Somewhere along the line, some people seem to have got the impression that creativity and innovation are reasonable approaches to every situation, and involve arbitrarily throwing out all the rules that have come before it, relentlessly implementing new ideas just because they are new, ignoring history and generally doing everything possible to go against the status quo, social norms and established practices. Some even seem to think that being rude and generally objectionable is a subversive act that signposts their creative genius. Ever met anyone like that?
Yet I find consistently that mature, professional and successful artists/innovators (and I mean in attitude, not in age, income or external measures) know that a new idea is not necessarily a good idea, and that creativity involves knowing when to play it straight.
They know that a conservative marketing approach might be the best endorsement for a game-changing idea; that a cutting-edge idea doesn't mean disrespecting the client who is paying for it; that too much glitz in a proposal or pitch can undermine the power of the idea; that old-fashioned hard work and humility are necessary scaffolds for revolution.
Most importantly, not only are they all too aware that there is a time to toe the line and a time to throw caution to the wind - they also know when those times are.
In other words, they know that an attitude of "creativity at any cost" comes at a very, very high cost.
