where does all that creativity come from?

One of my greatest weaknesses, I'll admit, is that I assume everyone else wants to paint bigger pictures. Of course, there are times when details need to be considered -- however, my mind prefers to linger in the times when the only limit is the sky, the only deadline is ultimate satisfaction, and the only materials needed are human brains and time.

That sounds like an oversimplified recipe for disaster.

And it is. With groups of people, there needs to be a shared understanding of the goals for a project. Objectives. Whatever you want to call them. The finish line.

Establishing that picture is where things get tricky. It begs the question: If we're supposed to inspire new solutions, how do we set-up that sense of finality while also instilling an opportunity for unprecedented creativity?
This question pops into my mind everyday. Unfortunately, still don't have a solid answer. But here are some of my thoughts:

Leveraging creativity is key. At the end of the day, the end product is the measure of success. More often than not, it might be generally agreeable to think that any sort of creativity brought to the table is going to matter more than the source of the creativity. So long as an idea is creative and gets the job done (and vice versa), we can move onto the next discussion.

Ideas suck without self-efficacy. I guarantee it. If there is no solid belief in the final idea, might as well shut down shop. Not even worth forking over the idea. So, what implications does this have for intragroup motivation? I'd imagine it doesn't really matter if creative-type people are the only ones that feel positive about the project -- if someone doesn't feel quite right about what the group's doing, that's an issue. Leveraging self-efficacy is a precursor to creativity. Even for non-creative folk.

Creatively communicating thoughts inspires the first two things. Creativity is a fickle beast. That's for sure. It's sly as a fox. Hit or miss. Whatever cliche you chose to use, it's difficult to describe exactly what it is in only a few words. But it's important to gain a personal understanding of what it is and where it came come from. Incorporating creativity into every thought can lead to unbelievable outcomes . . . but only if the different forms of creativity can speak to each other. Designers, account people, verbal people, visual people, strategists, planners, clients. Everyone. Creativity at every stage of the game will always be important, but understanding how to communicate will make or break a great idea. Inspiration is a byproduct of this communciations.

So as my head is still in the clouds, I can rest assured that such levetation is fine. But everyone needs to find a way to get their head up high as well. It shouldn't be a game of Simon Says, but it most certainly should be a game of . . . well, a winning one, whatever it is.

Establishing the picture we're looking at is not something only a planner should be doing. Getting the picture right involves everyone.

But the planner should just be accounting for these necessary ingredients.