Taking Detours, Back Roads & Byways

Back in 1928, as I understand it, the Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming was studying bacteria under his microscope and noticed something odd. A strange mold had appeared on his samples, disrupting his experiment. He then noticed something even more intriguing. Bacteria wouldn’t grow near the mysterious mold. Completely by accident, Fleming made one of history’s great medical breakthroughs – he discovered penicillin.

In advertising, especially during my 15 years at Richter7, I’ve seen that same experience repeat itself over and over. You head off in one direction searching for a solution -- be it creative or strategic -- and a smart, fresh solution suddenly appears while taking a side road in the thought process. (The photo in the accompanying Harley ad perfectly portrays what I'm saying.)

I’ve found, however, the side road doesn’t usually appear until after traveling the main highway for while. Sweat and effort typically precede any magical moments I have had in the creative realm. This process was reinforced by a paragraph I ran across in the Harvard Business Review. It was written by a former Disney V.P. who is now co-chairman of a company called Applied Minds. It went like this:

“Everyone knows that innovation is risky, and it’s rare that you arrive at your expected destination. But maybe that destination isn’t so important. Maybe what you should be paying attention to are the little detours you take along the way: It’s down those back roads and byways that the real payoff usually is found. Maybe, in fact, the biggest risk in innovation lies in sticking too closely to your plans.”

Good food for thought in a business based on creativity.