Creative Enterprise
Recently a friend from high up in the business world expressed the view that in real terms entrepreneurs and some people in business can sometimes have a stronger grasp of the spirit of and expressions of creativity than the conventional and stereotyped roles of ‘creatives’. This might or might not be true but I mention it because I think that it is too limiting to confine the term creativity to certain types of people or particular roles. The most usual way of thinking about creativity is in terms of the conventional expressions of creativity,such as those linked with the arts in the broadest sense as well as design and innovation. In this way creativity is thought of more in terms of a particular expression or discipline rather than in terms of the actual frame of mind out which those activities or works emerge. Leonardo used to convey the sense that true creativity was a combining of the poetic and scientific or analytical ways of seeing the world. It’s the synthesis that’s important, rather than one over the other. In my own experience when the tendencies to be factual and planning come together with the imagination there emerges a way of being and expressing myself that is more scintillating than either one on it’s own. This synthesis of the rational and imaginative, forms a modus operandi that allows both an awareness of what is going on in objective quantifiable way, combined with a metaphoric perception which can see depth and complexity in a situation. I think this is what Leonardo was getting at. We can develop and train ourselves into that synthesis and Leonardo clearly did that in his own life. He was constantly and fluidly making the transition from the imaginative to the scientific or technical and it seems clear to me there were times when he created from a combination of both. His business records were as precise as his preparation for a painting.
The term Creative Enterprise is still very new. As an approach to business it can be integrated into both social and commercial entrepreneurial activity but it clearly brings creativity into the light as a primary important component in the way that your business is conceived and thought about. For the ‘Arts’ creative enterprise is a way of bring the two ambivalent qualities of imagination and marketing plans together in a happy union. A state of creativity can function and be effective in the commercial world but it also brings with it an unpredictable somewhat mysterious take on things that makes the business model uncomfortable. In business the motives and motivation that drive you are always very important. For example in Social enterprise the main motivation is to do something for the benefit of society or the planet, as with Fair Trade and sustainability. When the main motivation for your work and enterprise is based on stimulating and maintaining a creative frame of mind and it’s expression through your work it is fair to call it a Creative Enterprise. Many prominent and successful entrepreneurs are advocating a creative approach in the current climate as a way of breaking through old stuck habitual patterns in thinking about how you do business. In the same way that people who tend to be more rational in their approach can attempt to nurture their imaginations, those who are easily at home in a more imaginative perception can consciously train their efficiency in prosaic tasks . For artists who want to start a business or make a livelihood from their art this is often a stumbling block. The term Creative Enterprise came from a series of workshops called ‘Make Creativity Work’ which is for people in the art world and entrepreneurs.
©Ian Currie . September 2009.
