I’ve always liked this colorful expression to describe the critical, anxious inner monologue that can drive our thinking.
For anyone doing creative work, the committee is a barrier. It can stymie whatever creative ideas we’re working on.
It’s hard to fully mute the committee, but we can create environments that help turn the volume down.
Steve Martin once said, “the conscious mind is the editor, and the subconscious mind is the writer.”
In my experience, the self-editor naturally dominates, which can limit or curtail the most interesting and creative ideas. There’s a time and place for the editor, but it can cause damage if it shows up too early.
Being deliberate about when we’re in “creator” mode and when we’re in “critic” mode can help. I have different parts of my studio for these two types of work to help set those boundaries. A creative chair for idea generation and a desk for editing.
The committee is an individual challenge, but it’s also a collective one. If we’re leading any sort of innovation team, we want an environment that encourages the most creative ideas to surface.
Walt Disney famously thought of three distinct mindsets in idea creation: the Dreamer, the Realist, and the Spoiler.
The Dreamer specializes in blue sky thinking without constraints, the Realist mentality puts practical structure to the ideas, and the Spoiler asks the hard questions and kicks the tires. We need all three mindsets. But we need those mindsets at the right time and in the right way.
As Disney alum Paul Williams at Idea Sandbox put it:
“When we brainstorm alone and in groups – too often – we tend to fill the room with a Dreamer or two, a few Realists, and a bunch of Spoilers. In these conditions dream ideas don’t stand a chance.”
Here are a few related cartoons I’ve drawn over the years:
