Feeding Creativity

How’s your appetite?

Have you ever noticed that most really creative people are very curious about all sorts of things.

It’s a restless curiosity that compels them to seek novel experiences, fresh interactions, and information about topics that have nothing to do — or so it seems — with what they do for a living.

I started thinking about this recently, following a conversation with a General Manager about his Morning Show. He said, “Doug, they’re just not curious people, and I think that’s holding them back somehow.”

He was right.

Curiousity feeds creativity.

I don’t think its possible to have one without the other, so if the people you lean on for fresh ideas, for break-through concepts, for brilliant entertainment, appear fully sated, that’s a problem.

The good news is, its the very best time in history to feed creativity, because of the web. We have access to the talent and minds of hundreds of millions of people. Granted, filtering so much content becomes the pressing issue, but there’s no excuse not to try.

Here’s an example, a very short film called: The Still

Chapter 1: The Cabbie from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

The very first image, the abandoned teddy bear, sets off all sorts of mental images of potential stories, “bits” I can hear in my head. It feeds my creativity.

I’m not suggesting that your staff be able to produce films like this one.

I am suggesting that they should continually be seeking input that sparks their own creativity.

When coaching your air talent, find out what feeds their creative engine, and try to hire people that are always hungry.

Make sure they are curious.