Page 250 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

Creativity with a capital C may be the domain of artists,
scientists, and high-paid marketing firms, but garden-variety
creativity is what lets everyday people know and feel we are
alive. It is what helps us figure out what to do when our kids
won’t do their homework or our employees won’t finish their
paperwork, without alienating either. It is what opens doors
to new relationships and new endeavors. It is not just about
doing something we have never done, like eating a grasshop-
per or swearing at the president. Creativity is about bringing
divergent ideas together to solve a problem, articulate truth,
capture beauty, or form a promising connection that leads
to new products and better ways of doing business. And that
sparks a sense of delight in everyone who touches it.
Creativity expert Eric Maisel writes:

[Creativity] can have its own splendid rewards, but the goal is to pro-
duce work that has meaning and makes meaning in the universe,
that touches and transforms others, that speaks to others, that deco-
rates or enriches the lives of others, that bears witness—that, to put
it in the most old-fashioned way possible, is both beautiful and true
. . . each of us knows that the special marriage of truth and beauty,
where witness is borne and material crafted, is the very definition of
deep work and high achievement. 2

Both playfulness and civility can be seedbeds for creativity.
Playfulness invites irreverent questions and fresh approaches
that spark new ideas, while civility moderates the tone of
harshness or criticism that can keep innovation from grow-
ing. To be sure, not every brainchild is worth developing, but
even the best ideas do not see the light of day without encour-
agement and protection. Creativity requires curiosity and

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