Creativity As Process Not Event: Rethinking "Idea Sessions"

Writer James Clear references the research that there is little positive correlation between highest intelligence levels and creativity. Creativity is the distinct ability to see a connection previously unconnected possibilities.  Dramatic breakthroughs often follow processes that could emerge over years or decades.

That's why it's often a futile effort to herd people in a room for an "idea session." Creativity is a process, not an event. This doesn't spell the draconian end of idea sessions. It means making sure people have a decent idea incubation runway before the session and we ask people what they've been thinking about in the past year, two or twenty years rather than what incidentally pops into their raw consciousness now. We also now can get over the belief that the intellectual level of the group will bode well for creative breakthroughs. As usual, we become smarter together.