In the introduction to my ebook, “How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists”, I write the following:
“In today’s world the importance of creativity cannot be emphasized sufficiently. The problems being created by a population that is increasing exponentially and an environment that is on the verge of collapsing require ingenuity and innovation . . . more and more the world needs innovative ideas to solve complex problems. That is, the world needs alchemists.”
I recently came across a Ted.com talk by Bill Gates–who stepped down as chairman of Microsoft last year to work full time at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation–, as well as an article he wrote for Time magazine, which offer great examples of modern-day alchemism.
Creative Capitalism
“Creative Capitalism” is a term popularized by Bill Gates at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It refers to harnessing market forces to address the needs of the poor. The term also marries two basic focuses of human nature: self- interest and caring for others. Gates argues that businesses can find new, innovative ways to help the poor while keeping to the basic premise that profit maximization is a corporation’s primary goal.
In his Ted.com talk, “Bill Gates: How I’m Trying to Change the World Now”, Bill Gates explains that more money goes into the research and development of baldness drugs than to the development of drugs that cure diseases such as malaria. The reason is obvious: rich men are afflicted with baldness, whereas the one million people who die of malaria each year, and the other 200 million people that are affected by it, are poor and live in developing countries.
So how can this disparity be addressed creatively? Gates gives an example in an article he wrote for Time magazine in July of 2008 called “Making Capitalism More Creative”. He explains that under a U.S. law enacted in 2007, any drug company that develops a new treatment for a neglected disease like malaria or tuberculosis can get a priority review from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for another drug it has created.
That is, a pharmaceutical company that develops a new drug for malaria, as an example, and a new profitable drug–such as a drug to lower cholesterol–could get their profitable drug approved under expedited review up to a year faster than it would have been approved otherwise. This could mean hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, and it’s a fantastic example of goverment channeling market forces so that they help improve the lives of the less fortunate.
A second example of creative capitalism is RED. When you shop RED, part of the proceeds go to help people infected with AIDS in Africa. RED was created by Bono–main vocalist of the rock band U2–and Bobby Shriver to raise awareness and money for “The Global Fund” by teaming up with some of the world’s most recognized brands–including GAP, Starbucks, Hallmark, Emporio Armani, Dell, Microsoft, and others–to produce RED branded products.
A percentage of each RED product sold is given to “The Global Fund” to invest in African AIDS programs. Companies add to their bottom line by selling more products, consumers get to support a cause they believe in, and lives are being saved.
Identifying Untapped Markets
Identifying and then serving untapped markets is another great way to be creative in business. In the award-winning book “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits”, C.K. Prahalad argues that there are markets all over the world that businesses have missed. In fact, one study found that the poorest two-thirds of the world’s population have an estimated $5 trillion in purchasing power.
Prahalad proposes that businesses and governments stop thinking of the poor as victims and instead start seeing them as capable and creative entrepreneurs, as well as value-demanding consumers. This is precisely what Muhammad Yunus did when he came up with the concept of microcredit lending, which I wrote about in my post “Eradicating Poverty Through Human Ingenuity”.
In addition, businesses need to find creative ways to reach these largely ignored markets. An example offered by Gates in his Time magazine article is cell phones. Although they’re now a booming market in the developing world, historically, companies vastly underestimated their potential.
In 2000, when Vodafone bought a large stake in a Kenyan cell-phone company, it figured that the market in Kenya would be about 400,000 users. Today that company has more than 10 million clients. How did they achieve this? By finding creative ways to serve low-income Kenyans. For example, its customers are charged by the second rather than by the minute, which keeps down costs for the consumer.
Conclusion
As I’ve written many times on this blog, creativity is not limited to “the arts”–such as painting, music, and dance–but, instead, it can be applied to any endeavor. Perhaps one of the most important applications of creativity is to use it to find ways to help improve the lives of the 4 billion people on the planet who live on less than $2.00 a day.
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photo credit: Warren Noronha
I Recommend:
My ebook “How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists” explains that creativity is not the sole domain of the arts but is important in any field. Whatever you do, creativity helps you do it better. Discover practical advice on how to be more creative in every life endeavor by reading my ebook.
The Sedona Method is a simple, powerful, easy-to-learn technique that shows you how to let go of any negative, unwanted or painful feelings you may be experiencing at any particular moment. It consists of a series of questions you ask yourself that lead your awareness to focus on what you’re feeling in the moment and gently guide you toward letting it go. Read my review of the Sedona Method here.
