Last night, my speech communications students watched the 2006 TED presentation by Sir Ken Robinson, Do Schools Kill Creativity? Robinson’s thesis is kids will take a chance. They are not afraid of being wrong. We educate the creativity out of our young generation; educating from the waist up to their heads and slightly on one side. This suppressive behavior is similar to how many companies treat employees. Their bodies are nothing but transport for their heads from meeting to meeting. Many of us have been educated out of our creative capacities.

For any social media strategy to be be successful, you must find the spark to ignite successful social media strategies. This spark comes from passionate people. Their creativity and openness is not hampered by fear of risk. Too often in the planning stages of a social media strategy, the passion is not considered a priority nor creativity of content necessary. The social media strategy emulates a cut and dry business plan devoid of life. It is important companies establish the rules of the sandbox before executing social media strategies, but we need to embrace diverse, interactive and distinct creativity to flourish in our objectives.

Robinson likens the creative void to the stripping of our minds like the stripping of earth’s precious resources. "If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never comet up with something original." Are you prepared to be wrong?

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