New Hughcards cartoons, 28th October 2016

You may have noticed I’ve started using the #creativityinbusiness hashtag with some of my recent cartoons over on Instagram (@hughcards).

I already know a lot about individual creativity, but over the years I worry about this less, and worry more about how to get businesses to be more creative.

“Creativity at scale”, as it were.

Because that’s the only way they’re going to become more innovative. In a world that increasingly rewards innovation (and punishes the lack thereof), this is the only way they’re going to be able to compete in the future.

This is where Gapingvoid (the company I co-founded) comes in. We talk a lot about creating tools that change a company’s internal culture for the better. And the more I delve into the company culture space, the more I see creativity at scale being essential to the equation.

Sure, in this job you get a lot of pushback, mainly for two reasons: First is the word “creativity” itself. It means so many thing to so many people, it a messy process trying to get people to define it, trying to get it nailed down.

Second is the simple fact that creativity is embarrassing, most of the time, or at least, risks embarrassment 100% of the time. And people hate being embarrassed pretty much more than anything else, and will go to extraordinary lengths to avoid it, even if it costs them dearly in the long run.

Whatever. Dealing with the pushback is part of the deal, it’s nothing you or I can’t handle. Creativity is too important a subject to let slide, just because of a few naysayers in the room.

Anyway, this is the dialogue I’m trying to have with the business world at large: creativity at scale, creativity in business, call it what you will. Feel free to share you thoughts via email, Facebook, Instagram etc etc. Thanks.