Creativity: Like a Bridge. Inspired by Miracle and Wonder

Many people think of artists and designers as creative, not scientists, engineers or business leaders. Yet scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs are innovating at a faster pace than ever to make our world more resilient and sustainable. There is no innovation without creativity. So let’s explore what creativity is, how we can nurture it and what we can learn from a musical genius: Paul Simon.

What is creativity?

Ask ten people and you’ll hear ten answers.

Steve Jobs once said, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”

David Burkus, author of The Myths of Creativity, notes that while there’s no universal definition, most people agree: creativity is the process of developing ideas that are both novel and useful.

And Rick Rubin, in The Creative Act: A Way of Being, puts it even more simply: “Creativity is a fundamental aspect of being human. Creative projects require a process, but creativity is not something you do, it’s something you are.”

Creativity is not reserved for artists or designers. It’s at the core of science, engineering, business, and innovation. Every new product, every breakthrough, every meaningful change begins with creativity.

Nurturing creativity

One of the key elements of creativity is exploration. The more experiences you have, the more ideas you can connect in new ways. But you don’t need to go far to be an explorer. Sometimes it means paying closer attention to your surroundings and letting yourself be surprised by what feels routine. Other times, exploration comes naturally — as it did for Paul Simon, one of the most famous songwriters of the 20th century.

Paul Simon's creative process

Paul Simon’s music has crossed genres, cultures and traditions for decades. He has created something new and deeply resonant time after time. Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam’s audiobook Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon explores his long and successful career in a journey to understand what makes Simon a musical creative genius, and what innovators can learn from him.

Three lessons stand out.

1. Relentless exploration

Simon’s genius shows in his constant exploration and combination of musical traditions, from gospel to reggae to South African rhythms. Raised in Queens by a musician father, Simon grew up surrounded by music from around the world. Exploration became second nature.

Exploration is a key component of creativity. If you want to be more creative become an explorer. Some people suggest trying out new things, shaking up your routine. Others suggest paying close attention to what you already do and finding something new in the tried and true. Turn off the auto pilot and notice the nuances of what has been right in front of you all along. No matter what you do, explore, combine things in new ways even if it feels silly.

Many great innovations are the result of blurring boundaries between domains and mixing ideas from different industries. An idea to clean plastic waste from the ocean brings together people from many different backgrounds. Great innovations are not the result of solo efforts.

Innovation thrives at the intersections — where disciplines, perspectives, and traditions meet. Like Simon blending gospel with brass and reggae guitar into one song, innovators connect ideas across boundaries to spark something new.

2. Trial and error

Simon is candid about his process:

A big part of my thinking is trial and error. It's all trial and error. And there is no reason to be upset about the errors because it's part of the trial and error. There's going to be more errors than there's going to be successes and when they come, you just put them away as a piece of information. Paul Simon

Creativity is about trying, failing, learning and trying again. Too often, fear of failure keeps people from experimenting. But real creativity requires risk. Without trial and error, there’s no breakthrough — only repetition of what already exists.

3. Expand your network

Simon learned a lesson early in his life that shaped his music. Don't ask a musician to write in someone else's handwriting.

Do you see now why Paul Simon is so hard to locate? A jewish song writer from New York City who at that point, in the early 1970s, is one of two or three most famous musicians in the world drives from Huntsville to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with Claude Jeter, an ordained minister and black gospel legend to record a song with a group of acclaimed R&B musicians and a New Orleans brass band. And what's the song? Take me to the Mardi Gras. which, by the way, has a Jamaican Reggae guitar group. Five different traditions colliding effortlessly. Malcolm Gladwell

Creativity in teams is about amplifying each other’s strengths to produce something greater. Simon’s music harmonized diverse sounds, adding lyrics and textures that made his songs meaningful and enduring. Innovation works the same way: diverse voices and networks create stronger, more resilient solutions.

Like a bridge

Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water is one of Simon's iconic songs that is as meaningful today as it was nearly 60 years when it was first published. Simon was around 22 when he wrote it, but he can't pinpoint exactly when he wrote it or how it came about. This exemplifies what Rick Rubin means when he says - the artist is there, willing to bring to an idea to life. Or what Steve Jobs said:

Sometimes people feel like they didn't do the work. They were simply putting things together.

Today, we face deep change, urgent challenges and widening divides. Creativity, innovation and communication can be the bridge over our troubled waters — connecting imagination to action, vision to reality, ideas to impact.

Be the bridge

Be an explorer.

Embrace trial and error Expand your network Build bridges and be the bridge to the new possibilities that innovation brings.

Watch a classic:

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Resources cited:

The Myths of Creativity, The Truth About How Innovative Companies and People Generate Great Ideas by David Burkus

Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul SimonMalcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam's exploration of Simon's creative genius is genius itself.

The Creative Act: A Way of Being  by Rick Rubin