Measuring Creativity

There's a standard saw from metrics-minded, numbers-driven, reality-loving people - "You can't manage what you can't measure" attributed to Peter Drucker who probably borrowed it from someone else (I believe, but I've heard more than a few leadership gurus take credit for their own version of the saying).

If this measuring mindset makes you cringe, you're probably in the creative side of marketing, design and art. For these dear souls the disconnect between cost and value is sacrosanct and inviolable.

That is, if it can be measured it's not worth creating... not worth bleeding to craft... not worth the words to defend it.

It just is.

And this means we must find another language to narrate creativity.

If we don't, creativity will be defined as what the artist can do or what the boss likes - never anything more than preference and power (or both).

So, what is that unknown unknown of narrating creativity?

Let's meet-up again tomorrow and we'll see if we can find out together.

​