Myth #3:  The Lone Creative Genius. 

For example let’s take this fellow here – all alone it would appear in his lab.  Want want to take a guess as to who this inventor is?  (If you give up, look at the big lightbulb over his head for inspiration!)

 That’s right…Thomas Edison!

Many people think of him as a lone creative genius, but even he said “Genius is 1 % inspiration and 99%….(you fill in the blank)….perspiration.” 

Let’s just stop and think about that a moment.  Although in cartoons we might see something like a light bulb showing up over someone’s head or a bolt of lightning out of the blue – and boom a brilliant idea is born.  But that’s not how it works in real life.  You have to nurture a brand new idea.

He also said another great quote – that I absolutely love and think can be instructive for all of us… “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

You might have thought that Edison worked alone —- developing all those patents, but that’s not the case. 

In fact he worked with a broad creative team.   Here they are in 1876 on the site of their industrial research laboratory in Menlo Park, Pennsylvania.   He called it “the invention factory” – because they were always working on several different inventions at any one time.  Together they were more creative than Edison could have possibly been on his own. Together they found success – and over 400 patents.

Just like on your team – each one of you have a critical role to play to bring out the best in your team. 

Because all of us are smarter than any of us.

It takes a talented leader to spearhead the rebellion against the tyranny of “or.” A true revolutionary teaches his or her team to think in terms of endless combinations as opposed to mutually exclusive options. How can ideas be linked? How do they interrelate? How does one suggestion piggyback on another?

People with an either/or mindset aren’t appeased until they have control, whereas those who think both/and welcome every contribution.  It’s up to the leader to make sure that a spirit of cooperation pervades the strategic planning process. Practically, this means:

1) Establishing a “No-fly Zone” for put-downs. Each individual’s ideas ought to be respected, even if they’re not adopted.

2) Putting ideas in the public domain. Early on, make it know that no one “owns” his or her suggestions. The welfare of the team supersedes personal agendas.

3) Weaving the web of ideas. Encourage the connections teammates make between one idea and another. Do this visibly and audibly (by giving out candy and compliments) whenever someone bridges two previously isolated concepts.