creativeman

The Future Consumer, Employee and Citizen

Creative Man

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Creative Man

Published by The Copenhagen Institute for Futures StudiesEdited by project manager Klaus Æ. Mogensen

The Future Consumer, Employee and Citizen

Published by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (www.cifs.dk)

Adapted from the original Danish book by Klaus Æ. Mogensen

© 2004, 2006 by the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies

All rights reserved. Permission is given to download and print this document in its current form. Any other repro-

duction, in part or in whole, electronically or on paper, is forbidden except with the express permission of the

Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies.

Contents

Foreword 7

ParT 1: LogiCs

1:TheFoundationofIndustrialSociety 13 2:TheStoryofDreamSociety 19 3:TheRiseofCreativeMan 25 4.AModelofSociety’sLogics 31 5.ExamplesoftheLogics’Importance 39

ParT 2: ConsEquEnCEs

6:RiseoftheProsumer 57 7:CreativityasaLeisurePursuit 65 8:FutureBusinessStrategies 75 9:ManagingCreativePeople 85 10:EducatingCreativePeople 95

references 102

� Creative Man

The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) is an independent non-profit organisa-tion founded in 1970 by former OECD Secretary-General Thorkil Kristensen. The objective of the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies is to strengthen the basis for decision-making in public and private organisations by creating awareness of the future and highlighting its importance to the present. Our work methods range from statistically based analysis and the identification of global trends, to more subjective emotional factors of importance to the future. Learn more about CIFS by visiting the Institute’s website at www.cifs.dk/en.

7Creative Man

ForewordInOctober2004,thelargestDanishpublisherGyldendalpublishedthebookCreative Man,writtenbytheCopenhagenInstituteforFuturesStudies.Creative MandescribedsomeoftheInstitute’srecentideasandcontainedwhatwasbothalikelyscenarioforthenearfutureandamodelforexplainingthebehaviourofmodernman,withafocusontheincreas-ingsocietalandindividualneedforcreativity. Thebookreceivedalotofattentionaswellasenthusiasticresponsesfrombothbusinesspeopleandartists,andthetwofirstprintingswerequicklysoldout.Evenatthetimeofwritingthis,nearlytwoyearsafterthepublicationofthebook,thereisasteadydemandforthebookandforlecturesandpresentationsbasedonthebook’scontents. InspiteoftheEnglishtitle,thebookwaswrittenandpublishedinDanish,butinterestinthebookanditsideashasspreadwellbeyondtheDanishborders.Becauseofthis,theCopenhagenInstituteforFuturesStudieshasdecidedtoproducethisdocumentthatpresentsthecoreideasofCreative ManinEnglish.Wehavealsodecidedtomakethedocumentavailableforfreedownloadontheinternetinordertospreadtheideasaswidelyaspossibleforthebenefitofeveryone. Creative ManhasbeenacooperativeeffortinwhichmanyemployeesoftheCopenhagenInstituteforFutureshavebeeninvolved.Thebookalsomakesuseofworkdonebycurrentandformeremployeeswhohaven’tbeendirectlyinvolvedintheprocessofdevelopingthebook.Itmaybeimpossibletolisteverybodywhohascontributed,butapartiallistincludesthefollowing:KåreStamerAndreasen,AndersBjerre,NielsBøttger-Rasmussen,TroelsTheillEriksen,MortenGrønborg,RolfJensen,MartinKruse,GitteLarsen,KlausÆ.Mogensen,AxelOlesen,UffePalludan,JohanPeterPaludan,HenrikPersson,MartinRasmussen,SørenRiis.

KlausÆ.MogensenEditorandco-authorofCreativeMan,Summer2006

Logics

1.

i think i’d rather do it myself

01:The Foundation of industrial Society

14

The late agrarian age, before the inven-tion of the steam engine, was in many ways a time of harmony in the sense that the three basic groups of human needs – material needs, social needs and per-sonal growth needs – were satisfied in about equal measure. However, for most people, this equal measure was less than satisfying.

Creative Man - Logics

15

Peopleworeclothesthatweretailor-madetotheirindividualneeds.Ifyoudidn’tgetthelocaltailororseamstresstosewyourclothesforyouaccor-dingtoyourphysicalmeasuresandpreferencesofstyle,youdidityour-self.Thedownsidewas,ofcourse,thatfewpeoplehadmorethantwoorthreesetsofclothes,includingonesetoffancyclothesthatpeopleworeattheirweddings,jubileesandfunerals,andwhichwaslaidoutastheowner’swaistlinegrew.Thatis,iftheowner’swaistlinedidgrowatall.Eventhoughagrariansocietywasdominatedbyfarmingandfishing,alotofpeopledidstarveattimesorallthetime.Buteventhoughthesupplyoffoodwasinsufficient,thevarietywasgreaterthantoday.Historically,humanshavegloballyutilisedmorethan7,000plantspeciestomeettheirbasicfoodneeds.Thisisincontrasttoourpresenttime,whereonly150plantspeciesareundercultivation,andthemajorityofpeopleliveononly12plantspecies. Socialbondsweretypicallystronginpre-industrialtimes,withastrongcommunitysensewithinavillageorguild.Religionprovidedcommonmoralandethicalvalues,andinthestriatedfeudalsocietyeverybodyknewwheretheybelonged.Whiletherewasn’tmuchchoiceinthematterofcommunity,mostpeoplewereguaranteedaplaceinthecommunityoftheirbirth. Mostpeoplecouldalsosatisfytheirneedsforpersonalgrowththroughthedevelopmentofprofessionalskillsandthroughwintertimehandi-craftslikeweavingorwoodcarving.Afarmercouldseetheresultsofhisworkgrowonthefields,andthecraftsmancouldseeitemstakeshapebetweenhishands.Still,thechoiceofwaystosatisfyyourgrowthneedswaslimitedunlessyoubelongedtotherelativelysmallupperclass. Thencametheinventionofthesteamengineandwithit,thefounda-tionoftheindustrialage.Thesteamenginemadetwothingspossible.First,itcouldpartlyreplacehumanphysicallabour,allowinganincreaseinproductionwiththesameamountoflabour.Second,itmadepossibleanewtransportinfrastructurewheregoodscouldbetransportedfasterandmorereliablyovergreaterdistances.Thecombinationofthesetwothingsmeantthatitbecamefeasibletoconcentrateproductionofmanygoodsincentralisedfactoriesthatsuppliedalargegeographicalarea.Theecono-miesofscaleofthismeantnotjustthatproductsbecamecheaper,but


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alsothatthelabouroftheindividualworkerslowlybecamemorevalu-able:Ifanemployeecanproducemorevalueinonehour’swork(evenifassistedbyamachine),thentheemployercanaffordtopaytheemployeehigherhourlywages. Whilethedevelopmenthasn’talwaysgonesmoothly,overtimethecontinuedautomationofproductionandimprovementofthetransportinfrastructurehasledtoageneralincreaseinaffluenceintheWesternworldaswageswentupandthepricesofgoodswentdown.Typesofgoodsthathadpreviouslybeenavailableonlytotheupperclassgradu-allybecameaffordabletothemasses,andnewgoodswereaddedtothemarket–eithergoodsimportedfromincreasinglyexoticlocationsornewproductsthatrosefromtheongoingtechnologicalrevolution.Notonlywerethebasicmaterialneedssatisfiedformost;peoplewereincreasinglyabletoaffordmorethantheyreallyneeded–whichdidn’tstopthemfrombuyingmoreandmore.Theconsumersocietywasborn. Therewasapricetopayfortheincreasedmaterialwealth,butitwasapricethatmostwereperfectlywillingtopay.Productswerenolongertailor-madetotheindividualcustomer’s–orconsumer’s–needs,butinsteadstreamlinedtobetterfittheinflexibilitiesoftheincreasinglyauto-matedandspecialisedproductionsystem.Thesamewasalsotruefortheworkers,whohadlittleinfluenceovertheirincreasinglysystematisedandspecialisedlabourtasks.Asconsumersandemployeesboth,peoplehadtoadapttothesystemandthemachine.ThisdevelopmentwasepitomisedbytheindustrialistHenryFord,whoisreputedtohavesaid:“PeoplecanhavetheModelTinanycolour–solongasit’sblack.” Massproductionwasborn,butthemassesdidn’tmind.Wasn’titbet-tertogetastandardisedproductthannotbeingabletoafforditatall?Andwasn’titmoreimportanttoearnalivingthantohavealotofinflu-enceoveryourwork?Eventheeducationalsystemwasstreamlinedandstandardised,sothatthequalificationsofanybodycouldbesummarisedinafewlines. Asmoreandmorejobfunctionswereautomatedduringthe19thand20thcenturies,manyfearedthatthiswouldcausemassunemployment.However,theoppositehasinfactoccurred.Withanincreasingpropor-tionofwomenenteringthelabourmarket,theproportionofemployed


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peoplehasactuallygrownquitealot.Evenwithshorterworkingdays,theaverageweeklyworkinghoursforafamilyhasgrown.Thismayseemparadoxical:Whydoweworkmorewhenmachinesdomoreofourwork? Theanswerliesinhumannature.Oncewehavesatisfiedourmostbasicneeds,webecomeawareofotherneedsthatwewanttosatisfy.Ifoursocietyisrichenoughtoprovidethemeansofsatisfyingtheseneeds,thenwearewillingtoworkharderinordertoaffordthosemeans.Ifourwork,withthehelpofincreasedautomation,producesnewmeansofsat-isfyingnewneeds,thenthisfeedsthespiralofever-increasingconsump-tionandproduction. Aroundthemiddleofthe20thcentury,however,somebeganrai-singworriedvoices.Whathappensifwerunoutofnewneedstosatisfy?Whatifwereachthelevelofconsumptionwhereallofuscanhaveallwewouldeverwant?Afterall,thereisalimittohowmuchwecaneat,andwedon’treallyneedtothrowoutperfectlygoodclothesafterhavingusedthemasingleday.Wedon’treallyneedmorethanonecarperperson,andthereisalimittohowmanyelectronicgadgetswehaveroom(orneed)forinourhomes.Atsomepoint,theworriedpeopleworried,peo-plearegoingtosay:“enoughisenough!”–andwhathappensthen? Automationdoesn’tstop;sofewerworkerswillberequiredtoproducethethingswewanttohave.Thenwecouldinfactfacemassunemploy-ment.Ifwewanttomaintainfullemployment,thenacontinuingincreaseinconsumptionisrequired.TheAmericansatiristFrederikPohlsuggest-edinhis1954story“TheMidasPlague”thatinthefuture,consumptionwouldbearequireddutyofpoorpeople,whiletherichcouldleanbackandnothavetoworryabouteitherworkingorconsuming. MorethanhalfacenturyhaspassedsincePohlwrotehisstory,butthingshavenotturnedoutthewayhesuggested–andwestillworkmorethaneverbefore.Hence,theremustbeaflawintheworriedpeople’sarguments.Whatthatflawis,wewilltakealookatinthenextchapter.


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02:The Story of Dream Society

20 Creative Man - Logics

As our society gets richer and it becomes easier to satisfy our material needs, we increasingly focus on immaterial, emo-tional needs. Rather than consuming more material goods as our wealth increases, we instead increasingly consume immate-rial goods or material goods with a large immaterial content. Stories and emotions have become a large part of what we con-sume, and we increasingly favour prod-ucts with built-in emotions or stories over ‘soulless’ products with neither. This shift in consumption happened in most Western societies during the last half of the 20th century and explains why the mid-century worriers were wrong in assuming that their society was approaching a limit to what could logically be consumed.

21Creative Man - Logics

Onceourbasicsurvivalneedshavebeensatisfied,westartfocusingmoreonoursocialneeds.Wewanttogainacceptanceandrecognitionfromthegroupsofpeoplethatwewanttobelongto,andhenceweacquireproductsthataren’tstrictlynecessaryforsurvival,butwhicharevaluedasstatussymbolsinthesegroupsofpeople,whetheralocalcommunity,aworkcommunityoragroupofpeoplewithwhomweshareanideologicalorculturalidentity.Suchstatussym-bolsaren’tjustvaluedbytheirsize–havingthebiggestcar,houseorminkcoat–butalsobyhavingtherightqualities,suchasbeingofarecognisedbrandormadebyafamousdesignerortellingacertainstoryabouttheowner. Infact,theseimmaterialqualitieswilloftenbecomemoreimportantthanthematerialqualitiesoftheproductandbetheprimaryfactorinchoosingoneproductoveranother.Inourmodern-daysocietywetendtotrustthataproductactuallyworksasintended,eitherbecauseoflegislativerequirementsorbecausethetechnologyiswellestablished.Whenwebuyanewcar,wedon’taskifitcanstartorifthebrakeswork;weassumethatsuchthingsareinorder,andhencewefocusonotherfactors. InmanyurbanregionsinWesternEuropeandtheUS,bigfour-wheeldrivecarshavebecomeverypopularchoiceswhenbuyinganewcar.Thereasonforbuyingsucha‘sportsutilityvehicle’or‘offroader’israrelythatthebuyeractu-allyintendstodrivealotoffroads;itismoreaboutsendingtherightsignalaboutwhoyouare.Therearefewrationalreasonstobuysuchcarswhenlivinginanurbanregion;theyaregas-guzzlersandexpensiveintaxes,andtheyarehardtoparkoncrowdedandnarrowcitystreets.Themany‘irrational’emo-tionalreasonsforpurchaseoutweighthefewrationalones(likelargecarsbeingsaferincrashes). Emotionalneedscanalsobesatisfiedbypurelyimmaterialproductsorservices.Whenoureverydayliveshavebecomecharacterisedbyroutine,webecomehungryforexperiences.Hence,thereisagrowingmarketforexperi-ences,whetherasholidays,eventsorsimplyentertainment.Thereisalsoagrowingmarketforstoriesthatmakelifemoreinterestingormeaningful,andthesestoriescanoftenbelinkedtoaphysicalproduct.Whenyouconsumesuchaproduct,youfeelthatyoubecomeapartofthestory,andthestorymayinturnbecomeapartofyourself-understanding.AgoodexampleofthisistheMarlboroManbrandfromthetobaccocompanyPhilipMorris.Inthiscase,thestoryratherthanthecigarettehasbecometheprimaryproduct,withthebrandexpandingintonon-tobaccoproductslikeclothes,canteens,lanterns,andeven

22 Creative Man

ThE six MarkETs oF DrEaM soCiETy

The market of adventures for sale: experiences and impressions, where vacations in Vietnam compete with bungee jumps and online computer games

The market of togetherness, friendship and love: human relations, where Nokia’s “Connecting People” competes with café cul-ture and football fan clubs

The market for care: the need to show caring, where “The Sims” competes with the pet store and Mother’s Day

The who-am-i market: the quest for personal identity, where fashion clothes and ringtones compete with Harley Davidson bikes and microbrewery beer

The market for peace of mind: the safe and the familiar, where folk dancing and coun-try-style kitchens compete with insurance and house alarms

The market for convictions: values and opinions, where Amnesty International competes with Body Shop, Fair Trade, and organic food

1Curiously, another book with a similar theme, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, was first published the very same month.2One could argue that there is a seventh market: the market of hate and fear, as witnessed by the success of violent computer games, horror fiction and the weapons industry.

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cookbooks.Theidentity-creatingpowerofsuchbrandstoriesissopowerfulthatweinstantlyassociatecertainhumancharacteristicswiththebrands.Whensee-ingtheposterforthe1991movieHarley DavidsonandtheMarlboro Manfeatur-ingMickeyRourkeandDonJohnson,wefeelwealreadyknowwhotheseguysareandthatthebrandnamesperfectlycharacterisethem. Storytellingandemotionalvalueshavealsofoundthewayintoourworkpla-ces.Corporatecultureandcorporatevalueshaveinmanyworkplacesreplacedthewhip-crackingbossasthemainmeanstomotivatetheemployees.Iftheemployeeshaveapositiveemotionalrelationshipwiththeirworkplace,theyarewillingtoworkmoreandharder–sometimeseveninunpaidovertime–simplybecausetheyfeelanobligationtodoso. Weincreasinglychooseonecompany’sproductsoveranothercompany’snotbecauseofaperceiveddifferenceinproductquality,butbecauseofaperceiveddifferenceincompanyvalues.ApplecomputersaretypicallymoreexpensivethanPCcomputersofsimilarperformance,butmanychooseApplecomputersanywaybecausetheylikewhatthecompanystandsfor–andtheyevenassumetheroleofunpaidpromotersofthecompany.Thisworksbothways;anegativestorycanruinacompanyjustaseasilyasagoodstorycanmakeit.Hencetheconceptofthetriplebottomline,whereacompanyevaluatesitselfnotjustonprofits,butalsoonitsenvironmentalandsocialimpact. ThistrendtowardsincreasingemotionalismandstorytellinginsocietywasdescribedinthebookDream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business fromApril1999,writtenbythethendirectoroftheCopenhagenInstituteforFuturesStudies,RolfJensen,andco-authoredbytheCIFSstaff.1 Dream Societyarguesthatthetraditionalmarketsegmentations,whereproductsandservicesarecategorisedase.g.‘food’,‘transportation’,‘clothes’,‘entertainment’,etc.,soonwillbeathingofthepast.Companiesshouldnotlookfortheircompetitorswithintheirtraditionalmarket;theyshouldratherlookforcompetitorsthatselltothesameemotionalmarket.Theluxuryelectro-nicsproducerB&Orananadafewyearsago,wheretheyshowedpicturesofaB&Ostereonexttoasportscar,withthetext:“Whichonegivesyouthemostprofoundexperience?”B&Ohadrecognisedthatitscompetitorsweren’totherelectronicsproducerslikePhilipsorSony,butrathersuppliersofotherluxuryitems,whethercars,vacationsorfashionclothes.DreamSocietyidentifiessixemotionalmarkets(seebox).2

Creative Man - Creative Man - A Tale of Three Logics

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03:The Rise of Creative Man

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Since the publication of Dream Society, The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS) has often been asked what, if anything, would come after Dream Society. This question was debated at intervals over the years, and eventually an inkling of the answer was found, ultimately leading to the future trend or scenario the Institute now calls Creative Man.


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DreamSocietyaroseasaresponsetothegrowingfocusontheimmaterialneedsthatindustrialsocietyfailedtosatisfy;inparticulartheemotionalneedsofbelongingnessandsharedvalues.However,DreamSocietydidnotsatisfyallourimmaterialneeds.Asinindustrialsociety,consumersandemployeesmustadapttothesystemandthemachines.Whileproductsandserviceshavegreaterimmaterialcontent,thiscontentisstillmass-producedratherthantailor-made.Andwhileemployeesincreasinglyaremotivatedbystoriesandvaluesratherthanbythecarrot-and-stickcombinationofwageincreaseandthethreatofunemployment,theemployeesgenerallyhavelit-tlecontrolofthestoriesandvaluestheymustbemotivatedby. Thereseemstobeagrowingemotionalneedforreclaimingtheindi-vidualinfluenceandcreativitythatpeoplehadbeforetheindustrialage.Certainly,thedemandforflexibleworkingconditionswithincreasedindividualresponsibilityseemstobegreat,especiallyforyounger,well-educatedemployees.InasurveydonebyCIFSin2004amongDanishemployees,employeesyoungerthan35valuedtheirjob-relatedprofes-sionalandpersonalgrowthhigherthantheydidhighwagesandjobsecu-rity.Thesameneedforindividualinfluenceisseeninconsumption,withagrowinginterestinproductsthatcanbedesignedormodifiedaccordingtotheindividualconsumer’sneedsanddesires. Inaddition,thereisagrowingneedforWesternsocietiestobemorecreativeinordertomeetthechallengesofthefuture.Increasinglycom-plexjobsarebeingoutsourcedorautomated.Westerncountriescan’tcompetewithe.g.Chinainmass-productionofinexpensivematerialgoods.Routinejobsintheknowledgeindustries,likeprogramming,areincreasinglyoutsourcedtoIndiaandRussia.Afterall,ifthejobisdoneviatheinternet,itmakesnodifferenceiftheemployeesitsnextdoororinanotherpartoftheworld. However,morejobsintheWestarelosttoautomationthantooutsourc-ing.Computersandrobotsbecomeincreasinglysophisticated.Moreandmorefunctionsine.g.thebankindustryarebeingmovedtocomputersthatprovideaccess24/7fromanyinternetconnection.Inhospitals,robotsareassistingorevenreplacingsurgeonsonroutineoperations. Whenmoreandmorejobsareoutsourcedandautomated,someworrythatthiswillleadtoincreasingunemployment.But,asmentionedabove,


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automationinthepasthasnotledtounemployment;instead,jobshavemovedtonewfunctionsthatarelesseasilyautomated.Inasimilarvein:WhenJapanblossomedasanindustrialsuperpowerinthe1960’sand‘70s,manyfearedfortheWesterneconomy.ButastheJapaneseeconomyboomed,JapanstartedimportingmoreandmoreluxuryproductsfromtheWest,creatingmorenewjobsthanwerelostduetothecompetition.Hence,itisprobablysafetothinkthatthesamewillhappeninthefuture.Asjobsarelosttooutsourcingandautomation,newjobsarecreatedinotherfields.Whentasksandproductscanbedonemoreefficientlyduetoe.g.outsourc-ingandautomation,thentheglobalsocietybecomesricher.Andwhenasocietygetsricher,itscitizenscanaffordnewproductsandservices,andnewjobsarecreatedtosupplythesenewproductsandservices. Itisprobablysafetoguessthatmany,evenmost,ofthenewjobsthatarecreatedwillinvolvecreativityorinnovationofsomesort.Weareevennowseeingagrowthincreativejobsinresearch,productdevelopment,entertainmentanddesign.Suchjobsaren’teasilyautomated(thoughcom-puterscertainlycanbepowerfultoolsinthesefields).Theyarealsolesslikelytobeoutsourcedtothenewgrowtheconomies.Thegrowthecono-mieswillhavelessinducementtobecreative,sincetheydoverywelljustdoingwhattheydonow.Also,manyAsianculturesrespectauthorityandtraditionoverindividualismandexperimentationandarethuslesscondu-civetothepromotionofpersonalcreativity. Inotherwords,peopleinWesternnationswanttobecreative,andWesternnationsneedtobemorecreative.ButcanWesternnationsbemorecreative?Thisisadifficultquestiontoanswer.However,manythingsindi-catethatthetoolsforincreasedcreativityarepresentintheWesternsocieties. OnesuchtoolismodernWesternculture,whichpromotesindividual-ism,experimentationanddiversity(inthesenseofnotjustethnicdiver-sity,butageneraldiversityofvaluesandlifestyles).Diversityisapower-fultoolforinnovation.Themoreideasaretested,andthemorevariedtheseideasare,themorelikelyitisthatoneoftheideaswillwork–andthisistrueforsocialinnovationaswellasforproductinnovation.Infact,theEuropeanRenaissancewasverymuchdrivenbyanacceptanceofnewideas–oftenonesoriginatinginAsia(includingpapermoney,gunpow-der,railroads,andpasta).ThatAsiannationslikeChinaweremorereluc-


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tanttosimilarlyadoptnewideascomingfromEuropemaywellexplainwhytheylostthebattleforglobaldominationinthesecondmillennium,inspiteofinitiallybeingmorehighlydevelopedintechnology,organisa-tionandculture. Anothertoolforcreativitycanbefoundintechnologicaladvances.Intheearlyyearsofthe20thcentury,whenrecallingtheprocessfordevelopingareliableelectricallightbulb,inventorThomasEdisonwrote:“BeforeIgotthrough,Itestednofewerthan6,000vegetablegrowths,andransackedtheworldforthemostsuitablefilamentmaterial,”andonthisbasishemadehisperhapsmostfamousstatement:“Geniusisonepercentinspirationandninety-ninepercentperspiration.”Inotherwords,thehardpartisn’tgettingthegoodideas,butimplementingthem. However,morethanacenturyhaspassedsinceEdisondevelopedthelightbulb,andmuchhashappenedespeciallyinthefieldofinformationtechnology.Itispossibletodaytotestdesignsandtheorieswithcomputermodelsbeforedoingactualreal-lifetesting,andcomputerscanalsodocal-culationsinhoursthatitwouldtakeanengineeralifetimetodoonpaper.Inshort,technologyfreesusfromalotofthehardworkor‘perspiration’,makingtheinspirationalworkagreaterpartofcreativework.Itmaywellbethatinthefuture;geniuswillbe99%inspirationand1%perspiration. Thebestexampleofthismaybeanimatedmovies.Inold-stylehigh-qualityanimation,youhavetohand-paint25framespersecond–quiteanexcruciatingprocess.ThemakingofDisney’sSnow White,forexample,requiredmorethantwomillionhanddrawings.Inmoderncomputeranimation,computersdrawthe25framespersecond,andtheyalsohelpwiththedesignandmotionofcharacters,backgroundandprops.Sincethecomputersdomuchofthedull,hardwork,moretimeisfreedforthemoreexcitingcreativework. ThecentralideaofCreativeManisthusthatcreativityandinnovationwillbemoreimportantinthefuture,inconsumptionandleisureaswellasinbusinessandtheworkplace,becausewewantitandweneeditandwecandoit. Whatthismeanswillbeexplainedinmoredetailinthesecondhalfofthisdocument.Beforethen,wearegoingtoexploreinthenextchapterhowCreativeManrelatestoDreamSocietyandindustrialsociety.


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04:A Model of society’s Logics

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In the previous three chapters, we have described how agrarian society was followed by industrial society and then Dream Society and Creative Man’s soci-ety. Does this mean that we can soon forget all we learned about how indus-trial society and Dream Society work? Probably not. Even though we have long since left agrarian society, agriculture is still important to our society – though far less important in terms of economy and particularly employment than before. In a similar manner, industrial society and Dream Society are likely to remain important. We can in fact argue that the logics that drive industrial society and Dream Society still are present and are likely to be so in the future as well.



Asocietyisdrivenbytheneedsofitscitizensandtheopportunitiestheyhaveforsatisfyingtheseneeds.Asnewneedsandnewopportunitiesarise,societychanges.Butwhatneedsdohumanbeingshave?Toanswerthat,wecanturntothescienceofpsychology. PerhapsthemostfamousdescriptionofbasichumanneedsistheoneintroducedbypsychologistAbrahamMaslowwithhisHierarchyofNeeds.Maslowstatesthatinmostcases,peopledon’tfocusonneedshigherinthehierarchybeforehavingadequatelysatisfiedallthelowerones.Originally,Maslowincludedfivelevelsofneedsinhishierarchy:physiologicalneeds,safetyneeds,belongingness&loveneeds,esteemneeds,andself-actualisation.Thetwolowerlevelsdealwithmaterialneeds,whilethenexttwodealwithsocialneeds.Allofthesearedeficitneeds,whilethefifthlevel,self-actualisation,isagrowthneed.Maslowlaterdifferentiatedthehumangrowthneeds,mostimportantlystatingthatonecouldtranscendoneselfinthehigherlevelsofself-actualisation,feelingtheneedtodosomethingforotherpeopleoranidealwithoutget-tinganythinginreturnexceptafeelingofhavingdonetherightthing.InthetheoryofCreativeMan,wehavechosentoincludethislevelofneedontopofMaslow’soriginalfivelevels(seefigure).However,thisisn’tcru-cialforthevalidityofthetheory. AtCIFS,weacknowledgethatMaslowhasprovidedagoodlistofcat-egoriesofhumanneeds;however,wedon’tthinkthereisanystronghier-archyintheseneeds.Foronething,therearenumerousexamplesofpeo-pleorgroupsofpeoplethathavedifferentpriorities,frompolicemenandfirementhatdailyrisktheirexistenceforthesakeoftheircommunitytothearchetypalstarvingartiststhatratepersonalgrowthovermaterialneeds.Moreimportantly,inmostWesternsocietiestheaveragecitizencanadequatelysatisfyneedswithinallthecategorieswithoutusingallhisorherresourcesintermsofmoney,timeandenergy.Oncethislevelofresourceshasbeenreached,wethinkthatwhatneedsanyadditionalresourcesarespentonbecomesahighlyindividualmatter.Somewillfocusmainlyonmaterialneeds,whileotherswillfocusonsocialneedsorpersonalgrowth. Whatneedsareinfocusmayevenbesituationalinthesensethatthesameindividualmayfocusondifferentneedsindifferentlifesituations.

34 Creative Man - Logikker

MasLows anD aLDErFErs hiErarChiEs oF MoTivaTionaL nEEDs

TrANSCENDENCE

SELF-ACTuALISATION

ESTEEM NEEDS

BELONGINGNESS NEEDS

SAFETy NEEDS

PHySIOLOGICAL NEEDS

GrOwTH

rELATEDNESS

ExISTENCE

ThrEE sPhErEs oF nEEDs

SOCIAL NEEDS

PErSONAL GrOwTHMATErIAL NEEDS

The psychologist Clayton Alderfer introdu-ced his own hierarchy of needs in his book Existence, relatedness & Growth, based on research on the motivations of employees. Alderfer’s three needs correspond rather closely to Maslow’s: Existence corresponds to the sum of Maslow’s physiological needs and safety needs, relatedness corresponds

to the sum of Maslow’s belongingness & love needs and esteem needs, and Growth corresponds to the sum of Maslow’s self-actualisation and transcendence. In Alderfer’s theory, the hierarchy is far less rigid than in Maslow’s case, and Alderfer recognises that different cultures may have different priorities.

BELONGINGNESS NEEDS

SAFETy NEEDS

SAFETy NEEDS

PHySIOLOGICAL NEEDS TrANSCENDENCE

SELF-ACTuALISATION

ESTEEM NEEDS

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The industrial Logic Dream society's logic Creative Man's logic

organisation HIErArCHy COrPOrATE VALuES NETwOrK

Motivation MATErIAL NEEDS, COMFOrT AND SAFETy

SOCIAL NEEDS, DrEAMS AND VALuES

PErSONAL GrOwTH, CHALLENGES AND OPPOrTuNITIES

The good workplace GOOD PHySICAL wOrK ENVIrONMENT

GOOD SOCIAL wOrK ENVIrONMENT

GOOD CrEATIVE wOrK ENVIrONMENT

The good employee STABLE LOyAL INNOVATIVE

Most important product qualities

A GOOD PrICE, EASE OF uSE

A GOOD STOry, BrANDING

THE PErSONAL TOuCH, CHOICES

recreation rELAxATION ADVENTurE CrEATIVE ACTIVITIES

Technology AuTOMATION COMMuNICATION CrEATION

The ideal THE MILLIONAIrE THE STOryTELLEr THE INNOVATOr

The loser THE ODDBALL THE BOrING THE uNINVENTIVE

religion (if any)

CHurCH rELIGION – OrGANISED AND TrADITIONAL

NEw AGE – ExCITING AND DIFFErENT

INDIVIDuAL BELIEF – PErSONAL AND uNIquE

CrEATIVE MAN'S LOGIC

DrEAM SOCIETy'S LOGIC

THE INDuSTrIAL LOGIC

a MoDEL oF soCiETy's LogiCs

SAFETy NEEDS

3� Creative Man - Logics

Adivorcedman,forinstance,whohascustodyofhischildreneveryotherweekend,willwhenheiswithhiskidsprimarilyfocusonbelongingness(beingwithhischildren),esteem(beingconsideredagooddad)andsafety(keepingthekidssafe).Thesamemanmaythenextweekendgowhitewa-terrafting,andnowself-actualisationistheprimaryfocus,withverylittlefocusonsafetyneeds. Forthisreason,CIFShasre-formulatedMaslow’shierarchyasarangeofneedswithoutanyfixedpriority.Individualsorculturesmayhavetheirparticularpriorities,butthesearemuchmoresubjecttochangeovertimethanbefore.Tosimplifythingsfurther,wereducetheneedstothreegeneralspheresofneeds:materialneeds(safetyandphysiologicalneeds),socialneeds(esteemandbelongingness)andpersonalgrowthneeds(transcendenceandself-actualisation),asshowninthefigureonpage34.UnlikeMaslow’shierarchy,whichsuggeststhattheupperneeds,withsmallerareas,arelessimportantthanthelowerones,thisrepresentationshowsallneedstobeequal,atleastonanoveralllevel. Ifwenowlookatthethreesocietieswediscussedinthefirstthreechapters,wefindthateachismainlydrivenbyoneofthethreespheresofneeds.Industrialsocietywasmainlydrivenbythedesireforgreaterfulfilmentofmaterialneeds.DreamSocietythenrosebecausethefocusshiftedtoemotional,socialneeds.CreativeMan,inturn,isbasedontheneedforpersonalgrowth. Thisrealisation–thatthedifferentsocietiesaredrivenbydifferentbasicneeds–hasseveralinterestingconsequences.Forone,itmeansthatDreamSocietyandCreativeMan’ssocietydon’treplaceindustrialsociety;theymerelyaddtoit.Theneedsthatdriveindustrialsocietyarestillpresent,buthavebeensupplementedwiththesocialneedsthatdriveDreamSocietyandtheneedsforpersonalgrowththatdriveCreativeMan’ssociety.Thethreedifferentneedsandthemethodsweusetosat-isfythemcanbeconsideredtheunderlyinglogicsofthethreesocieties.

- Theindustriallogicisdrivenbymaterialneedsthataresatisfiedthroughmass-productionandsystematisation.Otherkeywordsforthislogicareefficiency,rationality,certification,andstandardisa-tion.

37Creative Man

- DreamSociety’slogicisdrivenbyemotional,mostlysocialneedsthataresatisfiedthroughstorytellingandexcitingexperiences.Otherkeywordsforthislogicarebranding,relationships,immate-rialism,andemotionalcontent.

- CreativeMan’slogicisdrivenbyneedsforpersonalgrowththataresatisfiedthroughindividualismandcreativity.Otherkeywordsforthislogicareinteractivity,adaptability,self-actualisation,andnet-works.

Peoplearen’tfullysatisfiedunlesstheycansatisfyallthreegroupsofneedsatonce–whysettleforonethingwhenyoucanhaveeverything?Forthisreason,thethreelogicsaren’tmutuallyexclusive;infact,thingsworkbestifallthreelogicsaresatisfied.Hence,wedepictthethreelog-icsasoverlappingcircles,whereitisbesttobeclosetothecentre(seefigureonpage35).Thenextchapterwillprovideexamplesofhowthismodelworks.

05:Examples of the Logics’ importance

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In this chapter, we will look at several examples of how the model of three societal logics presented in the last chapter actually works in different busi-ness contexts.


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Example: consumption

Intheindustriallogic,theconsumertriestogetthehighestvalueformoney–eitherthegreatestquantityorthebestfunctionalquality.Ifthegood-enoughproductisalotcheaperthanthebest,youchoosethegoodenough.Itshouldalsobequickandeasytouse,since‘timeismoney’.Thegeneralproductionprincipleismassproductionwiththeeconomiesofscalethisprovides.Salestechniquesthatworkaccordingtotheindustriallogicarequantumdiscounts,pricecutsandassurancesof‘newimprovedquality’.Discountstoresverymuchlivebytheindustriallogic,whichhasgreatimpactinthefieldsthataren’tofhighinteresttotheindividualcon-sumer.Butthereisn’talotofmoneytobemadeonbeingthecheapestonthemarket,sothepureindustriallogiconlyworkswhereeconomiesofscalearesignificant.Agoodt-shirtaccordingtothislogicise.g.thekindwhereyouget5for€12. ConsumptionaccordingtoDreamSociety’slogicisdescribedinDream Societyfrom1999(orseechapter2).Themainpointisthatemotionsandstorieswillmakeupanincreasingpartofourconsumption.The‘extra’putintoaproductassalesargumentsistypicallyastory:Astoryabouttheproductionoftheproduct(asfortheNorwegianLinieAkvavit,whichissoldthroughthestorythateachbottlehasbeenonatripacrosstheequator)orstoriesaboutwhousestheproduct(likeBacardiRumwiththestoriesaboutTheLatinQuarter).It’snotjustamatterofbranding.StatussymbolsarealsoapartofDreamSociety’slogic:thingsyoudon’tneces-sarilyneed,butwhichareusedtotellsomethingabouttheconsumer’staste,identityandwealth.Agoodt-shirtaccordingtothislogicise.g.onepromotingManchesterUnited. DreamSociety’slogichasverymuchshownitsdurability;butwemayconsiderifthereisn’talimittohowmuchextrayoucanchargeforaproductsimplybyaddingsomeemotionsandstories.Theincreasinglyconsciousconsumershavee.g.becomebetteratseeingthroughastorybehindabrandorproductanddeterminingifitistrueorfalse–andthenrejectingthefauxstories. CreativeManisverymuchanindividualistandwouldliketospendtime,moneyandenergyonthingsthatmatter.Inreturn,hedoesn’twanttospendalotofenergyonthingsthatdon’tmatterorarecon-


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sideredanecessaryevil.Exactlywhatthingsarehighinterestandlowinterestvaryalotfromindividualtoindividual,soitishardtopointatspecificareasthatgenerallywillbelowinterestandhighinterestinthefuture.CreativeManwantsproductsandservicesthatareperson-allyadaptedtohisparticularneeds.Thisrequiresaverywideselectionorfunctionsthatallowtheconsumerhimselftodesignorputtogethertheproduct.Massproductsareformasspeople;theydon’tsayanythingpersonalabouttheconsumer. CreativeManlikestoexpressandexhibithisartisticabilitiesandhisinventiveness.Hence,thereisamarketfortoolsand‘buildingblocks’forcreativepurposes.Thetoolsandbuildingblockscanbe‘old-fashioned’andphysicallikehammer,nailsandboardsorbrush,paintandcanvas–ortheycanbetechnological,e.g.computerprogramsforvideoediting,graphicsanddesktoppublishing.Agoodt-shirtaccordingtothislogicise.g.oneyoucanprintyourownmotiveon. Productsorservicesthatonlyliveuptooneofthethreelogicshavelimitedopportunitiesforcreatingaprofit.Thepureindustrialproductwithoutbrandorstory,whichdoesn’tprovideopportunitiesforcrea-tiveactivityorinnovativeuse,isadiscountproductthatyoudon’twanttowastetoomuchmoneyorenergyon.Noristherealotofinterestinstoriesorcommunitiesthataren’ttiedtoaphysicalplaceorproductandwhichdon’tenrichyoumentallyorculturally.Thepureversionofcon-sumptionbyCreativeMan’slogiclargelybelongstotheinformalecono-my;itisdo-it-yourselfandcreate-it-yourself. WehaveseenmanyexamplesofthesuccessfulcombinationoftheindustriallogicwithDreamSociety’slogic,whereamass-producedprod-ucthasachievedaddedvaluebybeingtiedtoastrongbrandandsomegoodstories.ThereisreasontobelievethatsomethingsimilarcouldhappenifyoucombineCreativeMan’slogicwithoneofthetwootherlogics.TheindustriallogiccanbecombinedwithCreativeMan’slogicintheshapeofprosumerserviceswheretheconsumerbecomespartpro-ducerinordertocreateapersonal,uniqueproduct(thisisdiscussedindetailinchapter6).ThecombinationoftheindustriallogicwithCreativeMan’slogiccanalsobeintheshapeofsemi-manufacturedarticleswhereyoucanfinishtheproductandgiveitpersonaltraits,asinBuild-a-Bear


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Workshop,whereyoucancustomiseyoursofttoybycombiningvariouspre-producedparts. TherearealsoexamplesofsuccessfullycombiningDreamSociety’slogicwithCreativeMan’slogic.OneexampleisYahooGroups,whichofferselectronicnetworksforclubsandassociationsintheshapeofweb-sites,mailinglistsandcalendarfunctions.HerethesocialdimensionsofDreamSocietyarecombinedwithclubactivities(CreativeMan’slogic)–andalsowiththeindustriallogic,sincethiskindofelectronicnetworktendstobeastandardisedsolution.Somethingsimilarisseenwithonlinecomputergames,whichofferinteractiveentertainmentwheretheplayers’abilitiesarechallenged,butalsoprovidesocialactivitywheretheplayersspeakwitheachotherduringthegame–eventhoughtheymaybeindif-ferentpartsiftheworld. Theidealaccordingtothemodelistocombineallthreelogics.OneexamplewherethishasbeendonesuccessfullyisthepopularcollectiblecardgameMagic: The Gathering,whichdominatedthemarketfornon-computerisedgamesinthe1990sandstillisgoingstrong.Collectiblecardsandcardgameshavebeenknownfordecades,buttheAmericangamecompanyWizardsoftheCoast(www.wizards.com)cameupwiththeideaofcombiningthetwointhecardgameMagic: The Gathering.ThegamewasaninstanthitandalmostovernighttransformedWizardsoftheCoastfrombeingarelativelyunknowncompanytobecomingaworldleaderinhobbygames.WhenyoubuyaboxofMagiccards,youdon’tbuyacompletegame,butratheramoreorlessrandomselectionofcommon,uncommonandrarecards.Thepointistobuyseveralboxesandthentradecardswithotherplayers.Whenyouplay,youputtogetherthedeckyouplaywithfromthecardsyouownaccordingtoyourper-sonalstrategy.Thecardsaremass-produced(theindustriallogic),thereisastorybuilduparoundtheworldthegametakesplaceinaswellasasocialaspect(DreamSociety’slogic),andfinally,yourabilitiesarechal-lenged,bothwhenyouputtogetheryourpersonaldeckandwhenyouplay(CreativeMan’slogic).Thecardsonlycostafewcentstoproduce,butthemostrarecardshaveinlessthan12yearsreachedavalueexceed-ing$1000–eventhoughtheirraritysolelyresidesintheproducer’sdeci-siontolimittheprintrun.Morerecently,ithasbecomepossibletocollect


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andplayMagic: the Gatheringonline.Hereyoubuyvirtualcards,whichyoucantradeorselltoeachother–forrealmoney.Thesecardscanonlybeusedforonlinegamesanddon’texistinphysicalform–butevenso,therareonescanreachformidableprices.Asonecommenternoted:“Itisbetterthanprintingyourownmoney!”

Example: the workplace

Thegoodworkplaceaccordingtotheindustriallogichashighwagesasthemostimportantfactor.Inthe1960s,thiswastheyardstickforstatusinthelabourmarket.Highwagesprovidedtheopportunityforhighmate-rialwealth,whichwaswhatpeoplesought.Nexttowages,thephysicalworkenvironmentisthemostimportantaspectintheindustriallogic.Fortheworker,itisamatterofnotbecomingillfromworkingorworndownatanearlyage.Throughlabourunions,blue-collarworkershavegainedpoliticalpowerandachievedthresholdvaluesfortoxins,noise,heavylifting,monotonouswork,andmanyotherthings.Forwhite-collarworkers,itismoreamatterofhavingyourownofficewithgoodlightingandperhapsyourownsecretary.Fringebenefitsingeneralarealsoaplusintheindustriallogic. ThemostimportantaspectoftheworkspaceaccordingtoDreamSociety’slogicisthatyoucanempathisewiththecompany’sethicsandvalues.Youprefernottoworkinaplacethate.g.testscosmeticsonani-mals,evenifwagesandworkconditionsaregood.Itisalsoimportanttofeelthatthequalityoftheproductsandservicesyouhelpmakearegoodenough,evenifyouaren’thiredtosellthem.Thebestthingiswhentheworkplacehasastatedsetofvaluesthatalignwellwithyourpersonalval-ues.Thentheworkplacecanachievethecharacterofaclanortribethatyoubelongto.ThissortofthingisgenerallycalledCorporateCultureorevenCorporateReligion.Itisalsoimportanttohaveagoodsocialworkenvironment.Youshouldbeabletogetalongwellwithyourco-workers,andbetteryetfeelthatyoubelongtoapositivecommunitywhereyourco-workersarefriendsaswellascolleagues. Thethingsmentionedabovearen’tunimportantinCreativeMan’slogic.However,itismoreimportanttobeabletoexpressyourabili-tiesandcreatenewthingsorprocessesforthebenefitofyourself,your


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companyortherestoftheworld.Itisaboutopportunitiesforself-actu-alisationandpersonalchallengesandinparticularthattheworkfeelsmeaningful.AgoodworkplaceforCreativeManisonethatleavesroomforsuchopportunities–aworkplacewithagoodcreativeworkenviron-ment.Thebestthingistobeemployedwiththedevelopmentofsome-thingnew,whetheritisincultureandentertainment,designorresearch.Ifthisisn’tpossible,itisimportanttobeabletoorganiseyourownworkinordertoimproveworkproceduresorprofitsthroughyourpersonalefforts.CreativeMandoesn’tliketofeellikeaneasilyreplacedmachinepart;helikestofeeluniqueandirreplaceable,thathehassomethingspe-cialtooffer.Agoodworkplaceshouldprovideroomforthat. Whatisthereallygoodworkplace?Once,mostpeopleweresatisfiediftheworkplaceliveduptotherequirementsofoneofthethreelogics.Themostcommonwastheindustriallogic–youcouldputupwithalotifthepaywasgoodandthephysicalconditionsdecent.Manywerealsoinvolvedinvoluntaryworkinsocialassociations(DreamSociety’slogic)suchassportsclubsorthescoutmovement,andfinallytherewasagroupofespeciallyartistsandwritersthatforsookmaterialgoodsinordertoexpresstheircreativetalents(CreativeMan’slogic).Thereprobablyaren’tverymanytodaywhowouldputupwithajobthatonlysatisfiesasinglelogic.ThegrowthofaffluenceintheWesternworldmeansthatitisperfectlypossibletosurviveonrelativelysmallwages.Manyevenchoosetoworkparttimeinordertogetmoretimeforcrea-tiveandsocialactivities–particularlyiftheworkplacedoesn’tofferenoughofthese.Thegeneraltrendistowardsasmallerworkforce.Thebiggenerationsareabouttoleavethelabourmarket,andthenewgen-erationsthatreplacethemaresomeofthesmallestthatwereborninthelastcentury.Thelabourmarketofthefuturewillbethelabourer’smarket,andcompanieswillcompetetorecruitandretainincreasinglypickyemployees.Hencetheworkplaceshouldbeabletoliveuptoatleasttwoofthelogics–ifpossible,allthreeofthem.Theworkplacesthatdon’tmanagethiswillatbestattractonlytheemployeesthatcan’tgetanyotherwork,andthenthequalityoftheworkwillreflectthis.Fortraditionalproductionandserviceworkplaces,wherethereisn’tmuchroomforinnovationandcreativity,itwillincreasinglybecome


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necessarytoofferagoodcompanycultureinadditiontodecentwages–toaddressDreamSociety’slogicinadditiontotheindustriallogic–inordertoattractqualifiedandableemployees. IftheworkplacelivesuptoCreativeMan’slogic,itisoftenenoughtoaddressoneoftheothertwologics.Forinstance,themovieindustryhasnotroublegettingpeopletoworkforlittleornomoney.Here,crea-tiveworkiscombinedwiththedreamofHollywoodandbecomingapartofthejetset.ThecommonprojectoftellingastoryalsoverymuchbelongstoDreamSociety’slogic,whilethecreationprocessitselfbelongstoCreativeMan’slogic.VoluntaryworkisanotherexampleofworkthatoftencombinesDreamSociety’slogicwithCreativeMan’slogic.Workingforacause,forsomethingthatreachesbeyondyourself,isalsoapartofCreativeMan’slogic(asperMaslow’sneedoftranscendence).Voluntaryworkistypicallyorganisedaroundstrongsocialcommunities,andthatsatisfiesDreamSociety’slogic.Volunteersworkinginthethirdworldnotonlydosowithouthighwages;theyalsoabandonagoodmeasureofper-sonalcomfortandsecurity–atestamenttothepoweroftherightcombi-nationoftwologics. ThecombinationofCreativeMan’slogicandtheindustriallogiccane.g.befoundinadvertisingandmarketing.Itisaboutfindingnewandsmartwaystosellthingsinacreativeworkenvironment(CreativeMan’slogic),andwagesandphysicalconditionsareusuallyalsoquitedecent(theindustriallogic).Inreturn,DreamSociety’slogicisoftenmissing,especiallywhenmarketingproductsyoudon’tfeelanythingfororatworstdon’tfullycondone(e.g.tobaccoproductsorinferiorproducts). Theneedsthatemployeescan’tfulfilattheirworkplaces,theywilltrytosatisfyintheirleisuretimeorthroughasecondaryjob.Thefewerneedsaworkplacecansatisfy,andtheworseitisatsatisfyingthem,themorelikelyitisthattheemployeewillreduceworkinghoursinordertocreateroomoutsidetheworkplacefortheseneeds.Themoredynamicworkerssolvetheproblembyestablishingtheirowncompaniesorbecomingfreeagents.Butmanyothersareinsteadgoingtospendtheirenergywiththeirfamiliesoratclubwork,wheretherearebetteroppor-tunitiesforsocialandcreativeactivities,ortheymaytakeperiodicjobstofinancemoreenjoyableworkthatisn’tprofitablehereandnow–but


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alwaysisconamore.Forthisreason,theremaybesocietalconsequencesiftoomanyworkplacesinaregiondon’tsufficientlyliveuptoatleasttwoofthethreelogics.Thiswillmakemanychoosetoreducetheirwork-inghours,orseekgreenerpasturesawayfromtheregion,thuscontribut-inglesstotheregion’seconomy.

Example: Mass Media

Inthisexample,welookatwhatthenewchallengesmeanformassmedia.Asbefore,westartwithabrieflookathowtheoldandfamiliarmarketlogicsinfluencethemediamarket. Theindustriallogicconcernsitselfwithkeepingcostsdownthroughmoreorlessfullyautomatedandsystematisedproductionanddistribu-tion.Mostmassmediaalreadyfulfilthislogic.Eventelevisionprograms,traditionallyveryexpensivetoproduce,havebecomesocheapthatsmalllocalorspecialisedTVstationscanproducethem. DreamSociety’slogicconcernsitselfwithgivingtheproductastorythateitherbolstersthecustomer’sidentityorreputationorstrength-ensamentalorsocialcommunity.Inthisregard,amassmedium’sownstoryisatleastasimportantasthestoriesandnewsitdistributes.The Washington Post,forinstance,hasitsownlegendaboutitsroleinWatergate,andapaperlikeThe London Timeshasalegendaboutrespect-abilityandcentury-oldtraditions.Othernewspaperstargetaparticulargroupofpeopleandtrytobecomepartofthisgroup’snarrativeandidentity;examplesincludeThe EconomistandThe National Enquirer,twopaperswithverydifferentcorereaders.OneofthemassmediathathashadthemostsuccessinthisfieldisthetelevisionchannelMTV,aninstitutionthatbecamesomuchapartofageneration’sstorythatitactu-allyhasbecomeknownas‘theMTVGeneration’.MTVwasalsoanearlyexampleofthespecialisedTVchannelsthatareshowingupingreaterandgreaternumbers:CNN,Eurosport,PlayboyChannel,FashionTV,Discovery,TurnerClassicMovies,Sci-FiChannel,etc.Thesechannelshavestrongerstoriesthanthechannelsthatareall-inclusiveandtrytobesomethingforeveryone. ThebigquestionthenbecomeshowtolinkmassmediatoCreativeMan’slogic.Thislogicconcernsitselfwithdevelopingyourselfandyour


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individualabilitiesandwithdoingsomethingconcreteforyourself,foranidealorforotherpeople.Weseefourwaystodothis:

1.Customisable,personalisedmassmedia2.Massmediaascreativetoolsornetworks3.Massmediathatchallengesitsusers4.Innovativemarketideasformassmedia

Makingamassmediumcustomisableandpersonalisedmeansturningthemediumintoa‘pull’mediuminsteadofa‘push’medium:allowingthecustomertoselecttheitemshewantswhenhewantsthem,ratherthandeliveringareadymadepackageatfixedtimes.ATVchannelisatypical‘push’medium:theviewerhasnocontroloverwhatissentandwhenitissent,buthestillhastopayforitall,eventhoughheisonlyinterestedinapartofit.Avideorentalstore,conversely,isa‘pull’medium:thecus-tomercanchoosewhathewantstoseeandwhenhewantstoseeit.TheinternettelevisionoftomorrowwillcombinetheflexibilityofthevideostorewiththeconvenienceoftheTVchannelbyallowingthecustomertodownloadtheprogramshewantsdirectlyintohislivingroomwhenhewantsit.Whenitcomestoprintedmedia,thecustomertodayhastheoptiontosubscribetoamultitudeofspecialisedmagazinesthat,incombi-nation,willsatisfyanyconsumer’sindividualneeds.Butthissolutioncaneasilybecomequiteexpensiveiftheconsumerdesiresfrequentlyupdatednewsinanumberofdifferentfields.Onepossibilityfornewspaperscouldbetooffertheircustomersthechoiceofsubscribingtoaselectionofsectionswithoutrequiringthemtogetthemall.Ifyou’renotinterestedinsportsandyoudon’tplantochangeyourjoboryourplaceofresidenceanytimesoon,youwouldbeabletorejectthesports,jobandhousingsec-tionsandmaybeinsteadselectsectionsaboutart,business,science,andentertainment.Amoreefficientoptioncouldbetoletanonlineservicesupplementorreplacetheprintedmedium.Theinternetisjustabouttheultimate‘pull’medium.Youcan,forexample,accessdecades’worthofnewsandfeaturesinsearchablearchiveswithouteverleavingyourchair.Itisquiteeasytosetupawebsitetooffertailoredaccesstodifferentsec-tionsandthechoiceofunlimitedaccessatafixedpriceorpay-per-view.


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Customisablemassmediamayalsobetheanswertotheincreasinglydiversepopulation.Anewspapercoulde.g.haveoptionalsectionswrit-tenfor–andby–peoplefromthevariousimmigrantpopulationgroupsaswellasthestrongerinternationalsubcultures.OrthenewspapercouldallyitselfwithaselectionofmorespecialisedmagazinesandoffertohaveonedeliveredeveryweekwiththeSundayedition:eitheraspecificmaga-zinecateringtoaspecificpopulationgroup,orchangingmagazinesforthosewholiketobebroadlyinformed. Massmediacanalsoservetofacilitatecreativeandinnovativenet-works.Amediumcanprovideforumsfordiscussion,whetherthroughe-mail,blogsandchatroomsorthroughmoreold-fashionedlettercol-umns.Themediumcanalsoprovideroomforpeopleinanetworktopublishtheirresultsandopinionsortocommentsonotherpeople’sresultsandopinions.Newsaboutpeopleinthenetwork(awards,exhibi-tions,appointments,jubilees,etc.)mayalsoservetoknitthenetworktightertogether. Arequirementforthistoworkistolooseneditorialpoweroverthecontent.Traditionalmediahaveveryhierarchicalstructureswiththeeditorkeepingtightreinontheopinionsexpressedinthemedium.Thisdoesn’tsuitcreativenetworks,whichtendtohaveflatstructuresandtothriveondifferencesofopinion.Theeditorshouldonlystepintopreventthetonegettingoutofhandortostopdeadlockeddiscussions.Inaddition,themediashouldrelylessonafixedstaffofwriters,jour-nalistsandproducersandmoreonutilizingthenetworkstheycaterto.Thiswillatoncewidentheperspectivesofthemediaandreducethechanceofgettinganintroverted,out-of-touchworkforce.Theverypopu-larKoreanonlinenewspaperOhMyNewsreliesentirelyonnon-profes-sionaljournalists. CreativeManwantstodevelophisabilitiesandopinionsthroughbeingchallenged.Beingmadeawareofhardtruthsisonewaytodothis.CreativeMandoesn’twanttobetoldprettyliesabouthoweverythingisgoingtoworkoutintheend.Ifthereareproblemsthatwillaffecthim,hewillwanttoknowaboutthemandconsiderhowtohandlethem.Eveniftherearenoeasyoverallsolutions(aswiththeproblemofEurope’sage-ingpopulation),CreativeManmaybeabletofindasolutionforhimself


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andpeoplelikehim,or,attheveryleast,seeopportunitiesinthechal-lengesahead. Finally,inadditiontocateringtoCreativeMan,themediamayalsotrytoadaptCreativeMan’slogictotheirownmarketideasandques-tiontraditionalwaysofdoingthings.E.g.,donewspapersreallyhavetobesoldthroughsubscriptionsandnewsoutlets?ThenewspaperMetrohasachievedsuccessinmanycountriesbygivingpapersawayforfreeontrainstationsandbusstops.Freenewspapersthatmaketheirprofitfromsellingadsaren’tanythingnew,buttheyaretraditionallydeliveredtopeople’shomes,andpeopleathometendtohaveenoughthingsthatoccupytheirtime.Metroreachesthepublicwhentheyhavetimetokill(onpublictransportation),andthissimple,yetradicalideaiswhatmakesthedifference.Thesolutionmaynotworkforverylong,though.Oncewirelessinternetaccessbecomesaccessibletomostpeople,timespentinpublictransportationwillnotbetimetokill,butjustasbusyastimespentathomeorintheoffice.


2.Consequences

06:The Rise of the Prosumer

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Since the rise of industrial society, the producer of goods and the consumer of goods have been considered two separate entities with no interaction except during the moment of pur-chase. Even then, there usually are several degrees of separation, since the producer will sell to a distributor, who in return sells to a shop, which then sells to the consumer. However, many things suggest that this separa-tion is coming to an end, and in the future we will increasingly see the pro-ducer and the consumer merge into a single entity – the prosumer.

Creative Man - Consequences

59Creative Man - Consequences

Theriseoftheprosumerisdeterminedbytwotrends:Theincreasingdesireamongconsumerstohavegreaterinfluenceontheproductstheyconsume,andthetechnologicaladvancesthatallowgreaterflexibilityandinteractivityinproduction. ThedayswhenallFordcarswereblackhavelongpassed.Whenyouorderanewcartoday,youcanspecifyallsortsofthingslikethecolourofthepaint,thefabricoftheseats,whetheritshouldbeaconvertibleoracoupe,andifthecarshouldhaveaircondition,stereo,etc.Almostallproductsareavailableingreatervarietythanbefore,andmanyallowthecustomerstopersonallydesignorspecifydetails.Oftenyoucanmakethesedecisionsinteractivelyonawebsite.OnBMW’swebsite,youcandesignyourownindividualcar,andonNike’s‘NikeID’site,youcandesignyourownshoes.Itisworthnoticingthatthereisnopricedif-ferencebetweenthetailor-madeversionsandtheoff-the-shelfversionsoftheseproducts.Inboththesecases,youarelimitedtochoosingwhatcoloursdifferentpartsoftheproductshouldhave;youcan’tchangethebasicshapes,patternsandfunction(however,thisstillleavesliterallymillionsofvariations).However,productiontechnologygetsincreasinglyadvanced,andinthefuture,wewilllikelyseemorewide-rangingdesignchoicesinthissortofinteractivedesign. Anewproductiontechnologythatpromisestorevolutionisethewaywemakephysicalproductsistoextendprintingtechnologyintomakingthree-dimensional,workingproducts.Suchprinters,mostofwhichstillareattheprototypestage,buildproductsbylayeringdotsofsomesolidmaterial,forinstancepolymers. A‘gadgetprinter’developedbytheUniversityofCaliforniainBerkeleyusesaselectionofinsulating,conductiveandsemi-conductingpolymerstoprintelectronicdevicesinasingleprocess–completewithprocessorsandcasing.Byaddingelectroactivepolymers(thatcontractorexpandwhenelec-trified),theprintercanevenaddphysicalactuators(e.g.armsandlegs)totheitemsitprints;somethingtheresearcherscall‘flexonics’.Otherresearchersandstart-upcompanieshaveusedprintingtechniquestoproducebatteries,RFIDchips,displays,andevenhousesandartificialmusclesandorgans. Usingthissortofprintingtechnologyhasseveralinterestingconse-quences.First,andperhapsforemost,itoffershithertounseenlevelsof

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customisation.Justasanormalprintercanprintallsortsoftextsandimages,justbyvaryingtheinputdata,aproductprintercanprintallsortsofgadgets,justbyvaryingtheinputdata.Youdon’thavetoreconfigureyourentireproductionlineinordertomakeachangeintheproductyoumake.Secondly,thisproductionmethodfavoursdecentralisedproduc-tion,wheretheproductiontakesplaceinalocalshopor,intime,evenintheconsumer’sownhome.Inafewyears,youcouldwalkintoalocalelectronicsshopandorderamobilephonethesamecolourasyournewcar,shapedtofityourhand,withexactlythefunctionsandbuttonsyouneed,anditwillthenbeprintedwhileyouwait.Thisalsomeansthattomorrow’selectronicscompaniesmaynotproduceanyphysicaldevicesatall;theywillmerelyproducethecustomisableinputdatafortheprint-ingdevices.This,inturn,willmeanthatalotoftransportationandsto-rageofproductsthatmayneverbesoldwillbedispensedwith–youonlyneedtotransportandstorethe‘ink’theprintersuse. Oneofthefirstplaceswemayseethissortofdecentralisedproduc-tioncouldbebookstores.Wehaveinrecentyearsseenmanyadvancesinprint-on-demandtechnology,anditisnowpossibletoproduceaperfectboundbookinamatterofminutes.Withsuchabookprinterinhisstore,abooksellercanofferanybookforsalethatisavailableintherighttypeofelectronicformat.Nolongerwillbooksbesoldoutorrequireseveralweeks’deliverytime,andeventhetinieststorecanhaveahugeselection.Suchprintersmayevenallowsomecustomisation,suchaschoosingprintsize,fonts,andpaperquality.Givenimprovedtranslationsoftwareinthefuture,thecustomercouldevengetauto-translatedversionsofbooksthataren’totherwiseavailableinhernativelanguage.Thoughsuchtransla-tionsdoubtlesslywillbeinferior,theymaybebetterthannothavinganytranslationatall. Theprosumertrendisalreadyseentoday,eveniftheprintingscenariooutlinedabovehasn’tcometrueyet.Increasingly,companiesallowcus-tomerstoconfiguretheirproductswithinawiderangeofpossibilities.Somecompanieshaveevenmadethistheirkeysellingpoint.ThemostfamousexamplemaybeDellComputerswithitscustomisablelaptops,butamoreextremeexampleisprobablyBuild-a-BearWorkshop.Build-a-BearWorkshopisaninternationalchainofstoresthatsellssofttoys.This


�1Creative Man - Consequences

initselfisnothingnew,butBuild-a-BearWorkshopcansellsofttoysatalothigherpricesthantheircompetitors.Thisisnotbecausethesofttoysarebiggerormadefrombettermaterials(whichwouldbetheindustriallogic).NorisitbecausethesofttoysrepresentsomefamouscharacterslikeWinniethePooh,BugsBunnyorGreatCthulhu(whichwouldbeDreamSociety’slogic).No,Build-a-BearWorkshopcanselltheirsofttoysathighpricesbecausethecustomershavetomakethemthemselves!Thismakesnosensebytheindustriallogic,butalotofsensebyCreativeMan’slogic.Inthestore,youcanpickupanemptyskin,addvariouselectronicstotheinterior,haveyourtoystuffedtoyourliking,andthenclotheandaccessoriseittoyouheart’sdesire.Chancesarethatyouwillendupwithaquiteuniquesofttoy,whichreflectsyourpersonalityfarmorethananyoff-the-shelfsofttoyevercould.Build-a-BearWorkshopisquitesuccessful,eventhoughshoppingatthestorerequiresnotjustquiteabitofmoney,butalsoalotoftimeandenergy. Doestheriseoftheprosumermeanthatthereisnofutureformass-producedproductsorassembly-lineservices?Probablynot.Theactofprosumption(tocoinanewword)requirestimeandenergy;somethingweareonlywillingtoinvestinthingsthatareimportanttous.Ourlivesarefilledwiththingsthatdon’tinterestusverymuch,butstillmustbeattendedto.Thiscouldbeeverydaymeals,workclothes,commuting,housekeeping,orelectroniccommunication–thoughthelistwillvaryalotdependingonindividualpreferences.Foralltheselow-interestthings,wejustwantaneasyandadequatesolution.Itisonlyinconnectionwithourareasofhighinterest(whatevertheymaybe)thatwearewillingtospendthetimeandenergytobeprosumers. Asprosumerstakeagreaterpartinthedesignoftheirconsumerprod-ucts,anewlegalquestionwillarise:Whentheproducerandtheconsum-erbothtakepartinthedesignprocess,whohastheintellectualpropertyrightstothefinalproduct?Ifyoue.g.designaparticularlybeautifulshoeonNikeID,wouldNikehavetherightstomass-produceitwithoutpayingyou?Granted,youhaveonlymadeanumberofcolourchoiceswithintheparameterssetbyNike.Butisthisanydifferent,exceptinmagnitude,fromwhenyouprintacolourimageofyourowndesign?Afterall,youonlychoosewhatcoloursthedifferentdotsonthepageshouldhave,

who owns ThE righTs?

The author Marion Zimmer Bradley, best known for her fantasy novel Mists of Avalon, wrote a popular series of science fiction novels set on the fictional planet Darkover. In the 1980’s, she invited fans of the series to write fan fiction set in her universe. In 1992, her publisher refused to publish one of her Darkover novels (more than one year’s work) because a fan had written a Darkover short story with a similar idea. This fan demanded co-author rights to the novel, and the publisher chose to dump the novel rather than risk a lawsuit. This incident caused Bradley, as well as many other authors, to clamp hard down on any fan fiction based on their works in order to prevent similar future incidents.

rEaD MorE aBouT ProDuCT

PrinTing hErE:

Duncan Graham-Rowe: “‘Gadget printer’ promises industrial revolution” (www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3238)Max Glaskin : “Robot builder could ‘print’ houses”(www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4764)Rachel Metz: “Printing Organs on Demand” (http://wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,69701,00.html)Gregory Daigle: “Printable Robots” (http://english.ohmynews.com/arti-cleview/article_view.asp?article_class=4&no=299900&rel_no=1)

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withintheparameterssetbythecompanythatproducedtheprinter.Itisdoubtfulthatanyprintercompanywouldseriouslyclaimtherightstoeverythingprintedontheirprinters;butNikepossiblyhasavalidclaimontherightstoallNikeIDdesigns–theircustomerscertainlydon’thavetherightstomass-produceanydesignstheymakeonthepage.Sincethedifferencebetweenthesetwosituationsonlyisoneofmagnitude,theremustbeborderlinesituationswhereitwillbeextremelydifficulttodeterminewhohastherightstowhat.Thereisasimilarproblemwithliabilities:whenthecustomerisco-designer,isheorshepartlyorfullyresponsibleiftheproductisfaulty–orevendangerous?


07:Creativity as a Leisure Pursuit

��

The world is characterised by fast-changing lifestyles, near-endless opportunities, and incessant choic-es. Modern man must navigate com-plex streams of information, where there is no lack of data and opinions, but where absolute truths are few and far between.



Whereourpersonalidentitiesinthepastweremouldedbyourori-gins,todaywehavefarmorechoiceinourcareers,valuesandlife-styles.Inourhypercomplex,modernsociety,personalidentitiesaremoreandmorebasedonpersonalchoiceratherthanthevagariesoffate.Identity-formationtodayoftenimpliestryingonarangeofiden-titiesinordertofindoneormorethatfits.Increasingly,wearesocialchameleonsthatquicklycanadapttoverydifferentrolesandsitua-tions.Wearen’tjustindividuals,differentfromotherindividuals;Wearesituals;differentfromevenourselvesaccordingtowhatsituationwearein.Thisdifferenceisreflectednotjustinchangingstylesofclothes,butalsoinchangingspeechpatterns,consumptionbehavi-ours,andsurfacevalues.Tothesitual,thereisnoparadoxine.g.buy-ingdiscountbeerforhomeconsumptionandexpensiveimportedbeerwhenintownwithhisfriends–thetwodifferentsituationscallfordifferentpatternsofbehaviour. The‘megeneration’hastheexperienceandtheexpectationthatallmaterialneedsaresatisfiedasamatterofcourse.Oneoftheconclusionsofthe1995WorldValuesSurvey,asreferencedbyitsdirectorRonaldInglehart,wasthatone’sbasicvaluesreflecttheconditionsthatprevailedduringone’spre-adultyears.Youplacethegreatestsubjectivevalueonthosethingsthatwereinrelativelyshortsupplyduringyourchildhood.The‘megeneration’grewupwithasurplusofmass-producedplastictoys,cheapelectronicsandsoullessentertainmentcateringtothesmallestcom-mondenominator.Theambition,then,isn’ttoobtaingreatermaterialwealth,butrathertoobtaingreaterwealthofpersonality,individualityandmeaning. Forpeopleinvolvedinthedouble-edgedprocessofcreatingthemselvesandfindingthemselves,personalcreativityisbothapowerfultoolandapowerfulneed.Youneedcreativityinordertopresentauniqueselftotherestoftheworld–especiallyifyouwanttopresentdifferentselfstothedifferentnetworksthatmakeupyoursocialandprofessionallife.Youalsoneedcreativityinordertoshowtoyourselfthatyouareindeedauniquepersonwithuniqueabilities,andtoothersthatyouhavethewealthofpersonalitythatisassociatedwithstatusforthegenerationthathasbecomeusedtomaterialwealth.

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Spendingalotofmoneytobuyexpensivestuffdoesn’tshowthatyouarebetterperson–justthatyouhavemoremoney.Infact,excessivematerialconsumptionmayinthefuturecometobeassociatedwithlos-ers,thewaythatexcessivefoodconsumptionistoday(unlikeacenturyago,whenabellybulgeshowedthatyoucouldaffordtoeatmorethanyouneeded).Instead,thereisstatusinbeingabletowriteasongpeoplewanttolistentoorastorypeoplewanttoread,ormakeapaintingormovieclippeoplewanttolookat.Thesesortsofthingscan’tbeboughtformoney,andtheyshowwhoyouaremuchbetterthane.g.buyingaBMWdoes.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatthereisn’taconsumermarketforsuchpeople.Thereisagreatdemandforcreativetools,whetherelectricguitarsorgraphicssuitesforthecomputer,andpeoplearewillingtopayalotfortherighttools. Severalstudiesandsurveysshowthatpersonalleisure-timecreativityisbecomingincreasinglyimportant,andnotjustforthe‘megeneration’.TheDanisheducationalassociationFOFdidastudyofnightschoolsinDenmark,andtheyfoundthattherehasbeenashiftinthemostpopu-larsubjectsoverthelastfewdecades.Before,themainstaysofthenightschoolswerepracticalcourseslikeforeignlanguages,bookkeeping,andcarmaintenance.Now,mostpeopleseekcreativecourseslikepainting,writing,creativecooking,andinteriordesign.TheDanishMinistryofCulturedidastudyin2004oftheDanishpeople’sculturalandleisure-timeactivities.Itshowed,amongotherthings,thatalargefractionofyoungpeoplewrotefiction,poemsandessaysfortheirownpleasureortosharewithothers.Forinstance,22percentofteenagersaged16to19regularlywrotefictionornon-fictionintheirleisuretime,usuallywithinternetpublicationinmind. Suchstudiesmayonlyshowthetipoftheiceberg.Theytendonlytolookattraditionalleisuretimeactivitiesandoutletsforcreativity.Theabove-mentionedsurveyofleisure-timeactivities,forinstance,doesn’tmentionrole-playinggamesatall,eventhoughanotherstudyhasshownthatlive-actionrole-playinghasbecomethemostpopularorganisedout-dooractivityamongyoungDanes,outstrippingevenpopularballgameslikesoccer.Thisisasevereoversight,sincerole-playingrequiresalotmorecreativitythantraditionalleisure-timeactivitieslikedoingsportsor



watchingtelevision.Role-playinggamesareinfactaverygoodexampleoftheriseofCreativeMan’slogic.Whenyoubuyarole-playingbook,youdon’tbuyaready-to-playgame,butratherthetoolsformakingyourowngameaccordingtoyourownpreferences.Theplayersgenerallyalsomaketheirowncharactersandmayagoniseforhoursoverdesignchoicesinordertogettheircharacterjustright. Inrole-playinggames,theplayerstakeanactivepartratherthanjustsittingbackandpassivelyenjoytheshow,asyoudowhenyouwatchasportsgameoramovie.Incomputergames,whichtodayareanindustrycomparabletothemovieindustry,playerstakeasimilarlyactiverole.Manycomputergamesaresimpleshoot-them-downs,withlittlecreativ-ityexceptinstrategyandtactics,butmanyothergames,includingverypopulartitleslikeCivilizationandSim City,theentirepointofthegameistocreateandmanagesomething.Playingcomputergamescanbetime-consumingandhardwork,butplayersarewillingtoinvestthetimeandenergyfornootherrewardthanthesatisfactionofhavingmetadifficultchallenge,oftenonerequiringcreativethought. Theincreasedfocusonpersonalcreativitycanalsobelinkedtothebreakdownoftraditionalfamilystructures.Untilthemiddleofthe20thcentury,thenuclearfamilywasbasedoninterdependency.Thehusbandwastypicallytheprovider,andmenusedmaterialstatussym-bolstoattractapotentialpartner.Thewife,inreturn,caredforhouseandchildren,anddomesticskillswereimportantwhenattractingapotentialpartner.Asthesayinggoes,“thewaytoaman’sheartgoesthroughhisstomach”. ThingshavechangedtodayinmostWesternsocieties.Now,mostwomencanprovideforthemselves,andparentshavecrèchesandkin-dergartenstocareforthechildren.Caringforhomeshasalsobecomealoteasierwithdishwashersandinexpensivehiredhelp.Thismeansthattherenolongerisanypracticalinterdependencytoknitfamiliestogether.Instead,familiesareunitedbyemotionalbonds,andthemainwaytoattractpotentialpartnersisbyshowingemotionalwealththroughperson-ality,style,andcreativity.Itisnolongerenoughjustto‘win’apartner;relationshipsmustbekeptaliveatalltimes;hence,peopleinemotionalrelationships,asopposedtopracticalones,mustcontinuallyupdatetheir

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personalitiesandstylesinordertoremaininterestingintheeyesoftheirpartners.Lifehasbecomeacontinuingcreativeproject,andthegreatestthreattodayisn’tpoverty,buttriviality. Moreandmorepeoplerealisethatlifeisuniqueandfinite.Everyhumanbeinghasalimitedtimeonearth,andthereisnorightofrevoca-tiononwastedhours.Everyhumanlifeisunique,andeverylifestoryisindividual.Massconsumptionandlowest-common-denominatorenter-tainmentareawasteofthisuniqueness.Bythesametoken,creativepeopledon’tmuchcareaboutwhatthemajoritythinksanddoes.AsthemathematicianGodfreyHaroldHardysaid:“Itisnotworthanintelligentman’stimetobeinthemajority.Bydefinition,therearealreadyenoughpeopletodothat.”Sincecreativepeopletrytodistinguishthemselvesfromthemajorityinthismanner,theyaregenerallymoretolerantofothersthataredifferent,andtheytendtofinddiversityinspirationalratherthandiscomfiting.Ifyouwantotherpeopletotolerateandperhapsadmireyourdifferences,thenitfollowsethicallythatyoumustalsotoler-ateandperhapsadmiretheirdifferences. Creativepeopletendtofocusmoreonethicsthanotherpeopledo.Ifyouareapartofthemajority,youdon’tthinkmuchaboutethics.Afterall,ifyoudowhateverybodyelsedoes,itmustbeallright;orifnot,itisn’tyourresponsibility.Ontheotherhand,ifyoudothingsdifferently,youbecomeawarethattheresponsibilityforyouractionscannotbeplacedanywhereelse.Withoutindividuallythinkingpeople,wewouldn’thaveethics,justunthinkingmorality.Itisnotthemassesthatspeakoutagainstthegreatinjusticesintheworld;itistheindividuals.Tryingtochangetheworldisperhapsthegreatestcreativeprojectofall,soitshouldnotcomeasanysurprisethatgreatartistslikethemusiciansStingandBonotakeontherolesofworldchangers. Creativityis,almostbydefinition,aboutchangingtheworld,sincecre-ativityinvolvescreatingsomethingnew.However,creativitydoesn’thavetobeaboutchangingtheworldinamajorway.Inthelongrun,themanysmall,everydaychangesarelikelytohavegreaterimpactthanafew,majorchanges.Artworksthatmaketheworldmorebeautiful,storiesthatmakeusthinkalittlemoreabouttheworld,andinnovationsthatmakelifealittleeasier;thesethingswillinthelongtermmattermoretothe



peopleonthestreetthaneventslike9/11ortheLive8concerts.Itdoesn’tevenhavetobethemissionofcreativepeopletochangetheyworld.Mostcreativepeoplefocusondoingsomethingthatissatisfyingtothem,andperhapsgainingalittlestatusorearningalittlemoneyontheside.Suchselfishmotivesdonot,however,preventwhattheydofrombeingmean-ingfultoothers,andthus,inasmallway,makingtheworldabetterplace(justastheselfishmotivesofcorporationsdon’tpreventthemfrompro-ducingusefulproducts). StatisticsshowthatthevolumeofaltruisticvoluntaryworkisincreasinginWesternsocieties.ThiscanbelinkedtoMaslow’sneedofTranscendence;theneedtodosomethingforanidealorforstrangerswithoutgettinganythinginreturnexceptthefeelingofhavingdonetherightthing(seeChapter4).Voluntaryworkcan,however,alsobeacrea-tiveprojectfortheindividualdoingit.Doingvoluntaryworkinayouthorganisationcanbeaprojectoftryingtoshapetheyouthsintobetterpeople,andvolunteeringtoeditaclubmagazinecanalsobeawaytoexpressyourowncreativity.Thefactthatmostorganisationsfinditdif-ficulttorecruitpeopletodoadministrative,non-creativework,evenifsuchworkisatleastasimportantasthecreativework,indicatesthatthismaybethecase. Aninterestingconsequenceofallthevoluntary,unpaidcreativityisthatweseeagrowingnon-commercialmarketforthingsthattradition-allyhavecostmoney.Ifyousurftheinternet,youcanfindalotoffreeinformation,software,music,stories,artwork,role-playinggames,andmore;someofaqualitythatcompareswithsimilarcommercialproducts.Whilesomesuchproductsaretheworksofsinglepersons,manyaretheresultofcollaborativeworkdoneas‘wikis’(e.g.Wikipedia)orunderopen-sourcelicenses(e.g.Linux).Theseproductsorprojectsmakeuseofaparticularqualitypossessedbyinformation,whichisn’tsharedbymaterialproducts:youcangiveinformationawayandstillkeepit.Thismeansthatiftenthousandpeopleeachputonehour’sworkintocreatinganinformationproduct,theywillallgetthevalueoftenthousandhours’work.It’sabitlikeeverybodywinningthegrandprizeinalottery. Youcanrunyourcomputerusingonlyfreesoftware.Youcanfindfreeinformationaboutalmostanythingontheinternet.Youcanspendall

72 Creative Man - Consequences

yourleisuretimeenjoyingfreeentertainmentofdecentqualitythroughyourbrowser.Andthevolumeandqualityofsuchfreeproductsaregro-wing,courtesyoftheleisure-timecreativityofprofessionalsandnon-pro-fessionalsalike. Eventhoughfreeproductscreatedthroughvoluntaryworkwillbecomeincreasinglypowerfulcompetitorstocommercialproducts,itisunlikelythattheywillcompletelyout-competethem.Afterall,fewfreeproductscomewithanystrongguaranteesorwarranties,andproductsmadebytenthousandvolunteersarelikelytobelessstreamlinedthanprofessionalproductsdevelopedbyasinglecompanyordepartment.However,thecompetitionofnon-commercialproductswillraisethebarontheminimumqualityofcommercialproducts.Thiswillespeciallybefeltintheprofessionalsoftwaremarket,whichtodayischaracterisedbyanexcessofpatches,bugfixes,andurgentupdates.Foracommercialproducttobecompetitivewithanon-commercialoneitmustbesignifi-cantlybetter–andthatisnotalwaysthecaseintoday’ssoftwaremarket.

08:Future Business strategies

7�

What does the rising importance of creativity and innovation mean for future corporate strategy? How should com-panies adapt to the developments, and who will be the competitors? The only constant is change, as the saying goes, and hence companies are going to need new business strategies to survive the new times. Innovative busi-ness strategies are about doing things differently. By doing this, you move into uncharted terrain, and there is of course a risk in doing that. However, with an increasing pace of change, the greater risk may lie in not taking any risks at all. We can point to three basic strategies that seem to work well within the trend of Creative Man.


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strategy number one: go for the creative consumer

Asdiscussedinchapter6,therelationshipbetweenproducerandcon-sumerisbecomingmoreintimate,withgreaterinteractivityandcustomerinfluencethaninindustrialsociety.Acompanycanfavourablymakeuseofthisinseveralways: Involve your customers in an ongoing development process.Onceuponatime,companiesdevelopedtheirproductsandservicestotheirownsatis-factionandthenputthemonthemarketinthehopethattheyalsoweretotheconsumers’satisfaction.Thisseemslessandlesstobethecase.Mostcompaniesusefocusgroupsandmarketresearchtogetabetterideaofwhattheconsumerswant,andsomeinvitetheircustomerstoprovidecriticismandsuggestionsforimprovingtheproducts.AppleComputerInc.hasalongandsuccessfulhistoryofinvolvingtheircustomersintheirdevelopmentprocessinthisway.TheriseofCreativeMan’slogicsug-geststhatthissortofconnectiontothecustomer,thoughimportantnow,willbeevenmoreimportantinthefuture. Therearemanyadvantagesindoingthis.Forone,yourcustomersoftenknowyourproductbetterthanyoudo,atleastfromauserview-point,andtheycantellyouofusesandlimitationsthatwouldn’toccurtoyou.Thosewhoprovideaproductoftenhaveoneideaofwhattheirprod-uctcanandshouldbeusedfor,whiletheircustomershaveverydifferentideas.Oneexampleisonlinecomputergames,whichincreasinglyareusedasdatingservicesinadditiontotheintendedgameplay.Ifproducersthroughcustomerinteractionbecomeawareofpopular‘non-canonical’waystheirproductsareused,theyhavetheopportunitytoimprovetheirproducts’performanceintheseaspects–orevencreatenewproductsdedicatedtothepurpose.Similarly,ifcustomersfindsomeaspectsofaproductdifficultorinadequate,theproducercanusethisinformationtoimprovetheproduct. Anotherreasontoinvolveyourcustomersinyourdevelopmentproc-essistobroadentheideabase.Asthesayinggoes,twoheadsarebetterthanone–andmanyheadsareevenbetter.However,thisshouldnotbedoneuncritically.Thedangerofaskinge.g.focusgroupsaboutwhattheyneedisthatpeopleingeneralhaverathervagueideasofwhattheyreallyneed.Manywantsandneedsaretacitratherthanexplicit.Asanother


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sayinggoes,‘focusgroup’isthepluralof‘moron’.Itisbettertolistentopeoplewhoexpressaneedwithouthavingtobeprompted–inparticularthosewhohaveideasforaddressingsaidneed. Facilitate customer creativity.Consumersareincreasinglyonthelook-outforunique,oftenpersonalisedproducts.Youdon’texpressyourindi-vidualitybyconsumingmass-madeproducts,andpeopleareunwillingtopayforproducts(whetherbankservices,mobilephonesorcars)thathavemanyfeaturestheyknowtheywillneveruse.Thecurrentphiloso-physeemstobethatone-size-fits-allfitsnoone.Manyareattractedtonicheproductsthatarealittleoutoftheordinary,ase.g.attestedbythehugesuccessofmicrobreweriesinEuropeandtheUS,butotherswanttodirectlyinfluencethepropertiesoftheproductstheybuy,asdescribedindetailinchapter6. Thereareprobablyamillionwaystofacilitatecustomercreativity,butwecanpointtoatleastthree.First,youcanallowyourcustomerstoconfigureproductswithinagivenframework.Thisisthesolutionusede.g.byNikeintheirNikeIDservice.ADanishsurveydonein2004byBerlingskeNyhedsmagasinandRambøllManagementshowsthatcom-paniesfindthathavinganonlineproductconfiguratorisasignificantcompetitiveadvantage.Secondly,youcanprovideanumberofbuildingblocksratherthanacompleteproduct.ThisisthesolutionusedbyBuild-a-BearWorkshopandthehomecomputermarket.Whenyoubuyahomecomputer,youusuallybuykeyboard,mouse,printer,scanner,monitor,software,andloudspeakersseparately,andyoucanoftenalsospecifywhatkindofvideocardandharddiskyouwant.Thirdly,youcansellhigh-qualitytoolsandsupportforcreativeconsumers,allowingthemtocreatetheirownproducts.Anexampleisdigitalcameras,whichusuallyaresoldwithimage-processingsoftware,allowingtheuserstomodifyphotosbeforeprintingthemorputtingthemontheweb.

strategy number two: look for meaning

Consumerswanttobuyproductsthataremeaningfultothem.Thisshouldn’tcomeasasurprisetoanybody,butthemeaningfulnessofaproductisfartoooftenonlyconsideredlateinthedevelopmentprocess.Usually,anewtechnologyisdeveloped.Thensomedevelopersconsider


79Creative Man - Drivkræfter

bottom-up approach

top-down approach

ThE DEvELoPMEnT sTairCasE

MEANING

SOLuTION

PrODuCT

TECHNOLOGy

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waystousethisnewtechnologyandcreateaproduct.Thisproductisthensoldtovariouscustomers,whouseittofulfiladesireorsolveaproblem.Inthelaststage,thissolutionprovidesmeaningtothecusto-mers’lives.Wemaycallthisthe development staircase(seefigure). OneexampleistheSMStextingfunctioninmobilephones.Atfirst,mobilephoneswereequippedwithcomputerchips.Thisallowedtheexchangeandstoringofshorttextmessages,andanewproductwasmade:TheSMSphone.Tothedevelopers’surprise,theSMSphonefounditsmainplaceamongteenagers,whereitwasthesolutiontotheproblemofkeepingintouchwithalargenumberoffriends.Themeaningofthisissocialnetworking. InthecaseoftheSMSphone,theproductprovedasuccess;butifproductdevelopmentstartsatthebottomofthestaircase,anychanceofsuccessisusuallyhit-or-miss.Ateachstep,thereisachancethattheproductwon’tmakethenextstepbecauseitfailstomeetthedemandsofthatstep.Touseanotherexamplefrommobilephones,theWAPfunctionneverreallybecamesuccessful,inspiteofmassiveadvertisementcam-paigns,becauseitdidn’treallyprovideanysolutionsthatweremeaning-fultotheusers.Atthemomentofwriting,itlooksliketheMMSfunctionmaybeheadedforthesamefate Abetterapproachistostartatthetopofthestaircaseandlookformeaning.Whatwouldmakeyourcustomers’livesmoremeaningful?Whatsolutionscouldfacilitatethismeaning?Whatkindofproductcouldprovidesuchasolution?Whattechnology(neworold)isrequiredtomakethisproduct?Thisapproachrequirescreativethinkingandisthusmoredifficultthanthetrial-and-errorbottom-upapproach.Inreturn,thesuccessoftheresultingproductisfarlessuncertain–atleastiftheinitialperceptionofmeaningfulnesswascorrect

strategy number three: use creative business models

Ifyourcompanydoesn’taimforthecreativeconsumer,andyourprod-uctisn’tallthatcreativeinitself,youcouldalwaystrytosellitthroughacreativebusinessmodel.Thiswillplaceyou,ifnotyourcustomers,inCreativeMan’slogic.Studyhowthingsareusuallydoneinyourbusiness,andthenaskyourselfifthatishowthingshavetobedone.Evenifthe


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normalwayofdoingthingsisgenerallybetterthanthealternatives,theremaybewaysthatarebetterinspecialsituations,suchasanichemarket.Somealternativesare: Alternative marketing focus:IfyourmaincompetitorsmarkettheirproductsorservicesaccordingtooneofthethreelogicsdescribedinChapter4,seeifyoucanmarketyourproductorserviceaccordingtooneorbothoftheotherlogics(orideallyallthreelogics).Thiswillprobablyentailtransformingyourproductorserviceaswellasyourmarketingfocustofitthenewlogicorcombinationoflogics.Build-a-BearWorkshopmaybeconsideredanexampleofthis.Theircompetitors(otherproducersofsofttoys)marketthemselvesaccordingtotheindustriallogic(cheap,genericsofttoys)orDreamSociety’slogic(softtoysbasedonpopularcharactersfromentertainment).Build-a-BearWorkshopinsteadchosetomarketthemselvesaccordingtoCreativeMan’slogicandshapingtheirentirebusinessmodelaroundlettingtheircostumersmaketheirownsofttoys.Theyhavedonethiswithoutentirelylettinggooftheothertologics.Theyhavemadeiteasytomakeyourownsofttoy(theindustriallogic),andtheyhavemadeavisittotheirshopsafunandemotionalexperience(DreamSociety’slogic). Alternative sales channels:Insteadofsellingyourproductwheresimilarproductsaresold,trytofindnewoutlets.Forinstance,ifyouproduceanenergydrink,sellitthroughfitnesscentresratherthanthroughsupermar-kets,orifyoumakeswimsuits,sellthematthebeachratherthanincitystores.OneexampleofsuccessfullyusinganalternativesaleschannelistheEuropeannewspaperMetro,whichisgivenawayfreeatmetrostationsandmajorbusstops.Theinnovationhereisnotthatthenewspaperisfree.Wehavehadfreenewspapersfundedbyadvertisementfordecades.Theinno-vationisthatMetroismadeavailabletoconsumersintheactofcommut-ing,whentheyusuallyhavesometimetokill.Inotherwords,ratherthanaimingataparticulardemographicsegment,asnewspapersusuallydo,Metroaimsataparticularsituation.Withthegrowingtrendofindividuali-sation,andthecorrespondingbreakdownofsegmentationmodels,thissortofsituationalmarketingisincreasinglybecomingagoodidea. Anotherexampleiscompaniesthatsellgroceries,includingvegetablesandfruit,throughinternetsubscriptions.Bytraditionalgreengrocerlogic,


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thisseemslikeaverybadidea,sinceitisawell-knownfactthatcustom-ersliketoexamineandtouchfruitandvegetablesbeforebuyingthem.Regardlessofthis,internetgroceriesliketheAmericancompanyPeapodandtheDanishcompanyAarstiderne(whichspecialisesinorganicgroce-ries)haveexperiencedrapidgrowthandarequiteprofitable.Netbankinghasalsoprovedquiteasuccessbyprovidingadvantagesforbanksandcustomersalike.Thebankssavemoneyonofficesandpersonnel,andthecustomerscangetaccesstotheirbankaccountwhenevertheylikeandwherevertheyhaveinternetaccess. Alternative financing: Theusualbusinessmodelistoletyourcusto-merspayfortheproductstheybuy.However,thisisn’tnecessarilythewayithastobe.Theabove-mentionedMetronewspaper,forinstance,isfinancedbyadvertisement.Thisisalsotrueinpartforthehighlysuccess-fuldiscountairlineRyanAir.YoucanonlybuyRyanAirticketsonline,andonthewebsiteyouwillseenumerousadsforhotels,rentalcars,attractions,andotherthingsthatmayberelevantfortravellers.Theseadvertisementshelppayforyourtickets,whichishowRyanAircansellticketsforaslittleas£1. Anotherformofalternativefinancingisseenincreasinglyontheinter-net.Manypeoplethatproducecontentfortheinternetaregivingitawayforfree,butinsteadaskfordonationstohelpthemcontinuetoprovidecontent.Thismodelisusedforeverythingfromspywareremovalkitstocomicsbyprofessionalartists.Thismayseemlittledifferentfromplayingguitaronabusystreet,hopingthatpassers-bywilldropacoinintoyourhat,butsincethenumberofpassers-byontheinternetmaybehuge,thiscanbeaveryviablebusinessmodel,especiallyforsmallcompanies. Somethingsthataretraditionallysoldbysubscriptioncouldperhapsbetterbesoldbytheunit,aswithpay-per-viewtelevisionandonlinepay-to-readarticles.Similarly,thingsthataretraditionallysoldbytheunitcouldfeasiblybesoldbysubscription,liketheinternetgrocerycompaniesaboveortelephonecompaniesthatchargebythemonthinsteadofbytheminute.


09:Managing Creative People

8�

Companies and organisations will depend more and more on creative employees (whether steady employees or contracted free agents). As more and more routine jobs are automated and outsourced, an increasing frac-tion of a company’s employees will be employed in creative functions like design, development, research, or communication. It becomes increas-ingly important to be able to attract, retain and coordinate creative people, and this requires other methods than traditional HR management.


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Creativepeoplearen’tprimarilymotivatedbymoney,butbytheirowncreativeurge.Theyneedtobeinvolvedincreativeprojectsandwanttodothingsthewaytheythinktheyshouldbedone.Itcanbehardtoretainhighlyskilledcreativepeopleinevenhigh-paying,high-statusjobsiftheyaren’tallowedthisopportunity. Thisfocusonworkcreativityisn’tlimitedtoasmallcreativeelite.AsurveybyCIFSin2004showsthatDanishemployeesyoungerthan35valuepersonalandprofessionalgrowthhigherthanwagesandjobsecurity,whiletheoppositeistrueforthose35andolder.Partofthisshiftmaybearesultofgrowingolder,butanotherpartisprobablyassociatedwiththedecreasedfocusonmaterialwealthintheyoungergenerations,asexplainedinChapter7.Inarapidlychangingworld,per-sonaldevelopmentmayalsobeabetterinvestmentthatmaterialwealth.Whateverthereason,thismeansthatinordertoattractandretaincom-petentcreativeemployees,acompanyshouldn’tmainlyfocusonoffer-inghigherwagesandgreaterjobsecurity.Itmayworkbettertooffertheopportunitytoworkonexcitingprojectswheretheycanbecreativeandlearnnewskills.Inthepast,manycompanieshavebeenreluctanttooffercareertrainingtotheiremployeesbecausetheyhavefearedthattheemployeesmayusetheirnewskillstogetbetterjobsinothercompanies.Inthefuture,however,itisalmostcertainthatifacompanydoesn’tofferorfacilitatethetrainingtheemployeeswant,thentheemployeeswillleaveforbetterjobselsewhereorbecomefreeagentsinchargeoftheirowndevelopment. Somehavesaidthatmanagingcreativepeopleislikeherdingcats.Thisisinmanywaysagoodimage.Creativepeople,likecats,havetheirownwaysofdoingthings,andtheydon’trespondwelltobeingtoldtodothingsdifferently.Herdingcatsorcreativepeopletofollowasetpathisbothdifficultandcounter-productive.Catsandcreativepeoplebotharebestmotivatedbycuriosityandexcitingtoys–andmotivationisfarmoreimportantincreativejobsthanwhendoingroutinework. Amajorproblemwhenmanagingcreativepeopleistoevaluatetheirwork.Foronething,thenumberofhoursspentdoingcreativeworkisaverypoormeasureofthevalueofthework.Acreativeemployeecangoforweeksorevenmonthswithoutgettinganygoodideas,but


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couldtheninasingleafternooncomeupwithfiveideasthateachareworthmillions.Itcanalsobedifficulttoevaluatehowgoodideasare.Itisgenerallydifficulttoknowifaninnovativeproductwillbesuccess-fulbeforeitisputonthemarket.Aproductcanalsofaileveniftheoriginalideawassound.Theimplementationmayhavebeenlessthanadequate,themarketingmayhavebeenhandledpoorly,orsomecom-petitormayhavehitthemarketsoonerwithasimilarproduct. Itcanalsobedifficulttomeasuretheprogressofacreativeproject,particularlyintheideastage.Whenareourideasgoodenough?Shouldwespendanothermonthdevelopingourideas,orshouldwegoaheadwiththeoneswehavenow?Typicallyonlytwopercentofaproductdevelopmentbudgethasbeenusedwhenthegeneralspecificationsofthefinalproductaredecided.ItseemsthatcompaniestendtofollowGeneralPatton’sfamousstrategy:“Agoodplantodayisbetterthanaperfectplantomorrow.”Thequestionisifthisviewoftheconsumermarketasabattlefieldisreallyvalidtoday.Afterall,mostless-than-perfectproductshaveveryshortshelflivesandmakemarginal,ifany,profits,whilewell-consideredproductscanbecomeinstantclassicsandlastingsuccesses. Intheindustrialage,successfulmanagementwasoftenamatterofkeepingemployeesinlineandcertifyingtheirproductivitythroughmeasurableparameters.Theemployeeswererequiredtoadapttotheworkplace’sdemands,withlittleornoreciprocaladaptabilityonthesideoftheworkplaceinfavouroftheemployees.Whilethismanage-mentstylemayworkwellforassemblylinesandroutineknowledgework(bothofwhichareincreasinglyautomated),itisillsuitedforcrea-tivework.Themanagerofcreativepeopleshouldbeacoachthatrecog-nisesandadaptstothedifferentworkstylesandidiosyncrasiesofhisemployees.Themanagershouldalsoacknowledgethathisemployeesprobablyknowmoreabouttheirparticularfieldsofworkthantheman-agerdoes.Acreativeteamtypicallyconsistsofanumberofspecialists,andthemanagerhastobeageneralistwhoknowsenoughabouteachemployee’sspecialitytobeabletounderstandwhatisgoingon.Theremaybeafewraremanagerswhoactuallyknowmoreaboutalltheiremployees’specialityfieldsthantheydo;buttherestneedtotrustthat


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Carlsberg, one of the world’s largest brewery groups, has lost two highly skilled and highly placed employees in recent years because these employees couldn’t satisfy their creative urges at Carlsberg. Monica Ritterband, a former anchor-woman on Danish television news, came to Carlsberg to work as head of information and later advanced to a posi-tion as executive vice president. In 1997 she quit her job to become a full-time artist. Besides painting and sculpting, she is making very successful designs for companies like Royal Copenhagen, Holmegaard Glassworks and Georg Jensen Damask. In a 2004 interview with the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies (CIFS), she explains that by her change of career she wasn’t throttling down, but rather up. She typically works twelve hours a day, and her success has required aggressive persistency and strong will. “You have to want it so much that you base your income on it,” she says.

Birthe Skands worked for seventeen years at Carlsberg, advancing to a posi-tion as development manager and head brewer, while also becoming a member of the National Research Council. In the end, she didn’t feel she was allowed to brew the kinds of beer she wanted to brew at Carlsberg, so in 2003 she started her own microbrewery, Skands, which has introduced several new types of beer to the Danish market. In a 2005 interview with CIFS, she says that she now works harder and earns less, but that she is happier because she is doing what she wants to do. Ironically, Carlsberg has now started its own in-house microbrewery with a wide range of special beers

CasE: ThE nEED To BE CrEaTivE

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theiremployeesknowwhattheyaredoing.Thisdoesn’tmeanthattheyshouldleavetheiremployeesalone;infact,creativeemployeesprob-ablyneedmorecoachingthanpeopledoingroutinework.Themanagershouldtrytofollowtheprogressofeachindividualemployeeandlearnthesignsthattellwhenaparticularemployeehasproblemswithhisorhertask.Ifthereareproblems,itisnotagoodideatojusttelltheemployeetoshapeuporshipout.Thiswillmostlikelycauseincreasedanxiety,whichwillfurtherreducethecreativityoftheemployee. Instead,themanagershouldconsulttheemployeeaboutthenatureoftheproblemsandbeabletosuggestwaystodealwiththem,e.g.shif-tingtheemployeetoanothertask,teamingtheemployeeupwithsome-bodyelse,orevengivetheemployeeaweek’spaidvacationtounstressandgainafreshperspectiveonthejob.Wemaycallthistypeofman-agement‘Prima-DonnaManagement’,themanaging(orcoaching)ofprimadonnas.3

Animportanttrendintoday’ssocietyistheerosionofthebounda-riesbetweenworklifeandprivatelife.Theworklifeofemployeesmayintrudeintotheirprivateliveswhentheyworkfromhomeorwhenoddworkinghoursinterferewithfamilymatters.Ontheotherhand,ithasbecomeincreasinglycommonforemployeestospendapartoftheirworkingdayonnon-workmatters:sendinge-mailstofriends,surf-ingtheinternetforpersonalreasons,orchattingwithcolleaguesaboutsportsorpolitics.ThereisalsoanincreasingfocusamongHRmanagersonthefactthatprivateproblemscaninterferewiththeiremployees’work,andmanycompaniesofferguidanceandsupporttotheiremploy-eesinsuchmatters. Whenyoudocreativework,thegoodideasmayjustaseasily(per-hapsmoreeasily)comewhenyouaretakingashowerorwalkingthedogaswhenyouaresittinginyouroffice.Ithasalsobeenshownthattakinganumberofsmallbreaksduringaworkdayinfactcanincreaseefficiency.Itisamanagementtasktoensurethatthesmallbreaksdon’tgetoutofhand,andthistaskismademoredifficultbecausedifferent

3 The term ‘Prima-Donna Management’ has also been used to describe management where the managers themselves act like prima donnas.


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employeeshavedifferentlevelsofhowmanybreakstheyneedtoper-formoptimally.Sometimes,anemployee(andhencethecompanyheorsheworksfor)mayevenbenefitfromanextendedbreak,e.g.beingsenttoaconferenceforinspirationorsimplytogetawayfromthedailyrou-tines.Agoodmanagershouldbeabletorecognisewhensuchisappro-priateorevennecessary. Whetherornotwelikethistrendofmixingworklifeandprivatelife,weshouldprobablygetusedto.Afterall,asharpdivisionbetweenworklifeandprivatelifeisconducivetomildschizophreniaandisprobablynotnaturaltohumanbehaviour.Inanycase,thedivisionisafairlyrecentthing,originatingintheearlyindustrialage.Beforethat,mostpeoplelivedwheretheyworked,andcaringforhome,children,andtheelderlywasjustconsideredapartofthedailyworkroutine.Aswithsomanyotherthings,weseemtobemovingawayfromtheartifi-cialrigidityoftheindustrialageinthismatter. Alotofcreativework,ifnotmost,isdoneintheshapeofprojects.Intraditionalprojectmanagement,youhaveoneprojectmanagerwhoisinchargeofallaspectsoftheproject.Thismaynotbethebestwaytodothis,sincesomeprojectobjectivesmayworkagainsteachother.Forthisreason,theCopenhagenInstituteforFuturesStudiessuggestsusing‘FamilyManagement’,namedafterthechildren’sgame‘Family’wherechildrenassumetherolesoffather,motherandkids. InFamilyManagement,itisrecognisedthatprojectmanagementinvolvesthreedistinctmanagementtasksthatrequirethreediffer-entmanagementstyles,correspondingtothethreerolesinthegame‘Family’.ThestylesalsocorrespondcloselytothethreesocietallogicsthatwereintroducedinPartOne.

- The Father:Thismanagementrolemakessurethatdeadlinesaremet,thatexpensesstaywithinbudget,thattherequiredcompanyproceduresarefollowedwhereverpossible,andthatthefinalproductwillliveuptolegislativerequirements.The‘Father’isalsoresponsiblefororganisingdataandresultsandforkeepingtheimplementationprocessrunningsmoothly.Thismanagementstylecorrespondstotheindustriallogic,asdescribedinChapter1.


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- The Mother:Thismanagementroleisresponsibleformaintainingprojectvisionandcorporatevalues,forkeepinguptheteamspirit,andforresolvingconflictsbetweenprojectworkers.The‘Mother’isalsoresponsibleforcommunicationoutsidetheprojectgroup.ThismanagementstylecorrespondstoDreamSociety’slogic,asdescribedinChapter2.

- The Kid:Thismanagementroleisinchargeofthecreativeprocessandallthisentailsofanarchism,unbridledimagination,andtheplayingofgames.TheKidseesrulesassomethingthatcan,andperhapsshould,bebroken.The‘Kid’isalsoresponsibleforkeep-ingtheimplementationprocessflexible,sothatnewideascanbeincorporatedalongtheway.ThismanagementstylecorrespondstoCreativeMan’slogic,asdescribedinChapter3.

Itwillprobablyberatherdifficult(andsomewhatschizophrenia-indu-cing)forasinglemanagertohandleallthreemanagementroles.TheFatherandKidrolesseemparticularhardtocombineunderasinglehat.Ifpossible,thethreerolesshouldbeassignedtothreedifferentpeo-ple,withaneyetowhocanhandlethedifferenttasksbest.Ifconflictsarisewithinthistriumvirateofmanagers,orbetweenthetriumvirateandtherestofthegroup,itisuptotheMothertoresolvethem.ThismaymaketheMotherthemostimportantofthethree,evenifsheisn’tdirectlyinvolvedineithercreatingvalueorsavingtimeandmoney(excepttotheextentthatmediationwilldoboth). Therecurrentlyisariseinfreeagentsonthelabourmarkets.Freeagentsarehighlyskilledworkersthatdon’tseekcontinualemployment,butinsteadaccepttemporarycontractsforjobsthatoftenwillprovidethemwithnewqualificationsinadditiontothosetheybringtothejob.ItisestimatedthatoneinfourpeopleontheAmericanlabourmar-ketarefreeagents,withanevenlargerproportioninsomeEuropeannations.Managersmustthuslearnhowtomanagethesefreeagentsandhowtohandleteamsthatconsistpartlyofregularemployeesandpartlyoffreeagents.Thisisnotunproblematic,giventhatfreeagentsusuallyarepaidalotmorethantheregularemployeesandthattheytendtofeelfargreaterloyaltiestotheirpersonallifeprojectsthantothecompanies


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thathirethem(inreturn,theirfunctionisusuallymorerestricted).Thismaycausefrictionbetweentheregularemployeesandthefreeagents,andthemanager–orproject‘Mother’–mustbeabletorecognisethesignsofthisandactbeforethefrictionturnsintoopenhostilityortheformationofuncooperativefractionswithintheprojectgroup.


10:Educating Creative People

9�

Before the industrial age, education and production took place in the same sphere. Education was a process of learning by doing, with a craft master taking on the dual role as teacher and employer. Crafts, whether farming, cobbling or printing, required a broad range of skills, with a craftsman being involved in all stages of production.


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Thischangedwiththeindustrialage.Workwasincreasinglyspecialised,andtheskillsanemployeelearnedatonejobtypicallyweren’tbroadenoughtobetransferredtoanotherjob.Atthesametime,theknowledgecontentofskilledworkincreased,makingitnecessarytohavededicatededucationalinstitutionsseparatedfromtheproductiveindustries.Duringthe19thand20thcenturies,theeducationalsystemhasbeenstreamlinedtomass-producecorporateemployees,withalltheskillslearnedthroughmanyyearsofstudybeingreducedtoshort,easily-categorisedtitleslike‘MasterofChemicalEngineering”or“PhDinSocialStudies”. Thedevelopmentoftheeducationalsysteminthelastcenturycanbeseenastheresultofastrugglebetweentwoeducationalphilosophies.Ontheonehand,wehavewhatmightbecalledtheedification philosophy,usuallychampionedbypubliceducationalinstitutions,whichseesthepurposeofeducationasprovidingthestudentwiththebroadmoral,phi-losophicalandpracticalskillsnecessarytofunctioninourhighlydevel-opedsociety. Ontheotherhand,wehavetheprofessional philosophy,usuallycham-pionedbythebusinesscommunity,whichseesthepurposeofeducationasprovidingcorporationsandpublicinstitutionswithwhateverspecial-isedskillstheyneedatanymomentintime.Ingeneral,theprofessionalphilosophyhasheldtheupperhand,whiche.g.canbeseenfromthefactthatschoolsfocusmoreonteachingacademicskillsthanpracticalorsocialskillslikehousekeepingorparenting. WiththeriseofCreativeMan,athirdphilosophyisbeginningtoshowitself;anindividualist philosophy,championedbyagrowingpro-portionofstudents,whichseeseducationasapartoftheindividualstu-dent’slifeprojectofself-development.Accordingtothisphilosophy,thestudentsshouldn’tadapttheirqualificationstotherequirementsofthesocietyorbusinesscommunity;instead,thesocietyandbusinesscom-munitymustadapttheirrequirementsiftheywanttomakeuseofthestudents’qualifications.Ratherthanforcingthepegstofittheholes,theholesmustbestretchedtofitthepegs.Thisreflectsthelargerphiloso-phythatpeopleshouldn’texistforthesakeofthesocietyandbusinesscommunity,butthatthesocietyandbusinesscommunityshouldexistforthesakeofpeople.


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Inthefuture,itmaywellbethatthesethreeeducationalphilosophieswillintegrateandpulltogetherratherthanindifferentdirections.Inspiteofthecurrentlystrongnationalistandreligiousanti-diversitytrends,Westernsocietiesingeneralvalueindividualityanddiversityhigherandhigher,andhencetheedificationandindividualistphilosophiesmayceasetobeinconflict.Asmoreandmoreroutinejobfunctionsareautomatedandoutsourced,thereisalsoagrowingfocusinthebusinesscommunityonhir-inguniquelyskilledpeopleinordertopromotecreativityandinnovation,sotheprofessionalphilosophymayalsocometowalkhandinhandwiththeindividualistphilosophy.Theentireinfrastructureoftheeducationalsystemishoweverstillfirmlyrootedintheindustrialage,anditmaytakemoretimetochangeinfrastructuresthanphilosophies.

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled”(Plutarch, ca.100 AD)

Themainpurposeoftheeducationalsystemtodayseemstobetofillthestudents’headswithknowledge.However,knowledgeisincreasinglymadeavailablethrough‘smart’expertsystems.Moreandmorejobsthatusedtorequireprofessionalsarebecomingde-professionalised.Thisise.g.trueinthegraphicsindustry,whereamateurscancreateadvancedlayoutsandgraphicsthrougheasy-to-useprogramswithadvancedbuilt-inguid-ance.Inthefutureitwillbefareasiertoaccessinformationandmeth-odologywhenweneeditratherthanlearningityearsinadvance.Wewilllikelyseeashiftfrom‘just-in-caselearning’to‘just-in-timelearning’,whichseemsafarbetteruseofmentalresources. Themainqualificationinthefutureisnottoknowthings,butbeingabletodothings.Inordertodothingswell,youneedtolearncreativemethodsandprocessesfarmorethanyouneedtoknowroteinformation.Educationalinstitutionsdon’teducatecreativepeoplebycreatingmoreexperts,butratherbytrainingreflectivepracticiansand‘flexperts’whocontinuallyexchangeoldknowledgefornew.Youneedtoknowhowtofind,evaluateandprocessknowledge,butyoudon’thavetoknowtheknowledgeitselfuntilyouactuallyneedit.Theknowledgeyouwillneedtoknowbeforehandisabroad,generalistknowledge,whereyouknow


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enoughaboutabroadrangeofsubjectstobeawareofwhatyoudon’tyetknowaboutthem,butcanfindoutifnecessary.Thisbroadknowledgebasewillalsoallowyoutocommunicatewithpeoplewithknowledgethatisperipheraltoyourown–somethingthatisincreasinglyimportantinaworldwheremoreandmoredevelopmentprojectsarecross-discipli-nary.Itmaystillbeagoodideatohavesomespecialistknowledge,butitshouldbepossibletoshiftyourspecialitytoanotherpartofyourbroadknowledgebase.Thisisbestdoneifyourspecialityisweighedheavilytowardsmethodskills,likeanalysis,research,organisation,informationseekingandprocessing,development,designandcreativeprocesses,empathy,andstorytelling,ratherthanconsistingmainlyofspecialistknowledgeskills. Theproblemwithspecialistknowledgeisthatitrapidlybecomesobsoleteinourfast-changingworld.Thismakesitnecessaryforpeopletocontinuallyupdatetheirknowledgequalificationsinordertobeabletocontinuetoperformtheirjobswell.Oldspecialistknowledgemaybecomeuselessorevenahindrance,andhencetheabilitytounlearnoldspecial-istknowledgemaybejustasimportantastheabilitytolearnordevelopnewspecialistknowledge–whichmaybejustaseasytodoonthebasisofgeneralknowledgeasonthebasisofnow-uselessspecialistknowledge.Also,giventheincreasingdiversityofjobrequirements,anyparticularspecialistprofilewilllikelyfitfewerjobs.Ontheotherhand,thisalsomeansthatemployerscannotalwaysexpecttofindemployeesthatexact-lyfitthejobrequirements,andtheymusttheneitheradaptthejobtofittheemployeeorelsedeveloptheemployeeuntilheorshefitsthejob. Peopletendtolearnfarbetterthroughactionthanthroughreading,watchingandlistening.Whenyouact,youquicklydiscoverifyouhaveunderstoodsomethingcorrectly,andifnot,youcanoftenfindtherightanswerthroughexperimentation.Eventhoughthisprincipleoflearningbydoinghasbeenknownforcenturies,mosteducationisstillbasedonpassiveabsorptionofknowledge.Thisisprobablybecauseactivelearninghasbeenmoreexpensiveandtime-consumingthanlecturingandotherformsofmassteaching.Thismaybeabouttochange.Educationalcom-puterprogramsallowindividualisedlearningwhereeachstudentstudiesatthepacethatbestsuitshimorher,andyougetinstantfeedbackifyou


100 Creative Man - Consequences

CrEaTiviTy is MorE iMPorTanT Than CoMPETEnCiEs

Professor Feiwel Kupferberg from the Danish university of Education argues that creativity is more important than specialised competencies and knowl-edge. ‘Core competencies’ is a concept that belongs to a traditional industrial mindset about specialisation as the key to wealth. But in our future society the individual should be able to take inde-pendent initiatives and feel personally responsible for the job. This harmonises poorly with the idea of specialised com-petencies, Kupferberg thinks. The most important skill in our rapidly changing society isn’t to be able to add to the knowledge of a particular subject, but rather to be able to throw old knowl-edge aside and look at the world with fresh eyes.


aredoingthingsrightorwrong,ratherthanhavingtowaitseveraldaysforateachertoreviewyourhomework.Youcanfollowyourownpathoflearningratherthanarigidcurriculum.Virtualreality(VR)programscouldalsomakelessonsfarmoreinvolving.Imagine,forinstance,walk-ingthroughaVRversionofancientRomeandbeingabletotalktosena-tors,shopkeepers,gladiators,soldiersandslaves.YoucouldalsogoonaVRexpeditionthroughananthillbuilttohumanscale,withaguidethattellsyoueverythingthatisgoingon. Computersalsoallowtheuseofeducationalgamesinteaching.Gamesarefun,andhencetheattentionofthestudentisgrabbed,andthelessonslearnedarerootedmoredeeply.Traditionalthinkinghasbeenthat‘fun’equals‘notserious’,butthisishappilychangingwithconceptslike‘hardfun’.Especiallyineducation,funcanmakelearningeasierandlessonsbetterunderstood.Justconsiderhowmanyhourssupposedlylazyyoung-stersarewillingtospendtolearnandmastertheintricatecomplexitiesofmoderncomputergames.Besidesteachingskillsofstrategyandadminis-tration,gamescanalsoprovideanunderstandingoftheforcesthatdriveoursociety,whethertheybeadministrativegameslikeSim Cityorhistori-calgameslikeEuropa Universalis II(whichhasbeentestedasateachingtoolinschoolsinDenmark).Howevereducationalthesegamesmaybe,theyhavebeendevelopedforentertainment,noteducation.Itisfairtoassumethatdedicatededucationalgames,perhapsdevelopedinpartner-shipwiththeentertainmentindustrytoensurethattheyalsoarefun,couldworkfarbetterasteachingtools. Virtuallearningmaymakephysicalschoolsobsoletefromaneduca-tionalviewpoint,buttheywillprobablystillhaveasocialfunctionastheplacewherechildrenlearntointeractwithotherchildrenandwithadultsotherthantheirparents.However,futureschoolsmaybeverydifferentfromthoseweknowtoday.Traditionalclassesandclassroomswillprob-ablymakeplaceformoreflexiblestructureswhereeachstudentfollowshisorherownpathandwherethe‘teachers’arecoachesandtrouble-shootersratherthanforce-feedersofknowledge. Imagineafutureinwhichstudents,childrenandadultsalike,can’twaittogotoschoolinthemorningandmoanabouthavingtogohomeintheafternoon…

102 Creative Man

references

Note: The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies cannot guarantee that all internet addresses listed below will be valid at the time of reading this and can not be held responsible for any changed content on the listed websites.

Instituttet for Fremtidsforskning: Creative Man, Gyldendal Denmark 2004The UN Food and Agriculture OrganisationFrederik Pohl: “The Midas Plague”, Galaxy Publications 1954Rolf Jensen: Dream Society: How the Coming Shift from Information to Imagination Will Transform Your Business, McGraw Hill 1999CIFS Members’ Report #1/2004: Time Perception 2004Abraham Maslow: Towards a Psychology of Being, Van Nostrand 1962Clayton Alderfer: Existence, Relatedness & Growth, Free Press 1972www.bmw.com/generic/com/en/products/equipment/individual/index.htmlwww.nikeid.comwww.toyvault.com/cthulhu/index.htmlwww.buildabear.comwww.fanworks.org/writersresource/?tool=fanpolicy&action=define&authorid=53Ronald Inglehart: ”Globalization and Postmodern Values”, The Washington Quarterly, Winter 2000; http://www.twq.com/winter00/231Inglehart.pdfTrine Bille, Torben Fridberg, Svend Storgaard & Erik Wulff: Danskernes kultur- og fritidsaktiviteter 2004 – med udviklingslinjer tilbage til 1964, akf forlaget, april 2005Berlingske Nyhedsmagasin #29/2004.Daniel H. Pink, Free Agent Nation. How America’s New Independent Workers AreTransforming the Way of Life, Warner Business Books 2001.Feiwel Kupferberg: “Kreativitet er vigtigere end kompe-tence”, Asterisk nr. 11, 2003

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