Creative Abrasion and Hiring in Divergent Pairs - Week 1 Blog # 1

The concept of “Creative Abrasion and hiring in divergent pairing” by Hirshberg seems to be a very good way for companies to get the best of both worlds.  Having two completely different views and being able to select the best parts from both of them can be very beneficial to any company including the one I currently work for.  The organization for which I now work doesn’t apply methods such as divergent pairing.  During the creative process, especially if cultivated such companies could develop their own version of the divergent pairing to meet their needs and capitalize on it.  However, the issue for my industry is that change through the creative process whether it’s by divergent pairing method or not it is very slow.  I’ve always compared my company and its industry to a barge moving through a river. 

Divergent paring and creative abrasion seems to be more applicable for industries where change for commercial marketing is necessary to stay competitive such as automotive.  Within the aerospace environment changes are done via the scenic route.  It’s cultural; it is the way they have been doing it for years, even decades.  There are many of the old school practices still in place when it comes to the creative process.  Even though divergent paring is not a difficult concept to grasp, most would see it as the latest fad, like many other concepts before it, it too would fade away.  Unless my industry has a culture shift which could very well happen within the next decade, creative abrasion and hiring in divergent pairing is just another interesting concept.