Creativity Is Collaborative

Marc Andreessen, well known Silicon Valley VC, founder and billionaire writes:

Creativity Is the collaborative activity between creator and audience?

At the intersection between audience and creator lies a beautiful place of meaning creation and exchange.?

One could call it PLAY.?

This “play" is the collaboration and surrender of two or more parties to the rules and logic of a common plane, otherwise known as "the game".?

It requires a creator and receiver to collaborate around a shared imagination, to create a common dialogue around images, light, sounds and the creation of shared meaning.

The audience or receiver is as vital to the creative exchange as the creator just as in conversation, listening is as important as replying.

The response, given in turn, creates and builds the game and so the collaboration grows.

Take for example attending a local theatre performance.

When one sits in a darkened room and watches actors walk about on stage, at times, changing costumes and appearing as entirely different personas,?one is required to enter "the game".

In order for the imaginative exchange to work, the audience has to surrender to the rules and logic of the “play”, and in some senses “to play” back. ?

It’s a curious thing to contemplate with our rational mind but we all do it all day every day.

We absorb stories, we create meaning, we listen and respond to the images, symbols, and sounds that are shared around us.

Our actions and behaviour are then shaped and formed by these news broadcasts, advertising slogans, social media, press, fashion trends as well as the opinions and stories of our neighbours, teachers, parents, politicians and friends.

This creative exchange of meaning is in our DNA. It’s our very operating system [OS] that underlies all our rational software and programming. ?

What does this mean for the way we think about society, our lives, business, politics or education.

It means that those who wish to not only to build relationships with others, but also to influence, need to tap into this creative, imaginative, collaborative operating system of humanity.

Businesses that tell powerful stories, can effectively communicate with their audience in an active and collaborative, “play” like manner.

Billionaires and founders like Andreeessen understand this powerful communication principle.

Humans learn through experience. We recall: ?

• 10% of what we read?
• 20% of what we hear?
• 30% of what we see?
• 70% of what we discuss?
• 80% of what we experience?
• 95% of what we teach?

Discussion, experiencing, teaching, dialoguing, are active engagements.

Stories and play activate the “experience” part of our memory and imagination ensuring a full immersion into the exchange and an alignment of values and meaning creation.

Powerful brands understand storytelling.