“Education and training are the keys to the future. A key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way and you lock resources away; turn it the other way and you release resources and give people back to themselves.”

ALL OF THE IDEAS about imagination, creativity and innovation in this book point to the need for a different conception of ability, in education, in business and in our communities. I see these issues in terms of ecology. Since the Industrial Revolution we have squandered and damaged much of what the earth has to offer because we have not seen the value of it. We have jeopardized the balance of nature by misunderstanding how its many different elements nourish and sustain each other. Although the dangers persist, they are at least more widely understood.

I believe there’s a similar calamity in our use of human resources. In the interests of the industrial economies, we have subjected generations of people to narrow forms of education that have marginalized some of their most important talents and qualities. In pursuit of higher levels of productivity, we have overlooked the essential human factors on which creativity and innovation naturally depend. We have wasted much of what people have to offer because we have not seen the value of it. Along the way, we have jeopardized the balance of communities by not recognizing how our different talents and passions sustain and enrich each other. The dangers persist, and they are not yet widely understood.

These are not trivial matters. Our own times are being swept along on an avalanche of changes. To keep pace with these changes, we will need all our wits about us. It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way and you lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the other way and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realize our true creative potential – in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities – we need to think differently about ourselves and to act differently towards each other. We must learn to be creative.