Creativity isn’t always a good thing. In entrepreneurship, we often put the creative genius up on a pedestal; the person who saw the world differently, brought about change, and is the subject of admiration and legend everywhere.
With the digital era upon us, never before has there been so many opportunities for creatives of all types — from artists to performers, writers, and speakers. Yet, true creatives tend to struggle more than their more traditional entrepreneurial counterparts — a far cry from the creative genius of legend that we all worship in pop culture.
In entrepreneurial mythology, the power of the unique creative idea can make up for all other flaws in business. The purity of vision, purpose and passion, and seeing the world in a different light can power true change and create tremendous impact.
Powerful ideas aren’t enough to build a business
Unfortunately, the power of the idea itself isn’t enough. Even combining the idea and working insane hours to make it a reality isn’t enough. So what’s the problem? Why isn’t pure creative genius enough? Worse yet, why does boring seem to win so much more often in business? The biggest problem with the creative mind is that oftentimes, it’s too off the scale.
True creative genius and vision tends to get so caught up in the purity of the idea itself — how if it was “just implemented,” the profit, impact, and change that will happen in either the respective industry or the world.
The creative mind tends to flock and surround itself with others who can see the vision (or at least can imagine it well enough). While this reinforces the power of the idea and can even make the quality of the idea better through collaboration and brainstorming, it has the unintended effect of isolating people who “don’t get it” as either dumb or lacking vision.
Worse, no matter how much the idea is explained, the people who “don’t get it” seem to “never get it.” So convenient excuses arise, like the recipient is “not the target audience,” “too stuck in their ways,” or “too scared of change.”
Don’t write people off as being ‘unable’ to understand your vision
The reality is, most of the people who get written off as not understanding the big picture would probably be supporters of the idea (and would probably want to support the idea, even if they don’t fully understand it). The problem isn’t the people, the problem is in the way that the creative vision is communicated.
Most of the time, because the creative person gets so wrapped up in their own world, they forget how to translate what they see into a version that the average person can understand. Because the vision never gets translated into a way that the average person can understand, it never gets momentum. Popular mass movements inspired by the creative genius usually don’t come with monumental paradigm shifts.
True creative genius is in how the idea is communicated, not the idea itself
More often, they’re a couple of small changes, communicated extremely well, and showcased in a way that the highest number of people can understand without having to think too hard. So the next time your brilliant idea — whether it be a pitch for a company, a new product, or a movement — isn’t getting traction, don’t think that it’s because everyone else doesn’t “get it.”
Focus on how you can communicate and show the idea visually to people in a better way. After all, the secret sauce behind the best innovators of our generation hasn’t been ideas. It’s been the presentation and communication of the idea.
