Are Entrepreneurs Thieves?

Should You Be?

Musician and creativity consultant to organizations like Cirque du Soleil, David Usher, says that artists and entrepreneurs are “thieves”.

But that’s not a bad thing, he argues. The very nature of what they do is take ideas from others and use those ideas to create something new. And that’s how we move forward.

Want More Creativity? Get Disciplined!

“The arts is not free-flowing; it is incredibly structured,” comments this multi-talented musician. “The creative journey takes incredible discipline.” 

The same applies to creativity in entrepreneurship and business. As David Usher commented in our interview, “If you have no structure to deliver the ideas, they won’t be delivered.”

(If you want to read more about this concept of artist as thief, check out Austin Kleon’s book “Steal Like An Artist“.)

It’s that lack of discipline that holds so many of us back

* It’s why most successful authors have a routine of going into their office at the same time every day to write, and forcing themselves to stay there till they’ve written a minimum number of words.

* It’s why entrepreneurs need people like Seth Godin to push us to “ship”; to get products out the door, even if they aren’t perfect.

* It’s why venture capitalists won’t take your great ideas seriously until they’ve seen that you’ve actually tried them out; they aren’t just sitting in your head or in a business plan.

Can Big Businesses Be Creative?

This is the big challenge for companies that have grown beyond the entrepreneurial stage. How do you stay creative as you grow? You need to stay creative if your company is to survive, especially in today’s fast-changing, hyper-competitive world. But, as David pointed out “Massive teams with massive bureaucracy… ideas do not develop in those environments.”

How to Let New Ideas Thrive

1. Build small teams

Teams of one won’t come up with great, workable ideas but nor will teams of hundreds. Too many people squelches innovation.

2. Get High-Level Commitment

You need people close enough to the top that they can encourage and, when needed, shelter those creative teams as the ideas get developed. It takes an investment of time to flesh out creative ideas to the point where they can become marketable businesses, products or services. Give them that time.

3. Encourage Cross-Fertilization of Ideas

People stuck in their own silos are unlike to come up with anything really new. New ideas get triggered by seeing things in one context and the brain starting to think of ways to incorporate them into others. The more diverse your exposure, the more creative your ideas are likely to be. So encourage your staff to read widely, to try new things, to meet with people from other parts of the company and to get out there and volunteer where they’ll meet people who live in other worlds.

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David Usher is not only thoughtful, talented and incredibly good-looking (oops — I probably shouldn’t say that!), he’s generous. He’s part of a group called