Defining Variables -
Creativity as Software
If we ask a computer to answer the question, "How do we use Internet technology to make money?" our engineering friends would remind us that we must first define the variables and logic before we can run any program.
At a lecture I gave in Boston in 1996, this is exactly what I did. At the time, I used Paul Zane Pilsner's definition of technology as my cornerstone before defining other variables and logic for an imaginary program.
In an interview with Anthony Robbins, Paul explained that technology is really nothing more than "a better way." He offered commuting as an example. If it normally takes a half an hour to get to work and someone shares new information that allows us to shave off ten minutes, then we have new technology. Equally, if we buy a new vehicle that gets us there faster (sans speeding tickets), then we also have new technology. So, whether information or machine, technology is about the better ways.
In my Boston talk, I proposed that that we define "Internet technology" as a better method or a better way (e.g., global distribution for less cost, works 24x7, etc.). Then I argued that making money was really a subset of "how do we get the result we want?" Based on these definitions, I ran a simple program and shared a couple of case studies, one of which I've included in this book (i.e., A Nurse's Story).
The logic used was based on IF-THEN-ELSE statements, which are simple but very powerful constructs with respect to computer programming. One of the logic layers went something like this:
IF I want to know how to make money = yes
THEN answer the following questions ELSE skip the questions and move on:
- Question 1 - What value do I have that can be exchanged for money?
- Question 2 - Who appreciates this value the most (e.g., customers, markets)?
- Question 3 - If anything is possible, how could I make customers' lives more enjoyable, profitable, reliable, safer, etc., thereby creating greater value (e.g., branding, competitive edge)?
Accordingly, we can use a similar computer approach with creativity.
First, we need definition. The basis of this book has been that creativity is just beyond, or surrounds, "that which works" and can be incorporated into the "works" so that what is working works better. I've used the geometric circle for representing that which works, and we know that the area of a circle can be calculated as Pie R2 (where Pie is 3.142 rounded to the nearest thousandth, and R is a circle's radius, the length from a circle's center to edge).
Thus, creativity is equal to infinity minus the area of a defined circle of what's working:
Now that we have a definition, we can start to apply IF-THEN-ELSE logic to the various points associated with the Creative Compass:
IF we want creativity = yes
THEN answer the following questions ELSE skip the questions and move on:
- Question 1 - What do we know to be working and what is the criteria for defining/measuring this working?
- Question 2 - What else could we do to make it work better, now?
- Question 3 - What steps are necessary to implement our best option?
- Question 4 - Based on results from actions, what new knowledge do we have about what works?
Most of those with whom I've shared this Creative Formula have nodded with approval, especially when prefaced by the Theory of Knowledge. A few have shrugged, "Big deal," but as I've reminded them, up to now, creativity has been a nebulous entity. The big deal is that the formula and compass take a previously fuzzy notion of creativity and convert it into something measurable/tangible. However, while sharing my theory with some network television think tank folks, one reported, "Forget circles. To me, creativity is an octagon."
My response was, "Okay, it really doesn't matter what geometric figure we use as a basis for representing 'that which works,' since anything outside of it still represents the possibilities of making it work better."
The same person stated, "Now hold on. If I have a pot of tomato soup, you're telling me that I can throw anything in there and that's creativity?" The answer is, sure you can throw anything in there, but I'm not coming over for dinner, which is a bit presumptuous since I'm not sure I'd even be invited in the first place.
The idea is to make the soup work better and not just throw anything in. Given our infinitely expanding world on an absolute level, not a relative one, certainly there is something we can add to make it work better. Perhaps even something we don't even know, that we don't even know about, that when added to the tomato soup, would enhance it and make it work better.
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