creativity Flashcards
learning creativity
it can be learnt.
brain is not naturally creative
the more educated you are, the more you put things in boxes
rules of brainstorming
no criticism
ideas —> ideas… the more, the better
no evaluation at first
need a variation in age and background so to avoid extremes and provide different opinions
brainstorming uses
new concepts for products or services
new business ideas
managerial problems
process improvements
DEFINITION lateral thinking
brains are not wired to think creatively
it follows logical patterns which don’t lead to creative ideas
it works on the principle that to become creative you need to block normal channels and ‘cut across patterns’ in a self-organising information system
edward de bono ‘the need to be right all the time is the biggest bar to new ideas’
lateral thinking steps
take a position
put forward different views which are not derived from each other… all correct and coexisting
advantages and disadvantages of brainstorming
advantages
easy to implement
time efficient
good way to pool ideas
disadvantages
prone to inaccurate usage
blocking can occur where ideas are supressed due to only one person being able to speak at once
inconclusive
research on usefulness is contradictory
need/problem identification
based on consumer. they are asked about needs, problems and ideas
both quantitative and qualitative
advantages and disadvantages of need/problem identification
advantages
good for making improvements
disadvantages
can be expensive
rarely effective in finding novel ideas
provocation (and sources)
type of lateral thinking
an absurdity which takes you out of your main line of thought
PO (possibility, opposite of no, process)
set up provocation… move forward from provocation… arrive at an original idea
sources
chance/accidents
exaggeration
distortion
escaping from the normal
random inputs
type of lateral thinking
take a problem. apply a random input (word.. image… music…) take the first characteristic that comes to mind. develop a solution
advantages and disadvantages of provocation
advantages
good for thinking radical new thoughts
disadvantages
difficult to apply
time consuming to understand technique
advantages and disadvantages of random inputs
advantages
easy to do
works for group AND individual
produces new thinking
disadvantages
can be uncomfortable
ways to enhance personal creativity
no right answer
good ideas come from lots of ideas
change your question
avoid workplaces with uniformity culture
don’t follow the rules
time passes and things change. the original reason for the rules don’t exist
be fool-ish
ask ‘what if?’
imsgine someone else was solving the problem
think outside your area
read fiction and stimulate your imagination
go to places you wouldn’t normally go
develop the explorer attitude
go for ambiguity
non-hierarchical organisation
tolerance of different approaches
broad definition of goals
embrace luck
‘chance only favours the prepared mind’
believe in yourself
large organisations increasing their creativity
skunkworks
project with autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy
this is shaping the organisational structure of start-ups
eg. googlettes
increase culture of tolerating failure
flat organisational structure encourages communication between levels
reasons smaller organisations are more creative
more freedom
often led by obsessive entrepreneurs (entrepreneurial spirit)
less structure
less risk
little bureacracy
closer to customer
