Fredrik Haren on Creativity and The Developing World
Fredrik Haren, author and creativity guru, is in Manila to promote the local launch of his creation, The Idea Book.
With the belief that a book on creativity must in itself be creative, Fredrik made the Idea Book an innovative book-notebook combo; Meaning that it’s 150 pages about ideas (the book), and 150 pages about the reader’s ideas (a notebook). It has been so successful that it has now been translated into (10) languages – Filipino being the latest, woot! – and has also been referenced as one of ‘the best 100 management books of all time’.
I had the opportunity to attend his talk in the Ateneo last Monday, and his thoughts on ideas and creativity resonated with my own passions of spreading the gospel of innovation.
His thinking that ideas are just combinations of old ideas is straight on. In fact, it’s an exercise I go through with my students in class, this mashup-slash-juxtaposition of existing concepts, themes, and brands; It’s a concept I’ve also previously blogged about – what i call the ‘innovation equation’.
Fredrik also shared that the world is now awash in a literal explosion of ideas. This means that the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders will have to juggle both creativity and innovation, the translation of ideas into application. In an era wherein ideas are a dime a dozen, it is the people who think of making the leap from idea to insight, from insight to application, and from application to execution who will ultimately succeed in this new reality.
He cited the example of a paint company he was working with; The R&D department had developed a paint that was so unique that nobody knew what to make of it. In truth, nobody knew how to use it. And if you don’t know how people will eventually use it, how on earth will you package and sell it? Again, it is the people who will translate this idea (super unique paint) into application (???!) who will make a dent in the marketplace.
While on this topic, Fredrik made a comment that I absolutely – albeit sadly – agree with. Filipinos are wildly creative. But we’re still struggling with translating this creativity into application, all the more into execution. Just think of the things Filipinos have invented, but have sadly uncommercialized. The example of agricultural technology developed here at home, but adopted in other countries comes to mind. Result — the Philippines is a net importer of rice (!)
Eventually, the highlight of the talk for me was his prelude to his next book, The Developing World.
This of course is a topic that I’m absolutely passionate about. And to hear it from somebody from the other side of the world – both geographically and economically – just confirms the fact that we Filipinos are on the threshold of a sea change of opportunity that we must fully embrace, and make the most of.
Fredrik’s thesis is that ‘The Developed World’ – by virtue of the term itself – has essentially said, “We’re developed; We’ve reached the finish line, there’s no more need to further progress and move forward.” This is in stark contrast to the ‘The Developing World’, which means in-flux, constantly evolving, still moving and finding its way.
He cited several points of argument on why a 25-year-old Filipino is in a better position than a 25-year-old Swede. My favorite example is the fact that we in the developing world have the ability to fuse cultures, being exposed to both the east and the west. While an American will only watch the movie The Dark Knight on a weekend, we’ll get to watch that and a locally-flavored movie to boot. This then allows us to bring truly unique things into the world.
While this is really a big idea, Fredrik decided to make the idea real in his life. This meant actually transplanting himself from Europe to China, and eventually to his current home base, Singapore. Proof positive that he really believes what he’s talking about and is not just positing it from a theoretical point-of-view. Now this is something I truly appreciate.
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The next day we had lunch with Fredrik and DJ Reyes (from his company, interesting.org).
As if to continue the conversation on ‘the developing world’, people from Hapinoy (Erika Tatad and Allaine de la Cruz), Rags2Riches (Reese Fernandez), and WhyNot?Forum (Jan Chavez-Arceo) were also there. What eventually ensued was a very engaging discussion on the context of what we were doing and trying to achieve with these endeavors, which are all essentially a part of the emerging picture that is this developing world.
