Ten Great Ways to Crush Staff Creativity
Posted on Thursday, August 29, 2019 at 2:06 PM
Ten years ago we published this great article that is quite relevant
today and bears repeating.
By Paul Sloane
As
editors, you have much more power than you realize. You can patiently
create a climate of creativity or you can crush it in a series of subtle
comments and gestures.
Your actions send powerful signals. Your
responses to suggestions and ideas are deciphered by staff as
encouragement or rejection. If you want to crush creativity in your
organization and eliminate all the unnecessary bother of innovation,
then here are ten steps that are guaranteed to succeed.
#1.
Criticize
When you hear a new idea, criticize it. Show how
smart you are by pointing out some of the weaknesses and flaws that will
hold it back. The more experienced you are, the easier it is to find
fault with other people's ideas. Decca Records turned down the Beatles,
IBM rejected the photocopying idea that launched Xerox, DEC turned down
the spreadsheet, and various major publishers turned down the first
Harry Potter novel. The same thing is happening in most editorial
organizations today. New ideas tend to be partly formed, so it is easy
to reject them as "bad." They diverge from the narrow focus that we have
for the publication, so we discard them. Furthermore, every time
somebody comes to you with an idea that you criticize, it discourages
the person from wasting your time with more suggestions. It sends a
message that new ideas are not welcome and that anyone who volunteers
them is risking criticism or ridicule. This is a surefire way to crush
the creative spirit in your staff.
#2. Ban Brainstorms
Treat
brainstorming as old-fashioned and passé. All that brainstorming does is
throw up lots of new ideas that then have to be rejected. If your
organization is not holding frequent brainstorming sessions to find
creative directions, then you are not wasting time on new ideas.
Instead, you are sending a message to staff that their input is not
required. If people insist on brainstorming meetings, then make them
long, rambling, and unfocussed with lots of criticism of radical ideas.
#3.
Hoard Problems
The editor-in-chief and senior editorial team
should shoulder the responsibility for all the major editorial
decisions. Strategic issues are too complicated and high-level for the
ordinary staff. After all, if people at the grassroots level knew the
strategic challenges the organization faces, then they would feel
insecure and threatened. Don't involve staff in serious issues, don't
tell them the big picture, and above all don't challenge them to come up
with solutions.
#4. Focus on Efficiency, Not Innovation
Focus
solely on making the current publishing model work better. If we
concentrate on making the current system work better, then we will not
waste time on looking for different systems. The current publishing
model is the one that you helped develop and it is obviously the best
one for the publication. After all, if the makers of horse-drawn
carriages had improved quality, they could have stopped automobiles
taking their markets. The same principle applied to makers of slide
rules, LP records, typewriters, and gaslights.
#5. Overwork
Establish
a culture of long hours and hard work. Encourage the belief that hard
work alone will solve a problem. We do not need to find a different way
of solving a problem -- rather, we must just work harder at the old way
of doing things. Make sure that the working day has no time for
learning, fun, lateral thinking, wild ideas, or testing of new
initiatives.
#6. Adhere to the Plan
Plan in great
detail and then do not deviate from the plan regardless of
circumstances. "We cannot try that idea because it is not in the plan
and we have no budget for it." Keep to the vision that was in the plan
and ignore fads like new media and Twitter -- they will pass.
#7.
Punish Mistakes
If someone tries an entrepreneurial idea that
fails, then blame and retribution must follow. Reward success and punish
failure. That way we will reinforce the existing way of doing things and
discourage dangerous experiments.
#8. Don't Look Outside
We
understand our publication better than outsiders. After all, we have
been working in it for years. Other industries are fundamentally
different, and just because something works there does not mean it will
work in publishing. Consultants generally are overpriced and tell you
things you could have figured out anyway. Freelancers don't have good
ideas, either. We need to find our sense of direction inside the
business by working harder.
#9. Promote People Like You from
Within
Promoting from within is a good sign. It helps retain
people and they can see a reward for loyalty and hard work. It means we
don't get polluted with heretical ideas from outside. Also, if the
editor-in-chief promotes people like him, then he can achieve
consistency and succession. It is best to find editors who agree with
the editor-in-chief and praise him for his acumen and editorial
foresight.
#10. Don't Waste Money on Training
Talent
cannot be taught. It is it a rare thing possessed by a handful of gifted
individuals. So why waste money trying to turn ducks into swans? Hire
good editors and let them learn our system. Work them hard and they can
emulate the success of the editor-in-chief as he leads the publication
forward into the future.
Paul Sloane is the founder of
Destination Innovation (www.destination-innovation.com).
He writes and speaks on lateral thinking and innovation. His latest book,
The Leader's Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills: Unlock the Creativity and
Innovation in You and Your Team, is available on Amazon.
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