A Releasing Your Unlimited Creativity discussion topic

Copyright 2008 by K. Ferlic,   All Rights Reserved

The fundamental need in any organizational approach is to find the organizational structure that works for the unique situation in which the organization find itself. Consultants have their ideas and management schools of thought have their ideas. However, it has been observed that any organizational approach will work if there is the desire to make it work. Of course some structures work more efficiently and effectively than others. But, for any system to work, the individuals must "buy into" the structure.

What needs to be understood is that the unique needs of the situation in which the organization finds itself determine what needs to be created. More importantly, what we create needs to be effective for what we need to do. We need to allow effectiveness to be our measure of truth and we need to allow ourselves to experiment to find what is effective. If what we use is effective, then what we do is somehow addressing the truth of the situation we face. If we understand the truth that lies within the situation we will be able to evolve the organization to meet change as it occurs.

However, many organization create systems that are not really effective for what they need to do. Rather than allowing themselves the time to explore and look at the true needs of the situation, they try and fit some systems that is successful elsewhere. Often what is used does not really fit and it is only in time that one discovers the inadequacies of what was chosen. So when changes occurs, the system cannot effectively deal with the change because the system was not founded on the truth of the situation as it existed.

What are the needs that necessitates the invention?: The needs that necessitate the invention lies in the why behind the intention we hold. Why do we do what we do, why do we choose what we choose, why do we have the intention that we do as opposed to anything else? Related to this question is "Who is our audience - who are we really trying to satisfy in how we do what we do?"

There is a relative simple three step process to get what we desire for any desire that we have. It is; 1) get a clear understanding of what we ultimately wish to accomplish; 2) compare our existing process, experiences and environment we have to the process that is needed to get what we wish accomplishing what we wish within the new environment of where we get what we wish; 3) and working patiently, with a single point focus, on removing the differences between the two. However, rather than take the time to do this simple process and methodically work through the process, we think there is a faster process. We tend to muddle along, sometimes with a clear endpoint, rarely examining either the existing process and environment or the desired end process and environment, inventing solutions as we stubble across problems, issues and things that are not working. Our creations tend to be a collection of ill fitting band-aid type fixes than may give us what we desire for short periods of time and cannot be sustained.

Necessity may, in fact, be the mother of invention. But we fail to look at why did the necessity arise in the first place. What we need to ask is if what is necessary could it have been anticipated or planned for, or even if we lived in a way that it never arose? We live in an advanced scientific and technological world but we do not live our lives with the observational methods that have been so successful in giving us that science and technology. Most of what we do within both our personal and organization lives go unexamined. We fail to take a careful look at our assumptions about the situation and then wonder why are solutions are not being effective or do not give us long term sustained results.

From a creativity perspective one must carefully examines the process that exist for how we create our experiences. What needs to be understood is there is a creative process that determines what we experience. This process is reflective of the energy is flowing into the situation at hand and the experiences we have of the situation. The flow of energy arises from the intention we hold. In particular, we need to look at the clarity of our intent that hold for what we wish to achieve. Most importantly, we need to know and understand the why behind that intention. What is it that we are really seeking? What is really pulling us though life and into what we desire to create? Only in knowing the answers to these questions will be being to understand why we face what we do in life.

It is in our assumptions that we find our problems: We all make assumptions about what we experience and the nature of reality and the experiences we have. It is probably safe to say that we all know each of us is experiencing our life within a larger context of the planet earth. Yet we assume our life is separate from this larger experience. We look at our lives personally and not a part of a larger process. The same is true for our organizations and our role in the organization. We tend to see the organization separately from the world itself and our role within that organization separate from the organization. We fail to considers we are playing roles both individual and collectively in a larger picture.

When we look at our needs, desires and intentions we tend to think they are our needs, our desires and our intentions. We do not consider the fact that what is motivating us may come from something outside ourselves. If we can stand back and look that the larger flow of our life, the organization and society itself, we will find that often we can align with an existing flow of energy and make our life much easier. We seen fads come and go but we don’t look at fads as simply an energy wave passing through out society on which many of us tap into and ride. Business talk about saturating a market, have a sustained growth and or creating new markets. Many of these types of phenomenon reflect larger currents of which we participate. If we being to understand there are ebb and flows to much of life and Creation we will being to see that no organizational structure will be permanent and the structure must be designed to response to the changes that come. In this realization it would be understood that there is no such thing as a sustained growth or continual career advancement. There are opportunities to grow and/or advance and there will be times that one may even have to step backwards. But there is nothing wrong with this. If one is aware of the creative process in which they are participating they will being to understand if they are on a long term growth flow or a much quicker short term transient.

To become aware of these flow patterns one must become aware of the assumptions they are making about life and what is happening in their life. To become aware of our assumptions we may have to challenge our own assumptions and see what is really true for us about what we experience. To do this we will have to stand back and become that detached witness capable of observing what is happening and not being sucked into the drama of what is happening and taking what happens personally.

Allow effectiveness to be the measure of truth: When one can stand back and look at their life somewhat objectively they can begin to see what is effective in their life. Whenever something is effective, it somehow addresses the truth of the situation at hand. Otherwise, what is done would not be effective. What is known many not be the complete truth, but because it gives rise to an effective action it contains some truth to one degree or another. Each of us both individually and collectively needs to stand back and look to see what is really effective in what we do and how adequately we are addressing the truth of what is.

One of the biggest issues experienced in organizations is the lack of interest in looking at the uniqueness of the organization and designing a structure that was truly effective for the situation at hand. Rather the organization creates solutions that works but does not address the inherent or root issues. The organization does not look at how effective they really are how their effectiveness can be improved. Here again, we said the organization is much like an individual and has an inner and outer life. In the same way individuals look to others outside themselves to give them direction about their life, so too organizations. Rather than looking deep within and truly understanding who and what they are, and what they need to create, they look to others to tell them. Usually one doesn’t want to do the necessary inner work to understand what is really effective in their life and really gives them a passion for life and makes a life worth living. So too the organizations. It must look within and see the truth of its own being and find what is effective for its uniqueness.

There are no mistakes in creativity: What needs to be understood is that in creativity there are no mistakes. Mistakes are made only in comparison to something else. If we are looking for the most effective solution to our unique problem there are only learning experiences and no mistakes. We are simply learning what is, or is not effective, taking the most effective as the solution. To learn what is effective you need to allow ourselves to experiment.

For organizations that look to cost and the bottom line, any attempt that does not produce effectiveness the first time is seen as a failure because money is lost and the organization has nothing to show for their actions. Although this is true, one never looks at the cost of inefficient organizations that appear to run fine. Here again one needs to look at the risks and what is lost if the organization runs into problems. Does one fund an organization that is inefficient but seemingly effective or does one create an organization that is effective but requires an up front expenditure of resources that maybe cannot be justify with normal criteria? This question then brings us back to the intention for the organization and what it intends to create and what is the reason for its existence. What is the real reason way an organization comes into existence? There is answer to this but many may not like the answer they hear.

Related topics
The issue of identifying and meeting true organizational needs

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