Should Creativity Take Precedence Over Efficiency?

I would like to begin with the wise words of Herman Melville, an American novelist, best known for the American classic, Moby Dick. "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in limitation."

"Should creativity take precedence over efficiency?:" Human creativity is what drives us forward as a species. It is this unique ability to harness our thoughts and ideas that has been responsible for some of the world’s greatest inventions, from the wheel to the microprocessor. Creativity is the fuel for innovation. It is the raw ideas and the messy brilliance that turn into innovation—something new and different that the market values and for which people will pay. Additionally, creativity has a lot of different facets. Creativity arises when we put unlike things together—when previously disconnected ideas are combined. Therefore a solution may come that we have never heard of- unbound in the constraints of being 'perfect' or 'efficient'. This implies that those with the most diverse networks often bring forth unexpected ideas that help solve a problem in a new way. People get tired of traditional things in the market and eventually, they won't be as attractive as other competitors. With creativity, you can formulate new ideas which can enable establishments to explore new possibilities and enhance their range and marketability.

You might have heard the saying- "The problem with efficiency is, they say Hitler’s trains were always on time!" Keeping jokes aside, it is common knowledge that you have to be creative first before you can become efficient. Art is a free-flowing organic notion, with branches of fruit hanging from every bifurcation or derivative. Everything else is secondary and comes from it, itself. If you can’t come up with new ideas, there will be nothing to implement efficiency on!

In conclusion, creativity is a combinatorial force: it’s our ability to tap into our ‘inner’ pool of resources – knowledge, insight, information, inspiration, and all the fragments populating our minds – that we’ve accumulated over the years just by being present and alive and awake to the world and to combine them in extraordinary new ways. I'd like to conclude with this thought I would want all of you to think about- "If you are willing to do something that might not work, might not be efficient, you are one step closer to being a true artist."