Conversations

In September 2003, I launched The Creativity Forum, a series of
public interviews, with the intention to start a low-key revolution,
a crusade to raise awareness of creativity as an invaluable tool for
building a life and a living.
i n t r o d u c t i o n
c o n v e r s a t i o n s w i t h c r e a t i v e m i n d s
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After 91 years of running a boutique creative services firm (okay, that’s dog years but I
worked like one so it seems relevant) anyway, during those years, I observed that many of our
clients relied almost exclusively on certain habits of thinking, habits that had become a barrier to
innovation.
Determined to present another viewpoint (and because it sounded like a lot of fun) I
scheduled conversations with guests from all walks of life; entrepreneurs, stand-up comedians,
distinguished academics and accomplished professionals. Then as now, the conversations ex-
plored the nature of creativity, its presence and its relevance to the guests’ particular endeavors.
However far-ranging the discussion (and yes, there was a fair amount of digression), we always
returned to the concept of creativity and the questions surrounding its practical application.
How does it arise, how is it used, how do people get it when they don’t have it and, most of all,
how does creativity contribute to professional success and personal fulfillment? While the ques-
tions may have appeared obvious, the answers were reliably unexpected and often counter to
conventional wisdom.
I’ve often wondered why it is that some of us merely look at the world while others see a
universe of possibilities. How do we discover the mental mechanism that will set us free from
self-inflicted boundaries? And what must we do to unlock our own potential to live an authentic
and fulfilling life? Seeking answers to questions like these, I’ve been privileged to have
conversations with remarkable individuals who have astonished me with their insights.
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After three seasons of incredible conversations, we decided to change the name of the public
program from The Creativity Forum to Conversations with Creative Minds and bring the show
to a larger audience via the World Wide Web. Now, the insights of our guests are presented in
this book so that more people can experience the power of creativity as a tool for discovery
and the realization of tangible goals.
So how do they do it? How do ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things? At first
glance, they appear much like the rest of us. They go about the business of life and earning a
living as we all do, but there is a singular difference. They dare to live and think creatively.
They are equally at ease in the realm of rational thought and the changing landscape of the
creative mind.
This book is a celebration of ideas and of the people who put them into action. And if you
choose, it can act as a companion on your journey, keeping good company with other people
who have dared to think and be uniquely themselves through the practice and practical
application of creative thinking.
If your dreams are a bit dusty and you can’t seem to look beyond the here and now, read on,
and start living the life that only you can live.
3

“ I have two very different sides to myself. There’s the side that
wants to prepare assiduously and the other that says, ‘I’m just going
to wing it.’ It’s an interesting tension because spontaneity requires
preparation.” - Todd Mundt
s p o n t a n e o u s p r e p a r a t i o n
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Todd Mundt is the personification of spontaneous preparation. For five years he was host of
the nationally syndicated National Public Radio program, The Todd Mundt Show. Currently,
he is the Director of New Media Strategies at Louisville Public Media. In this role he is paid to
unleash his passion for all things techno-geeky and assess their relevance for public broadcasting.
The first thing you notice about Todd is that he appears younger than expected. His on-air
voice projected an underlying authority that is usually associated with the accumulation of years.
I found myself scanning Todd’s face, searching for clues or some kind of physical tic that would
reveal the mechanism of his persona. On the air you heard it as a compact energy that closed the
boundaries of physical distance to create a personal connection. It’s a remote sense of intimacy
sustained by precise diction and attention to the nuance of phrasing.
I learned from Todd that the best on-air personalities are actually very studied. Really good
radio people are able to seem remarkably spontaneous. They can do funny, wonderful things and
as Todd grew up listening to them, he thought of them as seat-of-the-pants people.
Later, when he met and worked with these nationally known personalities their secret was
revealed. They are not spontaneous. One of them prepared obsessively, sweating right up to
the moment he went on the air. In the end, he sounded like he just walked into the studio
but his persona, which is loved by millions of people, was very carefully crafted.
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s p o n t a n e o u s
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But what do we mean by the word ‘persona’ and how it is relevant to the practical business
of creating a life, or solving life’s problems for that matter?
One difference between people who are merely competent and those who excel in radio
(or in life) is a well-crafted persona. It’s the ability to project an authentic personality that is
consciously crafted and repeatedly practiced to work well with an audience. When on the air
every action is considered from the perspective of the listener and how it will affirm or trash
the relationship that is being created.
It’s an interesting juxtaposition because the projection of an effective persona begins with
being a genuine person. But while giving the appearance of being spontaneously you, the
audience is actually relating to a well-crafted version of self, devoid of distracting mannerisms or
incongruent behavior.
So we’re really saying that authenticity begins with artifice. Knowing that Todd began his
radio career presenting classical music, I asked what he had taken away from that experience.
Perhaps without knowing it at the time, he absorbed the concept that solitary practice is
essential. Whether scales and arpeggios or diction and inflection, creative insights cannot
occur without immersion in the fundamentals of craft. This preparation is the foundation of
extraordinary ability that appears effortless. Todd learned the lesson that repeated practice and
critical evaluation always precede the artifice of ease and spontaneity. This idea of prepared
spontaneity is one that Todd has claimed and made his own.
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Describing his on-air persona with the assurance of someone used to self-evaluation, Todd
ticks off the ingredients: energy and irony with an occasional dash of snarkiness, balanced by
an off-the-cuff vulnerability.
“Vulnerability,” Todd emphasized, “is essential to authenticity. It’s the ability to make a
mistake, laugh it off and just move on.”
And yet a professional is someone who is mandated to perform at a certain level regardless
of circumstances. No matter what the occupation, we are paid to perform and meet certain
standards. But occasionally, the façade of effortlessness associated with professionalism
encounters failure. Todd refers to these glitches as endearing moments.
“If I make a mistake or something goes wrong, the ability to laugh it off and move on is very
endearing to the audience.”
And that brings us back to the idea that vulnerability is essential to authenticity, however
practiced the authentic may be. A pattern of juxtaposition seems to be emerging. Spontaneity
arises from preparation. Authenticity develops out of artifice. And persona demands to be
practiced. So here’s the question that must be asked. Is the presence of this dynamic tension
deliberate, and what purpose does it serve?
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Laughing, Todd acknowledged that though he hadn’t thought of it in that way, the dynamic
tension between things that appear to be opposite is certainly a catalyst for creativity. Here’s
a personal example. When Todd was content officer at Michigan Media, it was part of his
job to work with people in a step-by-step process on particular projects. In a confessional
tone, he admitted that it was definitely in opposition to his preferred mode of thinking and
acting in leaps.
Describing his thought process as profoundly non-linear, Todd is at his most comfortable
with the interior landscape of ideas. Echoing his affinity for the open prairie, he feels at home in
this internal topography. It’s as if the absence of the superficially scenic leaves space to consider
things that are there as well as those that are not.
It’s evident that Todd lives in and cares deeply about the world of ideas. He conveys a
compelling sense of urgency to grab the opportunity, to examine what’s there, and at the same
time explore the relevance of what isn’t there. It’s as if he defines every concept by the white
space of unlikely connections.
“As soon as I’ve made a mental leap, augmenting the obvious with the unexpected, I’m ready
to make another leap. But now, it’s the desire to leap into action, to make the idea a reality.”
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“There’s nothing particularly wrong with my predisposition for all this leaping about,”
Todd observes, “except that I was no longer host of my own show. In senior management the
responsibilities are quite different.”
Frankly, all this mental leaping about sounded extraordinarily athletic to me, exhausting
even. That prompted me to ask Todd what actually happens once he has leapt into action?
“It’s what doesn’t happen,” Todd replies. “My mind may have awakened to an idea that’s
worthy of further exploration, but it doesn’t mean that people automatically follow my leap,
or even land in the same place.”
“So in the absence of a Spock-like mind meld what do you do?”
He confesses, “I’m learning in a remedial way that even great ideas need to be nurtured.
At some point creativity has to encounter a structured process if other people are going to
support and elaborate on your insight.”
“Then what do you do? How do you transfer what’s inside your head into the hands of
people who can help move things forward?”
“This sounds so lame that I’m reluctant to say it out loud, but here goes. I start by stopping
my desire to leap into action. It’s really more of a pause. It’s counter-intuitive for me, but I
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consciously and deliberately take a moment to consider the situation. Instead of blurting out
my idea to the first person I see, I think about where to begin, who to talk with first.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
“Like most things, it’s a learning process; but I’m making progress. Actually, it’s been
unexpectedly gratifying. I’m getting a kick out of seeing people take an idea and run with it.
Just because I’m now in management doesn’t mean I have to be involved with the execution
of every new project.”
“I know you’re really passionate about the role of public broadcasting. Do you see a
connection between creativity and an individual’s true calling?”
“Without a doubt. I really love what I do consequently I love doing it. Ever since I was a
kid, I’ve felt that public broadcasting has an important place in the American landscape. As
media organizations consolidate and turn away from local news coverage, public broadcasting
is in a position to provide a localized focus, addressing community concerns from education,
the arts to social issues. There’s been a huge change since 1967, when public broadcasting was
created out of educational programming. We’ve arrived at this point where public broadcasting,
particularly radio, has become a force. Now we actually have the ability to have an impact on
our communities and we need to use that power wisely.”
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“It sounds as though you spend a lot of time thinking about work, even when you’re not at
work. Is that another outbreak of Todd’s obsession with preparation?”
“You’d have to ask a professional about the obsessive part. But here’s what I think. When
work captures your complete attention, and you are totally engaged in the moment, it’s no longer
work. It becomes a framework, the context for the examination of ideas and information.
“So when work is no longer work, what is it?”
“It’s fulfillment. Work that you believe in and have committed yourself to completely is an
act of creation. It becomes the lens through which you view events and ideas, seeing how they fit
into this meta-concept that is your life.”
“A meta-concept sounds supremely important but what does it mean?”
“Here’s an example. A few years ago, I had a conversation with a media colleague about the
future of podcasting. I found myself thinking about our audience; what they wanted at the
time and what they’d want five years later. Back then we didn’t know if podcasting would be the
next big thing or just a gimmick. A meta-concept is the underlying idea. In that instance, the
podcasting meta-concept was the shift in how people consume and create information. Without
knowing if podcasting was a fad or the future, I asked myself how I could marshal the resources
of our broadcasting unit to create programming for new media outlets.
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It’s not about leaping into everything new (although you know my propensity for leaping).
It’s about uncovering the meta-concept that will make what’s new the norm and how you can
use that productively.”
“It sounds to me like your preference for non-linear thinking and a willingness to break
from the norm to take a leap must come in handy – even if it does freak a few people out.”
“Yeah,” Todd agrees, “I’ve certainly done that. It’s just that some people are very standardized
in the way they think. They play a vitally important role in keeping the rest of us in shape. But
when you’re trying to anticipate future trends and keep an organization nimble enough to move
in any direction, a little non-linear thinking is a very good thing. I’m always imagining what
things will be like five years from now, then rolling it back to consider what the trends will be
in two years, 18 or 12 months. There’s the occasional downside, but mostly my propensity for
mental leaping about comes in handy.”
“What else would you like people to consider about the relevance of creativity?”
“There are moments when creativity is required and there are moments that cause creativity.
When things are in jeopardy, it’s a chance to seriously reconsider even the most entrenched ideas.
Just remember, even if you find this opportunity exciting, you’ll probably encounter great
resistance. Don’t under-estimate the power of the status quo.”
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“In your opinion, what makes the status quo so powerful?”
“It’s the norm. It’s known, or rather, it’s familiar. Like everyone else, I have my own issues
with the status quo.”
“Like what, for instance?”
“The smartest thing I ever did was take the job at the station (WUOM) and move to
Michigan. But when the position was first offered, I turned it down. Some time passed and
I changed my mind. Fortunately, the position hadn’t been filled, so off I went.”
“How did that work out for you, other than hosting an incredibly successful national
broadcast show?”
“Moving to Michigan led to a lot of amazing and very fun things; experiences I wouldn’t
have had otherwise. I learned an important lesson about the power of the status quo because
I turned down the opportunity the first time because of it. But I was lucky. I got a second
chance to get past the familiar and see the possibility.”
“I’d like to think that I’m less inclined to protect the familiar and more willing to
wholeheartedly embrace change. But like most things in life, upending the status quo requires
practice and preparation before it spontaneously occurs. I’m working on it.”
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