idea that I had to improve upon or amplify. But how? Creativity does not automatically mean inventing something new; it often simply means discovering something and then making proper use of it. Ideas always build on each other; they’re much more evolutionary than revolutionary. Our first really successful idea, NEONSPLASH–Paint-Party®, already had its parameters defined: color, music, and blacklight. So now it became all about amplifying the concept, finding new elements and adding them to the basic idea, and about challenging the conventional wisdom about entertainment. Do you have to reinvent the wheel? No, but it has to roll, and roll really fast!
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DISCOVERY: COLOR IS THE HIGHLIGHT!
HOW WE IMPROVED IT: We added a dramatic story arc, defining a framework for action—a countdown, just like on New Year’s Eve. At the end of a two-hour countdown, the color would burst off the stage for the first time!
DISCOVERY: T-SHIRTS
HOW WE IMPROVED IT: White t-shirts became obligatory for all guests, for two reasons:
1.Neon color looks very strong on white t-shirts.
2.We dress the guests like a team; they look like they’re wearing team jerseys, so to speak. The sense of community is enhanced.
DISCOVERY: GOOD SHOW BUT NO NAME
HOW WE IMPROVED IT: We frame each show by creating its own title, story, and message, just like in the world of cinema or big concert tours. Why? Because people love stories, and because stories bring life to otherwise generic activities. So, in 2011, we did the Love Thru Paint tour, in 2012/13 the Color Is Creation tour, and in 2014 the Utopia 3D tour (with 3D red-and-blue paper glasses reminiscent of 90s movies, and 3D image effects on screen). All of the events had the same basic elements: color, music, blacklight. But every show had a new story, and a new reason to participate. And as an added draw, we used a big stage, intricate effects, and famous artists.
We identified the characteristics of extremely successful and exceptional events, incorporated them into our basic idea, and thereby created a new hybrid that really has it all. Applied creative thinking is, therefore, not a process of invention, but rather the systematic identification and the atypical combination of past experiences to create entirely new configurations. In the right setting, these can produce results that are not just successful, but also groundbreaking hits.
In his book Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell talks about how trending new developments reach a point of instability, after which the situation rapidly readjusts. Using the example of a completely full glass of water into which additional drops of water are added, Gladwell points out how the extra water will mound up above the rim until the “tipping point” is reached, the moment when the mound of water collapses and overflows.
We can view each drop as a player entering the new market, reacting to the enticing promise of a really good novel idea. The mass of new entrants builds up beyond what the glass can normally hold, until the surface tension breaks and most of the excess water spills over. At that point, the new trend becomes an integral part of a market, though it’s essential not to get washed away in the floods. Only a few survive all the way to the “tipping point,” and even fewer survive the wash-out and go on to dominate the entire segment. The few companies that manage have a very clear vision right from the first drop, and analyze the dynamics so precisely that they start the challenge with increased stability and reason for being.
Let’s take another concrete example: Amazon. Today, it’s a player in the e-commerce segment, and probably only at the beginning of its world domination. Let’s consider for a moment what founder Jeff Bezos noticed and expanded on in 1994 (!). What did the “glass” of the e-commerce market look like back then, and what happened? Let’s put ourselves in his shoes (surely Converse Chucks, before they became cool for the third time): He recognized the growth and infinite potential of the Internet and decided to sell things online. He created a framework, an interface that could carry and transmit his idea, at a time when the playing field for his idea (the “glass”) was still not overfilled with players. But consider: How did Jeff Bezos deal with this new e-commerce opportunity?
Where would Amazon be today if Jeff Bezos had decided to use this “new Internet” to sell fresh fruit? Nowhere. (Nothing against the currently numerous startups in the fresh fruit/food delivery niche.) But books were an exciting product for his new idea. Why? Because you don’t have to physically touch a book to make a purchase decision. Considering the opposite market, I prefer to know the condition of a banana before I buy it. I want to touch it—is it mushy or not? You don’t necessarily have to touch a new book. Another killer attribute that Bezos found: books have an abundant variety. They are innumerably different, and Amazon can offer them all because the company doesn’t have to physically own them, which instantly made Amazon the biggest bookstore in the world. And the kicker: it can sell cheaper because the fixed costs are lower, and the target group much larger. So, Bezos traded the in-store customer’s ability to handle the product and immediately take possession for the minimized transaction costs (no one has to go to the bookstore anymore), a broader choice, and (in many countries) a better price. At the present, Shopify and other tools are helping players from all over the world “drip” into the e-commerce market, and the excess water has been building up in the “glass” of e-commerce, but when it collapses, Bezos is better positioned than the others—he’s ready to ride the wash-out, and survive.
So, find existing opportunities, rearrange them and improve them! The competition will follow, drop by drop. The only important thing is to be one of the drops that survive!
3. Can You Learn or Inherit Creativity?
Creativity is an attitude, much more than it is a skill. In most cases, the product of creativity (the idea) results from numerous experiments and effective evaluations. My grandmother always said: “Throw 100 things in the air; something will eventually stick!” No mystery about the creative genius of billionaire James Dyson. He built 5,126 vacuum cleaner prototypes over the span of fifteen years before his cyclone technology became a global phenomenon. Teresa Amabile of Harvard Business School writes that creativity is too often confused with expertise. We usually don’t see the years of work and the incessant trial-and-error that’s often required to create a masterpiece.
Creativity is neither inherited, nor is it learned by rote, like the ABCs. There are other models and exercises, besides “Matthew’s Ten Favorite Idea-Finding Tools,” that can stimulate or guide you in finding creative ideas, but these are like the handrail in a stairwell: you still have to climb the stairs yourself. Creativity is not the wine, but the vine that connects the rain and the storm with the sun and the soil. The vine variety is selected by the vintner, and its growth is influenced by where it is planted. Give the vine what it needs. Encourage it!
When you experience something unfamiliar, your brain works at unimaginable speed, and a huge network of neurons seek to interpret the experience. If that experience repeats itself, the memory needs to activate significantly fewer neurons. But also remember to break away from relying on old experiences and on linear thinking!
First Step: Sell Your TV!
When watching television, the brain operates primarily in a passive state, kind of an “awake sleep.” Your brain must be active and stimulated before it can begin the complex thought processes that require an elevated level of alpha waves (reading/writing/movement).
Second Step: No Phones!
Switch to “airplane mode,” and your productivity, creativity and general focus will increase significantly. I lost my mobile phone in a taxi in Amsterdam and was surprised at how good life felt without it. Ask yourself how many of your calls are actually productive, enjoyable and indispensable! Texting and playing also rob us of focus. While my