Creativity: Imaginary Board of Directors

At some point, I came across the idea of ​​creating an imaginary board of directors. I think it was something that Thomas Edison actually did and I think he eventually was a little worried about hearing people talk in his head about it. It was also something Doc did in the movie. Return to the future. But she puts all that aside for a moment.

The basic idea is that you can stimulate your own creativity by first forming an imaginary board of directors and then, when you have a difficult problem to solve, consulting each of them in your head. I realize this may sound a bit crazy, but bear with me here. The answers you receive are simply your own thoughts, but this is a tool to access the creativity that is within you. It’s an idea that really appeals to me and I’m definitely going to try it.

So the first thing you need to do is select your own board. You can have a lot of fun here deciding who you will add. People can be alive or dead; does not matter. What you need are people you think are, or were, outstanding in some way. You want people who can represent different perspectives and you want people you admire.

Personally, I think you probably want to keep the board pretty small and select just one person to represent each perspective you’ll need to cover. So you don’t want multiple people to represent creativity, for example. After some thought, here is a list of candidates for my own Imaginary Board of Directors:

• Leonardo da Vinci
• Thomas Edison
• Martin Luther King
• William Shakespeare
• Oscar Wilde
• Nelson Mandela
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• gandhi
• Albert Einstein
• richard branson
• james caan
• disney waltz
• steve works
• Sir Christopher Wren
• Sir Bobby Charlton
• Socrates
• Pablo Picasso
• MC Escher
• edward debono
• Salvador Dali

And here are the five positions (prospects) I have on offer:

• Director of Creativity
• design director
• Business director
• editorial director
• Director of Morals/Ethics

As you can see, I had to do a bit of mind interviewing to select my final board. With Leonardo, Walt Disney, and Albert Einstein all applying for the Director of Creative position, it was a tough choice and you may change staff from time to time. But here is the final choice for my own board:

• Creative Director: Steve Jobs
• Design Director: Thomas Edison
• Writing Director: Oscar Wilde
• Director of Morals/Ethics: Nelson Mandela
• Business Director: James Caan

Now, to make use of this idea, first get into that quiet meditative state that we’ve talked about in the past, and then, in your imagination, go into the boardroom. There he meets with his fellow directors and holds his board meeting where he raises issues that are of immediate concern. And each of the directors has the opportunity to express his point of view from his own perspective.

There you have it: a really interesting idea to explore your own creativity. I wonder if you too would like to give it a try.