Who Killed Creativity?: ...And How Do We Get It Back?

Chapter 7: Where can creativity be revived?

Casing out the potential rescue locations

While the personal app that identifies criminal hotspots (introduced at the start of chapter 3) is a relatively recent invention, the idea of mapping the locations where crime most frequently takes place is not new. The influence of statistical analysis on criminology began with Quetelet’s observations in 1842 that some parts of France produced more crime than others. In Minneapolis more recently, a comprehensive analysis of 323 000 calls to the police found that a small number of hotspots (3 per cent of the city) produced 50 per cent of police call-outs.1

If rescuers can be dispatched to all areas of the organisation, but particularly to those that have been identified as ‘hotspots’, and if the resuscitation devices are on hand at all times, the creativity crime rate should be dramatically reduced. Conversely, potential hotspots for creativity development need to be elevated and more widely recognised in the organisation. Creativity should be free to move around all places in an organisation through non-siloed collaboration.

The common association between creativity and artistic originality often leads to confusion about the appropriate place for creativity in the organisation. Most people assume that although creativity killers hang out in more tightly structured areas of the organisation, such as the accounting department, creativity should not be introduced here. In fact, about 80 per cent ...