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In my post on types of acumen, I missed out one type: “creative acumen.”

This type of acumen is need to create the “wow” in your solutions. It will create a Purple Cow, the sizzle in the steak, the improvisation in jazz music, the simplicity of great design, the effortless power when you hit the sweet spot, an elegance that cannot be described (only felt). When you see the “wow,” words will fail you, in fact, they will not be needed. It is a state of pure bliss.

Knowledge workers live for the moments when their creative acumen creates the “wow.” At that moment, including the journey to get there, money does not matter. In fact, its never about the money.

This is one explanation why the creative types feel exploited (because they are exploited), and more often than not, live a life that is not satisfying financially. Such people have to overcome a kind of resistance, the resistance to suspend their craving for excellence and purity, face the realities of the real world, and develop other types of acumen. It is not necessary to sacrifice one type of acumen to gain proficiency in another.

Gaining a well rounded set of acumen is a mind set that can be cultivated with proper training. It can be done. It is not easy, which is why so few people do it successfully.