Creativity is a topic of intense interest to me. I think if we could just use our creativity to work smarter, we wouldn’t have to fall into the draconian spiral of always having to work harder than we did before. As machines take over more and more of the routine and repetitive work, our USP in the workplace as humans is our ability to find creative solutions.
Previously I wrote about the philosophy of play at work which has become known as the Fish Philosophy (https://www.herbnestler.com/blog/2017/8/13/flying-fish-and-honking-geese). Today I would like to share a video with you on how to be creative. Few persons who have watched television or movies in the past few decades would question John Cleese’s expertise on this topic.
Telling people how to be creative is easy - being creative is difficult.
John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, writer and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s he became a member of Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, The Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. In the mid 1970s, Cleese and his first wife, Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. Later, he co-starred with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis and former Python colleague Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures.
He also starred in Clockwise, and has appeared in many other films, including two James Bond films as Q, two Harry Potter films, and three Shrek films. With Yes Minister writer Antony Jay he co-founded Video Arts, a production company making entertaining training films. It was founded in 1972 by John Cleese, Sir Antony Jay, and a group of other television professionals. The videos feature well known British actors, and humorously explain business concepts.
Many people think you are either born with creativity or you aren't. But John Cleese explains how to become creative. Click here and learn while you are being entertained (video length: 36 min.).
-Herb