You can't be more creative (but here's what you can be)

Asking someone to be “more creative” is like asking someone to be “more honest.” What we really mean is something else, something we must interpret from the command, and it’s right there where things fall apart.

I recently heard Simon Sinek discuss the difference between values and behavior, and how the latter stems from the former. Unfortunately, we aren’t usually that great at articulating the former, the values.

A value, he claimed, is not “honesty.” Instead, it’s “telling the truth.” That can inform behavior. Yes, it’s a subtle, small move in our minds to translate the idea of honesty into the action of telling the truth, but the fact remains: we have to do the translating.

So, if we want to be more creative, we can’t just command ourselves or others to do so. “Be more creative” is like “be more honest.” What does it mean? Unlike the honesty/truth relationship, there’s a much wider gap between the request to be creative and the actual values and behaviors that create a culture.

“Be more creative” is not something which changes the culture, i.e. the values and behaviors of others.

“Be more creative” needs to be more specific. What do you mean?

Maybe it means put in more reps. Be better at the craft.

Maybe it means reinvent something specific. What? And what does “reinvent” mean?

Maybe it means to pull a random stunt to grab attention. (Yes, the actual interpretation of “be more creative” can be “do something unwelcome and unwise.” That’s another reason we need to be more specific.)

You can’t be more creative. You can, however, investigate the audience’s problems more fully, ship more consistently, reflect on your craft more deeply in order to spot ways to improve it, tweak or try something specific, and a whole lot more. But make no mistake, it’s the specificity that we’re going for here.

What do you mean by “be more creative”? My list is still too general. Get more specific in a way only you can, because only you understand your specific situation: your constraints, your audience, and of course, yourself.

After all, the job isn’t to “be creative.” The job is to create.