problem interspersed with time for the subconcious to work on it (i.e., when you are asleep). Other factors that we have talked about is the importance of physical well being, which obviously includes enough rest, proper nutrition and diet, adequate exercise and the absence of any type of drugs or alcohol. BMF
Example:
Firestone Apple Picker, circa 1975.
Example:
An Architect determines that a site needs to be cleared and that there are 10,000 cubic metres of soil that need to be removed and replaced with an engineered fill. "How much will that cost to excavate and remove the material?" he asks his construction supervisor.
The Developer says: "Hang on. Wait a minute. That's good top soil. It isn't how much it will cost us, it's how much will someone pay us for 666 truck loads of top soil!?"
Here they are turning cost centres into revenue streams; i.e., someone's waste product (or by-product) is someone else's treasure.
Example: Gino Rosetti's 'Eureka' Moment
Gino, a renaissance man and a great architect, was on the floor of Joe Louis Arena with the owners of the Detroit Pistons. "Pardon me for asking a stupid question. But why do the people who pay the most money (suite licensees) sit the furthest from the action?" Gino asked the owners. "Because that is the way all arenas are done," they answered.
Rosetti immediately got out his sketch book and showed them how you could suites in two or three rings much closer to the floor. The result was he revolutionized the design of arenas, their economics and he made them more intimate too by rotating and translating the balconies in toward each other- this makes his arenas more exciting places to perform in for atheletes and rock bands.
Example: Local Architect Designs a Suite with Six Seats
In the renovation of the Ottawa Civic Centre circa 1992/93, the local architect produces a plan for a second tier suite with just six seats. By rotating the seats 45 degrees and taking advantage of the additional height available in the building there (with steps up, inside the box, to seating levels), the developer gets 16 seats and a much more valuable piece of real estate.
Example:
A local festival organization with no surplus money, has a problem. Their productivity is $100,000 in top line revenue per employee per year for a 12 person organization. This is far too low. Consulting companies of similar size (and they should be at least comparable to those organizations) does at least $250,000 per employee per year and some do as much as $500K. Their network is creaky and old. It doesn't really qualify as a network.
A computer network that allows: a) file sharing, b) email sharing, c) library management of documents, d) integration of the intranet and the web into work flow processes (reversing out the work to suppliers (supply chain management or sponsorhsip agreements, for example), e) net transactions (admission ticket sales, F&B token sales, gift certificate sales, sponsorship sales, patronage sponsor sales, merchandise), f) use of password protected spaces for schedule management, management of volunteers, work on confidential documents with sponsors, etc., g) d base management to communicate with sponsors and patrons and the public and much more- all this will double productivity.
The only problem is the new network spec'd, installed and with proper software will cost around $10k per employee or $120k- money they don't have.
The creative solution is not to restate the obvious- that they need a network 'upgrade' and this is a $120,000 'problem' for them. They already know this and they are frozen like deer caught in your headlights because it is seen as an insurmountable problem. The creative idea isn't that the lead consultants do the work for 'free' or that their suppliers do it for 'free' too. It isn't to ask for another government handout either. The reality is that the lead consulting group needs the client and needs to be paid. So what to do?
Well, the idea is that the lead consultants will spec the n/w and their affiliated network people will implement it and manage it. The latter is important because this is a sustainable business model with on-going monthly cashflow. The way the festival organization would pay for the whole thing is to have the lead consultants not only spec it, budget it, and finance it (spead the payments out over time with a bank or other fixed asset lender) but then get three sponsors to pay the annual cost of this over a period of time (say, three years). This way the Bank or fixed asset lender is not financing based on the covenant of the festival organization but on the strength (and covenant) of the sponsorship contracts tied specifically to the network financing requirement. There are lots of ways to get sponsoors interested in this type of deal- they will be promoted on the festival's web site, at the actual RL (Real Life) event; they may even use the festival as a testimonial in their marketing campaigns plus they may get access to the festival organization's d base. Now, how's that for service!
This is called providing client solutions à la entrepreneurialsist culture- we not only solve the client problem but even find a way for the client to finance it at no cost to their organization. Another example of entrerpreneurialist culture at work, n'est çe pas?
Example:
Eric Sprott, a graduate of the Carleton School of Business in 1965, donated $10M to the School this past April 2001. The School was then renamed the Eric Sprott School of Business.
Sprott created his wealth as a financier and founded Sprott Securities.
Sprott put a condition on the $10M donation to Carleton University. The condition was that the fund be managed by his firm. So Carleton signed his cheque to the University back to his company! Therefore, Eric Sprott essentially ended up managing the same amount of money as before and he got a tax receipt too!
A very creative way to help Carleton, his firm (financially and in terms of marketing too) and his taxes all in one.
Submitted by Darcy McRae, Eric Sprott School of Business Graduate, 2001.
"Sometimes I can't recall my mental blocks, so I try not to think about them," Emily Greenfield, 5th year Architecture Student, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. September, 2001. cf_monkeys@hotmail.com
Exactly right, Emily. Think hard about a problem; then if no solution arrives, sleep on it. Let your subconscious mind work on it for awhile. If no solution comes to mind the next time you turn to the problem, repeat the procedure. BMF
Dr. Bruce M. Firestone, Ottawa, Canada. 2002.
