Cinderella and Creativity

Creativity—where does it come from—where does it go?

When I saw the announcement of what was billed as “a new take on Cinderella” I couldn’t imagine what that might be.  We all know the story—a motherless girl is confined to the kitchen where she cleans up and waits on her step mother and “ugly step-sisters”. A fairy godmother appears, dresses her in a beautiful gown and off she goes to the ball in a coach made out of a pumpkin with horses that transform from kitchen mice!  She meets the prince, drops her glass slipper and after he searches the land for the women whose foot fits the slipper, they’re reunited and all live happily ever after (well, maybe not the stepmother and sisters but…)

So, imagine my delight when attending the San Francisco Ballet Company of Cinderella at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, I noticed that Christopher Wheeldon was co-producing this ballet.  I’d seen a show about him and his amazing talents on CBS Sunday Morning  a few months ago when he brought An American in Paris to Broadway .  He’s a trained ballet dancer who now produces and choreographs shows.

This version of Cinderella was beyond magical!  Rather than starting with Cinderella in the kitchen, sweeping the floor and looking sad, it began with her and her parents before her mother died. We saw her in a totally different light while watched her mother be buried and the sad little girl cling to her father in the cemetery under a small tree.  And that tree becomes part of the story…

I remember seeing an interview with Stephen Spielberg’s mother where she was asked about what he was like growing up.  She told a story about one time young Stephen put a can of cherry pie filling in the microwave to see what would happen AND she let him!  When I heard this, I thought that most mothers would have grabbed that can out of his can before he could close the microwave door but she let it happen.  If she did that, she probably let his imagination flow at other times too and we are all the better for it.

Most children have great imaginations.  Watch them as they make up stories for their stuffed animals or while they create great battles with their toy soldiers.  How wonderful it is to just let the ideas come into your head without having to stop and think if it’s right or even makes sense!

Do you remember being told to “color inside the lines”?  This happens to most kids when they get to school—suddenly all the magic goes away.  No longer can we have imaginary playmates or make up plays and force our families to watch over and over again. No, we have to put all that away and focus on real things! I ask you…why???

Back to Cinderella…in this version of the story there was no fairy godmother, no pumpkin coach, and no clock striking midnight to end the ball.  There’s a tree that grows out of her mother’s grave which the producer says is “the deliverer of all things magic which I think is more poetic than a fairy godmother and quite beautiful.” Christopher Wheeldon’s imagination coupled with his amazing ballet talent has allowed him to create something so beautiful and memorable that I can’t stop thinking about it.

What ideas, processes, policies, or practices could you approach from a different perspective like Wheeldon did with Cinderella?  What could happen if you allowed something different to happen? How do you encourage creativity in your workplace? Maybe a better question is DO YOU encourage creativity?  Creativity has to not only be permitted, it has to be nurtured and I hope you allow your teams to bring new ideas and new ways of solving problems to your workplace!  How do you reward creativity?  Who knows what they may come up with if you just let them try!

The Red Suitcase

I was getting ready to board a flight with my husband, the second leg of a flight to our final destination.  I travel light and carry my luggage on board.  With me was my red roller-bag – the one that has an interesting, deceiving contour.  It slopes up, but the highest part of the case is the same height as a normal roller-bag.  It fits in the overhead bin, handle first versus wheels first.  It’s the same size as all the other roller-bags.

The gate agent stopped me and said, “You’ll have to check the bag – it won’t fit.”  “Yes it will,” I said.  “Wheels first?” he asked.  “No, it fits ….” I started to reply before he cut me off.  “Then you’ll have to check it,” he scowled.  As I began to measure it to prove that its dimensions were a standard fit, my husband joined the conversation. “It fit in the overhead bin just fine on the last flight.”  The gate agent finally acquiesced, after wasting precious time during the boarding process – all because my suitcase had a slightly different look.   I understood his concern – that if I placed it in the bin horizontally it would take up too much room.

We were early to board, and after settling in my seat, I observed one gentleman very nonchalantly placing two bags horizontally in the overhead bin – not appearing to care about other passengers.  I couldn’t help but wonder if he was scolded by the gate agent as I was.  I observed a woman place a carry-on bag that should have gone under her seat in the overhead bin without a care in the world taking room where another roller-bag could have gone. 

We make assumptions all the time.  Sometimes they are based on people’s characteristics, sometimes prior experiences.  We make assumptions about new or different things or ideas because we've had no experience with them. Ninety-five percent of what we do, we do with an unconscious mind. The gate agent was so focused on the shape of my suitcase, he lost sight of the other passengers. Focus is good – I certainly want the pilot focused on his job. When focus becomes rigid, it runs the risk of taking all judgment out of the process.

Bottom line is that when we make assumptions, we're looking backwards and making judgments.  We're blocking our ability to see how the person, thing or idea can contribute to the organization.  We're letting our biases overshadow our thinking.  We’re stifling creativity and creativity and innovation are important in today's business environment.