What does 'smart' look like in your company?

"The scene at mission control was what smart looks like. Retrorockets could have eased the Curiosity straight down to the surface, but that would have stirred up too much dust, perhaps fouling its works before it even got started. So the engineers chose the hard and creative and dangerous solution for the simple reason that it was also the best one." Time Magazine, Live From Mars, by Jeffrey Kluger Scientists may spend a lifetime working on one problem. When I read about their efforts, the job of marketing seems so small by comparison. Then I remember that even if marketing is often devalued, great communication never is, and ultimately that is what great marketing delivers.

The challenge is that great is not easy. Great is hard, pain staking, time-consuming and frustrating work. However, great results are so exhilarating that you'll want work twice as hard as before.

Which brings us back to the question, 'what does smart look like in your company?'

Like creativity, 'smart' looks and acts differently in people and organizations. Many companies spend too much time reacting and not nearly enough time 'pro-acting.'

What do you need to do to make your company use the 'smart' you already have in your company?

Why you are not creative!

Some people and personality types are more creative than others, there is no question about that fact. However, everyone is creative no matter how it's defined. Many just don't think of their skills as creative. Their reasons are numerous. One I'd like to remove from the list comes from too tightly defining what creativity is.

Creativity is finding a new way to fund R&D. Creativity is setting up a network to better utilize your hardware or help your staff. Creativity is hiring the people who will lead your company 10 years from now. Creativity is looking at a problem from a different perspective. Creativity is finding a way to do something - when a common path is blocked.

You'll notice that I didn't mention anything about marketing, design or the arts. Certainly that is how many define creativity, and those are valuable pursuits, but they don't hold exclusive rights to creativity.

To unleash creativity and action in your organization, make a point to publicly redefine creativity. Then, encourage new thinking about old processes. You'll be delighted by the results.