Stimulating Creativity in Teams: Resources and Frameworks
Good Robot’s Creative Director, Brent Braaten, had a neat description of creativity:
“The act of making anything is part of the human experience. When we participate in creativity, we are actively shifting our perspective, observing cause and effect, combining instinct with collected data and taking calculated risks. Creativity can’t exist without risk taking.”
Here are some resources and frameworks—many of which I’ve applied in scaling our own business at Good Robot Brewing—that you can use to stimulate creativity in your team.
1. John Cleese's Insights on Creativity
First off, the above video is a synopsis of John Cleese’s thoughts on creativity. The full 35-minute video of creativity in management is well worth a watch if you are seeking a framework for stimulating creativity.
According to John Cleese of Monty Python fame, creativity isn't a talent—it’s a condition. He argues that most people misunderstand creativity as a chaotic free-for-all, but it’s actually about setting the right conditions for open thinking. Cleese speaks about the importance of the “open” and “closed” modes of thinking:
Closed Thinking: This is for execution, requiring focus and quietness. It’s essential when you already know the solution or the outcome you're aiming for.
Open Thinking: This is the playful, lighthearted state of mind where creativity thrives. It’s illogical and open-ended, perfect for generating new ideas.
How to foster open thinking in your team: Cleese suggests creating an environment that encourages this mindset by establishing five key conditions:
Space: Designate a creative space where interruptions are minimized.
Time: Allocate specific blocks of time for creativity—ideally, 60-90 minutes per session. Avoid premature decision-making - use the entire timeslot. (In fact, Cleese recommends that you wait until the last possible moment to make creative decisions.)
Confidence: Encourage wrong suggestions and adopt a 'Yes, and…' approach instead of 'Yes, but….'
Humour: Use humour as a catalyst to lower defences and spark creativity.
Gentle Focus on the Problem: Keep gently returning the mind to the creative problem, similar to meditation.
2. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Framework for Creativity
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (gesundheit!), renowned for his work on flow and creativity, outlines a clear five-stage framework:
Preparation: Gathering information and laying the groundwork.
Incubation: Letting ideas percolate, often by taking a break or shifting focus.
Insight: The ‘Eureka!’ moment when a new idea or solution emerges.
Evaluation: Critically assessing the idea to see if it holds up.
Elaboration: Developing the idea into a fully-fledged concept.
The importance of environment in this framework: Mihaly highlights the impact of both familiar and new environments on creativity. He argues that familiar environments are great for the evaluation and elaboration stages because the environments don’t distract from the problem at hand. On the other hand, new environments are powerful in sparking insight and generating fresh ideas.
One of Mihaly's quotes summarises this beautifully: "To get creative insights, it helps to move to new, unfamiliar settings where the mind is jolted into seeing the world in a different light."
In fact, Mihaly argues (and I agree) that exploring new environments might be the easiest way to stimulate creativity.
You might notice many similarities between Cleese’s and Csikszentmihalyi's frameworks.
Time/Incubation (subconscious and conscious thinking)
Space/Environment
Open Thinking/Incubation
Closed Thinking/Evaluation and Elaboration
3. Ed Catmull's Book: Creativity, Inc.
Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, shares invaluable lessons on stimulating creativity within an organisation. One of his core messages is that a leader’s role is to remove barriers to creativity (organisations will implicitly add enough barriers).
Some barriers that leaders need to actively remove include:
Fear of failure: Create a culture where mistakes are seen as opportunities to learn.
Overbearing control: Allow your team autonomy, trusting them to make decisions and learn from their outcomes.
Stagnation: Avoid repeating past successes without allowing room for new risks and experimentation (“Success makes companies retreat and repeat".)
A fantastic example from Pixar is how they use their "Brain Trust," where a group of trusted colleagues offer candid feedback on projects. This feedback is given with the understanding that the goal is to make the project better, not to tear down the creator. Mihaly has a similar system he calls “the field” in which an idea is tested by trusted advisors and authorities.
One aspect I enjoy about Catmull’s book is the role of ego in creativity. What Pixar tries to emphasize is that you are not your idea or your product. “The field” (or the brain trust) exists to evaluate and improve concepts, not destroy them.
One such example surrounds The Incredibles, a movie about a superhero family. During one scene, Mr. Incredible, whose superpowers include super strength, is arguing with his partner, Elastigirl (whose superpower is elasticity). The scene was necessary to service the plot, but the brain trust felt that the scene conveyed a gross feeling. Diving deeper, due to the brutish size of Mr. Incredible, the fight evoked feelings of domestic violence. The brain trust evolved the scene so that during arguments, Elastigirl inflated herself to the size of Mr. Incredible. This solution actually improved the idea - adding a creative “flex” of sorts that showcased Elastigirl’s talents while serving the plot.
4. David Burkus’ The Myths of Creativity
In The Myths of Creativity, David Burkus challenges common misconceptions about how creativity works:
The Eureka Myth: Creativity isn’t a sudden spark of inspiration; it's often a result of hard work and persistence. Instead of waiting for a lightning-bolt moment, focus on developing ideas through steady effort.
The Breed Myth: Creativity is not a talent reserved for "creative types." Everyone has the potential for creativity, regardless of their personality or background.
The Originality Myth: Great ideas are rarely completely original. Most innovations build upon existing concepts, combining them in new and meaningful ways.
The Expert Myth: Experts in a field are not always the most creative. Sometimes, a fresh perspective from outside the field can lead to the most innovative solutions.
The Incentive Myth: Financial rewards don’t always boost creativity. Intrinsic motivation—such as passion, curiosity, and personal interest—tends to be more effective in driving creative work.
The Lone Creator Myth: Creativity thrives in collaboration. Even famous “lone geniuses” had support networks, teams, or inspiration from others.
The Constraints Myth: Constraints can actually enhance creativity by forcing people to think within limitations. Boundaries can prompt more inventive solutions.
The Mousetrap Myth: “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply to creativity. Even the most brilliant ideas need effective marketing and communication to gain traction.
The Cohesive Myth: Harmony isn’t always the best environment for creativity. Sometimes, healthy conflict and diverse viewpoints can push teams to think more innovatively.
The Curiosity Myth: Creativity is not just about asking questions. It’s also about knowing how to follow up on those questions and experiment with potential solutions.
By now, you might be seeing some similarities in these frameworks and publications.
Creativity requires time and focus.
Constraints and “closed mode” thinking are necessary.
Creativity is not a solo pursuit.
Creativity is impacted by environments.
5. Self-Determination Theory by Ryan et al.
According to Self-Determination Theory by Ryan et al., self-determination (and, for my money, creativity) thrives when three core psychological needs are met: competence, relatedness, and autonomy.
Competence: Feeling capable and effective in your work.
Relatedness: Feeling connected to others, fostering a sense of belonging.
Autonomy: Having the freedom to make your own choices and decisions.
It’s vital to ask yourself whether your team members feel a sense of belonging and connection. Are you giving them enough freedom to explore and take risks? Are you investing in their skill development?
As Dr. Brent Conrad from Green Leaf Psychological Services in Halifax shared with me, leaders often fall into three traps that hinder creativity:
Confirming beliefs (only seeking ideas that reinforce their perspectives),
Seeking control, and
Avoiding pain (staying within the comfort zone).
To stimulate creativity, you need to break free from these traps and ensure your team feels competent, connected, and autonomous.
6. “But… Therefore…” Storytelling Framework by Matt Stone and Trey Parker
Wanna talk about Mihaly’s constraints?
The team at South Park Studios conceptualizes, executes and publishes an episode in six days.
Unbelievable.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, certainly leverage many of the facets of frameworks shared in this blog post.
Constraints and time (six-day episodes)
New environments to stimulate creativity (such as their nature walk during a bout of writer’s block, which catalyzed the creation of one of their most popular episodes)
Familiar environments to refine ideas (their writer’s room)
Gently focusing on the problem
Candid feedback (naturally)
One of their tactics I love is their “But… Therefore…” methodology of story development. In brief, if you write a story with plot points (or “beats”), each beat should be able to be connected with the conjunctions “but” or “therefore.”
For example:
A man drives to the store to buy milk, BUT
He crashes his car through the milk fridge, THEREFORE
He has to work at the store to pay off his debt.
“But” creates tension.
“Therefore” creates an arc.
This methodology is a little different from the commonly accepted “Yes, and…” methodology, which only connects beats with logical progression, which doesn’t create as much tension and surprise.
If you haven’t watched Six Days to Air: The Making of South Park (and you don’t mind very crude humour), it provides fabulous insights into the creative process.
Putting It All Together
Stimulating creativity in a team isn’t about waiting for lightning to strike or expecting inspiration to fall from the sky. It’s about crafting an environment where creativity feels natural and even inevitable. Whether you’re drawing inspiration from John Cleese’s open mode, Mihaly’s framework, Ed Catmull’s focus on removing barriers, David Burkus’ myths, or Ryan et al.’s self-determination theory, the key is to create conditions that allow creativity to thrive.
At Good Robot Brewing, we’ve seen firsthand how these principles can be put into action. We have failed and failed and failed. But when a concept and idea strikes, it not only serves to solve a problem, but also builds self-determination in our team.
While I’m certainly no expert in tactical execution of many creative things, including design, I have managed and directed enough teams to understand what it takes to stimulate and foster creativity. If you’re interested in stimulating creativity in your team, reach out. I’ve hosted workshops on creative stimulation, storytelling, positioning, and content generation, among other things.
