Myths of Creativity
You’ll never compete with the natural-born creatives, your ideas are unoriginal, your work is never as good as you imagined, your ideas usually aren’t that good, and you don’t look like any of the other creatives. All of these might be true, but does that mean you aren’t creative?
This website catalogues some misconceptions about creative thinking. You won’t find shortcuts, quick tips, or easy fixes — only truths so that you can put in the hard work needed to become a better maker of things – if you’re up for the challenge.
60% of the CEOs in an IBM poll cited creativity as the most important leadership quality.
According to the World Economic Forum, creativity is, or is related to, 9 of the top 10 skills that global executives say is essential for 2020 and beyond.
The Centre for Creative Economy reported that creative industries boast faster job growth and slower job loss than other sectors.
94% of managers say it's important to consider creativity when hiring a job candidate (Adobe, 2014).
Recruiters rank creative problem solving as the 2nd most difficult skill to find among job applicants (Bloomberg).
So creative thinking is vital for people doing the hiring, difficult to find, crucial for the future of work, and boosts job security.
Creatives are born creative
MYTH
TRUTH
Creativity is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more effective it becomes.
#001
Creativity is about making new things out of nothing
MYTH
TRUTH
Creativity is about combining existing things in novel and meaningful ways.
#002
Perfection is a realistic target
MYTH
TRUTH
Perfectionism is the enemy of done.
#003
Creative people come up with more good ideas than bad ideas
MYTH
#004
TRUTH
Good ideas are buried under layers of many bad ideas.
Creativity is sexy
MYTH
TRUTH
The creative process is messy, hard work, frustrating, and thrives on failure and experimentation.
