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Measuring Creativity
By Dean Mitchell
“A View from the Floor”
continued on page 28
Social media
is a beautiful gift to
be enjoyed in various forms but its
appreciation is very personal. The United
States has a rich creative tradition of
Business Innovation. However the business
world has changed. American innovation
and creativity now compete globally and
the competition is fierce.
So, what does creativity and global
innovation have to do with today’s
economic environment and the box
business? Several years ago the head buyer
from Heinz spoke at an AICC meeting
and discussed their company’s criteria for
evaluating a supplier. He showed the Heinz
pyramid that is used to evaluate a supplier
and interestingly enough places innovation
at the top and the most important of the
six Heinz criteria.
To survive economic challenges and
globalization requires a focus on
innovation, creativity, and 21st century
solutions for 21st century challenges. A
box plant’s design department provides
innovation, creativity, and value
opportunities for the customer and the
box company. It may very well be the key
component for meeting the challenges
of the 21st Century. In order to manage
this valuable component do we need to
measure it?
I can’t count how many times when
discussing the design processes,
performance goals and measurement
with designers that I have been told,
“you can’t measure creativity.” We are
like artists; creativity is not measureable
and to measure it will stifle it. Processes
and performance measurement works on
the production floor but not in design.
“The View From the Floor” is that the
design department creates something
that production now has to produce. Our
performance is measured why shouldn’t
theirs? Design has no written processes
like we have. Why the double standard, one
for design and another for production.
We should not forget that creativity and
innovation requires a team effort. When
Victor Hugo wrote his famous novel Les
Miserable it took two talented individuals
to compose music, people to build sets,
musicians to play their instruments and
singer/actors to turn it into the longest
playing musical in history. It takes a team.
Everyone in the box plant plays a role in
the creative process. It takes a team!
I would challenge the idea that
measurement is not part of the creative
arts. The performances of the creative arts
is measured by the critics, by the number
of tickets sold, the price of the ticket,
the size and reputation of the venue, the
number of days running, and the amount of
dollars spent by sponsors or advertisers.
I would also challenge the idea that
creativity does not include processes.
Processes for the creative arts include:
a play needs a script, a musical a score,
cuisine a recipe and a painting a sketch.
Since design is a creative art shouldn’t we
add a written process as part of the creative
method.
Let’s look at ways to review, measure
and improve the creative process. Then
you decide if measuring creativity in a
To survive
the economic
challenges and
globalization
requires a focus
on innovation,
creativity, and 21st
century solutions
for 21st century
challenges.
“
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27
BOX
SCORE