A pioneering and invaluable work about what it really takes to build innovation capability in society. John Kao More Quotes by John Kao More Quotes From John Kao Communication is the essential medium of a creative culture: the communal sea in which we all swim. A company that can't communicate is like a jazz band without instruments: Music just isn't going to happen. John Kao communication creative sea Creativity, my students learn, is as natural a function of the mind as breathing or digestion are natural functions of the body. John Kao breathing creativity thinking You would not let your kids do whatever they want. So the challenge is to create accountability in a non-mechanistic way. You cannot come in with a clipboard and check off boxes and figure out why something has not been done on schedule. John Kao accountability challenges kids Jazz is not about getting and playing whatever notes you want. It is about reworking themes in a manner that sounds good, that can be followed by the other musicians and that the audience enjoys. You cannot do that without first acquiring skills. John Kao skills want firsts Creativity is the crucial variable in the process of turning knowledge into value John Kao variables creativity process Obviously businesses do not operate like an artists' commune. Business involves deploying finite resources to achieve goals in a competitive environment to make money. That is something creative people understand. John Kao artist goal people The imagination is like a muscle: it strengthens through use. John Kao muscles imagination use An organization is really a factory for producing new ideas and for linking those ideas with resources - human resources, financial resources, knowledge resources, infrastructure resources - in an effort to create value. These are processes that you can map, with results that you can measure. John Kao effort organization ideas Creativity is not like the weather: You can do something about it. And you can measure it well enough to determine its effect on sales and profits. John Kao creativity enough weather I would argue that the management of creativity requires a skill set that's relatively different from the traditional management skill set that is appropriate to a large, complex, industrial-era organization. John Kao creativity skills organization Jamming - which follows rules but not individual notes - gives you a different result each time, depending upon the players and the conditions in which they find themselves. It is adaptable to changing conditions. John Kao different player giving The capacity to creatively improvise is an important factor that differentiates successful companies - or teams - from those that are not successful. John Kao team important successful Improvisation in the jazz sense - like the business sense - is not formless. It is built on a skill set. Jazz, for example, involves selecting a tune. John Kao tunes skills example You are able to create an environment so that the creative process can take place and that you can get people to perform at their highest levels. John Kao levels creative people The challenge is to manage creative people so that the output is fruitful. The challenge is not to have an open environment and simply let them do whatever they want. John Kao creative challenges people Jazz musicians can be great teachers of business. Their creativity is not dependent on their mood, it does not have to be coaxed out of them, it has nothing to do with the phases of the moon or even how they feel that day. They go on stage and start playing. Being creative is their job. John Kao creativity teacher jobs The C.E.O.'s job in a creativity-driven company is to be an impresario, not a manager. John Kao driven creativity jobs Rather than managing by clarifying events, the creative process may require raising the level of uncertainty. Sometimes this can be done by issuing a creative challenge that has resonance in that it inspires the team to activity. John Kao team creative challenges Performers may play in the studio, but they need to go out and tour every once in a while to keep their edge, or a performer who is a stranger may be asked to "sit in" on a set. John Kao play may needs The impresario's job is to pick the right people who can pick the right people. He picks the people who can pick artists and relate to them. People who know what the market craves. John Kao artist jobs people
