For those who regularly follow our blog, you know that one of my favorite topics is creativity. I have a personal interest in learning about creativity and how to foster it. So it was with enthusiasm, that I listened to an NPR interview with Jonah Lehrer, the author of a new book entitled, Imagine: How Creativity Works.
The book explores the process of creativity in the development of new products, song writing, poetry and much more. It is a wonderful read because of the stories Lehrer shares around particular innovations and breakthroughs and how they came about.
Imagine focuses on the process that leads to moments of creativity in which a new product such as Proctor & Gamble’s Swiffer, for example, is conceived. Chemists with the P&G spent many long years and millions of dollars trying to come up with a new cleaning solvent for folks mopping their floors. Finally, the company decided to outsource the problem to Continuum, a design firm focused on discovering new services and products. The folks with Continuum concluded if the chemists with P&G couldn’t solve the issue then maybe the answer wasn’t a chemical issue and they began studying how people clean floors. By conducting hours of research the team eventually came up with the idea for the Swiffer.
Lehrer explains in detail the upfront work – which is often arduous, painstaking and tedious – that often needs to happen before a breakthrough like the Swiffer can occur. He shares insight into when and where breakthroughs take place and addresses myriad other factors surrounding the topic such as the link between depression and creativity, collaboration and creativity, and the peak age for creativity.
This book shed new light for me on creativity. I highly recommend Imagine if you’re interested in the topic and want to learn more about how innovation takes place. If you don’t have time to delve into the 256-pages, then I recommend listening to the interview with Jonah Lehrer that aired on March 12, 2012 on Fresh Air.