Transcript.srt

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You know, when Video Arts asked me

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if I’d like to talk about creativity

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I said “No problem!”
 No problem!

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Because telling people how
to be creative is easy,

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it’s only being it that’s difficult.

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I knew it would be particularly
easy for me because I’ve

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spent the last 25 years watching
how various creative people

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produce their stuff, and being
fascinated to see if I could

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figure out what makes folk,
including me, more creative.

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What is more, a couple of
years ago I got very excited

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because a friend of mine
who runs the psychology

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department at Sussex University,
Brian Bates, showed

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me some research on
creativity done at Berkeley

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in the 70s by a brilliant
psychologist called Donald

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MacKinnon which seemed
to confirm in the most

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impressively scientific way
all the vague observations

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and intuitions that I’d
had over the years.

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The prospect of settling down for quite
serious study of creativity for the

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purpose of tonight’s gossip was delightful.
Having spent several weeks

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on it, I can state categorically
that what I have to tell you tonight

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about how you can all become more
creative is a complete waste of time.

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So I think it would be much better
if I just told jokes instead.

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You know the lightbulb jokes?
How many Poles does it

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take to screw in a lightbulb?
One to hold the bulb,

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four to turn the table.
How many folksingers does

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it take to change a lightbulb?
Answer: five, one to

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change the bulb and four to
sing about how much better

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the old one was. How many
socialists does it take

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to change a lightbulb?
Answer: We’re not going to

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change it, we think it works.

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How many creative art—

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The reason why it is futile
for me to talk about

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creativity is that it simply
cannot be explained, it’s

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like Mozart’s music or Van
Gogh’s painting or Saddam

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Hussein’s propaganda.
It is literally inexplicable.

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Freud, who analyzed practically
everything else, repeatedly denied that

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psychoanalysis could
shed any light

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whatsoever
on the mysteries of creativity.

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And Brian Bates wrote to me recently
“Most of the best research on creativity

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was done in the 60s and 70s with a
quite dramatic drop-off in quantity

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after then,” largely, I suspect because
researchers began to feel that

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they had reached the limits of what
science could discover about it.

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In fact, the only thing
from the research that I

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could tell you about how
to be creative is the sort

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of childhood that you should
have had, which is of

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limited help to you at
this point in your lives.

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However, there is
one negative thing

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that I can say

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and it’s “negative” because it is easier
to say what creativity <i>isn’t</i>.

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A bit like the sculptor
who when asked how he had

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sculpted a very fine elephant,
explained that he’d

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taken a big block of marble
and then knocked away

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all the bits that didn’t
look like an elephant.

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Now here’s the negative thing:
Creativity is not a talent.

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It is not a talent,

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it is a way of operating.

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So how many actors does it
take to screw in a lightbulb?

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Answer: thousands. Only one to do it but
thousands to say “I could have done that.”

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How many Jewish mothers does it
take to screw in a lightbulb?

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Answer: Don’t mind me, I’ll just sit here
in the dark, nobody cares about…

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How many surgeons—

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You see when I say “a way of
operating” what I mean is this:

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creativity is not an ability that
you either have or do not have.

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It is, for example, (and this may
surprise you) absolutely unrelated to IQ,

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provided that you are intelligent
above a certain minimal

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level that is, but MacKinnon
showed in investigating

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scientists, architects,
engineers, and writers

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that those regarded by
their peers as “most

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creative” were in no way
whatsoever different

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in IQ from their less
creative colleagues.

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So in what way were they different?

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MacKinnon showed that the
most creative had simply

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acquired a facility for
getting themselves into

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a particular mood
“a way of operating”

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which allowed their natural
creativity to function.

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In fact, MacKinnon described this
particular facility as an ability to play.

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Indeed he described the most creative,
when in this mood, as being childlike.

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For they were able to play with
ideas… to explore them…

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not for any immediate practical
purpose but just for enjoyment.

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Play for its own sake.

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Now, about this mood.

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I’m working at the moment with
Dr. Robin Skynner

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on a successor to our psychiatry book

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<i>Families and How To Survive Them</i>
we’re comparing the ways in which psychologically

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healthy families function — the ways in
which such families function with the

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ways in which the most successful
corporations and organizations function.

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We’ve become fascinated by the fact
that we can usually describe the way

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in which people function at work in
terms of two modes: open and closed.

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So what I can just add now

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is that creativity is not
possible in the closed mode.

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So how many American network TV executives
does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

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Answer: Does it have to be a lightbulb?

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How many doorke—

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Let me explain a little. By
the “closed mode” I mean the

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mode that we are in most of the
time when we are at work.

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We have inside us a feeling
that there’s lots to be done

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and we have to get on with it if
we’re going to get through it all.

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It’s an active, probably
slightly anxious, mode,

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although the anxiety can be
exciting and pleasurable.

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It’s a mode which we’re probably a little
impatient, if only with ourselves.

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It has a little tension
in it, not much humor.

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It’s a mode in which we’re very
purposeful, and it’s a mode in which

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we can get very stressed

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and even a bit manic,

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but not

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creative.

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By contrast, the open mode, is relaxed…

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expansive…

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less purposeful mode…

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in which we’re probably
more contemplative,

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more inclined to humor, which always
accompanies a wider perspective,

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and, consequently, more playful.

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It’s a mood in which curiosity
for its own sake can operate

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because we’re not under pressure to get a
specific thing done quickly. We can play,

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and that is what allows our
natural creativity to surface.

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Let me give you an example of what I mean.

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When Alexander Fleming had
the thought that led to the

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discovery of penicillin, he must
have been in the open mode.

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The previous day, he’d
arranged a number of

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dishes so that culture
would grow upon them.

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On the day in question, he
glanced at the dishes, and he

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discovered that, on one of
them, no culture had appeared.

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Now, if he’d been in the closed
mode he would have been so

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focused upon his need for
“dishes with cultures grown upon them”

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that when he saw that one dish
was of no use to him for

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that purpose he would quite
simply have thrown it away.

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Thank goodness, he was in
the open mode so he became

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curious about why the culture
had not grown on this

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particular dish. And that
curiosity, as the world knows,

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led him to the lightbulb ---
I’m sorry, to penicillin.

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Now, in the closed mode, an
uncultured dish is an irrelevance.

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In the open mode, it’s a clue.

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Now, one more example:

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one of Alfred Hitchcock’s
regular co-writers

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has described working
with him on screenplays.

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He says,

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“When we came up against a
block and our discussions

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became very heated and intense,
Hitchcock would suddenly

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stop and tell a story that
had nothing to do with the

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work at hand. At first, I was
almost outraged, and then I

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discovered that he did this intentionally.
He mistrusted

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working under pressure. He would
say “We’re pressing, we’re

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pressing, we’re working too hard.
Relax, it will come.”

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And, says the writer, of
course it finally always did.

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But let me make one thing quite clear: we
need to be in the open mode when we’re

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pondering a problem, but

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once we come up with a solution,
we must then switch to the

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closed mode to implement it.
Because once

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we’ve made a decision,
we are efficient only

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if we go through
with it decisively,

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undistracted by doubts
about its correctness.

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For example, if you decide to leap
a ravine, the moment just before

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take-off is a bad time to start
reviewing alternative strategies.

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When you’re attacking a machine-gun
post you should not make a

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particular effort to see the funny
side of what you are doing.

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Humor is a natural concomitant in the open
mode, but it’s a luxury in the closed one.

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No, once we’ve taken a decision
we should narrow our focus

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while we’re implementing it,
and then after it’s been

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carried out we should once
again switch back to the open

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mode to review the feedback
rising from our action,

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in order to decide whether the
course that we have taken

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is successful, or whether
we should continue with

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the next stage of our plan.
Whether we should create

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an alternative plan to correct
any error we perceive.

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And then back into the closed mode to
implement that next stage, and so on.

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In other words, to be at our
most efficient we need to be

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able to switch backwards and
forwards between the two modes.

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But here’s the problem:

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we too often get stuck
in the closed mode.

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Under the pressures which are all too
familiar to us we tend to maintain tunnel

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vision at times when we really need to
step back and contemplate the wider view.

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This is particularly true, for example,
of politicians. The main complaint about

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them from their non-political colleagues
is that they become so addicted to the

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adrenaline that they get from reacting to
events on an hour-by-hour basis that they

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almost completely lose
the desire or the

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ability to ponder problems
in the open mode.

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So, as I say, creativity is not
possible in the closed mode.

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And that’s it.

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Well… 20 minutes to go… So, how many
women’s libbers does it take to change

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a lightbulb? Answer: 37, one to screw it
in, and 36 to make a documentary about it.

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How many psychiatrists does it take to
change a lightbulb? The answer: only one,

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but the lightbulb has
really got to want to change.

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Oh, there is one, just one, other thing
that I can say about creativity.

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There are certain conditions

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which do make it more likely
that you’ll get into the

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open mode, and that something
creative will occur.

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More likely… you can’t guarantee
anything will occur. You might

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sit around for hours as I did
last Tuesday, and nothing.

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Zilch.

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Bupkis.

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Not a sausage.

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Nevertheless, I can at
least tell you how to get

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yourselves into the open mode.
You need five things:

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One:

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Space

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Two:

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Time

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Three:

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Time

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Four:

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Confidence

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Five:

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a 22-inch waist

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Sorry, my mind was wondering.

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I’m getting into the
open mode too quickly.

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Instead of a 22-inch waist, you need humor.
I do beg your pardon.

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Let’s take space first:

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you can’t become playful, and therefore
creative, if you’re under your usual

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pressures, because to cope with them
you’ve got to be in the closed mode.

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So you have to create
some space for yourself

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away from those demands.

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And that means sealing yourself off.

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You must make a quiet space for
yourself where you will be undisturbed.

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Next: Time. It’s not enough
to create space, you have to

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create your space for a specific
period of time. You have to

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know that your space will last
until exactly, say, 3:30,

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and that at that moment your
normal life will start again.

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And it’s only by having a
specific moment when your

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space starts and an equally
specific moment when your

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space stops that you can seal
yourself off from the every

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day closed mode in which
we all habitually operate.

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And I’d never realized how vital
this was until I read a historical

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study of play by a Dutch
historian called Johan Huizinga

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and in it he says “Play is
distinct from ordinary life,

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both as to locality and duration.
This is its main characteristic:

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its secludedness, its limitedness.
Play begins and then, at

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a certain moment, it is over.
Otherwise, it’s not play.”

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So combining the first two factors
we create an “oasis of quiet”

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for ourselves by setting the
boundaries of space and of time.

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00:16:08,353 --> 00:16:10,694
Now creativity can happen,

231
00:16:13,498 --> 00:16:17,932
because play is possible when we
are separate from everyday life.

232
00:16:18,078 --> 00:16:20,644
So, you’ve arranged to take no calls,

233
00:16:21,570 --> 00:16:25,439
you’ve closed your door, you’ve
sat down somewhere comfortable,

234
00:16:25,464 --> 00:16:28,137
take a couple of deep breaths
and if you’re anything like me,

235
00:16:28,923 --> 00:16:31,715
after you’ve pondered some
problem that you want

236
00:16:31,740 --> 00:16:34,690
to turn into an opportunity
for about 90 seconds,

237
00:16:35,879 --> 00:16:40,106
you find yourself thinking
“Oh I forgot I’ve got to call Jim…

238
00:16:40,492 --> 00:16:42,816
oh, and I must tell Tina
that I need the report

239
00:16:42,841 --> 00:16:45,001
on Wednesday and not
Thursday which means

240
00:16:45,026 --> 00:16:48,853
I must move my lunch with Joe and Damn!
I haven’t called St. Paul’s about

241
00:16:48,878 --> 00:16:51,557
getting Joe’s daughter an interview
and I must pop out this afternoon to

242
00:16:51,582 --> 00:16:54,831
get Will’s birthday present and those
plants need watering and none of my

243
00:16:54,856 --> 00:16:57,831
pencils are sharpened and… <i>Right!</i> I’ve
got too much to do, so I’m going to

244
00:16:57,856 --> 00:17:02,522
start by sorting out my paper clips and
then I shall make 27 phone calls and

245
00:17:02,547 --> 00:17:06,058
I’ll do some thinking tomorrow when
I’ve got everything out of the way.”

246
00:17:06,862 --> 00:17:12,509
Because, as we all know, it’s easier
to do trivial things that are urgent

247
00:17:13,296 --> 00:17:17,396
than it is to do important things
that are not urgent, like thinking.

248
00:17:18,093 --> 00:17:21,584
And it’s also easier to do
little things we know we can do,

249
00:17:22,229 --> 00:17:26,490
than to start on big things
that we’re not so sure about.

250
00:17:27,510 --> 00:17:32,335
So when I say create
an oasis of quiet

251
00:17:32,335 --> 00:17:34,721
know that when you
have, your mind

252
00:17:34,722 --> 00:17:37,240
will pretty soon
start racing again.

253
00:17:37,699 --> 00:17:39,922
But you’re not going
to take that very seriously,

254
00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,847
you just sit there,
for a bit, tolerating

255
00:17:42,872 --> 00:17:45,872
the racing and the slight
anxiety that comes with that,

256
00:17:46,367 --> 00:17:49,686
and after a time
your mind will quiet down again.

257
00:17:50,702 --> 00:17:51,195
Now,

258
00:17:53,037 --> 00:17:56,506
because it takes some time for
your mind to quiet down

259
00:17:56,506 --> 00:18:02,216
it’s absolutely no use arranging a
“space/time oasis”

260
00:18:02,581 --> 00:18:05,461
lasting 30 minutes, because
just as you’re getting quieter

261
00:18:05,462 --> 00:18:08,894
and getting into the open mode
you have to stop and that is

262
00:18:09,305 --> 00:18:12,059
very deeply frustrating.
So you must allow yourself

263
00:18:12,059 --> 00:18:15,512
a good chunk of time. I’d suggest
about an hour-and-a-half.

264
00:18:15,790 --> 00:18:17,778
Then after you’ve gotten
to the open mode,

265
00:18:18,381 --> 00:18:21,038
you’ll have about an hour
left for something to happen,

266
00:18:22,164 --> 00:18:23,011
if you’re lucky.

267
00:18:23,017 --> 00:18:23,500
But

268
00:18:24,451 --> 00:18:25,954
don’t put a whole morning aside.

269
00:18:26,170 --> 00:18:27,731
My experience is

270
00:18:27,756 --> 00:18:29,138
that after about
an hour-and-a-half

271
00:18:29,138 --> 00:18:29,951
you need a break.

272
00:18:30,374 --> 00:18:32,374
So it’s far better to do
an hour-and-a-half

273
00:18:32,399 --> 00:18:35,764
now and then an hour-and-a-half next
Thursday and maybe an hour-and-a-half

274
00:18:35,764 --> 00:18:36,763
the week after that,

275
00:18:37,218 --> 00:18:40,423
than to fix one four-and-a-half
hour session now.

276
00:18:41,744 --> 00:18:43,295
There’s another
reason for that,

277
00:18:44,019 --> 00:18:45,691
and that’s factor number three:

278
00:18:46,531 --> 00:18:47,293
time.

279
00:18:48,141 --> 00:18:49,997
Yes, I know we’ve
just done time, but

280
00:18:49,998 --> 00:18:52,240
that was half of
creating our oasis.

281
00:18:52,247 --> 00:18:53,234
Now I’m going to tell you

282
00:18:53,598 --> 00:18:57,371
about how to use the oasis
that you’ve created.

283
00:18:57,371 --> 00:18:59,582
Why do you still need time?

284
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:00,228
Well,

285
00:19:00,386 --> 00:19:01,292
let me tell you a story.

286
00:19:02,864 --> 00:19:04,765
I was always intrigued

287
00:19:05,895 --> 00:19:10,152
that one of my Monty Python
colleagues who seemed to be,

288
00:19:10,921 --> 00:19:14,402
to me, more talented than
I was, did never

289
00:19:15,081 --> 00:19:19,411
produce scripts as original as mine.

290
00:19:19,943 --> 00:19:22,766
And I watched for some time
and then I began to see why.

291
00:19:23,753 --> 00:19:25,580
If he was faced with a problem,

292
00:19:26,017 --> 00:19:29,695
and fairly soon saw a solution,
he was inclined to take it.

293
00:19:30,514 --> 00:19:34,878
Even though, I think, he knew the
solution was not very original.

294
00:19:35,428 --> 00:19:39,115
Whereas if I was in the same situation,
although I was sorely tempted to

295
00:19:39,116 --> 00:19:41,904
take the easy way out,
and finish by 5 o’clock,

296
00:19:42,292 --> 00:19:45,048
I just couldn’t. I’d sit there

297
00:19:45,437 --> 00:19:49,363
with the problem for another
hour-and-a-quarter,
and by sticking at it

298
00:19:49,712 --> 00:19:54,075
would, in the end, almost always come
up with something more original.

299
00:19:54,075 --> 00:19:55,063
It was that simple.

300
00:19:55,399 --> 00:19:57,952
My work was more
creative than his

301
00:19:58,340 --> 00:20:02,207
simply because I was prepared to stick
with the problem longer.

302
00:20:02,493 --> 00:20:03,937
So, imagine my excitement

303
00:20:04,677 --> 00:20:09,008
when I found that this was exactly
what MacKinnon found in his research.

304
00:20:09,476 --> 00:20:14,354
He discovered that the most creative
professionals always played with a problem

305
00:20:14,592 --> 00:20:17,205
for much longer before
they tried to resolve it,

306
00:20:18,351 --> 00:20:21,453
because they were
prepared to tolerate

307
00:20:22,146 --> 00:20:27,108
that slight discomfort
and anxiety that we all

308
00:20:27,133 --> 00:20:29,349
experience when we haven’t
solved a problem.

309
00:20:29,350 --> 00:20:31,250
You know I mean, if we
have a problem

310
00:20:31,958 --> 00:20:34,525
and we need to solve it,
until we do,

311
00:20:34,525 --> 00:20:38,497
we feel, inside us, a kind
of internal agitation,

312
00:20:38,497 --> 00:20:43,851
a tension, or an uncertainty that
makes us just plain uncomfortable.

313
00:20:44,433 --> 00:20:46,296
And we want to get rid
of that discomfort.

314
00:20:46,518 --> 00:20:48,607
So, in order to do so, we
take a decision.

315
00:20:49,528 --> 00:20:51,581
Not because we’re sure
it’s the best decision,

316
00:20:51,708 --> 00:20:55,117
but because taking it
will make us feel better.

317
00:20:55,902 --> 00:20:56,490
Well,

318
00:20:57,006 --> 00:20:58,750
the most creative
people have learned to

319
00:20:58,751 --> 00:21:01,180
tolerate that discomfort
for much longer.

320
00:21:01,473 --> 00:21:04,892
And so, just because they
put in more pondering time

321
00:21:06,018 --> 00:21:08,228
their solutions
are more creative.

322
00:21:09,210 --> 00:21:12,135
Now the people I find it hardest
to be creative with are

323
00:21:12,136 --> 00:21:17,705
people who need all the time to project
an image of themselves as decisive.

324
00:21:19,195 --> 00:21:23,403
And who feel that to create
this image they need to decide

325
00:21:23,404 --> 00:21:27,586
everything very quickly and with
a great show of confidence.

326
00:21:28,878 --> 00:21:31,195
Well, this behavior,
I suggest sincerely,

327
00:21:31,505 --> 00:21:36,006
is the most effective way of strangling
creativity at birth.

328
00:21:38,030 --> 00:21:41,095
But please note I’m not arguing
against real decisiveness.

329
00:21:41,143 --> 00:21:43,941
I’m 100% in favor of
taking a decision

330
00:21:43,972 --> 00:21:45,461
when it has to be taken

331
00:21:46,183 --> 00:21:49,103
and then sticking to it while
it is being implemented.

332
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:53,324
What I am suggesting to you is
that before you take a decision,

333
00:21:53,483 --> 00:21:55,607
you should always ask
yourself the question,

334
00:21:56,107 --> 00:21:58,246
“When does this decision
have to be taken?”

335
00:21:58,746 --> 00:22:03,770
And having answered that,
you defer the decision until then,

336
00:22:04,722 --> 00:22:07,891
in order to give yourself
maximum pondering time,

337
00:22:09,772 --> 00:22:12,675
which will lead you to the
most creative solution.

338
00:22:12,961 --> 00:22:14,510
And if, while you’re pondering,

339
00:22:14,947 --> 00:22:18,280
somebody accuses you
of indecision say,

340
00:22:18,661 --> 00:22:20,216
“Look, Babycakes,

341
00:22:21,053 --> 00:22:23,682
I don’t have to
decide ’til Tuesday,

342
00:22:24,133 --> 00:22:27,689
and I’m not chickening out
of my creative discomfort by

343
00:22:27,689 --> 00:22:31,795
taking a snap decision before
then, that’s too easy.”

344
00:22:33,218 --> 00:22:38,221
So, to summarize: the third factor
that facilitates creativity is time,

345
00:22:38,673 --> 00:22:44,009
giving your mind as long as possible
to come up with something original.

346
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:49,374
Now the next factor,
number 4, is

347
00:22:49,541 --> 00:22:50,435
confidence.

348
00:22:51,184 --> 00:22:55,117
When you are in your space/time
oasis, getting into the open mode,

349
00:22:55,315 --> 00:22:57,595
nothing will stop
you being creative

350
00:22:57,596 --> 00:23:02,719
so effectively as the
fear of making a mistake.

351
00:23:03,853 --> 00:23:05,894
Now if you think about
play, you’ll see why.

352
00:23:06,235 --> 00:23:08,323
To play is experiment:

353
00:23:08,442 --> 00:23:09,891
“What happens if I do this?

354
00:23:10,407 --> 00:23:12,995
What would happen if we did that?
What if…?”

355
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:18,261
The very essence of playfulness
is an openness to anything

356
00:23:18,380 --> 00:23:22,400
that may happen. The feeling that
whatever happens, it’s ok.

357
00:23:23,717 --> 00:23:27,677
So you cannot be playful if you’re
frightened that moving

358
00:23:27,677 --> 00:23:30,383
in some direction
will be “wrong” --

359
00:23:31,034 --> 00:23:32,793
something you
“shouldn’t have done.”

360
00:23:33,793 --> 00:23:37,523
Well, you’re either free
to play, or you’re not.

361
00:23:38,118 --> 00:23:43,080
As Alan Watts puts it, you can’t
be spontaneous within reason.

362
00:23:45,267 --> 00:23:49,700
So you’ve got risk saying things
that are silly and illogical

363
00:23:49,807 --> 00:23:54,701
and wrong, and the best way to get the
confidence to do that is to know

364
00:23:54,702 --> 00:23:57,691
that while you’re being creative,
nothing is wrong.

365
00:23:58,249 --> 00:24:00,117
There’s no such thing
as a mistake,

366
00:24:00,373 --> 00:24:03,427
and any drivel may lead
to the break-through.

367
00:24:04,989 --> 00:24:05,792
And now,

368
00:24:07,864 --> 00:24:10,154
the last factor, the fifth: humor.

369
00:24:10,844 --> 00:24:13,975
Well, I happen to think the
main evolutionary significance

370
00:24:13,975 --> 00:24:16,880
of humor is that it gets
us from the closed mode

371
00:24:16,881 --> 00:24:19,703
to the open mode
quicker than anything else.

372
00:24:22,765 --> 00:24:25,363
I think we all know that
laughter brings relaxation,

373
00:24:25,363 --> 00:24:27,382
and that humor makes us playful,

374
00:24:27,382 --> 00:24:31,164
yet how many times have
important discussions been held

375
00:24:31,871 --> 00:24:35,586
where really original
and creative ideas were

376
00:24:35,586 --> 00:24:38,503
desperately needed
to solve important problems,

377
00:24:38,693 --> 00:24:43,103
but where humor was taboo because
the subject being discussed was

378
00:24:44,008 --> 00:24:45,487
“so serious”?

379
00:24:46,575 --> 00:24:49,963
This attitude seems to me
to stem from a very basic

380
00:24:49,964 --> 00:24:54,935
misunderstanding of the difference
between ‘serious’ and ‘solemn’.

381
00:24:56,157 --> 00:24:58,660
Now I suggest to you that

382
00:24:58,993 --> 00:25:01,869
a group of us could be sitting
around after dinner,

383
00:25:02,536 --> 00:25:05,656
discussing matters that
were extremely serious

384
00:25:05,657 --> 00:25:07,130
like the education of
our children,

385
00:25:07,130 --> 00:25:10,277
or our marriages, or
the meaning of life

386
00:25:10,277 --> 00:25:13,308
(and I’m not talking about the film),
and we could be laughing,

387
00:25:13,875 --> 00:25:19,087
and that would not make what we were
discussing one bit less serious.

388
00:25:20,888 --> 00:25:25,444
Solemnity, on the other hand…
I don’t know what it’s for.

389
00:25:27,004 --> 00:25:28,619
I mean, what is the point of it?

390
00:25:29,321 --> 00:25:32,976
The two most beautiful memorial
services that I’ve ever attended

391
00:25:33,086 --> 00:25:36,823
both had a lot of humor, and
it somehow freed us all,

392
00:25:37,323 --> 00:25:41,078
and made the services
inspiring and cathartic.

393
00:25:41,486 --> 00:25:44,857
But solemnity?
It serves pomposity,

394
00:25:45,650 --> 00:25:49,359
and the self-important
always know with some

395
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:51,878
level of their
consciousness that their

396
00:25:51,879 --> 00:25:55,338
egotism is going to be
punctured by humor

397
00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,728
<i>that’s</i> why they see
it as a <i>threat</i>. And so

398
00:25:59,791 --> 00:26:03,256
dishonestly pretend
that their deficiency

399
00:26:03,256 --> 00:26:05,994
makes their views
more substantial,

400
00:26:06,786 --> 00:26:09,790
when it only makes
them feel bigger.

401
00:26:11,105 --> 00:26:12,079
(blows “raspberries”)

402
00:26:13,863 --> 00:26:18,115
No, humor is an essential
part of spontaneity,

403
00:26:18,115 --> 00:26:19,907
an essential part of
playfulness,

404
00:26:20,867 --> 00:26:24,849
an essential part of the
creativity that we need to

405
00:26:24,850 --> 00:26:28,660
solve problems, no matter
how ‘serious’ they may be.

406
00:26:28,892 --> 00:26:36,239
So when you set up a space/time
oasis, giggle all you want.

407
00:26:36,461 --> 00:26:40,913
And there, ladies and
gentlemen, are the five factors

408
00:26:40,913 --> 00:26:44,794
which you can arrange to make
your lives more creative:

409
00:26:45,230 --> 00:26:50,495
Space, time, time, confidence,
and Lord Jeffrey Archer.

410
00:26:52,953 --> 00:26:53,805
So,

411
00:26:55,067 --> 00:26:58,765
now you know how to get into the
open mode, the only other requirement

412
00:26:58,765 --> 00:27:01,107
is that you keep your mind

413
00:27:01,569 --> 00:27:05,649
gently ’round the subject
you’re pondering.

414
00:27:06,007 --> 00:27:10,164
You’ll daydream, of course, but you
just keep bringing your mind back,

415
00:27:10,265 --> 00:27:11,544
just like with meditation.

416
00:27:12,169 --> 00:27:15,168
Because, and this is the extraordinary
thing about creativity,

417
00:27:15,168 --> 00:27:19,656
if you just keep your mind resting
against the subject in a friendly

418
00:27:19,759 --> 00:27:22,679
but persistent way,
sooner or later

419
00:27:23,245 --> 00:27:25,620
you will get a reward
from your unconscious,

420
00:27:25,843 --> 00:27:27,264
probably in the shower later.

421
00:27:27,447 --> 00:27:31,182
Or at breakfast the next morning,
but suddenly you are rewarded,

422
00:27:31,183 --> 00:27:34,912
out of the blue a new
thought mysteriously appears.

423
00:27:35,740 --> 00:27:36,415
If

424
00:27:37,504 --> 00:27:40,666
you’ve put in the pondering time first.

425
00:27:42,727 --> 00:27:46,730
So, how many Cecil Parkinsons does it take
to change a lightbulb?

426
00:27:46,730 --> 00:27:49,892
Answer: two, one to screw
it in, one to screw it up.

427
00:27:50,170 --> 00:27:51,042
How many

428
00:27:54,667 --> 00:27:58,403
account executives does it
take to screw in a lightbulb?

429
00:27:58,403 --> 00:28:00,938
Answer: Can I get
back to you on that?

430
00:28:03,301 --> 00:28:05,042
How many Norwei— Oh, sorry,

431
00:28:05,043 --> 00:28:06,939
how many Yugoslav—

432
00:28:08,049 --> 00:28:09,280
how many Malt—

433
00:28:10,644 --> 00:28:11,581
how many Dutch—

434
00:28:11,748 --> 00:28:12,784
I’m out of jokes.

435
00:28:14,295 --> 00:28:15,280
Oh! One thing!

436
00:28:17,296 --> 00:28:19,148
Looking at you all reminds me,

437
00:28:19,736 --> 00:28:23,592
I think it’s easier to be creative if
you’ve got other people to play with.

438
00:28:23,997 --> 00:28:28,290
I always find that if two, or more, of us
throw ideas backwards and forwards

439
00:28:28,457 --> 00:28:31,157
I get to more interesting
and original places

440
00:28:31,277 --> 00:28:33,003
than I could have ever
have gotten to on my own.

441
00:28:33,004 --> 00:28:35,360
But there is a danger,
a real danger,

442
00:28:35,537 --> 00:28:37,376
if there’s one person around you

443
00:28:38,075 --> 00:28:40,310
who makes you feel
defensive,

444
00:28:41,016 --> 00:28:44,635
you lose the confidence to play,
and it’s goodbye creativity.

445
00:28:44,636 --> 00:28:48,645
So always make sure your play friends
are people that you like and trust.

446
00:28:49,423 --> 00:28:52,172
And never say anything
to squash them either,

447
00:28:52,173 --> 00:28:55,571
never say “no” or “wrong”
or “I don’t like that.”

448
00:28:55,888 --> 00:28:58,896
Always be positive, and build
on what is being said:

449
00:28:58,897 --> 00:29:00,354
“Would it be even better if…”

450
00:29:00,917 --> 00:29:04,507
“I don’t quite understand that,
can you just explain it again?”

451
00:29:04,587 --> 00:29:05,295
“Go on…”

452
00:29:05,756 --> 00:29:06,458
“What if…?”

453
00:29:07,093 --> 00:29:08,216
“Let’s pretend…”

454
00:29:08,812 --> 00:29:12,611
Try to establish as free
an atmosphere as possible.

455
00:29:12,650 --> 00:29:16,592
Sometimes I wonder if the
success of the Japanese

456
00:29:16,647 --> 00:29:20,040
isn’t partly due to their
instinctive understanding

457
00:29:20,159 --> 00:29:21,764
of how to use groups creatively.

458
00:29:21,765 --> 00:29:28,910
Westerners are often amazed at the
unstructured nature of Japanese meetings

459
00:29:28,911 --> 00:29:31,684
but maybe it’s just
that very lack of structure,

460
00:29:32,076 --> 00:29:37,775
that absence of time pressure, that frees
them to solve problems so creatively.

461
00:29:38,215 --> 00:29:41,315
And how clever
of the Japanese sometimes to

462
00:29:41,316 --> 00:29:44,931
plan that un-structured-ness by,
for example,

463
00:29:45,255 --> 00:29:49,704
insisting that the first people to give
their views are the most junior,

464
00:29:50,919 --> 00:29:52,753
so that they can speak freely

465
00:29:52,887 --> 00:29:55,249
without the possibility
of contradicting what’s

466
00:29:55,250 --> 00:29:57,349
already been said by
somebody more important.

467
00:30:00,286 --> 00:30:01,238
Four minutes left…

468
00:30:02,333 --> 00:30:05,406
How many Irish—
Sorry, sorry…

469
00:30:06,667 --> 00:30:11,827
Well, look, the very last
thing that I can say about

470
00:30:11,827 --> 00:30:14,154
creativity is this: it’s like humor.

471
00:30:15,297 --> 00:30:19,712
In a joke, the laugh comes
at a moment

472
00:30:20,760 --> 00:30:25,089
when you connect two different
frameworks of reference in a new way.

473
00:30:25,090 --> 00:30:28,104
Example: there’s the
old story about

474
00:30:28,255 --> 00:30:31,407
a woman doing a survey
into sexual attitudes who

475
00:30:31,408 --> 00:30:34,050
stops an airline pilot
and asks him, amongst

476
00:30:34,051 --> 00:30:37,448
other things, when he last
had sexual intercourse.

477
00:30:37,466 --> 00:30:40,095
He replies “Nineteen fifty eight.”

478
00:30:40,508 --> 00:30:45,271
Now, knowing airline pilots, the
researcher is surprised, and queries this.

479
00:30:45,272 --> 00:30:48,558
“Well,” says the pilot,
“it’s only twenty-one ten now.”

480
00:30:53,116 --> 00:30:55,625
We laugh, eventually,
at the moment

481
00:30:56,768 --> 00:31:00,235
of contact between two
frameworks of reference:

482
00:31:00,298 --> 00:31:02,950
the way we express what year it is
and the 24-hour clock.

483
00:31:02,951 --> 00:31:06,216
Now, having an idea, a new idea, is
exactly the same thing.

484
00:31:06,699 --> 00:31:11,032
It’s connecting two
hitherto separate ideas

485
00:31:11,270 --> 00:31:13,477
in a way that generates
new meaning.

486
00:31:13,679 --> 00:31:14,060
Now,

487
00:31:15,306 --> 00:31:19,194
connecting different ideas isn’t difficult,
you can connect cheese with motorcycles

488
00:31:19,194 --> 00:31:24,101
or moral courage with light green, or
bananas with international cooperation.

489
00:31:24,403 --> 00:31:28,814
You can get any computer to make a billion
random connection for you, but

490
00:31:29,846 --> 00:31:33,267
these new connections
or juxtapositions are

491
00:31:33,268 --> 00:31:34,662
significant only

492
00:31:35,256 --> 00:31:37,393
if they generate new meaning.

493
00:31:37,880 --> 00:31:43,923
So as you play you can deliberately try
inventing these random juxtapositions,

494
00:31:43,999 --> 00:31:49,657
and then use your intuition to tell
you whether any of them seem to have

495
00:31:49,657 --> 00:31:52,742
significance for you. That’s
the bit the computer can’t do.

496
00:31:53,512 --> 00:31:55,136
It can produce millions
of new connections, but

497
00:31:55,136 --> 00:31:57,695
it can’t tell which one
smells interesting.

498
00:31:58,553 --> 00:32:01,458
And, of course, you’ll
produce some juxtapositions

499
00:32:01,459 --> 00:32:03,352
which are absolutely
ridiculous, absurd.

500
00:32:04,894 --> 00:32:06,054
Good for you!

501
00:32:06,951 --> 00:32:10,581
Because Edward de Bono, who invented
the notion of lateral thinking,

502
00:32:10,843 --> 00:32:15,689
specifically suggests in his book
<i>Po: Beyond Yes and No</i>

503
00:32:15,959 --> 00:32:19,692
that you can try loosening up
your assumptions

504
00:32:20,747 --> 00:32:24,191
by playing with deliberately
crazy connections.

505
00:32:24,284 --> 00:32:26,773
He calls such absurd ideas

506
00:32:27,923 --> 00:32:30,267
“Intermediate Impossibles.”

507
00:32:31,459 --> 00:32:34,531
And he points out the
use of an Intermediate

508
00:32:34,531 --> 00:32:37,681
Impossible is
completely contrary

509
00:32:37,682 --> 00:32:41,789
to ordinary logical thinking in which
you have to be right at each stage.

510
00:32:42,781 --> 00:32:44,160
It doesn’t matter

511
00:32:44,748 --> 00:32:48,885
if the Intermediate Impossible is right or
absurd, it can nevertheless be used as a

512
00:32:48,885 --> 00:32:52,786
stepping stone to another
idea that is right.

513
00:32:53,223 --> 00:32:58,235
Another example of how, when you’re
playing, nothing is wrong.

514
00:32:59,299 --> 00:33:01,641
So, to summarize: if you

515
00:33:02,176 --> 00:33:05,128
really don’t know how to
start, or if you got stuck,

516
00:33:05,422 --> 00:33:08,830
start generating random connections,
and allow your intuition

517
00:33:08,831 --> 00:33:11,638
to tell you if one might
lead somewhere interesting.

518
00:33:11,639 --> 00:33:12,427
Well, that

519
00:33:13,678 --> 00:33:20,906
really is all I can tell you that won’t
help you to be creative. Everything.

520
00:33:21,412 --> 00:33:23,176
And now, in the
two minutes left,

521
00:33:23,564 --> 00:33:26,304
I can come to the important part,
and that is,

522
00:33:26,445 --> 00:33:30,651
how to stop your subordinates becoming
creative too, which is the real threat.

523
00:33:32,754 --> 00:33:36,087
Because, believe me no one
appreciates better than I do

524
00:33:36,278 --> 00:33:38,718
what trouble
creative people are.

525
00:33:39,067 --> 00:33:42,783
And how they stop decisive,
hard-nosed bastards

526
00:33:42,784 --> 00:33:44,906
like us from running
businesses efficiently.

527
00:33:44,907 --> 00:33:46,651
I mean, we all know,

528
00:33:47,371 --> 00:33:49,433
we encourage someone
to be creative,

529
00:33:49,806 --> 00:33:51,416
the next thing is
they’re rocking

530
00:33:51,417 --> 00:33:53,774
the boat, coming up with
ideas, and asking us

531
00:33:53,775 --> 00:33:57,053
questions. Now, if we don’t nip
this kind of thing in the bud,

532
00:33:57,940 --> 00:34:01,766
we’ll have to start justifying our
decisions by reasoned argument.

533
00:34:02,020 --> 00:34:02,794
And

534
00:34:03,077 --> 00:34:06,148
sharing information —
the concealment of which gives us

535
00:34:06,148 --> 00:34:08,673
considerable advantages
in our power struggles.

536
00:34:08,673 --> 00:34:09,135
So,

537
00:34:10,592 --> 00:34:14,467
here’s how to stamp out creativity
in the rest of the organization

538
00:34:14,468 --> 00:34:16,079
and get a bit of respect going.

539
00:34:17,034 --> 00:34:21,177
One: Allow subordinates no humor, it
threatens your self-importance and

540
00:34:21,178 --> 00:34:26,787
especially your omniscience. Treat all
humor as frivolous or subversive.

541
00:34:27,953 --> 00:34:31,925
Because subversive is, of course,
what humor will be in your setup,

542
00:34:32,060 --> 00:34:35,088
as it’s the only way that people
can express their opposition,

543
00:34:35,290 --> 00:34:38,727
since, if they express it openly, you’re
down on them like a ton of bricks.

544
00:34:38,917 --> 00:34:42,076
So let’s get this clear: blame
humor for the resistance

545
00:34:42,077 --> 00:34:44,118
that your way of working creates.

546
00:34:44,776 --> 00:34:49,162
Then you don’t have to blame your
way of working. This is important.

547
00:34:49,511 --> 00:34:54,509
And I mean that solemnly. Your dignity
is no laughing matter. Second:

548
00:34:55,636 --> 00:34:58,917
keeping ourselves
feeling irreplaceable

549
00:34:59,297 --> 00:35:01,783
involves cutting everybody
else down to size,

550
00:35:02,228 --> 00:35:05,713
so don’t miss an opportunity to
undermine your employees’ confidence.

551
00:35:05,713 --> 00:35:10,361
A perfect opportunity comes when
you’re reviewing work that they’ve done.

552
00:35:10,750 --> 00:35:17,942
Use your authority to zero in immediately
on all the things you can find wrong.

553
00:35:18,235 --> 00:35:22,371
Never, never balance the
negatives with positives,

554
00:35:22,904 --> 00:35:26,021
only criticize, just as
your school teachers did.

555
00:35:26,299 --> 00:35:31,560
Always remember:
praise makes people uppity.

556
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:36,168
Third: Demand that people
should always be actively

557
00:35:36,168 --> 00:35:38,498
doing things. If you
catch anyone pondering,

558
00:35:38,798 --> 00:35:42,331
accuse them of laziness
and/or indecision.

559
00:35:42,648 --> 00:35:46,833
This is to starve employees of
thinking time because that leads to

560
00:35:46,834 --> 00:35:49,579
creativity and insurrection.
So

561
00:35:49,935 --> 00:35:53,742
demand urgency at all times,
use lots of fighting talk

562
00:35:54,123 --> 00:35:57,055
and war analogies, and establish
a permanent atmosphere

563
00:35:57,055 --> 00:36:00,864
of stress, of breathless
anxiety, and crisis.

564
00:36:00,865 --> 00:36:04,000
In a phrase: keep that mode closed.

565
00:36:05,595 --> 00:36:10,905
In this way we no-nonsense types
can be sure that the tiny, tiny,

566
00:36:11,405 --> 00:36:18,725
microscopic quantity of creativity in
our organization will all be ours!

567
00:36:19,629 --> 00:36:20,212
But!

568
00:36:21,230 --> 00:36:24,050
Let your vigilance slip
for one moment, and

569
00:36:24,050 --> 00:36:27,034
you could find yourself
surrounded by happy,

570
00:36:27,370 --> 00:36:30,810
enthusiastic, and creative
people whom you might

571
00:36:30,835 --> 00:36:34,072
never be able completely to
control ever again!

572
00:36:34,144 --> 00:36:35,087
So be careful.

573
00:36:36,107 --> 00:36:37,609
Thank you, and good night. Thank you.