I collect quotes from songwriters and other creative people in which they talk about how they experience organic (natural, spontaneous, inspired) imagination as they go about their work. Here are a few of them.

“You walk around with your aerials out and it gets delivered to you. It’s more about feeling it than thinking about it.”
David Arnold, film composer

“Often when you’re working you feel that something is coming through you.”
Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and His Emissary and The Matter With Things

“When you get it right, it’s like someone is writing it for you.”
Bryan Ferry, Roxy Music frontman and solo artist

You can read more quotes here:
A collection of quotes from people who have experienced organic imagination at work

The quoted experiences not only contradicted the sacrosanct design thinking principle that idea generation is done in groups using a diverge-converge method such as brainstorming — they also played a part in the creation of such masterworks as David Arnold’s Casino Royale score and Iain McGilchrist’s book The Matter With Things.

The Scientific and Medical Network Book Prize has been awarded annually since 1992 for the most significant book or books published by Members during the year. Over fifty books have been singled out during that period. The quality and number of significant books published by Members in 2021 is unprecedented since the inauguration of the Prize. The outstanding book of the year is undoubtedly The Matter with Things by Dr Iain McGilchrist, who also received the 2009 Prize for The Master and his Emissary. In view of this Iain is awarded the Grand Prize for his Herculean achievement running to 1,600 pages and based on 5,700 references.

David Lorimer, Programme Director, Scientific and Medical Network | View source
The Matter with Things—one videoed conversation per chapter
The two forms of imagination: synthetic and organic
The two forms of imagination | See also the set of 20 slides here
Brainstorming and other diverge-converge methods use the brain’s left hemisphere and synthetic imagination, which is fine if all that’s needed is a modest idea.

But when you need an idea that has the potential to generate extensive or exceptional downstream value, as well as being a good all round fit, a codified process, mechanical method or choreographed technique will not do the trick. The right hemisphere must be brought into play.

Breakthrough idea
Given that brainstorming sessions tend to produce mediocre (“halfway up the mountain”) results, I’m wondering why leaders of Now-to-New (innovation, change and problem solving) projects don’t turn instead to specially selected individuals, either on the payroll or from outside the organisation, who can deploy organic imagination on demand in order to conceive potent, “top of the mountain” ideas that will be elaborated downstream by a well prepared and properly resourced group deploying the Idea-to-Concept Method.
Mediocrity | Artwork by Doug Neill
Idea conception is too important to be left to unequipped, mostly left hemisphere dominant players with a limited understanding of the project’s nuanced demands and dynamics.

Demands are the needs the project must satisfy — the value requirements, outcomes, deliverables and states of affairs.

Dynamics refers to the moving parts, their relationships and the broadest context in which they operate.

Each stage of a Now-to-New project — conception, development and actualisation — calls for people with distinct abilities, working alone or together according to the nature of the work to be undertaken.

So should idea conception be left to specialists?

Please share your thoughts below.

Continue reading

A collection of quotes from people who have experienced organic imagination at work

The Idea-to-Concept Method

The seven kinds of Now-to-New work

Readiness work sets the Now-to-New project in motion

The three Now-to-New action modes

The two forms of imagination: synthetic and organic

Why I reject brainstorming

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