Powers of Two
Finding the essence of innovation in creative pairs
We’ve all heard the term ‘lone genius’ …what does that really mean and in this write-up, i will attempt to share some of the obvious and break new grounds in you’re in the business of creativity / innovation.
Creativity emerges from a balance of self-reflection and dialogue with others. Dalai Lama sets a good example of being alone and engaging deeply with others.
Solitude + Social Interaction = Creative & Engaging Life!
A creative relationship balances the similarities & differences of two people. A creative partnerships come together in ‘magnet places’ such as schools, colleges, cafe, offices, parties, weddings, etc.
Your most effective collaborator may be someone who challenges you to leave your comfort zone, by inviting you to see ideas from a different perspective.
John Lennon & Paul McCartney though considered as the most famous creative pair, in some lenses they were in many ways an unlikely pair. Lennon brought dare & adventure; McCartney brought musical proficiency; and together they wrote 180 songs.
A creative pair must be present, have confidence, trust & faith in each other. Suzanne Farrell & George Balanchine showed us one of the famous & influential creative partnerships.
A creative pairs travels through the following stages : Presence, Confidence, Trust, Faith.
Presence : is the foundation step, where one is required to be truly aware of who they are and willing to accept the other into their ‘space’. Soon after they can be honest about how they feel with each other — weakness, strengths, joys, & sorrows.
Confidence : is the next step, where each partner shares equal amount of respect for each other. Begin with common and mundane qualities such as punctuality, reliability, respect for time, etc.
Trust : is more holistic & sometimes in contrast to confidence, where believing that the other person will defend & protect you & your ideas no matter what is essential. A partial surrender to each other is required, trusting that they’re on the ‘right path’ together.
Faith : is the final step, that brings all of the above together & creates that magical bond. A transformation happens where the partners know instinctively that there exists no boundaries between them, and they can trust in faith the guidance of one another. A simple test is this creative bond is un-breakable & magic of collaboration finds its fertile ground.
Now that we know the 4 stages, let’s get into the mechanics of how this might work. We are about to learn a new term called the Social Contagion.
Most influential and famous creative partnerships have their own so called ritual, where the individual partners make some strange choices. The ritual could start with regular meetings, where they leave their private spaces and create a shared environment, and the pairs develop their own secret language. Plus over time they may pick up speech patterns & body language of the other — this phenomenon is called ‘Social Contagion’.
e.g. Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger are often referred as siamese twins …they were identical clothes, walk & talk in similar fashion, even carry the similar spark in their eyes.
It might sound counterintuitive, the opposite is true : the more of your individuality you surrender, the stronger you become as an individual
said differently, the more of your privacy you choose to let go, you gain more self-confidence.
One added benefit is : your ambitions and ideas are encouraged to grow and you find yourself doing your best work.
Type of creative relationships :
- star-shadow pairing : one absorbs the other
- overt pairing : they operate & show-up as pairs
- distinct pairing : they serve as an advisor to, and a muse for
Type of creative partners :
- dreamer type : has enormous strength of character & great ideas; good at starting things;
- doer type : are productive, efficient & reliable; struggle to be original & initiate creative projects
sidebar : creativity happens when dreamers and doers partner up — together they complement each other perfectly & are able to accomplish great things.
Distance between partners helps build and run a smooth relationship. Whilst closeness & bonding might be necessary in the early days of intense relationship, a good distance between them fosters a long lasting relationship. Highly functional partners maintain time & space for themselves. Amount of space between them is dependant on their individual personality, goal & lifestyle. Some people remove themselves from outside influences to be able to unlock their creative power.
Having said that, creative people sometimes prefer a good mix of autonomy & intimacy. Be present to ‘double solitude’ when two creative people agree to spend quality time together. Most creative people, tap into their unconscious minds, by engaging in semi-automatic activity such as walking, swimming, meditating, etc.
A simple process they follow : 1st work in solitude; 2nd present your work to your partner; 3rd develop your ideas in collaboration.
A healthy conflict & competition is healthy in the creative process. A healthy debate leads to a better creative work.
e.g. John Lennon wrote ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and Paul McCartney wrote ‘Penny Lane’ and both were equally a hit.
We see this quite often in some couples, where the sense of competition exists and so subtle that the couples are unaware. Curiosity is one other trait, that drives good creative work. e.g. movie The Birds directed by Alfred Hitchcock & actress by Tippi Hedren.
Same reason can account for ‘beginning’ and ‘ending’ a relationship. cliche : opposites attract can bring partners together and separate them too.
- ‘sweet & sensitive’ in the beginning can turn into ‘too nice’ at the end.
- ‘strong willed’ in the beginning can turn into ‘domineering’ at the end.
- ‘sense of humour’ in the beginning can turn into ‘too many jokes’.
In conclusion, we have believed that creativity comes to people who operate in isolation & solitude. What we learnt is behind that exists a creative relationship. Essentially an exchange of emotions and/or ideas between two beautiful minds.
We welcome you questions, thoughts, comments.
Thank You PK Rasam
