Creativity, my students learn, is as natural a function of the mind as breathing or digestion are natural functions of the body.

Instead of command and control, managing the creative process is about facilitating and permitting.

The mark of the developed intellect is that it could accommodate two contradictory ideas at the same time.

Jazz musicians can be great teachers of business. Their creativity is not dependent on their mood, it does not have to be coaxed out of them, it has nothing to do with the phases of the moon or even how they feel that day. They go on stage and start playing. Being creative is their job.

Jazz has to work. It has to play with the audience and with the marketplace. I think that is relevant to business.

The creative process is different from the traditional production and work-flow process. It is not so linear.

Tunes have notes and tempos and rules. If the tune is "All the Things You Are," you have to adhere to its structure and to the tradition behind that structure.