Presentation on "Conditions of Creativity" delivered at IUAES-JASCA meeting in Makuhari, Japan 2014

1. May 18, 2014
Conditions of Creativity
By John McCreery (jlm@wordworks.jp) at IUAES-JASCA 2014

2. Classic Model
✤ Genesis 1: 3 “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and
there was light.”
✤ One almighty individual, one big idea, effortless
execution

3. Current Reality
✤ In today’s corporate world, creativity, a.k.a., innovation,
is the work of teams
✤ Ideas are proposed and debated by multiple individuals
✤ Material conditions constrain execution
✤ Thus, for example, 70% of Japanese TV commercials last
only fifteen seconds, with only eight seconds allowed
for spoken words

4. Academic Debates (1)
✤ Arthur Danto (1964) - Art requires an “art world,” a
knowledgeable audience that validates the work as art
✤ Howard Becker (1982) - Groups produce art (jazz
ensembles for example. Even individual artists
depend on others who supply their materials and
purchase their work.
✤ Richard Cave (2000) - Art requires contracts that take
into account the uncertainties of artistic production

5. Academic Debates (2)
✤ Pierre Bourdieu (1984) - Art resembles sport.
✤ Art is a field with defined boundaries, specific
positions, and goals.
✤ Players compete for social, cultural and economic
capital

6. 01
Read All About It

7. 01
In the Japanese
advertising world

8. Maki Jun onTeams
✤ Te-amu (手編む) - Hands joined together like those
gripping a baseball bat. Specialists working together to
hit a home run.
✤ Koshiki (個識) - A collection of individuals with distinct
personalities
✤ Kosei no shoutotsu (個性の衝突) - Where individuals
clash

9. Professional Expertise
✤ We imagine a system in which each professional
contributes a piece of the finished product
✤ But coming up with ideas is more complicated
✤ Copywriters come up with ideas
✤ But so do we, say art directors
✤ Creative directors just want good ideas; anyone can
have one — even an account executive

10. Personalities
✤ Diverse personalities increase the likelihood of
creativity.
✤ But they also increase the likelihood of conflict
✤ Thus, most creative directors say that you have to be
careful of who you put together on teams
✤ But Sasaki Hiroshi, Japan’s most successful creative
director, prefers serendipity

11. Managing Conflict
✤ Creative Directors play several roles
✤ Catalyst - sparking interaction
✤ Clown - breaking tension
✤ Coach - supporting from the sidelines
✤ Commander - insisting on high standards

12. Providing Direction
✤ Clear goal-setting can be important
✤ But it mustn’t be too specific
✤ Creative directors who insist on “Do it my way” rarely
produce great work

13. What kind of team is best?
✤ Depends on the project
✤ For routine work, a familiar team is best; the members know
what they need to do. The job gets done more efficiently
✤ For competitive pitches, a newly formed team may be better,
increasing the probability of coming up with fresh ideas.
✤ But the risk of meltdown is also higher
✤ Freelancers tend to prefer familiar teams

14. A Producer’s Perspective
✤ According to Nakajima Shinya, a truly great and
enormously respected producer
✤ When you ask invite talented experts to work together
on a project
✤ Be humble
✤ Ask nicely
✤ Say thank you

15. Thank you