I agree with the notion that the best ideas and the most unique ones will definitely be labeled as "crazy" until everyone labeling them is proven wrong by the idea's originator.

I am a co-founder of a Web development company and we are building our whole business success on refining the Web development process. Many Website Design companies approach the Website creation as an art, but rest assured, Website Development is Not an Art.

We claim that it is possible to systematize and streamline the entire Website development process no matter how complex. Wouldn't you consider that being crazy?

This is definitely true. Some of my best ideas came at times when I seemed as if I was out of my mind. Some of my employees think so, but most of the ideas, although crazy at first have turned to be a boone for our tea company. One thing to remember is that if you have a 'crazy' idea, if you really, truly beleive in it, just keep refining it and make sure YOU beleive in it.

Be Crazy. Play Crazy.

Serve beer and chips in the board room. Have your meeting outside under a tree. Go to Disney World and take ten turns on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Eat cotton candy. Go to a playground and play on the swings. Keep a tape recorder and capture your thoughts. Find and read the book, Mr. Pine's Purple House. Go into nature and shut the &*=! up - just listen and watch without words. Watch preschoolers play. Stop talking like an automaton – whatever healthy and legal things will WAKE-UP! the child inside you. If there isn’t a child inside you – get someone on your bus with a bouncing one inside. It’s critical to your success. Blow bubbles, the soap kind or with Bubble Yum. Keep TIME magazine and Business Week OUT of your offices. Read Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, Harry Potter and Isaac Asimov. Make sure you apply just enough system to make good use of the ideas - juuuuuuuust enough. Don’t overdo it. Systems are like salt – go overboard and you spoil the sauce.

As a coach of self-employed professionals who work for lunatics, (www.ActivatePotential.com) I notice an incredible lack of creativity in their thinking. Oh, sure, they have ideas for doing new things, new products and all that. But, commonly, their thinking is not creative. It’s safe. So, we work a lot on bringing them to life again - like they were waaaaaaaaay back when - before the stiff systems, the money and the minefields.

In most companies - heck, in most lives, the out-of-bounds area is very wide, leaving a narrow playing field.

Looking back on my childhood - the place we learn how to play (THE - let me repeat, THE foremost activity in any creative effort at ANY, let me repeat, ANY age is PLAY, not planning, not studies, not research...PLAY), I thought my name was "Too". I was Too loud, Too hyper, Too frenetic, Too fidgety. I doodled Too much. Played with Matchboxes Too long, took things Too seriously, and was Too intense.

Every Too was like the stroke of a pen knife against a stick, whittling down the energy and spirit so the boy would fit in. They were really trying to make me “productive” – a little Too soon. Trouble is, kids who are made productive Too soon grow up to be boring adults. Like hothouse tomatoes aged too quickly, they lack flavor. Thankfully, I’m crazy, so it didn’t matter.

Anyway, I did fit in - with most of the people I knew. In defense of the system, I went on to graduate with honors from a reputable college and create a terrific life - including a couple thriving businesses. But, I later spent considerable time and energy rediscovering my true gifts- and all the energy and naturally creative thinking that made me so annoying to adults as a child and now helps people so much.

Systems needed protecting and so the leaders of them whittle away the parts that make them and the system feel unsafe.

Systems are deadly for creativity. Structure is great; every great building needs a framework that obeys the laws of physics. Still, there are a lot of ways to obey the laws of physics. Tract homes are not the only option.

What's the point? PLAY! And to play, leaders must create a constant and fresh environment in which the out-of-bounds markers are pushed out - over and over again. If they can't do it themselves, hire in the skill. (And don't think in terms of a weekend workshop or a week long retreat. You will need a lot of sustained work to loosen knots tightened over time.)

One GREAT (!) way, available to everyone, no matter their budget, to create a fresh environment is with language; only use words from everyday life. NO corporate jargon like, actioning something or languaging things. There are not sponsors of studies; they are customers. There would be no ROI. You would ask, "Hey Steve, if we spend $125,000 on this project, how long before we get out money back? How much more money would we make?"

No money would be "allocated" for a marketing campaign. You would decide to "buy" some marketing. You would not have a budget - you'd have a bank account with dollars, pounds or pesos in it. When it's empty, it's empty. You would not be "over-budget." You'd be flat out broke. In fact, you would not be “in debt.” You would owe Sally money. You would not "add value" you'd be special to someone because you helped them out A LOT and then they'd buy more from you and you'd make more money.

If you're into running clinical trials, you'd talk about being part of the cycle of life, just like fertilizer, bees and the rain. Your business would be about helping get good medicine into the bodies of people who are suffering. You'd be healers, right alongside mothers and nurses, spring breezes and God (if you dig that idea.)

I know, I know - all very 90's Silicon Valley. Call me crazy.

Crazy ideas are everywhere. I developed a fun tool - Ideascape - to help people discover crazy ideas within their own organizatins as well as on the net using cool stuff like del.icio.us.

I work for a company with few rules, that was started by a couple of guys that share a disdain for "the system." The experience has been invaluable. I have never felt such freedom to think outside the box, try new things and even fail from time to time. No hard feelings, just get up and try again. When the encouragement for creativity and uniqueness comes from the leaders, it seems to remove the fear of being "the guy with the lame idea" and everyone seems to have a lot more fun. Does our brainstorming always result in million-dollar ideas? No, but we always laugh a lot, which may be even more valuable.

CREATIVITY DOES NOT ARISE OUT OF SILLINESS

This is a basic premise from Dr. Edward deBono the world's leading expert on creativity. He's proven over 30 decades and through 70 books that you can SYSTEMATICALLY produce creative and innovative ideas.

It makes all the sense in the world that someone can reduce(!) creativity to a method. If not, we are going to blow through random, silly exercises and hope that something happens. In fact, have you ever read of a great new product arising out of an idaation session where marshmallows were thrown and squirt guns were used on attendees?

See deBono's article on the Teaching of Creative Thinking at http://www.debono.com/Teaching.htm. Note particularly the section, "CRAZINESS" IS NOT ENOUGH.

Play is essential, DIRECTED play is effective. Even Monty Python's random silliness has a method. Every comedian who has done improvisational work learns a systematic way to respond to improv situations.

I sold creativity training ("Lateral Thinking") for deBono about 8 years ago. Tough sell to corporate America. But if you read the success stories, you'll realize that this guy is beyond brilliant.

Wanna produce a new product, improve a process, solve problems? This is the most respected guy on the planet, yet most unknown in the U.S.

His best known book is Serious Creativity. Dr. deBono is at http://www.debono.com/whoweare.html.

Dan Seidman, SalesAutopsy.com
"One of the top 12 sales coaches in America" (Ultimate Selling Power)
Sales Horror Stories now appearing on Monster.com!
Author, The Sales Comic Book
There is nothing like it on this planet (possibly any planet)!
http://www.salesautopsy.com 1-847-359-7860 (central time)

Shhhh... Don' let the accountants, risk managers, and especially the shareholders hear anyone talk of this nonsense. The bean counters would be very displeased to hear of anyone finding their creative side. I think the term for this type of creative thinking is called 'disruptive innovation'. People are paid to work, not play.