After viewing the clip below, I started to wonder if Creativity Professionals have a duty to influence clients’ decision making with regards to the new ideas they choose from which to create new futures.
If creativity is about using new ideas to make new decisions, and, its base comes from our innate human character to make things better and solve challenges to make life better for our children, and theirs, do we have the responsibility to influence client’s decision-making to include ‘green’ as a necessary criteria?
As facilitators, many Creativity Professionals do their best to be a ‘guide by the side rather than a sage on the stage’ working to guide and encourage fresh thinking and propel new action, supporting the client’s agenda for innovation.
We do this is in two basic stages, by leading activities and providing training, tips, tools and techniques to
- Expand thinking, access imagination, and put new combinations together for new considerations to emerge.
- Establish a new focus, by limiting the scope of ideas generated using specific criteria so that new plans can be made to carry out new actions.
Given the challenge of data available with regards to physical environment (air quality, water quality, etc) is it also our role to guide client decision-making to include planet care among the criteria for selecting ideas or place it within the planning stage?
Are Creativity Professionals also guardians or spokespeople for the quality of life on the planet? Should we be?
Marci Segal
New Ideas. New Decisions. Creativity. 
I believe as creativity professionals, we bring our whole selves into every project. That does not mean we force our agendas on a client, but as paid innovators we have a responsibility to know where we stand and to share our insights when a client inquires. All creativity is adaptive. I loved the video you showcased in this blog for the questions it provoked. I’m also enjoying your article and resource links.
Thanks for your comment Marta. Here’s a ‘what if’ to consider… call it an ethical challenge. A client’s products are known to contain toxic substances. Do you work with them?