Creativity, Stupid Talking Head ...

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The grab bag returns.

For those new to the neighborhood, these posts consist of three vignettes that caught my attention, but don’t have enough substance for a stand-alone post.

Here goes —

People Don’t Actually Like Creativity

That was the headline in a Slate article taking the position that most people don’t like creativity:

  • “We are taught that our own creativity will be celebrated and that if we have good ideas, we will succeed. It’s all a lie.

The Slate story goes a step further, asserting that people are actually biased AGAINST creative thinking.

Like many counter-intuitive viewpoints, there’s truth to the story.

It’s just not the complete truth.

Deviating from the status quo inevitably causes heartburn. No one starts the workday thinking, “I can’t wait to get shoved out of my comfort zone.”

That’s why the sheer act of creativity typically falls short of the finish line.

Instead, it takes strength of conviction and persuasive communications — Hello, storytelling — to reach the “let’s do it” stage.

CNBC Talking Head Steps in It

This is one of those life-is-better-than-fiction moments.

Check out this CNBC interview with the head of IDA Ireland around the seven-minute mark when CNBC’s Joe Kernan appears absolutely gobsmacked that Ireland uses Euros, not British sterling (pounds) as its currency.

Adding to the buffoonery, Kernan appears to think that Ireland is part of Great Britain asking the “savvy” follow-up question, “Why Euros in Ireland?

You can’t make this stuff up.

H/t to friend and colleague Mike Sottak at Wired Island who passed this ditty my way.

The Alchemy of Greatness

I love this Venn diagram in Brain Pickings that captures the elements behind greatness.

Venn diagram

“Greatness” is a big word  and one that doesn’t fit. But I can still appreciate that these four components have advanced my own career.

Mentors go without saying.

Luck – whether it’s dumb, smart or something in between – absolutely plays a role. I often think how lucky I was to land in Silicon Valley in 1981, attracted by the natural beauty, weather and sports teams. I knew nothing about technology. Heck, I was the guy that figured a semiconductor was a person who led an orchestra on a part-time basis.

As someone who has learned about business management and leadership on-the-fly, I know that you need colleagues who will push you and periodically say, “The emperor has no clothes.”

And one’s better half definitely plays a huge role in success. My wife Heather has certainly earned a spot in the diagram.


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