The Creative Habit


Creativity in Business, in Life Creativity keeps thinking fresh, keeps the mind open to possibilities, and brings together connections in a disparate world. This page pays homage to Twyla Tharp (world famous dancer / choreographer) and her book, The Creative Habit. Her observations, processes, and experiences can be applied to other artistic endeavors such as painting, sculpting, or music. But I was struck by how closely it also tracks with entrepreneurs creating a company from the ground up. News Flash: Transforming your ideas into reality rarely goes according to plan Twyla: The most productive artists I know have a plan in mind when they get down to work. They know what they want to accomplish, how to do it, and what to do if the process falls off track. But there's a fine line between good planning and over planning. You never want the planning to inhibit the natural evolution of your work. A plan is like scaffolding around a building. When putting up the exterior shell, the scaffolding is vital. But once the shell is in place and you start working the interior, the scaffolding disappears. Planning should be sufficiently thoughtful and solid enough to get the work up and standing straight, but it cannot take over as you toil away on the interior guts of a piece. Transforming your ideas rarely goes according to plan. This is the most interesting paradox of creativity: In order to be habitually creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative, but good planning alone won't make your efforts successful: it's only after you let go of your plans that you can breathe life into your efforts. Luck is a Skill Creative endeavors can never be thoroughly mapped out ahead of time: allow for the suddenly altered landscape, the change in plans, the accidental spark – and see it as a stroke of luck rather than a disturbance of your perfect scheme. Habitually creative people are, in E.B. White's words, “prepared to be lucky.” The key words are “prepared” and “lucky.” They are inseparable. You don't get lucky without preparation, and there's no sense in being prepared it you're not open to the possibility of a glorious accident. Some people resent the idea of luck. Accepting the role of chance in our lives suggests that our creations and triumphs are not entirely our own, and that in some way we're undeserving of our success. Twyla adds, "Get over It. This is how the world works. In creative endeavors, luck is a skill." Gary Player, legendary golfer, declares, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” Commentary: How do Business Plans and Marketing Communication Strategies fit into this discussion? Not so long ago, getting a loan to start a business required that the Business Plan be written in stone. Even when it became evident that the original idea was no longer working as envisioned, the investor stubbornly stuck to The Plan, unable to acknowledge that a different market niche was clearly the better choice. The fledgling business died. After decades of researching entrepreneurship, the Kauffman Foundation has discovered that traditional Business Plans are now being thought of as a starting point, with the understanding and expectation that it will likely be adjusted as more information becomes available during the process. Similarly, marketing communications strategies map out the framework, set the parameters, ensure that everyone agrees on which direction to head. Marketing Plans and Communications Plans are obviously based on the strategy, but they are the nuts and bolts of how to put the strategy into actionable steps. At any point in the process we, as creative business people, should be open to experiencing LUCK and be prepared to recognize it. “Being prepared for luck is like a voice message that tells you, ‘Something good may happen to you today between 9am and 5pm.'” Make sure you are ready to see it. * * * * *

Creativity in Business, in Life

Creativity keeps thinking fresh, keeps the mind open to possibilities, and brings together connections in a disparate world. This page pays homage to Twyla Tharp (world famous dancer / choreographer) and her book, The Creative Habit. Her observations, processes, and experiences can be applied to other artistic endeavors such as painting, sculpting, or music. But I was struck by how closely it also tracks with entrepreneurs creating a company from the ground up.

News Flash: Transforming your ideas into reality rarely goes according to plan

Twyla: The most productive artists I know have a plan in mind when they get down to work. They know what they want to accomplish, how to do it, and what to do if the process falls off track. But there's a fine line between good planning and over planning. You never want the planning to inhibit the natural evolution of your work.

A plan is like scaffolding around a building. When putting up the exterior shell, the scaffolding is vital. But once the shell is in place and you start working the interior, the scaffolding disappears. Planning should be sufficiently thoughtful and solid enough to get the work up and standing straight, but it cannot take over as you toil away on the interior guts of a piece. Transforming your ideas rarely goes according to plan.

This is the most interesting paradox of creativity: In order to be habitually creative, you have to know how to prepare to be creative, but good planning alone won't make your efforts successful: it's only after you let go of your plans that you can breathe life into your efforts.

Luck is a Skill

Creative endeavors can never be thoroughly mapped out ahead of time: allow for the suddenly altered landscape, the change in plans, the accidental spark – and see it as a stroke of luck rather than a disturbance of your perfect scheme. Habitually creative people are, in E.B. White's words, “prepared to be lucky.”

The key words are “prepared” and “lucky.” They are inseparable. You don't get lucky without preparation, and there's no sense in being prepared it you're not open to the possibility of a glorious accident.

Some people resent the idea of luck. Accepting the role of chance in our lives suggests that our creations and triumphs are not entirely our own, and that in some way we're undeserving of our success. Twyla adds, "Get over It. This is how the world works. In creative endeavors, luck is a skill."

Gary Player, legendary golfer, declares, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”

Commentary: How do Business Plans and Marketing Communication Strategies fit into this discussion?

Not so long ago, getting a loan to start a business required that the Business Plan be written in stone. Even when it became evident that the original idea was no longer working as envisioned, the investor stubbornly stuck to The Plan, unable to acknowledge that a different market niche was clearly the better choice. The fledgling business died. After decades of researching entrepreneurship, the Kauffman Foundation has discovered that traditional Business Plans are now being thought of as a starting point, with the understanding and expectation that it will likely be adjusted as more information becomes available during the process.

Similarly, marketing communications strategies map out the framework, set the parameters, ensure that everyone agrees on which direction to head. Marketing Plans and Communications Plans are obviously based on the strategy, but they are the nuts and bolts of how to put the strategy into actionable steps. At any point in the process we, as creative business people, should be open to experiencing LUCK and be prepared to recognize it. “Being prepared for luck is like a voice message that tells you, ‘Something good may happen to you today between 9am and 5pm.'” Make sure you are ready to see it.

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