I just read a terrific post on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network, To Inspire Innovation, Get a Muse. Michael Schrage starts his post with this:
Yves Saint Laurent and Pablo Picasso — brilliant entrepreneurs as well as celebrated artistes — claimed inspiration from muses.So, apparently, did Steve Jobs. Perhaps the newly-knighted Sir Jonathan Ive has one, too. Creative dynamos have always sought the frisson of the divine revelatory spark. So they look to a muse for energy inspiration. Does your business — should your innovators — have a muse?
The post is worth reading, but the question is worthy of discussion on its own. Some people may be creative even when acting in a solitary mode. Others–and my guess is that most others–experience their moments of creativity and innovation when working with someone who triggers the spark (that’s the technical term) that is the genesis of the creative moment.
If you suspect there is merit to this notion, you may want to read Working Together by Michael Eisner. I received my copy from my muse.