The Working Week 17: Jurgen Wolff on Creativity
On The Working Week this week, Wayne is joined by author, screen writer and creativity guru Jurgen Wolff. Jurgen is the editor and publisher of the creativity e-bulletin, Brainstorm and writes a monthly column for Management-Issues. He teaches creativity workshops around the world as well as writing for television and film.
He wrote the feature film, “The Real Howard Spitz” and episodes for many television series, including “Benson,” “Family Ties,” “The Love Boat,” and “Relic Hunter.” He wrote two ABC TV movies for the Olsen Twins, and his original animated series, “Norman Normal,” has had 65 episodes produced.
Jurgen also writes a blog at: Timetowrite.com.
00:32 – If you thought that interviews were stressful try turning the tables and putting your potential boss through a selection process to find one you can best connect with. Bob Seldon who heads up the Australian National Learning Institute, has some tips on how to do it.
01:15 – Most Americans believe that corporations have responsibilities to the communities in which they operate, but a new report has found that this doesn’t mean that they are too fussy about an organisation’s social responsibility programs when it comes to evaluating job offers. when it comes to evaluating a job offer,
1:42 - Employee engagement is one of the biggest issues for organisations today, and Wayne picks up on a piece by new columnist for Management-Issues.com – Peter Vajda – whose piece on employee disengagement explores why the thrill of a new job evaporates so quickly – and how to stop the rot from setting in
2:51 - Wayne welcomes this week’s guest, author, screen writer and creativity guru Jurgen Wolff.
First up, Jurgen and Wayne talk about the ways in which stress can impact our creativity.
03:26 - According to Jurgen, the key point is that stress comes from uncertainty and lack of control. The demands of 24/7 it can make us feel that other people are controlling our time.
04:12 – Jurgen explains that this means that we try to retreat back to being safe when feeling stressed.
04:47 - What is the impact on business when people play it safe Wayne asks?
05:01 - People think that it’s best to stick with what you are doing and not take risks. As a result creativity and innovation can stall.
05:22 – Wayne asks what can be done?
05:41 - In the longer term you need to better manage the stress. In the interim – set aside time to focus on a challenge - to be creative on something (15-20 minutes). Jurgen provides advice on a useful tactic.
06:53 - Wayne asks why are individuals less good at brainstorming?
07:10 – Jurgen responds that until recently it was believed that brainstorming had to be a group activity. However, the thinking now is that five individuals can come up with more useful ideas than a group of people brainstorming.
07:52 – The discussion moves on to how businesses really run on people skills not gadgets in the same way that creativity runs “on brains” not on window-dressing gimmicks and toys.
09:31 – The ideal approach to encourage creativity, Jurgen believes, is to create an aura of safety where people are genuinely not afraid to make mistakes. Secondly, re-enforcement is needed by seeing your ideas acted upon. Finally, organisations needs to reward people for coming up with ideas that work.
10:53 – In other words, creativity can only thrive in an environment that is conducive to creative thinking.
