When we assess working conditions and environments, we need to
measure and explore the extent to which there are mechanisms in place
for human creativity to be taken into consideration, appreciated and harnessed. Where we work, are our discoveries and our new ideas respected
and applied? Or do we simply replicate existing models and patterns that
have been successfully implemented elsewhere? When we come up with
an original solution at work, is it accepted, and are there mechanisms allowing us to voice it? Or are we expected to stick to pre-established norms and methods? If we work in a place where we are routinely expected to
be creative, is it actual creativity that we are being asked for, or simply
to produce hurried imitations of old blueprints? Does our work encourage
us to be unique and original, or is there an understanding that we will be
more successful if we mimic and replicate previously successful models?
Does our workplace view creative individuals as troublemakers, or are they
respected as Gauss was? I think the answers to these questions can be
quantified and measured.