Speaker Bio

Jifeng Mu is Professor of Marketing at Alabama A&M University. He speaks English, Chinese, French, and German. He holds a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Washington. He publishes in Information Systems Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Decision Sciences, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of the Product Innovation Management, and IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, among others.

Jifeng Mu，阿拉巴马农工大学市场学教授。掌握英语、汉语、法语和德语等多国语言。拥有华盛顿大学市场营销博士学位。著作包括《信息系统研究》、《市场科学学会杂志》、《决策科学》、《工业市场管理》、《产品创新管理杂志》和《IEEE工程管理汇刊》等。

Abstract

Too many passionate people buy into the notion that creativity is the province of geniuses and give up even trying to be creators. More interestingly, most people want to be creative. However, many people abandon their dreams and become culture consumers rather than culture creators. A survey suggests that only 25 percent believe they fulfill their creative potential.

However, from Pablo Picasso to Steve Jobs, a handful of creative geniuses achieve large-scale commercial success. Likewise, highly influential academics such as Albert Einstein and Hsue-Shen Tsien achieve stellar success in science and engineering. How do they do it? For most of us, why are the results so bad? Are these creative geniuses born with an instinct for turning ideas into things to be revered? Are they just lucky? Or, is there something beyond our understanding at play? Do most of us have no chance at achieving mainstream success?

What does it take to create a hit, whether a hit restaurant, a hit screenplay, a famous poem, or a successful academic publication at a few top journals in a discipline? Is there a pattern? Is creative success something you can practice, hone, and enhance? Have you ever wondered how successful creative people do what they do? What is their secret? How do they generate work that resonates so well with their audiences? What is the source of their groundbreaking ideas? Have you ever gotten a straight answer to any of these questions? Looking in from the outside, it feels a bit like magic. It’s as if the most successful actors, illustrators, writers, and entrepreneurs possess a secret ability that eludes the rest of humanity.

Over the years, I have learned that there is an evolutionary basis for what commands dollars and attention and that successful ideas are not born of mysterious origins. Moreover, flashes of genius are essentially a biological process that anyone can cultivate. In short, I learned that there is a science and a method to achieving mainstream success, one that anyone can strive to master.

We all exist in a world of infinite possibilities and opportunities. Creative success affects our health, achievement, and the long-term success of all organizations, big or small. Can creative success be the serendipitous moments that occur unpredictably? Might creative success be punctuated by flashes of insight that bubble to the surface without warning? Is creative success a function of a high intelligence quotient (IQ)? Or is creative success for people with certain personality traits? Modern science suggests flashes of inspiration are a cognitive process. Creative success needs aspirants to observe the science of megatrends. Megatrends signify that a large group of people agree that something—a song, product, or idea—has value. As far as trends are concerned, the research identifies two seemingly contradictory urges in the human psyche: People crave the familiar yet seek the novel. To protect ourselves from the unknown, we seek the familiar—for example, the comfort of our home or the company of close friends. Simultaneously, we seek the stimulation and potential rewards of novel and unusual things. Finding the sweet spots in the creative curve with deliberate practice and grit helps people achieve their dreams. Essentially, however, creative success is not a lone-wolf effort. Aspirants need to assemble a group of collaborators and supporters to orchestrate a beautiful, long-lasting ensemble.

太多充满激情的人相信创造力是天才的专利，甚至放弃了成为创造者的努力。更有趣的是，大多数人都想要有创造力。然而，很多人放弃了自己的梦想，成为了文化的消费者，而不是文化的创造者。一项调查显示，只有25%的人认为他们发挥了自己的创造潜力。

然而，从巴勃罗·毕加索(Pablo Picasso)到史蒂夫·乔布斯(Steve Jobs)，少数创意天才取得了巨大的商业成功。同样，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦和钱学森等极具影响力的学者在科学和工程领域也取得了巨大的成功。他们是怎么做到的?对于我们大多数人来说，为什么结果如此糟糕?这些创造性天才是否生来就具有将想法转化为值得尊敬的东西的本能?他们只是运气好吗?或者，是否有我们无法理解的东西在起作用?我们大多数人都没有机会获得主流的成功吗?

成功的餐厅、成功的电影剧本、一首著名的诗歌，或者在某一学科的几家顶级期刊上发表成功的学术论文，这些都是成功的要素。有规律吗?创造性的成功是你可以练习、磨练和提高的吗?你有没有想过成功的有创造力的人是如何做他们所做的事情的?他们的秘诀是什么?他们是如何制作出能够与观众产生共鸣的作品的?他们突破性想法的来源是什么?你曾经得到过这些问题的直接答案吗?从外面往里看，感觉有点像魔术。就好像最成功的演员、插图画家、作家和企业家都拥有一种常人无法企及的神秘能力。

多年来，我了解到什么能吸引金钱和注意力是有进化基础的，成功的想法并不是由神秘的起源产生的。此外，天才的闪现本质上是一个任何人都可以培养的生物过程。简而言之，我了解到要获得主流的成功是有一门科学和一种方法的，任何人都可以努力掌握它。

我们都生活在一个充满无限可能性和机会的世界里。创造性的成功影响我们的健康、成就和所有组织的长期成功，无论大小。创造性的成功可以是意外发生的时刻吗?创造性的成功是否会被那些在没有任何警告的情况下冒出来的灵感所打断?创造性的成功是高智商(IQ)的一个功能吗?还是说创造性的成功只属于具有特定个性特征的人?现代科学表明，灵感的闪现是一个认知过程。创造性的成功需要有抱负的人观察大趋势的科学。大趋势指的是一群人一致认为某物——一首歌、产品或想法——有价值。就趋势而言，研究发现了人类心灵中两种看似矛盾的冲动:人们渴望熟悉的东西，却又追求小说。为了保护自己不受未知的伤害，我们寻求熟悉的东西——例如，舒适的家或亲密的朋友的陪伴。同时，我们寻求新奇和不寻常的事物的刺激和潜在的回报。通过深思熟虑的练习和毅力找到创造性曲线的最佳点，有助于人们实现他们的梦想。然而，从本质上讲，创造性的成功不是单枪匹马的努力。有抱负的人需要召集一群合作者和支持者来协调一个美丽、持久的合奏。