Author Archives: CJ Powers

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 15, 2015

Posted under

Creativity

Comments

Leave a comment

Creating with Opposites

Creating with OppositesI’ve never understood “writers block” or not being able to create something new. Every time I have a slight delay of thought, I change my perspective and I’m flooded with buckets of new ideas. Creativity flows whenever I shift my perspective to something unique.

One change of perspective can come about by considering the opposite. Let’s say I wanted to create a new restaurant or café. The easiest first step is making a list of what restaurants are, such as:

  1. A place with a menu selection of food.
  2. A place to order food.
  3. A place to have food served.

The list could continue, but for this example I’m good with a short list. Now, keep in mind that this list is based on my assumptions of what a restaurant is. It’s possible that not all restaurants have all three. Some places might be more unique, thanks to a creative person who gave input at the onset of the idea. So to pump creativity into my new restaurant idea, I try to list out the opposites:

  1. A place without any form of menu.
  2. A place where food can’t be ordered or bought.
  3. A place where no one serves the food.

This list of opposites opens up the mind and starts my creative process. While the logical person says that’s stupid, the creative soul plays with the ideas. The creative picks a few of the opposites and brainstorms.

What if…

…My restaurant had no menu?

Maybe the chef comes to the table and shares what ingredients and meats he procured that afternoon for the freshest of meals. He shares some ideas with those at the table and based on consensus cooks up a culinary delight. And, sends the family home with the recipe for a future gathering.

…People can’t order food at my restaurant?

Maybe it’s a beautiful setting with privatized ambiance that is rented by the hour and guests bring their own food. Instead of ordering extras that were forgotten by the host, shelves of free supplements are available for use.

…No one serves the food?

Maybe a top chef tosses various plates of food onto a counter for anyone to grab. Each dish is uniquely made from various country recipes and then put on display for anyone to claim. Each presentation perfectly brings out the key elements that make the meal unique to its country.

By using the opposites to brainstorm, several more ideas pop into my head that venture me off in a direction that will make my restaurant unique. Those unordinary possibilities would drive marketing and entice foodies to try something new and refreshing.

Years ago I came up with an idea using opposites and shared it with friends. Everyone was interested in trying my restaurant if I ever got around to making it. Two years later Walt Disney World opened a new restaurant that was so similar that I realized my venture idea could’ve been a success — All due to a creative use of opposites.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 12, 2015

Posted under

Media & Society, Thoughts and Ideas

Comments

Leave a comment

10 Things to Know before Loving a Creative

Emotions Run Depp within CreativesI came across an article by Justin Gammill that helped me understand there are scores of documents proving that highly creative types think very differently than the average person. They’re hardwired aptitude for the arts generate amazing works that we benefit from. But for their lover, it’s important for them to understand the ten things that come with the creative’s unique mindset.

  1. Mind is Always Working

The creative mind runs at full speed all the time. It allows for spur-of-the-moment fun, but their lover sometimes finds it draining. Creatives also tend to bounce between projects throughout a day. Their lover can seldom keep up and soon realizes they will never be able to control or manipulate the creative into a clear schedule.

  1. Life Takes on Patterns

Creativity ebbs and flows, bringing emotional highs and lows to the creative in regular patterns. To some it might appear to be a manic behavior disorder, but its simply part of the creative process. Their lover must understand that their lows are temporary and bring about a new perspective for the creative, who then ramps up with more ideas.

  1. Need Down Time

While some people assume that many creatives are introverts based on their withdrawal periods, most just need to pull away to deal with their thoughts. The same holds true when chats become limited or quiet. The creative hasn’t lost interest in their lover, but instead is temporarily stuck in his head working through ideas.

  1. Hyper Focused

When hyper focused on a project, the creative can lose track of time and find sleep altered based on his workflow. This can be difficult and frustrating for the lover, as he is ignorant and irresponsible at one point, and brilliant and responsible at another. The lover must remember its part of how the creative is wired.

  1. Emotions Run Deep

Creative people feel everything on a deeper level. What seems like a small thing to the lover could be a much bigger deal for the creative to the point of feeling crushed. The lover must remember that it’s the same passion he uses to create art that expresses love.

  1. Think and Speak in Stories

It takes the creative a lot more words to express his experiences, instead of just saying what he wants to say. This storytelling process ascribes his humanity to what he shares, but can be hard to follow at times for the lover unless she reads between the lines.

  1. Wage Internal Battles

Creatives can take several hours to come up to speed and accomplish a task on one given day and jump out of bed for a project on another. It’s impossible for the lover to slow him down and she soon learns to be patient during the slow times, as surges of activity will quickly show up.

  1. Thrive on Intuition

Creatives rely on intuition over logic due to their intense emotions. They typically go with their gut and are right far more times than logical people care to admit. While lovers might be concerned about what appears to be impulsive tendencies, the creative is actually following his depth of experience and passion.

  1. Struggle with Confidence

Creating for a profession develops second-guessing in all creatives. While some lovers might be concerned about the creative’s need for acceptance, he is typically just seeking to understand the needs of his audience. This comes from the vulnerability of having to wear his heart on his sleeves for the sake of art. This in turn leads to questions about whether or not his work is ever good enough. The lover’s most important role in maintaining her relationship is being supportive of the creative – protecting his heart and ability to continue loving.

  1. Play

Creatives know how to let their inner child play. At times, the lover might think he’s being immature or impulsive, but he’s just being a child at heart. This is an innate part of the creative’s brain and thinking process. The lover has to remember the things that make the relationship fun and playful are the same things that might become frustrating during serious times.

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

July 8, 2015

Posted under

Filmmaking, Leadership

Comments

Leave a comment

Controlling Kills Creativity

Control Kills CreativityWhen I was the lead carpenter for the Before Broadway Players, my director asked me to create a special effects box that looked high tech and gave the audience the sense that it was beyond this world. Having been empowered, I quickly put everything I had into the tech and the final stage prop created a great publicity buzz.

I was only able to use my ingenuity because I had a director who understood that controlling his team’s decisions would kill their creativity and force the audience to pretend the box was more than just junk parts glued in place.

There’s a fine balance between setting vision or giving a project direction, and controlling everyone involved. The latter tends to dilute creativity and drives creative types to withdraw their best efforts and replace it with something mundane.

It’s true that at certain key moments control is necessary to get things on track with market needs, but continuous control robs the team of unique successes and slaughters their inspiration for innovation in the arts. Put simply: long-term control kills the art form.

So why is it that new directors tend to control the actors and crew, rather than collaborate with them?

It might be due to insecurity. Or, maybe watching previous works demolished by the wrong choice in team or talent selection. In any case, I believe all directors can find a balance between control and collaboration by practicing three important steps.

EVALUATE YOUR ACTIONS. Most controlling leaders are not aware of their grasp on people. They make decisions based on their goal, not the person they work with. This causes them to stifle innovation from those around them, which is detrimental in all of the arts, but especially motion pictures.

To break free of control issues a director can ask himself several questions:

A. Are my ideas always the best?
B. Have my cast and crew stopped contributing?
C. Do people constantly ask questions for approval, rather than risk their creativity?
D. Have all of my projects gone flat and are no longer interesting?

If any of the answers above are yes, then the director must practice letting go.

PRACTICE LETTING GO. The word practice is critical in revealing the ongoing process for the controller. No one can throw a one time switch and suddenly turn everything into a great collaboration. It takes single daily steps to accomplish the change. There are a handful of questions a director can ask himself to move forward in letting go:

A. What responsibility can I delegate?
B. How can I measure the delegate’s success without taking over?
C. What new responsibility can I use to fill my time?
D. What new behaviors can I develop to keep my hands off the delegate’s details?

By letting go of the minutia and filling time with more important focuses, the director can empower his team to put their soul into the project.

LEARN TO EMPOWER. The best way to empower someone isn’t by understanding their ability to perform a task, but rather understand their behaviors and how they make choices. It’s the choices that determine if the individual will follow the vision or head off in a different direction.

A director, who spends a lot of time understanding people and how characters develop, can plan how behaviors can be triggered. To move in this direction, the director can ask himself the following questions to prepare:

A. What behaviors are needed to accomplish the responsibility?
B. What choices must be present to give comfort when I let go?
C. How can these behaviors be inspired or given to the person?
D. What support is required to empower the person?

Empowered individuals always out perform controlled people. Yet, it takes hard work on the director’s part to empower the people, while maintaining his vision.

Some new directors who get past the control factor shift to the opposite extreme with a mishmash of unclear activities. Empowering people does not stop the director from painting a vision and directing everyone towards it, as there is a great difference between getting buried in the minutia and inspiring everyone’s behaviors to reach the goal.

Whether you’re a film director or a manager, what do you do to empower your people?

Copyright © 2015 by CJ Powers