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
fascinating 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 Berkley

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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 isn't.

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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… {mumble}

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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 wayof 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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Families and How To Survive Them 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
exiting 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 and 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 to 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 {mode}.

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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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Now creativity can happen,

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because play is possible when we
are separate from everyday life.

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So, you've arranged to take no calls,

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00:15:24,570 --> 00:15:28,439
you've closed your door, you've
sat down somewhere comfortable,

234
00:15:28,464 --> 00:15:31,137
take a couple of deep breaths
and if you're anything like me,

235
00:15:31,923 --> 00:15:34,715
after you've pondered some
problem that you want

236
00:15:34,740 --> 00:15:37,690
to turn into an opportunity
for about 90 seconds,

237
00:15:38,879 --> 00:15:43,106
you find yourself thinking "Oh I forgot
I've got to call Jim…

238
00:15:43,492 --> 00:15:45,816
oh, and I must tell Tina
that I need the report

239
00:15:45,841 --> 00:15:48,001
on Wednesday and not
Thursday which means

240
00:15:48,026 --> 00:15:51,853
I must move my lunch with Joe and Damn!
I haven't called St. Paul's about

241
00:15:51,878 --> 00:15:54,557
getting Joe's daughter an interview
and I must pop out this afternoon to

242
00:15:54,582 --> 00:15:57,831
get Will's birthday present and those
plants need watering and none of my

243
00:15:57,856 --> 00:16:00,831
pencils are sharpened and Right! I've
got too much to do, so I'm going to

244
00:16:00,856 --> 00:16:05,522
start by sorting out my paper clips and
then I shall make 27 phone calls and

245
00:16:05,547 --> 00:16:09,058
I'll do some thinking tomorrow when
I've got everything out of the way."

246
00:16:09,862 --> 00:16:15,509
Because, as we all know, it's easier
to do trivial things that are urgent

247
00:16:16,296 --> 00:16:20,396
than it is to do important things
that are not urgent, like thinking.

248
00:16:21,093 --> 00:16:24,584
And it's also easier to do
little things we know we can do,

249
00:16:25,229 --> 00:16:29,490
than to start on big things
that we're not so sure about.

250
00:16:30,510 --> 00:16:35,335
So when I say create
an oasis of quiet

251
00:16:35,335 --> 00:16:37,721
know that when you
have, your mind

252
00:16:37,722 --> 00:16:40,240
will pretty soon
start racing again.

253
00:16:40,699 --> 00:16:42,922
But you're not going
to take that very seriously,

254
00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:45,847
you just sit there
(for a bit) tolerating

255
00:16:45,872 --> 00:16:48,872
the racing and the slight
anxiety that comes with that,

256
00:16:49,367 --> 00:16:52,686
and after a
time your mind will quiet down again.

257
00:16:53,702 --> 00:16:54,195
Now,

258
00:16:56,037 --> 00:16:59,506
because it takes some time for
your mind to quiet down

259
00:16:59,506 --> 00:17:05,216
it's absolutely no use arranging a
"space/time oasis"

260
00:17:05,581 --> 00:17:08,461
lasting 30 minutes, because
just as you're getting quieter

261
00:17:08,462 --> 00:17:11,894
and getting into the open mode
you have to stop and that is

262
00:17:12,305 --> 00:17:15,059
very deeply frustrating. So
you must allow yourself

263
00:17:15,059 --> 00:17:18,512
a good chunk of time. I'd suggest
about an hour and a half.

264
00:17:18,790 --> 00:17:20,778
Then after you've gotten
to the open mode,

265
00:17:21,381 --> 00:17:24,038
you'll have about an hour
left for something to happen,

266
00:17:25,164 --> 00:17:26,011
 if you're lucky.

267
00:17:26,017 --> 00:17:26,500
But

268
00:17:27,451 --> 00:17:28,954
don't put a whole morning aside.

269
00:17:29,170 --> 00:17:30,731
My experience is

270
00:17:30,756 --> 00:17:32,138
that after about
an hour-and-a-half

271
00:17:32,138 --> 00:17:32,951
you need a break.

272
00:17:33,374 --> 00:17:35,374
So it's far better to do
an hour-and-a-half

273
00:17:35,399 --> 00:17:38,764
now and then an hour-and-a-half next
Thursday and maybe an hour-and-a-half

274
00:17:38,764 --> 00:17:39,763
the week after that,

275
00:17:40,218 --> 00:17:43,423
than to fix one four-and-a-half
hour session now.

276
00:17:44,744 --> 00:17:46,295
There's another
reason for that,

277
00:17:47,019 --> 00:17:48,691
and that's factor number three:

278
00:17:49,531 --> 00:17:50,293
time.

279
00:17:51,141 --> 00:17:52,997
Yes, I know we've
just done time, but

280
00:17:52,998 --> 00:17:55,240
that was half of
creating our oasis.

281
00:17:55,247 --> 00:17:56,234
Now I'm going to tell you

282
00:17:56,598 --> 00:18:00,371
about how to use the oasis
that you've created.

283
00:18:00,371 --> 00:18:02,582
Why do you still need time?

284
00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:03,228
Well,

285
00:18:03,386 --> 00:18:04,292
let me tell you a story.

286
00:18:05,864 --> 00:18:07,765
I was always intrigued

287
00:18:08,895 --> 00:18:13,152
that one of my Monty Python
colleagues who seemed to be

288
00:18:13,921 --> 00:18:17,402
(to me) more talented than
I was {but} did never

289
00:18:18,081 --> 00:18:22,411
produce scripts as original as mine.

290
00:18:22,943 --> 00:18:25,766
And I watched for some time
and then I began to see why.

291
00:18:26,753 --> 00:18:28,580
If he was faced with a
problem,

292
00:18:29,017 --> 00:18:32,695
and fairly soon saw a solution,
he was inclined to take it.

293
00:18:33,514 --> 00:18:37,878
Even though (I think) he knew the
solution was not very original.

294
00:18:38,428 --> 00:18:42,115
Whereas if I was in the same situation,
although I was sorely tempted to

295
00:18:42,116 --> 00:18:44,904
take the easy way out, and finish by
5 o'clock,

296
00:18:45,292 --> 00:18:48,048
I just couldn't. I'd sit there

297
00:18:48,437 --> 00:18:52,363
with the problem for another
hour-and-a-quarter, and by sticking at it

298
00:18:52,712 --> 00:18:57,075
would, in the end, almost always come
up with something more original.

299
00:18:57,075 --> 00:18:58,063
It was that simple.

300
00:18:58,399 --> 00:19:00,952
My work was more
creative than his

301
00:19:01,340 --> 00:19:05,207
simply because I was prepared to stick
with the problem longer.

302
00:19:05,493 --> 00:19:06,937
So imagine my excitement

303
00:19:07,677 --> 00:19:12,008
when I found that this was exactly
what MacKinnon found in his research.

304
00:19:12,476 --> 00:19:17,354
 He discovered that the most creative
professionals always played with a problem

305
00:19:17,592 --> 00:19:20,205
for much longer before
they tried to resolve it,

306
00:19:21,351 --> 00:19:24,453
because they were
prepared to tolerate

307
00:19:25,146 --> 00:19:30,108
that slight discomfort
and anxiety that we all

308
00:19:30,133 --> 00:19:32,349
experience when we haven't
solved a problem.

309
00:19:32,350 --> 00:19:34,250
You know I mean, if we
have a problem

310
00:19:34,958 --> 00:19:37,525
and we need to solve it, until we do,

311
00:19:37,525 --> 00:19:41,497
we feel (inside us) a kind
of internal agitation,

312
00:19:41,497 --> 00:19:46,851
a tension, or an uncertainty that
makes us just plain uncomfortable.

313
00:19:47,433 --> 00:19:49,296
And we want to get rid
of that discomfort.

314
00:19:49,518 --> 00:19:51,607
So, in order to do so, we
take a decision.

315
00:19:52,528 --> 00:19:54,581
Not because we're sure
it's the best decision,

316
00:19:54,708 --> 00:19:58,117
but because taking it
will make us feel better.

317
00:19:58,902 --> 00:19:59,490
Well,

318
00:20:00,006 --> 00:20:01,750
the most creative
people have learned to

319
00:20:01,751 --> 00:20:04,180
tolerate that discomfort
for much longer.

320
00:20:04,473 --> 00:20:07,892
And so, just because they
put in more pondering

321
00:20:09,018 --> 00:20:11,228
time, their solutions
are more creative.

322
00:20:12,210 --> 00:20:15,135
Now the people I find it hardest
to be creative with are

323
00:20:15,136 --> 00:20:20,705
people who need all the time to project
an image of themselves as decisive.

324
00:20:22,195 --> 00:20:26,403
And who feel that to create
this image they need to decide

325
00:20:26,404 --> 00:20:30,586
everything very quickly and with
a great show of confidence.

326
00:20:31,878 --> 00:20:34,195
Well, this behavior I
suggest sincerely,

327
00:20:34,505 --> 00:20:39,006
is the most effective way of strangling
creativity at birth.

328
00:20:41,030 --> 00:20:44,095
But please note I'm not arguing
against real decisiveness.

329
00:20:44,143 --> 00:20:46,941
I'm 100% in favor of
taking a decision

330
00:20:46,972 --> 00:20:48,461
when it has to be taken

331
00:20:49,183 --> 00:20:52,103
and then sticking to it while
it is being implemented.

332
00:20:52,500 --> 00:20:56,324
What I am suggesting to you is
that before you take a decision,

333
00:20:56,483 --> 00:20:58,607
you should always ask
yourself the question,

334
00:20:59,107 --> 00:21:01,246
"When does this decision
have to be taken?"

335
00:21:01,746 --> 00:21:06,770
And having answered that, you defer the
decision until then,

336
00:21:07,722 --> 00:21:10,891
in order to give yourself
maximum pondering time,

337
00:21:12,772 --> 00:21:15,675
which will lead you to the
most creative solution.

338
00:21:15,961 --> 00:21:17,510
And if, while you're pondering,

339
00:21:17,947 --> 00:21:21,280
somebody accuses you
of indecision say,

340
00:21:21,661 --> 00:21:23,216
"Look, Babycakes,

341
00:21:24,053 --> 00:21:26,682
I don't have to
decide 'til Tuesday,

342
00:21:27,133 --> 00:21:30,689
and I'm not chickening out
of my creative discomfort by

343
00:21:30,689 --> 00:21:34,795
taking a snap decision before
then, that's too easy."

344
00:21:36,218 --> 00:21:41,221
So, to summarize: the third factor
that facilitates creativity is time,

345
00:21:41,673 --> 00:21:47,009
giving your mind as long as possible
to come up with something original.

346
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:52,374
Now the next factor,
number 4, is

347
00:21:52,541 --> 00:21:53,435
confidence.

348
00:21:54,184 --> 00:21:58,117
When you are in your space/time
oasis, getting into the open mode,

349
00:21:58,315 --> 00:22:00,595
nothing will stop
you being creative

350
00:22:00,596 --> 00:22:05,719
so effectively as the
fear of making a mistake.

351
00:22:06,853 --> 00:22:08,894
Now if you think about
play, you'll see why.

352
00:22:09,235 --> 00:22:11,323
To play is experiment:

353
00:22:11,442 --> 00:22:12,891
"What happens if I do this?

354
00:22:13,407 --> 00:22:15,995
What would happen if we did that?
What if…?"

355
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:21,261
The very essence of playfulness
is an openness to anything

356
00:22:21,380 --> 00:22:25,400
that may happen. The feeling that
whatever happens, it's ok.

357
00:22:26,717 --> 00:22:30,677
So you cannot be playful if you're
frightened that moving

358
00:22:30,677 --> 00:22:33,383
in some direction
will be "wrong" --

359
00:22:34,034 --> 00:22:35,793
something you
"shouldn't have done."

360
00:22:36,793 --> 00:22:40,523
Well, you're either free
to play, or you're not.

361
00:22:41,118 --> 00:22:46,080
As Alan Watts puts it, you can't
be spontaneous within reason.

362
00:22:48,267 --> 00:22:52,700
So you've got risk saying things
that are silly and illogical

363
00:22:52,807 --> 00:22:57,701
and wrong, and the best way to get the
confidence to do that is to know

364
00:22:57,702 --> 00:23:00,691
that while you're being creative,
nothing is wrong.

365
00:23:01,249 --> 00:23:03,117
There's no such thing
as a mistake,

366
00:23:03,373 --> 00:23:06,427
and any drivel may lead
to the break-through.

367
00:23:07,989 --> 00:23:08,792
And now,

368
00:23:10,864 --> 00:23:13,154
the last factor, the fifth: humor.

369
00:23:13,844 --> 00:23:16,975
Well, I happen to think the
main evolutionary significance

370
00:23:16,975 --> 00:23:19,880
of humor is that it gets
us from the closed mode

371
00:23:19,881 --> 00:23:22,703
to the open mode quicker
than anything else.

372
00:23:25,765 --> 00:23:28,363
I think we all know that
laughter brings relaxation,

373
00:23:28,363 --> 00:23:30,382
and that humor makes us playful,

374
00:23:30,382 --> 00:23:34,164
yet how many times important discussions
been held

375
00:23:34,871 --> 00:23:38,586
where really original
and creative ideas were

376
00:23:38,586 --> 00:23:41,503
desperately needed to
solve important problems,

377
00:23:41,693 --> 00:23:46,103
but where humor was taboo because
the subject being discussed was

378
00:23:47,008 --> 00:23:48,487
{air quotes} "so serious"?

379
00:23:49,575 --> 00:23:52,963
This attitude seems to me
to stem from a very basic

380
00:23:52,964 --> 00:23:57,935
misunderstanding of the difference
between 'serious' and 'solemn'.

381
00:23:59,157 --> 00:24:01,660
Now I suggest to you that

382
00:24:01,993 --> 00:24:04,869
a group of us could be sitting
around after dinner,

383
00:24:05,536 --> 00:24:08,656
discussing matters that
were extremely serious

384
00:24:08,657 --> 00:24:10,130
like the education of
our children,

385
00:24:10,130 --> 00:24:13,277
or our marriages, or
the meaning of life

386
00:24:13,277 --> 00:24:16,308
(and I'm not talking about the
film), and we could be laughing,

387
00:24:16,875 --> 00:24:22,087
and that would not make what we were
discussing one bit less serious.

388
00:24:23,888 --> 00:24:28,444
Solemnity, on the other hand… I
don't know what it's for.

389
00:24:30,004 --> 00:24:31,619
I mean, what is the point of it?

390
00:24:32,321 --> 00:24:35,976
The two most beautiful memorial
services that I've ever attended

391
00:24:36,086 --> 00:24:39,823
both had a lot of humor, and
it somehow freed us all,

392
00:24:40,323 --> 00:24:44,078
and made the services
inspiring and cathartic.

393
00:24:44,486 --> 00:24:47,857
But solemnity? It
serves pomposity,

394
00:24:48,650 --> 00:24:52,359
and the self-important
always know with some

395
00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:54,878
level of their
consciousness that their

396
00:24:54,879 --> 00:24:58,338
egotism is going to be
punctured by humor --

397
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:01,728
that's why they see
it as a threat. And so

398
00:25:02,791 --> 00:25:06,256
{they} dishonestly pretend
that their deficiency

399
00:25:06,256 --> 00:25:08,994
makes their views
more substantial,

400
00:25:09,786 --> 00:25:12,790
when it only makes
them feel bigger.

401
00:25:14,105 --> 00:25:15,079
{John blows "raspberries" with his tongue.}

402
00:25:16,863 --> 00:25:21,115
No, humor is an essential
part of spontaneity,

403
00:25:21,115 --> 00:25:22,907
an essential part of
playfulness,

404
00:25:23,867 --> 00:25:27,849
an essential part of the
creativity that we need to

405
00:25:27,850 --> 00:25:31,660
solve problems, no matter
how 'serious' they may be.

406
00:25:31,892 --> 00:25:39,239
So when you set up a space/time
oasis, giggle all you want.

407
00:25:39,461 --> 00:25:43,913
And there, ladies and
gentlemen, are the five factors

408
00:25:43,913 --> 00:25:47,794
which you can arrange to make
your lives more creative:

409
00:25:48,230 --> 00:25:53,495
Space, time, time, confidence,
and Lord Jeffrey Archer.

410
00:25:55,953 --> 00:25:56,805
So,

411
00:25:58,067 --> 00:26:01,765
now you know how to get into the
open mode, the only other requirement

412
00:26:01,765 --> 00:26:04,107
is that you keep mind

413
00:26:04,569 --> 00:26:08,649
gently 'round the subject
you're pondering.

414
00:26:09,007 --> 00:26:13,164
You'll daydream, of course, but you
just keep bringing your mind back,

415
00:26:13,265 --> 00:26:14,544
just like with meditation.

416
00:26:15,169 --> 00:26:18,168
Because, and this is the extraordinary
thing about creativity,

417
00:26:18,168 --> 00:26:22,656
if you just keep your mind resting
against the subject in a friendly

418
00:26:22,759 --> 00:26:25,679
but persistent way, sooner or
later

419
00:26:26,245 --> 00:26:28,620
you will get a reward
from your unconscious,

420
00:26:28,843 --> 00:26:30,264
probably in the shower later.

421
00:26:30,447 --> 00:26:34,182
Or at breakfast the next morning,
but suddenly you are rewarded,

422
00:26:34,183 --> 00:26:37,912
  out of the blue a new
thought mysteriously appears.

423
00:26:38,740 --> 00:26:39,415
If

424
00:26:40,504 --> 00:26:43,666
you've put in the pondering time first.

425
00:26:45,727 --> 00:26:49,730
So, how many Cecil Parkinsons does it take
to change a lightbulb?

426
00:26:49,730 --> 00:26:52,892
Answer: two, one to screw
it in, one to screw it up.

427
00:26:53,170 --> 00:26:54,042
How many

428
00:26:57,667 --> 00:27:01,403
account executives does it
take to screw in a lightbulb?

429
00:27:01,403 --> 00:27:03,938
 Answer: Can I get
back to you on that?

430
00:27:06,301 --> 00:27:08,042
How many Norwei--- Oh, sorry,

431
00:27:08,043 --> 00:27:09,939
how many Yugoslav---

432
00:27:11,049 --> 00:27:12,280
how many Malt--

433
00:27:13,644 --> 00:27:14,581
how many Dutch---

434
00:27:14,748 --> 00:27:15,784
I'm out of jokes.

435
00:27:17,295 --> 00:27:18,280
Oh! One thing!

436
00:27:20,296 --> 00:27:22,148
Looking at you all reminds me,

437
00:27:22,736 --> 00:27:26,592
I think it's easy to be creative if
you've got other people to play with.

438
00:27:26,997 --> 00:27:31,290
I always find that if two (or more) of us
throw ideas backwards and forwards

439
00:27:31,457 --> 00:27:34,157
I get to more interesting
and original places

440
00:27:34,277 --> 00:27:36,003
than I could have ever
have gotten to on my own.

441
00:27:36,004 --> 00:27:38,360
But there is a danger,
a real danger,

442
00:27:38,537 --> 00:27:40,376
if there's one person around you

443
00:27:41,075 --> 00:27:43,310
who makes you feel
defensive,

444
00:27:44,016 --> 00:27:47,635
you lose the confidence to play,
and it's goodbye creativity.

445
00:27:47,636 --> 00:27:51,645
So always make sure your play friends
are people that you like and trust.

446
00:27:52,423 --> 00:27:55,172
And never say anything
to squash them either,

447
00:27:55,173 --> 00:27:58,571
never say "no" or "wrong"
or "I don't like that."

448
00:27:58,888 --> 00:28:01,896
Always be positive, and build
on what is being said:

449
00:28:01,897 --> 00:28:03,354
"Would it be even better if…"

450
00:28:03,917 --> 00:28:07,507
"I don't quite understand that,
can you just explain it again?"

451
00:28:07,587 --> 00:28:08,295
"Go on…"

452
00:28:08,756 --> 00:28:09,458
"What if…?"

453
00:28:10,093 --> 00:28:11,216
"Let's pretend…"

454
00:28:11,812 --> 00:28:15,611
Try to establish as free
an atmosphere as possible.

455
00:28:15,650 --> 00:28:19,592
Sometimes I wonder if the
success of the Japanese

456
00:28:19,647 --> 00:28:23,040
isn't partly due to their
instinctive understanding

457
00:28:23,159 --> 00:28:24,764
of how to use groups creatively.

458
00:28:24,765 --> 00:28:31,910
Westerners are often amazed at the
unstructured nature of Japanese meetings

459
00:28:31,911 --> 00:28:34,684
but maybe it's just
that very lack of structure,

460
00:28:35,076 --> 00:28:40,775
that absence of time pressure, that frees
them to solve problems so creatively.

461
00:28:41,215 --> 00:28:44,315
And how clever
of the Japanese sometimes to

462
00:28:44,316 --> 00:28:47,931
plan that un-structured-ness by,
for example,

463
00:28:48,255 --> 00:28:52,704
insisting that the first people to give
their views are the most junior,

464
00:28:53,919 --> 00:28:55,753
so that they can speak freely

465
00:28:55,887 --> 00:28:58,249
without the possibility
of contradicting what's

466
00:28:58,250 --> 00:29:00,349
already been said by
somebody more important.

467
00:29:03,286 --> 00:29:04,238
Four minutes left…

468
00:29:05,333 --> 00:29:08,406
How many Irish-- sorry, sorry

469
00:29:09,667 --> 00:29:14,827
Well, look, the very last
thing that I can say about

470
00:29:14,827 --> 00:29:17,154
creativity is this: it's like humor.

471
00:29:18,297 --> 00:29:22,712
In a joke, the laugh comes
at a moment

472
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:28,089
when you connect two different
frameworks of reference in a new way.

473
00:29:28,090 --> 00:29:31,104
Example: there's the
old story about

474
00:29:31,255 --> 00:29:34,407
a woman doing a survey
into sexual attitudes who

475
00:29:34,408 --> 00:29:37,050
stops an airline pilot
and asks him, amongst

476
00:29:37,051 --> 00:29:40,448
other things, when he last
had sexual intercourse.

477
00:29:40,466 --> 00:29:43,095
He replies "Nineteen fifty eight."

478
00:29:43,508 --> 00:29:48,271
Now, knowing airline pilots, the
researcher is surprised, and queries this.

479
00:29:48,272 --> 00:29:51,558
 "Well," says the pilot,
"it's only twenty-one ten now."

480
00:29:56,116 --> 00:29:58,625
We laugh, eventually,
at the moment

481
00:29:59,768 --> 00:30:03,235
of contact between two
frameworks of reference:

482
00:30:03,298 --> 00:30:05,950
the way we express what
year it is and the 24-hour clock.

483
00:30:05,951 --> 00:30:09,216
Now, having an idea, a new idea, is
exactly the same thing.

484
00:30:09,699 --> 00:30:14,032
It's connecting two
hitherto separate ideas

485
00:30:14,270 --> 00:30:16,477
in a way that generates
new meaning.

486
00:30:16,679 --> 00:30:17,060
Now,

487
00:30:18,306 --> 00:30:22,194
connecting different ideas isn't difficult,
you can connect cheese with motorcycles

488
00:30:22,194 --> 00:30:27,101
or moral courage with light green, or
bananas with international cooperation.

489
00:30:27,403 --> 00:30:31,814
You can get any computer to make a billion
random connection for you, but

490
00:30:32,846 --> 00:30:36,267
these new connections
or juxtapositions are

491
00:30:36,268 --> 00:30:37,662
significant only

492
00:30:38,256 --> 00:30:40,393
if they generate new meaning.

493
00:30:40,880 --> 00:30:46,923
So as you play you can deliberately try
inventing these random juxtapositions,

494
00:30:46,999 --> 00:30:52,657
and then use your intuition to tell
you whether any of them seem to have

495
00:30:52,657 --> 00:30:55,742
significance for you. That's
the bit the computer can't do.

496
00:30:56,512 --> 00:30:58,136
It can produce millions
of new connections, but

497
00:30:58,136 --> 00:31:00,695
it can't tell which one
smells interesting.

498
00:31:01,553 --> 00:31:04,458
And, of course, you'll
produce some juxtapositions

499
00:31:04,459 --> 00:31:06,352
which are absolutely
ridiculous, absurd.

500
00:31:07,894 --> 00:31:09,054
Good for you!

501
00:31:09,951 --> 00:31:13,581
Because Edward de Bono (who invented
the notion of lateral thinking)

502
00:31:13,843 --> 00:31:18,689
specifically suggests in his book
PO: Beyond Yes and No

503
00:31:18,959 --> 00:31:22,692
that you can try loosening up your
assumptions

504
00:31:23,747 --> 00:31:27,191
by playing with deliberately
crazy connections.

505
00:31:27,284 --> 00:31:29,773
He calls such absurd ideas

506
00:31:30,923 --> 00:31:33,267
"Intermediate Impossibles."

507
00:31:34,459 --> 00:31:37,531
And he points out the
use of an Intermediate

508
00:31:37,531 --> 00:31:40,681
Impossible is
completely contrary

509
00:31:40,682 --> 00:31:44,789
to ordinary logical thinking in which
you have to be right at each stage.

510
00:31:45,781 --> 00:31:47,160
It doesn't matter

511
00:31:47,748 --> 00:31:51,885
if the Intermediate Impossible is right or
absurd, it can nevertheless be used as a

512
00:31:51,885 --> 00:31:55,786
stepping stone to another
idea that is right.

513
00:31:56,223 --> 00:32:01,235
Another example of how, when you're
playing, nothing is wrong.

514
00:32:02,299 --> 00:32:04,641
So, to summarize: if you

515
00:32:05,176 --> 00:32:08,128
really don't know how to
start, or if you got stuck,

516
00:32:08,422 --> 00:32:11,830
start generating random connections,
and allow your intuition

517
00:32:11,831 --> 00:32:14,638
to tell you if one might
lead somewhere interesting.

518
00:32:14,639 --> 00:32:15,427
Well, that

519
00:32:16,678 --> 00:32:23,906
really is all I can tell you that won't
help you to be creative. Everything.

520
00:32:24,412 --> 00:32:26,176
And now, in the
two minutes left,

521
00:32:26,564 --> 00:32:29,304
I can come to the important part,
and that is,

522
00:32:29,445 --> 00:32:33,651
how to stop your subordinates {from} becoming
creative too, which is the real threat.

523
00:32:35,754 --> 00:32:39,087
Because, believe me no one
appreciates better than I do

524
00:32:39,278 --> 00:32:41,718
what trouble
creative people are.

525
00:32:42,067 --> 00:32:45,783
And how they stop decisive,
hard-nosed bastards

526
00:32:45,784 --> 00:32:47,906
like us from running
businesses efficiently.

527
00:32:47,907 --> 00:32:49,651
I mean, we all know, {if}

528
00:32:50,371 --> 00:32:52,433
we encourage someone
to be creative,

529
00:32:52,806 --> 00:32:54,416
the next thing is
they're rocking

530
00:32:54,417 --> 00:32:56,774
the boat, coming up with
ideas, and asking us

531
00:32:56,775 --> 00:33:00,053
questions. Now if we don't nip
this kind of thing in the bud,

532
00:33:00,940 --> 00:33:04,766
we'll have to start justifying our
decisions by reasoned argument.

533
00:33:05,020 --> 00:33:05,794
 And

534
00:33:06,077 --> 00:33:09,148
sharing information -- the
concealment of which gives us

535
00:33:09,148 --> 00:33:11,673
considerable advantages
in our power struggles.

536
00:33:11,673 --> 00:33:12,135
So,

537
00:33:13,592 --> 00:33:17,467
here's how to stamp out creativity
in the rest of the organization

538
00:33:17,468 --> 00:33:19,079
and get a bit of respect going.

539
00:33:20,034 --> 00:33:24,177
One: Allow subordinates no humor, it
threatens your self-importance and

540
00:33:24,178 --> 00:33:29,787
especially your omniscience. Treat all
humor as frivolous or subversive.

541
00:33:30,953 --> 00:33:34,925
Because subversive is, of course,
what humor will be in your setup,

542
00:33:35,060 --> 00:33:38,088
as it's the only way that people
can express their opposition,

543
00:33:38,290 --> 00:33:41,727
since (if they express it openly) you're
down on them like a ton of bricks.

544
00:33:41,917 --> 00:33:45,076
So let's get this clear: blame
humor for the resistance

545
00:33:45,077 --> 00:33:47,118
that your way of working creates.

546
00:33:47,776 --> 00:33:52,162
Then you don't have to blame your
way of working. This is important.

547
00:33:52,511 --> 00:33:57,509
And I mean that solemnly. Your
dignity is no laughing matter. Second:

548
00:33:58,636 --> 00:34:01,917
keeping ourselves
feeling irreplaceable

549
00:34:02,297 --> 00:34:04,783
involves cutting everybody
else down to size,

550
00:34:05,228 --> 00:34:08,713
so don't miss an opportunity to
undermine your employees' confidence.

551
00:34:08,713 --> 00:34:13,361
A perfect opportunity comes when
you're reviewing work that they've done.

552
00:34:13,750 --> 00:34:20,942
Use your authority to zero in immediately
on all the things you can find wrong.

553
00:34:21,235 --> 00:34:25,371
Never never balance the
negatives with positives,

554
00:34:25,904 --> 00:34:29,021
only criticize, just as
your school teachers did.

555
00:34:29,299 --> 00:34:34,560
Always remember: praise
makes people uppity.

556
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,168
Third: Demand that people
should always be actively

557
00:34:39,168 --> 00:34:41,498
doing things. If you
catch anyone pondering,

558
00:34:41,798 --> 00:34:45,331
accuse them of laziness
and/or indecision.

559
00:34:45,648 --> 00:34:49,833
This is to starve employees of
thinking time because that leads to

560
00:34:49,834 --> 00:34:52,579
creativity and insurrection.
So

561
00:34:52,935 --> 00:34:56,742
demand urgency at all times, use
lots of fighting talk

562
00:34:57,123 --> 00:35:00,055
and war analogies, and establish
a permanent atmosphere

563
00:35:00,055 --> 00:35:03,864
of stress, of breathless
anxiety, and crisis.

564
00:35:03,865 --> 00:35:07,000
In a phrase: keep that mode closed.

565
00:35:08,595 --> 00:35:13,905
In this way we no-nonsense types
can be sure that the tiny, tiny,

566
00:35:14,405 --> 00:35:21,725
microscopic quantity of creativity in
our organization will all be ours!

567
00:35:22,629 --> 00:35:23,212
But!

568
00:35:24,230 --> 00:35:27,050
Let your vigilance slip
for one moment, and

569
00:35:27,050 --> 00:35:30,034
you could find yourself
surrounded by happy,

570
00:35:30,370 --> 00:35:33,810
enthusiastic, and creative
people whom you might

571
00:35:33,835 --> 00:35:37,072
never be able to completely
control ever again!

572
00:35:37,144 --> 00:35:38,087
So be careful.

573
00:35:39,107 --> 00:35:40,609
Thank you, and good night. Thank you.