The Vision Pioneers Blog

by Miriam Garvi

The past century has seen the rise of large organizational structures. For years now we have let ourselves be impressed by the resources and market dominance of mammoth organizations, be they Monsanto, the UN, or even the Red Cross.

Multinationals, global corporations and various institutions are swallowing huge amounts of resources, but what are they giving in return? Many of us invest most of our working lives in anonymous structures which have become powerful instruments in building a great distance between the real centers of decision-making and the realities of those who are living their consequences - including clients, employees and society.

People suffocating in this alienating process are unable to see the meaning of what they are doing, and are left at the mercy of the re-organizing whims of those in power looking to earn the approval of financial markets.

This greatest inefficiency of our time is slowly but surely snuffing out the joy of working and every little flame of creative potential within us.

Making structures even more rigid with the help of supra-national regulation is not the answer for our times. Nor does size give the strength that enables the astonishing. Creative and purposeful contribution can only be stimulated when people are free to see the meaning of it all.

Time has come for a new era:
Smallness in size, greatness in meaning.

by Miriam Garvi

The highlight of a recent event sponsored by the local business community was a half-hour lecture by a price-winning speaker on how to be creative.

The recipe he offered for creativity was quite simple. «Question everything! And when in frustration suggest the alternative way of doing things!»

Besides the obvious busybody label for those who do not take the time to understand the context, purpose nor setting before offering their tuppence worth on betterment, the generous round of applause that followed really reflects an interesting trend: creativity has become a commodity so streamlined that its practice can be self-taught in an instant.

By the end of this creativity crash course, the speaker appealed to the audience to contribute any thoughts they might have on the topic for his current book in writing. «It has turned out to be quite the challenging topic, you see, so any ideas will be useful.» All contributions to be sent by sms.

And I who thought creativity had to do with creating something rather than scouting for something to offer.