Not so weird rules

The article from the creativity module which interested me most is "The weird rules of creativity" by Robert I. Sutton. What struck me most in his paper is the originality of the ideas he proposes, sometimes completely opposite to managerial conventions.

The fact that he suggests that employees should pursue their ideas even when their manager disagrees with them is certainly a strong statement. I don´t know if I would be able to act like this since I have been taught to follow the rules since I started studying. However the explanations the author gives in order to explain his point are quite convincing. Innovation, in order to be obtained and successful requires commitment

The idea of not punishing failure but only inaction also makes sense to me. You will only know if an idea is good and will work if you explore it completely. Sometimes, according to the author, often these ideas will eventually fail but from this failure new ideas can emerge and one of them can become successful. This is why I agree with the author on this point. It is true that these "failures" cost money and time but on the other hand inaction is more expensive since it will produce nothing.

"One of my most well-supported ideas for managing creativity is that you should find some happy people and then get them to fight" (Sutton 2001). This is, in my opinion, the most provocative point in the article. My view of a good group meeting is of one where my team mates and I agree on most points and reach a final consensus at the end. Well according to him disagreements are more productive and more ideas will come out of this "fight". I agree partially with this idea, I believe that in the end the manager should decide which point of view the group should follow and get the team work in the same direction. The manager should also act as a trained facilitator, like Thomson suggests in his article "Improving the creativity of organizational work groups", to avoid wrong behaviours and make sure the brainstorming or meeting remains productive. Using other techniques like the 6 thinking hats is also a good way to keep a meeting productive. Someone with the Blue hat would ensure the good conduction of the meeting while other members could wear Green and Black hats and discuss with each other freely.

References:

Sutton, I., R., "The weird rules of creativity" (2001) Harvard Business Review.

Thompson, L., "Improving the creativity of organizational work groups" Academy of Management Executive, 2003, Vol. 17, No. I