Creativity... what's that?
Had a brief discussion over coffee with a few colleagues and friends… and we discussed about what creativity is….and what misconceptions its associated with.
Presenting various scenarios the easiest I could explain to them is
“Creativity is a process of developing and expressing new ideas that are very likely to be useful”.
Ah! Then what is innovation?
Innovation is the combination, and maybe synthesis of knowledge in its original, relevant, valued new products, services, or processes.
So, in effect creativity leads to innovation.
We discussed ahead on various misconceptions about creativity:
[It would be useful if you know about phunsuk bangdoo ;)]
I read about various of them as well, and collect the points here:
Misconception #1
The smarter you are, the more creative you are
Ah! is it?
Intelligence correlates with creativity only up to a point.
That is, above a fairly modest threshold - maybe an IQ of about 120 - there is no correlation between intelligence and creativity.
Once you have enough intelligence to do your job, the relationship no longer holds.
Misconception #2
The young are more creative than the old - well! I do think every one is a born artist... and I support Picasso :)
Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up
—Picasso
But yeah, age is not always a clear predictor of one's creative abilities and potential.
Research shows that it usually takes seven to ten years to build up deep expertise in a given field—the kind of expertise that enables you to perceive patterns of order or meaning that are invisible to the novice. Thus, in the business world, the necessary creativity can be found in an adult of any age.
At the same time, however, expertise can inhibit creativity: experts sometimes find it difficult to see or think outside established patterns.
So true!
Misconception #3
Creativity is reserved for the few—the flamboyant high rollers.
The willingness to take calculated risks and the ability to think in untraditional ways do play a role in creativity. But that doesn't mean you have to be a bungee jumper in order to be creative. It doesn't mean that you have to be markedly different from everyone else. Nor does it mean that creativity is restricted to high-impact, high-risk endeavors. Moreover, there are steps managers can take to help anyone be a more innovative worker. On rare occasions, those innovations will be visionary leaps forward that revolutionize an industry. But more often, they will be small improvements that advance the organizational cause.
Misconception #4
The creative act is essentially solitary.
In fact, a high percentage of the world's most important inventions resulted not from the work of one lone genius, but from the collaboration of a group of people with complementary skills.
Individuals and groups who make important discoveries pass through a number of stages.
The stage of illumination, when a flash of insight occurs, is the next-to-last stage. Although this stage tends to get all the press, most innovations come about only after much toil, many dead ends, and more than a few apparent breakthroughs that don't pan out.
Misconception #5
Creativity cannot be managed
Granted, creativity is rather like a genie that can't be bottled: you can never know in advance who will be involved in a creative act, what that act will be, or precisely when or how it will occur. Nevertheless, as a manager, you can create the conditions that make creativity much more likely to occur.
Oh, but we can increase the probability of innovation.!
So what's involved in creating these conditions?
- Carefully determining the composition of your group.
- Enriching the workplace environment—the psychological and the physical environment.
- Providing tools and techniques that enhance idea generation.
Managing the process of innovation so that the best insights and ideas are translated into innovative products, services, and ideas.
Finally, jotting down the key steps which I learnt.....
Five Steps in the Creative Process
Sometimes, ideas come in flashes of inspiration. More often, though, they come as a result of a deliberate process. Knowing this process is a key part of managing a creative group.
Key Idea
Innovation is the end result of a creative group process that progresses through several stages - ah! right... i did mention it up somewhere.....
Preparation involves selecting group members to maximize creativity.
In the innovation opportunity stage, group members identify the problem requiring creativity.
Next is the generation of options stage, which involves promoting divergent thinking.
Then the group moves into the incubation stage, when they take time to consider options.
Finally, the group progresses to convergence on one option, when they move from many options to one innovation or innovative idea.
The creative process is not as linear as these stages might suggest, but each phase is vital to group creativity.
As a leader and manager of a diverse group, it's important that you ensure your group's progression through each stage.