Is great creative really as random as a bolt of lightning? Not at all.
“The Great Ones”, Monet, Picasso, Mozart, Einstein, and all others consistently brought forth not just one great idea but a constant flow of never before seen brilliant ideas that have shaped how we live today. Day after day one great revelation, another great painting, beautiful musical composition came forth as endless as the waters of Niagara Falls.
How did they do it?
They repeated their successes by analyzing the method by which they arrived at each one and repeated the process. We can never know what was in their mind at the time of exultation but we can surmise the process by which it arrived.
First and foremost there must be a goal. It must be the highest of aspirations. Good is not good enough. Best is not high enough. The goal must be to satisfy a need in the most perfect way. Plato’s world of imitation of perfection is the only win. Whether it is to bring light without fire or solve the basic formulae for the existence of the universe, it must be an all-encompassing goal.
Second you must discard all rules and conventions. One and one equals two cannot be a rule. The rules of light and shadow of Renaissance Art cannot control the composition. Time cannot be constant.
Thirdly and most arduously you must constantly test different combinations of seemingly unrelated things. An Apple for a teacher? Call it a computer and take a bite out of it. Icy Hot, can it be both? Create fuel from air as in a fuel cell of Hydrogen and Oxygen. It may takes years before the combination of differences reach the magic combination. Persistence and thoroughness bring it forth.
Finally criticism must be ignored. We cannot judge what has not yet been tested. We use our experience to judge what we like or dislike thus making all new art - rejected. Its new, uncomfortable, never before done. Since the human species rejects change the new is automatically judged inferior until it effects are tested and proved. The electric light won’t stay on, will it? Picasso’s painting cannot be accepted, it seems so weird. The formulae cannot be correct, time cannot slow down. The funny advertisement wont sell.
To answer the question “When does the creative lightning strike?”. It strikes when the goal that is set is satisfied by the perfect combination of a disparate combination that creates what has not been done before to satisfy the need. How long does that take? That is the unknown. It could happen on the first try or when all hope is lost. Certainly if there is a deadline the act of testing the combinations continues to accelerate the nearer the deadline. Great art may come at any time, but a great artist will always meet the deadline.
So it is at GroupMatrix. Setting the goal to satisfy is our first and easiest part. Churning through the combinations in our creative minds is the constant stress of creation. Anyone can stumble upon a great idea once. To be creative everyday, year after year for 47 years is an artistic achievement. So it is at GroupMatrix. We created the “TV Lawyer”. We keep our clients at the top of their markets because Here -- Creative Lightning strikes DAILY.
Richard Sackett / CEO / Group Matrix
