THE popular view of creative types in business, reinforced by Hollywood, is the T-shirted bloke in an office with a basketball hoop on the wall, a jar of gummy bears on the desk and permanently wired into a PC. The other, thanks to the 1980s, is the Armani suited ponytailed advertising executive bandying campaign slogans over bottles of Chateau Neuf du Pape and hideously expensive nouvelle cuisine.
In short, they're either weirdos or obnoxious (often both) and should be handled warily and brought out into the wider world only when absolutely necessary in case they disrupt the normal smooth running of the enterprise.
Indeed, one of the reasons cited for Apple Computer's recent bout of trouble was that the creatives had been given too much power, to the detriment of the bottom line.
But John Kao, author and Harvard Business School creativity guru, argues in his book Jamming that creativity should be top of the agenda for all businesses, be they Coca Cola, Santchi or Rustbucket and Son, widget makers. His maxim is be creative or die.
Kao uses the analogy of jazz to illustrate what he means. Jazz, especially when musicians are "jamming" can seem refined and fuzzy to the outsider but has its own internal structure and rules for the players - and often produces beautiful patches of music.
It is these gems that business should recognise as they are the ideas that profits flow from. Therefore, the seeming fuzziness and ill discipline should not alone be tolerated but encouraged.
Kao's book is basically a build your own creative department kit for those unsure how to handle such a development. He includes details of how all staff can become creative.
Those on the factory floor often know more about how things work on the ground than those paid to manage.
Kao concentrates quite a bit on the experience and worries of middle management faced with the creativity challenge. He sees these as the key to fostering a true creative environment. It is pointless for senior management to demand creativity without putting the will and resources into ensuring the proper environment comes to pass.
To do this, management must change its metaphysical outlook. The obsession with hierarchy, titles, perks and corner offices must be jettisoned in favour of a more egalitarian and lateral structure. People must be aware that their suggestions not alone will be appreciated but acted upon.
Second, a physical environment suitable to the nurturing of creativity must be allowed for. Kao favours an open plan office but with suitable private areas for contemplation, small group discussions or for just plain hanging out. Kao believes that informal interaction can generate more practical ideas than suit and tie round table discussions.
Third, creativity must be rewarded and creative talent retained. Kao maintains that creativity will become the currency of business in the near future as knowledge and access to knowledge (via the ubiquitous Internet) replaces physical assets such as factories, headquarters, outlets and permanent staff numbers as the barometers of success and power.
Kao argues his corner quite convincingly but employs that cheery can do, slightly irritating manner beloved of American business gurus. He carries the jazz metaphor to the nth degree - even calling his handy hints at the end of each chapter "riffs". But Kao does have a point and if the examples he uses of American powerhouses busily encouraging basketball hoops and jars of gummy bears is anything to go by a point worth taking.
