Creative Genius ~ lessons learned from the MacAuthur Fellowship
May 23rd, 2007 at 10:00am Rebecca Borden
The MacArthur Fellowship can be seen as America’s equivilent to the Nobel Prize. Now in its 27th year, the Harvard Business Review profiled the work of its Program Director and asked him questions about the distinction between creatve individuals and business innovators. Excepts from his reponses are below. The full article can be found in the May 2007 issue, p 121-126 (subscription required) at www.hbr.org
“There’s no question that people of extraordinary creativity and originality are in business. The founders of Google are incredible. So are Steve Jobs and so many others. Our reasoning is that the market is a very effective support system for the best ideas in business. We serve those who do not fall under the influence of the market. That’s not to say that artists don’t live in the market economy, but we think that their driving motivations and rewards are different. And that’s precisely why the money is an important part of the fellowship. Look at the freedom and time this relatively modest five-year fellowship-with absolutely no obligations-can confer on an artist or scientist whose ability to experiment is often constrained by the need to satisfy the requirements of outside funders.”
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“Another thing we’ve learned over the years is that exceptionally creative people aren’t always the obvious suspects. It is a common trap in all areas”I’m sure in business, too-to give the limelight to people whose success isn’t the result of any special creativity on their part. They are just very good at promoting themselves. We have found that many of our winners are people whom others might never have thought of, at first, as MacArthur candidates. Many were unknown and ignored. So don’t assume that you can figure out who your creative people are all by yourself. Listen to others and look in the least likely places. As a business, you will probably start your search inside the organization. But to get a really good fix on somebody on the inside, you might want to ask those on the outside. Extend your networks and try to get information from as many people as possible, just as we do with the many evaluation letters we seek.”
