Myths
1. Creativity Comes From Creative Types
2. Money Is a Creativity Motivator
3. Time Pressure Fuels Creativity
4. Fear Forces Breakthroughs
5. Competition Beats Collaboration
6. A Streamlined Organization Is a Creative Organization
This is a great article on creativity and innovation in the workplace. Teresa Amabile, head of the Entrepreneurial Maanagement Unit at Harvard B-School is a thought leader and researcher in the area of creativity and business innovation, and has been wrestling with the subject for 30 years now. I think that would make her an expert. Anyway, the article is 2 + years old and terribly relevant to the plight of whether or not creativity is really valued in the workplace. What I like most about it is that it emphasizes that creativity is more about people than a process. Certainly there are environs and values that espouse and foster creativity, but it really comes down to whether or not the people who are doing the creativity love what they do and are actively exercising their natural creative abilities.
While I agree with the article, I still have some reservations about. Hopefully I will have more time to think about it.