June 25, 2007

On Creativity

One of my favorite authors is Don DeLillo. I still think that Underworld is the best book ever written about the last half of the 20th century.

Reading DeLillo is a magical experience. I always feel in the presence of someone for whom the ideas and words and perfectly formed paragraphs come totally natural. Kind of like watching Ted Williams hit a baseball.

Well, of course, while Williams had natural talent, it turns out that he studied the swing of a baseball bat with meticulous precision and discipline. He worked at his creativity. Discipline was an essential part of his process and his success.

The same turns out to be the case with DeLillo.

DeLillo recently gave his papers to the University of Texas. Among the papers is a letter from David Foster Wallace, in which he wrote, "Because I tend both to think I'm uniquely afficted and to idealize people I admire, I tend to imagine you never having to struggle with any of this narcissism or indulgence stuff...Maybe I want a pep-talk, because I have to tell you I don't enjoy this war one bit."

DeLillo replied: "I was a semiconscious writer in the beginning. Just sat and wrote something, or read the newspaper, or went to the movies. Over time I began to understand, one, that I was lucky to be doing tis work, and, two, that the only way I'd get better at it was to be more serious, to understand the rigors of novel-writing and to make it central to my life, not a variation on some related career choice, like sportswriting or playwriting. The novel is different...We die indoors, and alone, and I don't mean to sound overdramatic but you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, all of this happened over time, until eventually discipline no longer seemed something outside me thaturged the reluctant body into the room. At this point discipline is inseparable from what I do. It's not even definable as discipline. It has no name. I never think about it. But there's no trick of meditation or self-mastery that brought it about. I got older, that's all. I was not a born novelist (if anyone is). I had to grow into novelhood."

Two More Quotes I Like

"Dynamism is contagious." - The legendary art collector and patron Dominique de Menil

"A vision must always be larger than the technical equipment." - Pulitzer Prize winning playwrite Horton Foote

Capturing the Essence

The challenge of every marketer is to capture the essence of what is being communicated. The amateurs sniff around the edges. They may kind of 'get' the category, but they can't capture what is unique and special to YOU and YOUR product or service...and doesn't that drive you nuts? The true professional does get it...nails it right at the core...and then all communications flow from that core, and they are true...they are you.

We have two young women in the office - Katie Kelly and Katie Beaver - who have been creating what are known as 'brand essence videos,' and they have a wonderfully fresh take...unencumbered, unbiased, based in a blend of research and gut instinct. What a treat it is to see what they come up with!

West Herford lent me the book called The McKinsey Mind, and of course it details a lot of the rigorous processes that McKinsey consultants follow. But my sense was that even McKinsey recognizes and now emphasizes the importance of instinct and gut feelings as well. The future belongs to those who can serve up the optimal blend. Watch out for "the Katies!"