Jony Ive, Harold Ramis, copycats, and creative wisdom

I recently read that Apple’s lead designer, Jony Ive, was quoted about his disdain for copycats, calling them lazy, and their actions, theft. Elsewhere, I read of plans to remake Harold Ramis’ classic 1984 comedy Ghostbusters.

This got me to thinking that even as the products, services, and ideas we produce are later copied by weaker minds and less innovative companies, the original remains. The original contributes something that copies can never match; that is, the creative viewpoint of the originator.

Jony Ive’s creative contributions are widely recognized, and many of us benefit from his product design - and in fact will soon be reminded of these contributions every time we glance at out forthcoming AppleWatch. And when the writer and director of Ghostbusters, Harold Ramis, died earlier this year, he left behind not only an impressive body of creative work (including Animal House, Caddyshack, and Groundhog Day) but like Ive, also many wise, quotable insights about the creative process. The quotes from Ive and Ramis below are just a few that are applicable not only to creative professionals, but to those in nearly every line of work. Here are just a few nuggets of wisdom that Ive and Ramis have shared:

• "A psychologist said to me, there are only two important questions you have to ask yourself. 'What do you really feel?' And, 'what do you really want?' If you can answer those two, you probably can leave your neuroses behind you." (Ramis)
• "I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what's next." (Ive)
• "My characters aren't losers. They're rebels. They win by their refusal to play by everyone else's rules." (Ramis)
• "‘Different' and 'new' is relatively easy. Doing something that's genuinely ‘better’ is very hard." (Ive)
• "The cutting room is where you discover the optimal length of the movie." (Ramis)
• "True simplicity is, well, you just keep on going and going until you get to the point where you go, 'Yeah, well, of course.' Where there's no rational alternative." (Ive)
• "First and foremost, you have to make the movie for yourself. And that's not to say, to hell with everyone else, but what else have you got to go on but your own taste and judgment?" (Ramis)
• "What I love about the creative process, and this may sound naive, but it is this idea that one day there is no idea, and no solution, but the next day there is an idea. I find that incredibly exciting and conceptually actually remarkable." (Ive)
• "Nothing reinforces a professional relationship more than enjoying success with someone." (Ramis)

The adage that imitation is the highest form of flattery is of little comfort when faced with copy cats, second rate knock-offs, and credit-stealers. Still, while it is nearly impossible to try to stop others’ imitations of your unique ideas, perhaps that is not what is important. Your contribution should be more than the sum of the patents, productivity, and profits you delivered.  It is perhaps more helpful to remember that the true innovator has not only have contributed great ideas to the world, but like Ramis, Ive, and many others before them, have contributed the wisdom that only their unique perspective can create.