How far would you go to be more creative?
How far would you go to be more creative?
Sir Ken Robinson, in a 2014 TED Talk, reported the results of an IBM poll of 1,800 Chief Executives from 80 countries.
In it, when asked what were the qualities they most desired in their staff, their collective answer was 'creativity and adaptability', in that order.
In my book 'Magic Service', I consider the extent to which standardised schooling reduced innate levels of creativity and I propose techniques to rekindle it.
However, I fear I have been barking up the wrong tree. In yesterday's G2 section of The Guardian, the Pass notes column revealed that lysergic acid diethylamide - aka LSD - is being used to boost creativity in Silicon Valley.
Despite its reputation as an hallucinogenic, the Californian nerds have embraced 'micro-dosing' - taking a small amount of acid so the effect is only just noticeable and 'never becomes a full-blown trip'.
It's said to enhance energy and creativity and lacks the addictive properties of other performance enhancing drugs.
Allegedly Steve Job swore by it but given his OCD reputation I'm not sure this necessarily constitutes a testimonial.
So keep an eye on your employees' desks - if you see a psychedelic picture on a small piece of paper, you may reach the conclusion that they've made the choice to avoid my book and to follow a less demanding route, in that quest for creativity.