There’s so much talk in business about creativity. But we often discuss the upsides and positives that come with creativity without discussing the downsides and challenges.
We recently had Heston Blumenthal on the High Performance podcast and he had a very interesting take on creativity and genius.

His philosophy is that genius is not some incredible innate talent, but a manifestation of curiosity and an insatiable desire to learn. That is really empowering because it means we can all get to genius level in what we want to do – if we are curious and want to learn.

Heston said that genius can be cultivated through relentless exploration, through a willingness to push boundaries. In his culinary career he began with a fascination with the science of food. This led him to experiment, which led to learning new techniques, which led to using different ingredients. This set him apart from his peers. But it also highlighted the importance of curiosity rather than talent at the beginning of our careers.

True creativity arises from the ability to connect seemingly disparate things, things that you would never normally put together, ideas and concepts that shouldn’t work. When you look at the world of business, you can see things all around that you can’t believe worked. The reason why you didn’t have the idea is that you didn’t put those two very distinct things together.

In a kitchen setting, Heston encourages his team to think outside the box. He created something called the Museum of Crap Ideas, where you were given an award for having the worst idea. The thinking behind that is that people would come up with things so ridiculous, so confusing, and so unusual that from those crap ideas would come real creativity.

He explained that creativity can only be fostered in that kind of an atmosphere – one of freedom, where you’re actively looking for things not to work, because that encourages experimentation. His most groundbreaking dishes came from those unexpected combinations. Creativity, without question, involves risk-taking and the willingness to embrace failure. It involves the desire to get things wrong.

We also spoke about Heston’s mental health. It’s well documented that just over a year ago he was sectioned. It was his wife who phoned the police. She watched on their security cameras as police, firemen and doctors entered the property and injected Heston. He woke up in a mental hospital and spent a number of weeks there.

He was candid sharing his own experiences of mental health. I think this is really important. We operate in a world where we know people who have had an ADHD diagnosis and it is spoken about a lot. But I would challenge anyone reading this column to tell me if they know someone who has been diagnosed as bipolar.

Yet in the UK, more than 1 million people have been diagnosed as bipolar – so one in 60 to 70 people. It’s almost certain that anyone reading this has worked with someone, was at school with someone, or is friends with someone who is bipolar. Yet it isn’t discussed because there’s still a huge taboo around it.

Heston knows that the term bipolar conjures up images of having extreme highs and extreme lows. But he emphasised that this fluctuation is what fuels creativity. He described the intense bursts of inspiration he experienced during manic episodes, which led to innovative ideas and incredible projects. But he also acknowledged that the periods of deep lows can stifle your creativity and your motivation.

Heston’s openness about his struggles is a reminder that genius and creativity are what we should be looking for in our businesses. But employing people with those attributes requires real understanding and management. We need a holistic approach to mental health with self-care, support systems, finding a balance and working with people to work out what’s best for them.

All too often we romanticise the notion of the tortured genius or the tortured artist. This oversimplifies what is a really complex relationship between mental health and creativity. We need a more nuanced understanding. Heston highlighted the importance of nurturing talent in a creative and supportive environment, rather than romanticising the struggles that might come with it.

The message from Heston was very clear. Genius is not a solitary trait. It’s an interplay between curiosity, collaboration and resilience. That might be in cooking or any of the other creative pursuits that you might be involved in. In a world where we often glorify the notion of the solitary genius, what Heston was saying is that we should celebrate the collective nature of creativity and the diverse paths that lead to innovation. We need to create environments where creativity and genius are nurtured and helped – the high points, the low points and the lack of consistency.

We talk so often about consistency in business, but that is what people can struggle with, particularly when they have mental health challenges. Heston has given us hugely valuable information and pointers towards how we can create a business environment that allows people who have mental health challenges to thrive.

I would challenge all of you reading this article to look at the business that you are involved in, to look at the environment that you have created, and to ask yourself whether it’s the kind of environment where someone like Heston would thrive. If it isn’t, what are the steps that you can take to change that?

Jake Humphrey is the host of the High Performance podcast and co-founder of Whisper Group.