Finally reading Walter Isaacson’s great book on Steve Jobs.
I’ve noticed over the years that the more people tell me I simply have read/watch something, the more my innate rebellious streak kicks in and I can stupidly avoid experiencing something great.
Anyway, among other brilliant things Mr. Jobs was quoted as saying, was this:
“There’s a temptation in our networked age to think that ideas can be developed by email and iChat,” he said. “That’s crazy. Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You run into someone, you ask what they’re doing, you say ‘Wow,’ and soon you’re cooking up all sorts of ideas.”
Isaacson, Walter (2011-10-24). Steve Jobs (p. 431). Simon & Schuster, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
So true. I have always found that having ideas is like a random chemical reaction. You heat things up and pretty soon something unexpected happens.
There’s a tendency in our business to pretend that having great ideas is something that you can turn into a neat little process.
You can turn it into a predictable process. But the the output from this process will be very predictable. Never “insanely great” as Steve used to say.
A certain amount of pain and fear and uncertainty is absolutely necessary to create anything good. Sorry!
