We are all creative!

Not too long ago I attended a conference designed to help one learn to explore how creativity and culture can spark innovation, expand our leadership skills, and improve our personal performance.  Always open to continually learning I had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Sheena Iyengar deliver a Masterclass on Think Bigger: How to Innovate.  

Dr. Iyengar shared a slide that read: Myth: There are creative and analytical “types” and then preceded to debunk this myth about stereotypes and the notion that the best ideas are only reserved among the creative ones.  

I naturally smiled and thought to myself, “how interesting that I choose to write about my marketing journey based on the notion about left-brain/right-brain stereotypes.”  I suppose that’s because we are conditioned so early in life to believe that we are one type of person or another.  

As Dr. Iyengar explained, being one type or another does not predicate who will generate the most or the best ideas. Drawing on her learnings in cognitive and neurological science she explains that we all have it in us to spark our creative thinking ability and generating the best ideas is not reserved for select people.  Allowing our minds to wander can work once you understand what and where can influence how you generate your ideas. And persistence is key! I was surprised to hear that 80% of our best ideas are generated at work vs. 20% from mind wandering. Inspiration is there and not just reserved for those quiet places. The key is that anyone can learn to be creative and apply creativity to any problem through a series of steps.  

Where it all began

Looking back, I think I was destined to be in marketing; I just didn’t know it. When I was younger, I loved brain teasers consisting of metal and wooden 3D puzzles. As puzzles can improve visual-spatial reasoning, short-term memory, and problem-solving skills, one might say I was working the left side of my brain. Personally, I just thought they were fun.  

At the same time, I love music and was fortunate growing up to be exposed to many types of music. Music became my creative outlet (right side of brain), whether it be singing to my favourite songs, making up my own songs, or playing a musical instrument. I also turned to music as I was terrible in art class. I suppose that’s why I appreciate other people’s artwork so much as I envy what they can do that I can’t, and fashioned myself for having a good eye when it comes to reviewing creative.

Over time, I would like to think that I found the perfect way to balance both sides of my brain enabling me to carve down a path where I could leverage both my analytical and creative side thanks to marketing. I would describe myself as analytical, being one of those people that likes to tackle data sets to figure out what the data is telling and translate that into insights and fact-based selling stories. As I always say, the data doesn’t lie but it tells you what’s happening. Choosing how to leverage that data is critical to helping you build out your strategy and a series of action plans that will enable you to meet those goals.

As I mentioned, marketing provided me the best of both worlds. Following all the analysis and business reviews, came the execution and getting the opportunity to work with creative agencies to bring those action plans to life. It’s probably fair to say, that I lean more towards my left brain but thanks to marketing, I get to stretch my right brain when I can.