In his 1641 treatise, Meditations on First Philosophy, philosopher René Descartes introduced the concept of an "evil genius," a powerful force of nature who is equally clever and deceitful. Since then, the world has given us plenty of examples—Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, fictional Wall Street villain Gordon Gekko, and real-life Wall Street villain Bernie Madoff, to name a few. Not only were these classic bad guys unquestionably unethical, but all were inarguably creative in carrying out their bad behavior as well. Indeed, it's rare to hear anyone described as both evil and unoriginal.
[This article was provided with permission from Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.]
First, thank you for the food for thought. Now, the answer lies in your article itself : "In any organization, especially in contexts that are global and very competitive, there is so much focus on trying to be innovative and creative." Creativity is a choice and a choice you take pride in. So, those who "try" to be creative are likely to be dishonest in order to prove themselves creative. Those who are creative have nothing to prove. They only hunger for The Truth and honesty is a wheel that creativity rides on.
on Jan 4, 2012