You Can't Chain Creativity to a Computer Screen

Early in my career, I worked for one of the best creative directors I've ever known: Stanley Becker.

One afternoon, he walked into the creative department and simply said, "Come on."

We all looked at each other.

"Where are we going?"

"The movies."

It was the middle of the workday.

After the movie, he took us to Katz's Delicatessen in New York. I remember sitting there thinking, This is work?

Finally, I asked him why he had taken us away from our desks.

He smiled and said something I've never forgotten:

"Creative people need to get out. If you ever get stuck, go out."

At the time, I thought he was just being generous.

Years later, I realized he was teaching one of the most important leadership lessons I'd ever learn.

A few years later, I joined a small company between larger creative director positions. There were only two of us. The owner handled the clients, and I handled the creative.

As time went on, I wasn't just designing.

I was art directing. Writing. Editing copy. Preparing files for print. Solving production problems. Developing concepts. Helping win new clients. Finding solutions before anyone even asked the question.

The company grew rapidly.

The work became stronger.

New clients kept coming through the door.

The strange thing was... most of that work was invisible.

People only saw the finished ad.

They didn't see the hundreds of tiny creative decisions that made it successful.

Then one day, I got sick.

I had a 102-degree fever and asked to take one day off.

The answer was no.

That moment taught me something I'll never forget.

It wasn't about the sick day.

It was about respect.

When someone quietly carries a tremendous amount of responsibility, it's easy to forget how much they're actually doing because everything appears to be running smoothly.

After I left, I later learned from our printer that it took four people to replace the work I had been doing.

Not because I was extraordinary.

Because no one had realized how many different hats one creative person had been wearing.

The most valuable work in a company is often invisible...

...until it's gone.

Today, we have another temptation.

We measure creativity by screen time.

Hours at the computer.

The green dot that says someone is "online."

The number of files produced.

But creativity doesn't work that way.

The computer screen is where we make the idea visible.

It is not always where the idea begins.

Ideas begin while watching a great movie.

Walking through a museum.

Listening to conversations.

Traveling.

Reading.

People watching.

Laughing over lunch.

Experiencing life.

That's where the raw material comes from.

The computer simply gives those experiences a place to live.

So, if you're fortunate enough to lead a team of creative people, remember Stanley Becker's lesson.

Don't chain them to a computer screen.

Don't mistake constant production for creativity.

Give them permission to step away.

Encourage curiosity.

Let them explore.

A walk around the block.

A museum.

A coffee shop.

A movie in the middle of the day.

They're not avoiding the work.

They're gathering the ideas that will make the work worth doing.

Because the best creative people don't simply make things.

They notice things.

They connect things.

They experience the world...

...and then they return to their desks and create something no computer could have imagined on its own.

Sometimes the most productive thing a creative person can do...

...is get up from the computer.

Because you can't chain creativity to a computer screen. ❤️