This could be apocryphal but it surely is instructive. Half way through his first attempt at painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo suddenly disappeared for weeks. It left his team of painters befuddled, the church and the diocese in a state of panic as the deadline for opening the Chapel was approaching and the work not done. He returned weeks later, only to tear down all the work done till that date and start all over again. He however worked in a frenzy to complete what is now the famous “Creation of the World” piece. The Cardinal watched it all indulgently. This is the passion and madness of the creative mind. And it’s also about the value of a patron who appreciates it and is willing to support it.
From the sublime to the earthy, stories of creativity have a similar ring in the commercial world of marketing and advertising. A creative director shot a commercial funding it from his own pocket because he believed in it — though his client and his agency weren’t convinced. The advertisement broke category rules, was a runaway success (it was paid for afterwards) and the client and he are thick friends even today.
Another creative mind sold his idea personally one-on-one to every director on the board of a company after the CEO had approved the idea of discarding a decade-old mascot. The CEO was, however, not willing to run with it without carrying his board along. The campaign gave the brand its second run of success.
One client didn’t buy an idea. So, the creative director took it and sold it to another one in another but relevant category. The campaign breathed fresh life into a dying brand.
A planner spent two years selling an idea within his agency and clients before he got a client to own it as his own and execute it. It has now run successfully on the tube in your home for over five years.
Behind all these stories are sagas of perseverance, passion, persuation, some dare and a bit of madness. And the presence of a supporter who ultimately made it happen.
Webster in its dictionary defines creativity “as the ability to create meaningful new forms”. Richard Florida in his book The Rise of the Creative Class says there are three forms of creativity — technological creativity (inventions), economic creativity (entrepreneurship) and cultural creativity (the arts), and all are inter-related. We normally associate creativity with either inventions or arts but rarely with entrepreneurship. But that’s where the stress of creativity is the highest — true creative entrepreneurship is about creating a new form and yet being business viable — the challenge for every piece of advertisement!
George Bernard Shaw and Thomas Edison (one a technological and the other a cultural creative mind) both defined creativity as 10 per cent inspiration and 90 per cent perspiration — and it’s so true about economic creativity because ideas are only as good as their execution and their business viability. An invention or a piece of art can be admired for themselves; but not so about business ideas — they have to happen, and happen well, in the marketplace. There may have been many more brilliant digital ideas but what is known is Amazon.com, eBay, Google and Facebook — to name a few — because they became large-scale realities. The challenge becomes even more when it’s about organisational transformation or introduction of new concepts in the market where there are established norms. The ideas need to be powerful and the creator needs to have more “madness” to see it through — whether patrons exist or not.
Two Indian examples of recent creative entrepreneurial thinking come to mind in this context.
First, the transformation of Bajaj Auto Ltd — from a brand that defined “scooters” in India in the 70’s and 80’s to being a brand of “power” bikes in the Indian market — the change has been sensational. To put his money behind 150+ cc bikes in a market defined by 100 cc was a bold move by its creator Rajiv Bajaj. What makes it even more admirable is the organisational change it would take to move from being a leader in a mass middle class transport vehicle (scooter) segment to challenging norms with a brand that appeals to the youth at a price premium end of the market. There are echoes of Lou Gerstner’s transformation of IBM from a hardware brand to a service company in the 90’s in this story.
Second, the emergence of Indian Premier League (IPL) as a global brand from India is another case in point. No doubt, cricket is a religion in India. However, to be able to garner viewership, day after day, for six weeks, for a tournament that had no national pride involved, is a creditable achievement. And there was scepticism, when IPL started, whether it could be sustained. Clearly, it is a game-changer in the cricket market. It is a tribute to the passion and perseverance of Lalit Modi (he is supposed to have carried this idea of a domestic league on the basis of EPL for over a decade) and BCCI that it has been able to pull this off for three consecutive years — including one last year when it had to move locations at short notice to South Africa. There are echoes of Kerry Packer and his one-day cricket story of the 70’s in this!
Rarely do all three types of creativity — technological, economic and cultural — come together in unison. But one man has done it four times over in our lives, and no piece of passion of a creator is complete without mention of Steve Jobs and Apple. He has unconsciously redefined marketing as inspiring consumers rather than meeting their needs with his game-changing products — from Mac to iMac to iPods to iPhone. His simple dream of making technology fun has made this possible.
They say that a donkey is a horse created by a committee. All great ideas start as a dream and vision of an individual. However, for them to become reality, especially in economic creativity, there is a need of patrons — venture capitalists, boards, clients — who can see the value of the idea and provide support to see it to finish. And for this, there needs to be a bit of madness. The doubters — the naysayers — will turn the horse into a donkey!
Something worth thinking about.
The author is country head-discovery and planning, Ogilvy and Mather, India. The views expressed are personal. Contact at: madhukar.sabnavis@ogilvy.com
