The Impact of Creativity on Social Services:
Are the Two Compatible? Foreword
"The creative element of an activity, and its impact, do not depend on the field in which it is applied,
but on the degree of audacity it employs." I do not offer this statement as a universal truth, but as a
personal conviction. The validity of my theory will be proved or disproved by creators working in
other fields.
In the brief lines below, I would like to outline the creative process, as experienced by a creator and
his creation, from the original idea to the point at which the creation acquires a commonplace status,
i.e., at which consumers fully adopt the new concept and make it commonplace.
First Condition: What to Create
In most situations, if a consumer is asked what product he would like to see launched on the market
in the future, he or she will be unable to go beyond the limits of previous experience. In other
words, it is very difficult to (dare to) imagine the use of a new product. If a creator presents a new
idea for evaluation, based on a project or prototype, the best he can hope to obtain is confirmation,
sometimes no more than partial, that a specific need could be answered by the product he
proposes. The user confuses the idea of need and the demand generated by that need. In the end,
the product's utility will be proved by the demand for the product. Unfortunately, the concept of
demand is very rarely generated on presentation of an idea. Demand does not really begin to arise
until the first applications of the product take place. Therefore, a risk directly proportional to the size
of the project must be assumed.
The creator's interest is centred principally on the potential uses of an idea or product, rather than
on the idea of the product itself. In addition to creating the references necessary to invent a new
item, he must be able to calculate its impact. A creator must learn from the past in order to
understand why the present is as it is. The present can then be used as a basis for evaluating the
future. A creator knows that he must rely mainly on his own forecast of the demand which will be
generated for the product he intends to create.
From an observer's standpoint, a creator essentially follows his intuition. In reality, he pursues a
relatively logical reasoning process. Taken to extremes, this process may be characterised as
intuitive, provided that intuition is defined along the following lines: "a logical process of which the
detail and development escape our conscious awareness".
In this country, the public's interest for new products is not of overwhelming significance. The
present and its slow and pensive evolution offer comfort (reassurance?) in which the Swiss are
perhaps more willing to indulge than are the citizens of other countries. I do not decry the art of
cultivating these values, however, I do regret that we find an incompatibility between what may be
termed "the right to create and to the recognition of the values engendered by creation" and the
value attached to what is now thought and done, or was always thought and done.
Second Condition: How to Create
The greater the innovative nature of the projected creation, the less recourse to acquired knowledge
is theoretically possible. Knowledge can stifle creativity, by providing security and tending to
validate existing choices. The inability to identify references in support of a project from one's own
knowledge, or that of others, can become - with a sort of "academic blessing" -an excellent reason
for inaction.
A creator's priority should not be what he knows (or others know), but rather what he can make of
what he knows. For this purpose, one solution is to work with a team whose members are
competent in several fields. We must also recognise that new ideas are often produced by people
who are not experts on a particular subject: nevertheless if the idea is to be developed, a specialist
will be better able to bring it to fruition.
Third Condition: the Necessary Means and Support
The initiator must convince others that the project he wishes to develop has merit. The great
difficulty here is the inventor's tendency to underestimate the problems he will encounter. I do not
take this for a deliberate manipulation, but rather as a healthy reaction: if a creator were to know
beforehand the extent and nature of the problems facing him, he would hesitate to proceed with, or
even renounce his project. However good the idea, a creator must not forget that it is of fleeting
value as long as it is not shared with other like-minded people.
Fourth Condition: Patience
Based on the creative experiments carried out by the foundation, I have observed that a new
creation goes through several stages. When a new product is launched, consumers rarely applaud.
The creator should not be surprised at this, nor offended by a lukewarm response from potential
users. He must accept that a reliable judgement can only be formed if enough tests have been
performed, i.e. where critical mass is achieved. It is best to warn the project contributors of this,
even at the risk of causing a disappointment which may have grave consequences.
Fifth and Last Condition: BELIEVE IN IT !
A creator's task begins by an assumption of risk (by the creator and those involved in the project).
In spite of continuing doubt, he must not be afraid to seek solutions to the series of problems his
creation will pose.
A creator must remain confident and meditate on the following maxim: having self-confidence does
not mean ignoring doubts, but learning to handle them. At critical moments, it often occurs to me
that "things are going well when one's available energy is sufficient to respond to the problems that
arise".
Conclusion:
In the context of technology and social services, to create is to remember that the primary factor in
the process is not the technological advances made, but man's capacity to make use of them. Like
those in many other fields, a creator must accept reversals from time to time, which may even
compromise his career. Above all else, creation brings the pleasure of seeing one's ideas fully
accepted and adopted by consumers.
In social services, creation can be summarised in this maxim:
Reconcile high tech, ethical standards and diplomacy !
Jean-Claude Gabus
Fondation Suisse pour les Téléthèses
Neuchâtel
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