It is good to have amazing ideas, but better than that is to induce others to have have amazing ideas — and best of all is to collaborate in groups in such a way that amazing ideas happen.

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If the creative community were to internalize this ideal, the world would be a better place, partly due to the abundance of ideas, partly to the experience of ideation — but most of all because of the relationships that form in creative gatherings.

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In most dramatic examples of group ideation (which is the very opposite of “group think”), nobody can pinpoint where the ideas originated. Individualists are disturbed and cannot stop wondering: “Didn’t I have something to do with what just happened? I think I did, but I cannot say what…”

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We do not normally tolerate the kind of distress required to arrive at a real creative gathering. There’s a moat of anxiety encircling it, which each person must cross in order to participate.

Nobody does this voluntarily. There’s got to be high stakes, considerable pressure and no easy escape route.

Creative gathering requires specific conditions. These conditions are more likely to be found in your professional environment than anywhere else. Except maybe marriage.