We shot our short short a couple weeks ago, Zen and the Art of Flying Pigs. In it a young boy, Zen, has a problem in that pigs can’t fly. He solves this problem not by throwing money at it, but by using his imagination.

After we finish editing and scoring it we’ll upload it to the site.

But it brought up one of the things I’ve always noticed in the world of marketing, business, and creativity. People like to throw money at problems, but they rarely throw their (more cost effective) creativity at them. Businesses seem to stick to their old patterns, lowering the bar and staying safe no matter how much it costs them.

Creativity and imagination are the most cost effective tools a business has and you don’t need to hire some ad company or marketing consulting firm to find it. To turn away from the best idea, the most creative way of doing it, and turn towards the old, mistake-ridden methods you’ve used before – just because that’s how it’s always done – is just throwing money at something.

Maybe it’s my years in the music world where you had no choice but to be as effective as possible with no money at all – using only your creativity. But to me this rises to the level of cardinal sins in business.

Next to never ever ever re-hiring someone who was terminated (not laid off) I think you should NEVER EVER EVER throw money at something instead of imagination.