Creativity Versus Execution

At the end of her entertaining video on the “Anti Creativity List” Youngme Moon closes with “get back to work”.

The obvious question this seems to raise is, when do you stop being creative and switch to “getting stuff done?” After all, ideas without action usually create no value. But maybe this is the wrong question. Perhaps a more appropriate question would be, how do you effectively blend the creative process and the execution process to increase value?

The idea of a demarcation between creating and doing would seem to be instinctively correct, and yet there are at least a few significant examples how these two processes were successfully integrated together creating a blending, rather than a demarcation, in which today is creativity day and the next six months are execution.

Creativity and Execution Coexisting

One example of this coexistence is in the quality movement. Continuous improvement requires a constant whittling away at product and process issues to improve the quality of the product delivered to customers. This continuous improvement process requires both left brain and right brain activities. The first part of the process requires analysis to define the source of the problem. Once this is identified team members have to create improvements that will solve the problem. These improvements may not be huge creative leaps but are of a more incremental nature. Nevertheless, they are effective. Toyota, in spite of their recent debacles, have shown the success of continuous improvement or Kaizen.

Another example comes from IBM. In their formative days under Thomas J. Watson Sr. IBM had a school to train future executives. Over the door of the school was inscribed “THINK.”

Inside the front door to the building was a granite staircase. Engraved on each of the risers were the words:

• THINK
• OBSERVE
• DISCUSS
• LISTEN
• READ

In addition, in every office in IBM there was a “THINK” sign prominently displayed. Thomas Watson Jr. tells how critics of the company thought this was ridiculous because they perceived the firm as a “one man show,” but he says, “. . . to everyone inside the company, the message was crystal clear: you would sell more machines, and advance faster, if you used your head.”

See Father, Son, and Co.: My Life at IBM and Beyond

There is a hint that some companies find success by integrating Innovation and Execution:

• IBM
• Toyota
• 3M
• Google
• Apple                        

Next time someone says “let’s get back to work,” it might be worth wondering if you need a different question.