4. Developing Creativity
In a recent public debate on how to fix youth un-employment in New Zealand (held at the AMI Netball Stadium on the North Shore) a point about creativity was raised. The point made was that our education system does not do enough to uplift the importance of creativity. So, why is developing more creativity important?
Today’s world is as fast paced as it’s ever been. Communication from one side to the other is instant. If you study an accurate account of World History you will note that hundreds, sometimes a thousand years or more would be the timeframe between one nation and another discovering copper, iron, and steel (or a plethora of other advances, like use of the plough for example). Such a geographical barrier to the pace of development is completely un-known today. If you created the best thing since sliced bread and released it onto the internet you could have people from the other side of the world purchasing it from you instantly.
A job is no longer a lifelong thing either (for the most part). The ways of The Silent Generation have their importance even today (things like diligence, determination, discipline, and commitment to skill development) but lifelong company loyalty (for example) is not always (or often) appreciated. Planning to stay with the same company for life and protecting your silo of expertise as a means of remaining indispensable is not a clever career enhancing strategy any more. The preferred mentality in these times is to outgrow your job, reach for a higher place, and maybe even groom your replacement before you leave. People are expected to re-invent themselves many times throughout their working life. This pace is not always easy to deal with. The ability to do so is a gift possessed by so many of our youth. Unfortunately, the ability to deal with such pace comes with a few problems, mainly, an inability (or desire) to focus on the same thing for extended periods of time (because change becomes addictive after a while).
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