Sir John Hegarty wrote a book titled, Hegarty On Creativity—There Are No Rules. MultiCultClassics won’t bother reviewing the slim tome, as Financial Times already provided a thoroughly adequate appraisal. Rather, this post will focus on Hegarty’s insightful thoughts regarding ideas:
It’s important to add that having ideas is the most democratic of all the activities that we undertake. You don’t need special permission or a certificate to come up with a good idea. This can be done anywhere, at any time, without any special equipment or prior practice. It can be done sitting down, standing up, or lying down. Indeed, often the right idea will come to you when you’re not even thinking. That’s how brilliant we are at generating ideas, whatever our race, creed, color, gender, or age. Ideas are always there for you, waiting for you to think them up.
Okay, if idea generation is the most democratic and non-discriminatory activity, why is the advertising industry—particularly agencies such as Hegarty’s BBH—so lacking in diversity? Old White Guys like Hegarty are annoying in their cluelessness. Sir John pontificates on the imperative for fresh thinking. Yet when presented with addressing the monochromatic mess in our collective ranks, he coughs up the same old excuses and contrived solutions—or he literally and figuratively fails to show up. Brilliant.
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