In the last class of MACE, I heard a nice word like ‘general specialist’ or ‘special generalist’ something referring to the person who has special skills and broad experience and low level of other skills. That was exactly I aimed when applying to this course. In Korea, administration organization consists of public officers who employed by national tests basically. Most of them work as a generalist moving divisions regularly, however, there are many competitive seniors and colleagues have a specialty such as planning, making presentation and Photoshop, PR or networks in this organization. I wanted to equip something. I think I have equipped lenses and tools of Creative Industries and Creative Economy.
A year of a creative person: Eun-yi Song
I am into this person recently. Looking at her I could apply the knowledge I learned here and see issues and dynamics around happening in the Creative Industries. I want to introduce Eun-yi Song, a comedian as a year of a creative person (announced by SongSong Award) in Korea. She recently is working on her career as a content creator and producer releasing popular projects in a row. The popular financial self-help program “Kim Saeng-min’s Receipt” on KBS(Korean BBC channel) has been broadcasted and this is starting from her podcast “Song Eun-yi and Kim Sook’s Confidentiality,” which she has worked since 2015.
http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3043969
Here, you can see more about her achievements.
She said that the podcast started after her colleague, Kim Sook wanted to leave the entertainment industry because she wasn’t cast at a show at that time and was shocked after firing one day before shooting a program. They are so talented however there wasn’t few and limited opportunity for middle age female comedians because they are not cast in male-centred entertainment industry environment.
They wanted something that they can continue showing their ability without firing or avoid just waiting for a casting call. She opened ‘contents lab-VIVO’. To manage the business, she had to learn Excel program and open website herself to communicate with listeners at her age late 40s. This has attracted listeners more and more because it was fun and new. It was different from male-centred previous shows. Also, it has quality like a studio show, unlike other social media independent contents. She communicates actively with her listeners by calling her listeners and make them contribute to the show. She made her royal followers like a family group. They recorded no 1 podcast and this popularity led to a regular radio program but they did not stop and still do it after they became extremely busy.
How this works? Because of budget limitation, all her work has to be collaborative. She has gathered talented but not- noticed colleagues and made several pilot-typed shows to make them shine. She knows what their colleagues are good at and how to apply it. She connects people. Then people come around her. Sometimes she listened to her colleagues idea and excited directly and this becomes one of big hits.(name of the project was ‘open the stage/project/scene’ 판 벌려) After seeing this success, many of her colleagues have started their independent podcast and YouTube channels to do what they want as contents creators without worrying about firing instead of waiting or to show their creativity by themselves. The development of technology blurred boundaries between performer and producer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmEmYdnGKdY
According to Teresa Amabile definition of creativity: “a product is creative when experts in the domain agree it is creative, meaning that the appropriateness is defined by social groups, and it’s culturally and historically determined.” (Amabile T., Social Psychology of Creativity, NY Springer-Verlag, 1983), I think she seems to fit the definition of creativity. She started this for fun and self-reconcilement but now it becomes a huge success and gives impact on the industry.
However, “Kim Saeng-min’s Receipt season 2” which got many loves from views was cancelled after Kim Saeng-min, Eun-yi Song’s college friend, was accused of sexual harassment regarding female staffs happened a decade ago in his another show after seeing #MeToo campaign. But her activities will not stop because of his fault.
I am happy to have the ability to apply knowledge to the social phenomenon and I love seeing her career to make her own world and crack the Korean entertainment industry. Celebrate ‘the birth of new leader unseen but waited for a long time’(quoted from GQ Korea’s article)
Creative Process
Secondly, I learned the creative process to be applicable to my future works.Tom and Kelly brothers, founder of IDEO believe that everyone can be creative and creativity can be nurtured. In their book, Creative Confidence they reveal the specific steps and methods how to build something from an idea. Amabile(2012) introduced three creative individual components: domain-relevant skills expertise in the relevant domain or domains, creativity-relevant processes (cognitive and personality processes conducive to novel thinking), and task motivation (specifically, the intrinsic motivation to engage in the activity out of interest, enjoyment, or a personal sense of challenge) in working paper.
In terms of above components, I think we learned ‘creativity-relevant processes’ practically. We learned how to apply creative skills to a real task, DanAD New blood Awards. This competition provides an opportunity for young students to submit a solution to different briefs set by companies. Through the briefs, we can see that company faces similar challenges which need to tackle with changing environment due to the development of technology. Through this journey, we learned how to make solutions to open questions and real challenges. We learned how to develop relevant ideas while exploring ideas and considering needs, environment and context from us. In this process, we had to iterate prototypes and ideas. Through conversations with others, ideas were carved to the specific shape week by week and in the end, we can get great solution our own. In this process, Stephany’s advice and all questions were powerful and relevant to develop my idea to the final solution. She kept telling me to make it tangible and think about how to present my idea. At first, I did not understand the meaning ‘presenting idea’ well. While explaining a concept that I wanted to deliver something with figures and numbers which was so vague at that time, however, after she suggested to show effectively to catch people’s eye by using comparison and contrast the scales, it turned into something very exciting and great things. I was so happy to learn how to ‘do’ it and I would apply this experience and learning to my future career because the government also is struggling with difficult and new problems to deal with.
#Londonisopen
My chosen brief is JCDecaux’s #Londonisopen and My solution is 300+ Love London Campaign. I want to celebrate London’s diversity which is a power of London as the creative capital in the world. According to the Creative Industries Federation(2017), diversity is not only a matter of justice but also a matter of economic growth and they show evidence that diverse companies in gender and ethnic have more financial returns than the average one in London.
In London over 300 languages are spoken. I think this fact represents London’s diversity literally. Based on this incredible number I designed that people from different cultures tell their love for London via JCDecaux’s bus shelter screen and social media. Because I found previous campaign was one-way communication so I want to make it more interactive.
Through 300+ Love London, people can learn different versions of ‘I Love You’ and exchange each other’s culture. I hope that this campaign will enhance cultural understanding among Londoners and experience their loving city, London’s diversity. Actually, at pitching day, I wanted to prepare a poster written in Punjabi because I saw this language is second most spoken and in the class and we have 3 students from India. I thought Punjabi is a language for people from India. So I asked Riddhma, a classmate and great advisor from India, however, she said she cannot read Punjabi so I had to change it to Hindi. From this experience, I learned that there are different languages used depending on the region of India. So I think that launching campaign website is nice to explain all these cultural information for people who don’t have knowledge about different language because poster cannot be understood by other language users. Plus, I added emoji expression as a shared language to attract global audiences and this can be funny like a play so I hope anyone who can join and enjoy this love confession for London. I believe through this co-creation project, #Londonisopen will be spoken more and more by people from all over the world.
In my blog, My creative journey to DandAD #Londonisopen(on the road), I mentioned listening to others is inevitable. However, I wanted to talk about procrastination at this time. I think I lost an opportunity to present my idea well. At pitching day I found there is still much room to develop even from inside me. This happened when I pushed back things to do so I felt not good at this. At Agile Project management, refinement/iteration need to put 60~80% of effort but my journey wasn’t going like that only seeing the time I worked on. In the Agile Project Management, ‘Time, Cost, Quality’ of a project are fixed but ‘feature’ varied. I experienced that timescale has definitely to do with quality. No matter how an idea is good, ultimate results can be downgraded because of procrastination issue. I won’t do like this again. So I will stick to Agile attitude and approach at work in the future.
Knowing myself
Through this journey with Mace, it was like walking along the Growth Mindset Road. We stand on shared belief: anyone can be creative. We learned how to look me and recognize good and weak of myself. Then, we practised how to strengthen and overcome it. Through twice personality tests, I learned myself more clear and in professional perspective. It can be explained many things I have done so far. According to the results, I got terribly low score at self-regulation so I can take a positive role in change something to challenge the status quo but I need to consider more deeply and make sure important tasks are monitored. I got a very high score at openness.
Generally, I have looked for opportunities and chose the ways to be able to learn in the professional journeys. Why did I choose this course? Many said why do you make trouble for yourself because my colleagues usually go to administration MPA course where colleagues went before, however, I felt it must be boring because same kinds of people would be there and I wanted to learn something helpful for self-development. I think it was the right choice in terms of opportunity to learn in spite of the difficult process more than I guess. Looking at details, it wasn’t enough for me looking at the degree that I use this opportunity well. I need to accept my weakness, however, keep fighting against it. (About pitching problem I want to write in another blog related to the Design Thinking Module) The Mindset tells that admitting fixed mindset also is part of me and is the step to have the growth mindset. From the book, I found a good excuse (that I am ‘shy growth-minded’) and some tips: I need more questions and answers continuously. “What are the opportunities for learning and growth today? For myself? For the people around me? As you think of opportunities, for a plan, and ask: When, where , and how will I embark on my plan?”(The Mindset)
“But even if we practise dilligently, we still endure real-world failure from time to time. And it is often in these circumstances, when failure is most threatening to our ego, when we need to learn most of all. Practice is not a substitute for learning from real-world failure, it is complementary to it. They are in many ways, two sides of the same coin.”(Black Box Thinking)
I found this paragraph in the book, Black Box Thinking (2015). This is intended for an organization and system, however, this is meaningful for me too. Practice and learn from failure. I consider documenting to mitigate procrastinating issue for my self-development based on Personal Development Plan.
At the last class, we were so fresh and we were like ready to do something. It was weird and this was maybe because of a stunning weather and sunlight. I felt a bit sad and that feeling was almost like that of the final day of a trip that I have to finish but I don’t want. On the road, there were good and bad happenings and difficulties such as running out of energy. However, I met a lot of wonderful moment to learn from people including a great captain and crews. I always said myself when leaving a beautiful place that I will come again. I want to say at this time that I will do again in better and great way fulfilled with Mace Spirit: True Grit.
<Reference>
Amabile TM, Hennessey BA, (2010). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 2010, Vol.61, p.569-598
Amabile, TM. “Componential Theory of Creativity. (pdf)” Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 12-096, April 2012.
Boden, M. (2003) The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms. 2nd ed. Routledge.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper/Ccjllins
Carol., D. (2012) Mindset : how you can fulfil your potential / Carol Dweck. London :, Constable & Robinson.
Creative Industries Federation(2017), Creative Diversity, available at: https://www.creativeindustriesfederation.com/sites/default/files/2017-06/30183-CIF%20Access%20&%20Diversity%20Booklet_A4_Web%20(1)(1).pdf
Kelley, T and Kelley, D. (2014) Creative Confidence. William Collins
Syed, M. (2015). Black box thinking: The surprising truth about success (and why some people never learn from their mistakes).
World Economic Forum(2018), Creative Disruption: The impact of emerging technologies on the creative economy, available at http://www3.weforum.org/docs/39655_CREATIVE-DISRUPTION.pdf
Innovative Junction 