So, it’s no surprise how much heat is being generated over an opinion piece by Susan Cain in the NY Times called The Rise of the New Groupthink.

“Groupthink“.  Would we call that a positive label?  The term was coined in 1972 by Irving Janis in his analysis of US military fiascoes–clearly, NOT a good thing.  For years it’s been employed to describe the worst of group dynamics.  Ms. Cain has recently written a book called Quiet: the Power of Introverts.

She makes some valuable points.  Most brainstorming is heinous.  Nobody likes pointless meetings with people posturing for the benefit of superiors.  I recognize and crave the power of solitude in my creative process.  But does she mean that I, a moderate Extravert, can’t ‘do quiet’?  Or worse, that I’ll never be as creative?

Unfortunately, she plays it fast and loose with her research.  For an elegant response to her inaccuracies I refer you to the excellent Keith Sawyer.  He corrects her mistakes and provides a reasonable point-of-view.

I wish Ms. Cain had subtitled her book the Power of Introversion instead of dividing us into right and wrong sub-groups.

The creative process is just too complex to assign superior powers to a specific group.  All of us, regardless of style, can make a contribution and we need to take responsibility for ensuring we occasionally have an environment that fosters our preferred process.

She’s just published a jewel of a book called The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement and Creativity at Work.

By analyzing almost 12,000 diary entries provided by employees at multiple companies she examined the ‘inner work lives’ to determine what really matters to people at work.

The most powerful is ‘progress in meaningful work’.  But each of these factors, even when they appear in small events, can impact the engagement and creativity of an employee.  Negative events generally had a stronger impact than positive events.

In poignant quotes from these daily diaries Amabile gives examples of the nourishing and toxic behaviors that affect employee engagement and productivity.

She highlights Major Catalysts:

1. Setting clear goals
2. Allowing autonomy
3. Providing resources
4. Giving enough time–but not too much
5. Help with the work (from anywhere in the organization)
6. Learning from problems and successes
7. Allowing ideas to flow

And behaviors that Nourish:

1. Respect
2. Encouragement
3. Emotional support
4. Affiliation

None of this information is earth-shatteringly surprising.  What makes this book sing is the small individual vignettes.  Yes, we know that disrespect and antagonism aren’t great but the stories demonstrate the lingering damage of those toxic behaviors.

The final chapter offers concrete advice for tending to your own inner life, including the habit of reviewing the day’s major events and the use of a checklist to manage to a positive balance.

A very good read.  Or get the highlights in her TED talk.

Eureka!  I have found it!

Steven Johnson, in Where Good Ideas Come From, The Natural History of Innovation, examined innovations throughout history to discern patterns.  Previously, Mr. Johnson has written in depth about the discovery process in The Invention of Air and The Ghost Map.   I had the chance to hear him speak last week and found him thoroughly engaging.  He is well steeped in the body of knowledge and its relevance to the innovation today.  Among Johnson’s insights:

The Art of the Slow Hunch

Innovations rarely come from the Eureka Moment.  Instead, significant breakthroughs are preceded by years of thought.  Johnson describes the slow hunch that is pondered and researched  over time.

The Value of Collaboration

Significant breakthroughs are often attached to a single name.  Yet, as Johnson poked about for the deeper story he found most Lone Inventors had a collaborator.  Joesph Priestly, the scientist who discovered oxygen, had Ben Franklin (yes, the Founding Father Franklin) as a collaborator.

Here’s an excellent summary from his publisher.

Here is Sir Ken is concern: schools today are over-focused on a narrow definition of intelligence.  Standardized tests determine everything from school funding to who gets into elite programs and colleges.  Perhaps you’ve read A Whole New Mind or Five Minds for the Future.  Perhaps you believe that employers are seeking creativity, the ability to solve complex problems and do more than simply provide the ‘right’ answer.

The world needs flexible, generative minds alongside the analytical, logical minds.  And our curricula and assessments do not reflect that, sadly.

For many years my Element has been dance.  For many years I studied ballet (and tap, and jazz and even baton twirling!).  When I studied dance technique I was definitely not in Flow.  It was painstaking learning.  But eventually, I got better and became a trained dancer.  I haven’t performed in years but I still seek opportunities to dance.  I do lose track of time and enter ‘single-minded immersion’.   What a gift to have found something for which I had some aptitude and loved so much.  I also believe that my training in the arts prepared me to make a broader contribution professionally.  I studied math and science.  I took ballet lessons.  Both improved my brain.

What is your Element?  What have you pursued with passion and aptitude?  If it’s been a long time since you’ve found yourself in Flow may I suggest that you find a way to get back to what you love?  You and the world will be better for it.

I am a huge fan of Gretchen Rubin.  First, I followed her blog and now I’m buying multiple copies of The Happiness Project and sharing it with friends and family.  Why do I like her book so much?

Structure

Gretchen was trained as an attorney and later realized that she really wanted to be a writer.  With several books to her credit and an orderly mind she approached her quest for greater happiness with admirable organization.  From her Twelve Personal Commandments and Four Splendid Truths to the monthly areas of focus she addresses multiple aspects of positive psychology.

Practicality

She alludes to the research but she doesn’t dwell on it.  This is not a book for academics.  This is a book for people who want actionable ideas.  Each month, for her Happiness Project, she selected an area of focus.  Each of the areas was broken down into several sub-topics.  Her objectives are tangible.  She writes:

Resolutions work better when they’re concrete, not abstract: it’s harder to keep a resolution to “Be a more loving parent” than to “Get up fifteen minutes early so I’m dressed before the kids wake up.”

Honesty

Like my other memoir heroine, Elizabeth Gilbert, Gretchen writes with personal voice.  She takes a frank look in the mirror and doesn’t whitewash her faults.  She shares a lame drawing from her first day in an art class and describes her cranky moments in detail.  I liked her better for her foibles.

Inspiration

She’s clearly struck a chord with readers because Happiness Project groups are popping up all over.  She is generous with her tools and has created a Happiness Toolbox site.

Finally, I felt she understood a dynamic that I’ve often experienced in my life: the tendency to underrate enthusiastic people.  In November she has a resolution to “Give Positive Reviews”.

Giving positive reviews requires humility.  I have to admit, I missed the feelings of superiority that I got from using puncturing humor, sarcasm, ironic asides, cynical comments, and cutting remarks.  A willingness to be pleased requires modesty and even innocence–easy to deride as mawkish and sentimental.

Yup.  Love this book.

This week I am enjoying a TRUE vacation in a sunny place.  ‘A little slice’ [of heaven] as my sister used to say.  I am allowing myself the full luxury of reading the entire newspaper, working multiple puzzles, reading and wandering all over the internet.  I may not produce a single useful thing.  So there.

What I am doing is deep oscillation.

Jim Loehr, author of  The Power of Full Engagement, advocates that we manage energy rather than just time.  He works with some of the busiest executives in the world and helps them re-align to their priorities.  He also stresses the importance of ‘oscillation’.  It is possible to drive hard, with full engagement, as long as we give ourselves recovery time.  As corporate athletes, it is important to give our working muscles a chance to recover.

Booyah!  A legitimate reason to chill out, disengage and stay in your pajamas until noon.  The trick is to engage in alternate activities that truly refresh you.  TV generally saps energy.   He does encourage taking some time for nature.  Listening to your body.  Connecting to people you care about.  Best of all engaging in ‘Flow’ activities.  More about ‘Flow’ later.

I recommend this book more than any other to my coaching clients.  It’s not easy to get over the guilt of letting yourself pull back from work.  But the payoff is even more energy to engage more fully.

Introduction

Maisel, a recognized authority in the field of creativity, is the author of more than twenty creativity books. This book is a holistic look at ‘lifelong creativity’. It is organized in four parts:
I. The Challenges of the Artistic Personality
II. The Challenges of the Work
III. The Challenges of Relationship
IV. Strategies and Tactics

Strengths

Maisel’s definition of creativity is one of the most useful I’ve seen: ‘People are artistically creative when they love what they are doing, know what they are doing, and actively engage in art-making.  The three elements of creativity are thus loving, knowing, and doing; or heart, mind, and hands…’. Part Four is filled with thought-provoking lists for how to commit to your creativity practice. He uses many stories to illustrate his ideas and principles.

What Bugged Me

Mr. Maisel has a PhD but he plays it fast and loose with the research (there is none). Statements like, “But all creative people appear to be on the introverted side and as a rule prefer solitude to social interaction’ are made without any evidence. He goes on to link the introversion with poor social skills and the inability to form community: “we are struck by the fact that each artist will bring to the group his or her inability to relate.’ HUH?! I’m sure these things are true about some artists but Maisel seems to be stuck in the old paradigm of ‘creative people are tortured and weird’ and frequently cites Van Gogh as an example.

Bottom Line

This book is a deep dive on the creative process for artists. The earlier chapters focus on issues of Blockage and Resistance in useful ways. Maisel offers many options for understanding yourself if you feel bogged down in your creative work. The latter chapter on Transitions and Choices provides a thoughtful nine-step process to honor our creative selves and move toward a more creative life. He also includes an Artist’s Ten Commandments which may inspire you to write your set of Commandments.

The fundamental model is so simple and provides a great framework for understanding the nature of creativity. Do you love your creative work? Do you know how to do it? Are you actually creating?

Well, are you?