My Creative Genius
My
Current Creative Talents
Indeed, this may be the shortest
blog ever written. I am quite possibly
the least creative person that ever lived.
I am honestly unaware of any ‘creative talent’ that I have, useful or
otherwise. Defining creative talent
could possibly help but as I find myself in the eleventh hour reflecting on
this assignment, it occurs to me that I might have asked that question
earlier. Since I did not and the
antonyms for creative are stupid and/or untalented, it appears that I am in a
bit of a situation. Unfortunately, I do
not consider myself stupid which eliminates the easy way out. With no other viable options available, I
will provide insight to a few things I consider myself good at and leave the
determination of creative and talent up to the reader.
1.
I am
analytical by nature which is one of the reasons I am in the eleventh hour
doing this assignment. Over analysis of
simple issues is a challenge that I must deal with. Unchecked, it wastes an enormous amount of time
and energy that could be used on something productive. On a more positive note, being analytical
allows me to sort through and make sense of large amounts of data. I can then analyze specific pieces to help me
make educated decisions concerning the data.
I can usually recall specific points of interest within the data set
from memory for weeks.
2.
I am not creative and therefore produce very few
creative ideas to solve a problem beyond the obvious. I do however have the ability to recognize creative
ideas, evaluate their applicability, and assign them a value that represents
their ability to address each aspect of a problem. Continuously searching for the idea that
provides the perfect solution is a challenge but racking and stacking solutions
for discussion purposes is much easier and faster.
3.
I have the ability to recognize creative people,
lead creative people, and encourage creativity in the work place.
4.
I fully understand the importance of creativity in
an organization and the positive impact it can have on the mission. When needed, I can create an environmental
context that encourages creativity.
5.
Though I am not creative, I can lead and manage
innovation in an organization. I can do so
because I have a thorough understanding of the services we provide, the customers
we provide them to and the processes we utilize in our daily operations (Mckeown,
2014). I can also let go when the things
I know to be true are questioned for necessity.
There it is…the sum total of what
I consider my strong points. Truth be
known, I have always wished that I had one or two specific creative talents.
My Creative Talent Wish List
The creative talents that I would
wish for would not necessarily provide any professional use or benefit to a work
center although they might make my disposition a bit sunnier. Perhaps people would be able to better recognize
when I joke around. We non-creative
types are not always serious…yes, really.
The creative talents that I would wish for would not likely benefit
anyone else, but they would benefit me enormously. Selfish? Perhaps, and I am okay with that.
1.
I am a
music nut. It really does not matter who
the artist is or the genre represented, I can always find something positive to
appreciate in a piece of music. Live
music is even better. I have been this
way for as long as I can remember and prior to that according to people who
should know. If I lived a previous life,
I am sure I would have been a roadie. I
cannot recall a single day in my life that did not include music. Yet I cannot read a musical note nor can I play a
musical instrument. If I had the creative
talent to read music and play an instrument, I could write down all of the
tunes that are constantly playing in my head and would play them over and over until
they annoyed my family as much as they have me over the years. Seriously, it would give me an outlet for
stress relief. But more importantly I
would have a talent that I could focus on mastering. As I said, it is a selfish desire, but it is
one in which I cannot imagine losing interest.
2.
I would wish for the ability to draw. I would not ask for anything elaborate, only
the ability to do pencil sketches. I can
see images in my mind that are so vivid and clear that I cannot understand why
I cannot transfer them to a piece of paper.
I try all the time only to find all of the detail is lost in the
translation. Frustrated, I put it down…until
the next day when I repeat the process.
On the front of The Innovation Book (Mckeown, 2014) is a quote from
Albert Einstein that defines insanity as “doing the same thing over and again
and expecting different results”. This
accurately describes my attempts to draw.
This creative talent would also serve as an outlet for things that have
been stuck in my head for years.
I do not interpret the lack of
creative talent as a disability detrimental to my professional or personal life,
but I would enjoy having these talents.
Having them could change the way I perceive things or open my mind to
other creative talents in the future effectively paving the way for me to
nurture my creative genius.
~Pete
Reference:
Mckeown, M. (2014). The innovation book: How to manage ideas
and execution for outstanding results. Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, United Kingdom.
Pearson Education Limited.
P.S.
As an after thought that should have been an initial thought, I
do have one talent that could be considered creative. I have the ability to articulate my thoughts
and ideas into written form. It is very
useful in both my professional and personal life. I can create a convincing work of pure
fiction or express what I am thinking as non-fiction. The challenge I have is that I am very
slow. I understand the importance of words
and the significant effect one out of place word can have on my message. So, I effectively over analyze what I have
written by comparing it to what I meant. And, I edit things that do not match. I still never get it perfect, but rest
assured I have spent enough time that it should be perfect. Regardless, this creative talent has served me
well since my grade school days.
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