Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
INNOVATION
The process of translating an idea or invention into a good or service that
creative thought
A way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that
suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). Creative
thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as
brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking.
The list on the right is a set of key words used by this web site and other
people in the field of brainstorming and creativity. Click through the words in
the list to be given a definition and description for each. The definitions are in
sequential order, so by clicking the list top-down you will better understand
the latter entries.
You will note that many words have more than one definition. This is
intentional because words are used in different ways by different people and
a single definition is often neither helpful nor sufficient. Only by reading all
the definitions will you truly understand the complexities of the words and
what they represent.
Create
To bring into being, to cause to exist, originate, to give rise to, bring about,
produce, to form, to introduce, to invent, to conceive, to compose, to author,
to initiate.
Creative
Creativity
The process of being creative. A series of actions which create new ideas,
thoughts and physical objects.
Thinking
Idea
Creative Thinking
Lateral Thinking
Paradigm
Problem
There are many different definitions or alternative words for the word
"problem".
If you are trying to raise the standard above an existing or agreed level, then
it is considered to be an opportunity...
Opportunity
An opportunity occurs when you would like to improve the existing situation
beyond that which currently exists or has existed before. If you are trying to
raise the standard above an existing or known level, then it is considered to
be an opportunity.
Probortunity
Problem Solving
(Note that problem solving is not the same as decision making. Decision
making is one process of problem solving and is only concerned in deciding
between different existing ideas. Problem solving includes the actual
formation of those ideas. Problem solving can involve varying degrees of the
problem analysis and solution generation elements compared to the decisionmaking part.)
Mind-maps
Blamestorming!
Where a group of people gather to discuss what went wrong and who is to
blame for a project's failure. Similar to the brainstorming rules,
blamestorming requires vast flows of wild and exaggerated ideas with an
initial emphasis on quantity rather than quality. It's also legitimate that blame
given by one participant can be built on by others. However, unlike
brainstorming, blamestorming requires total criticism and judgment of ideas,
and an idea's worth is dependent on the management level of the person
giving it.
Insight experiencing the moment when the problem makes sense, and you
understand the fundamental issue.
Evaluation taking time to make sure that the insight provides sufficient
value to outweigh the various costs involved in implementation.
Elaboration creating a plan to implement the solution, and following
through.
We've mapped these five steps onto the process below. This provides a clear
and practical way for you to think about creativity, and to use it in your
everyday life at work.
Creative people don't sit and allow problems to surface. Instead, they scan
their environment for potential issues, and they see this as time well spent.
Also, they're excited by the opportunity to change things. They aren't
intimidated by change; they embrace it.
To develop your creative skills, you need to adopt a positive attitude towards
change, and take an active role in identifying opportunities and looking for
potential issues. To do this, challenge your business processes using Failure
Modes and Effects Analysis , and look for bottlenecks in these processes.
Carry out SWOT and PEST analyses on a regular basis. Keep up-to-date
with customer experiences and expectations, and try to spot problems from
other people's perspectives.
Also, engage in benchmarking to find out how well others are addressing
similar issues, and look at the issue from a wide range of perspectives. Then,
analyze your findings to ensure that a real problem does exist. This factfinding activity can save you a great deal of time later on, and will help
ensure that you only act on the most relevant problems and issues.
Look first for problems and potential issues that interest you. These are the
At this stage it's also a good idea to step away from the problem for a while,
and allow new thoughts and ideas to enter your mind. When we concentrate
on one issue for too long there is a tendency to latch onto one or two ideas,
and this can block other good ideas. (One of the benefits of being proactive in
your problem-finding is that you have time to incubate ideas, rather than
being pressurized to find an immediate solution to a problem.)
(Questions 3, 7, 12)
Once you've identified and verified your problem, you can figure out what's
really going on. Often, the initial problem that you identified will turn out to
be a symptom of a deeper problem. Therefore, identifying the root cause of
the problem is extremely important.
When you do this, you'll find that techniques like CATWOE , Drill Down , the
5 Whys , Cause and Effect Analysis , and Root Cause Analysis are all very
effective. While creativity may invoke ideas of spontaneous insight and farout inspiration, the truth is that being creative in the workplace is rooted in a
When you have clear insight into the cause of the issue, you can move onto
generating ideas for a solution. Here you want to look for as many ways to
inspire ideas as possible. Brainstorming, Reverse Brainstorming and
Starbursting are popular for this, however these can be undermined by
problems with group dynamics. Techniques like Brainwriting , Round-Robin
Brainstorming and the Charette Procedure can help you circumvent
common problems.
You can also enrich your ideas by using tools like the Six Thinking Hats,
Random Input , the Reframing Matrix and Metaphorical Thinking to look at
problems from different perspectives.
Obviously not all of the ideas you have will be practical or possible. So, as
part of this step in the creativity process, you need to decide which criteria
you'll use to evaluate your ideas. (Without a solid evaluation process, you'll
be prone to choosing a solution that is perhaps too cautious.)
There are a wide range of tools you can use for the evaluation, including:
Risk Analysis : This helps you explore where things could go wrong.
Impact Analysis : This gives you a framework for exploring the full
consequences of your decision.
Force Field Analysis : This helps you explore the pressures for and against
change.
Decision Tree Analysis : This shows you how to evaluate different options
from a financial perspective.
Paired Comparison Analysis : This helps you work out the relative importance
of various factors.
Decision Matrix Analysis : This allows you to weigh many different financial
and non-financial factors.
5. Implementation (Elaboration)
(Questions 1, 8, 10)
A common misconception is that creative people spend all their time thinking
of new and interesting ideas. In fact, truly creative people recognize a good
idea and run with it. A famous Thomas Edison quote supports this: "Creativity
is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
For this final step, you need to be committed to taking your ideas and making
them happen, and you need to be confident that you can, indeed, propose
innovative ideas and inspire change.
To implement your ideas successfully, develop a solid plan, using action plans
for simple projects, and more formal project management techniques for
larger, more complex projects. You'll also need to be able to sell your idea to
others in your organization. If your idea is likely to affect other people, you'll
want to develop strong change management skills so that the people
around you accept and use the products of your creativity.
you can purposefully set out to notice things or just pause when things
happen by chance
explicitly assign a meaning to an episode
don't try too hard
for now, you are just storing up concepts
record your thoughts so you won't forget themback2map
Seeing Other Points of View
read and absorb material from many different field and genres
talk to strangers
listen intently; seek to understand the other person's mental valleys
purposely try to think like someone else
even outrageous role plays can yield creative insights
the purpose of Preparation is mental storage; you do not have to agree with
or use the new knowledge immediately
record your thoughts so you won't forget themback2map
Refocusing a Topic
them or substitute synonyms to see what creative insights you get (click here
for more explanation and an example)
explore broad restatements of your topic with a purpose hierarchy (click here
for more explanation and an example)
set a time or count limit, and then stop when you reach it
save your notes for later use in the Imagination phaseback2map
Looking Closer and Analyzing
ask: who, what, when, where, why and how; but resist the urge to answer too
quickly
analysis in DirectedCreativity is not about finding the right answers; it is
about asking expansive questions
practice multi-mode thinking (for example, Six Thinking Hats) (click here for
more explanation and an example)
don't overlook the obvious; list what is right in front of you
make a list of assumptions, paradigms, and rules
look for patterns in an industry to spot opportunities for innovation back2map
Searching for Analogies
the basic idea is to construct a detailed picture of a new world, and then walk
around in it
separate environmental factors into those that you feel are reasonably
predictable and those which are uncertain
create environmental scenarios by holding the predictable factors steady and
randomly modifying the uncertain factors (click here for more explanation
and an example)
you can also create idealized competitors, customers, employees, or
technologies; anything that provides creative escape will help
scenario construction is an art, there is no way to know which scenarios will
generate the most creative ideas; simply go for maximum variety in 2-4
cases
blend your creative and analytical skills (or assemble a team with a good mix)
to generate plausible but imaginative scenariosback2map
Brainstorming is probably the most widely known generating tool (but often
the most misunderstood and misused tool, too). Many people use the term
brainstorming as a synonym for a general conversation, discussion, or
exchange of views. It is more accurate, however, to view brainstorming as a
specific tool in which a person or a group follows the four guidelines
described above to search for many possible responses to an open-ended
task or question. As illustrated in Figure 1, there are also several other tools
for generating options (Treffinger, Nassab, et al., 2006).
Habits of the Mind for Focusing Ideas
Beware of presenting too much newness at once. When you are working with
new content, start with familiar tools. When you are introducing new tools,
start with familiar content. Don't try to teach all the tools at once.
When students are comfortable with the basic generating and focusing tools,
teachers may guide them in applying these tools through the Creative
Problem Solving framework, a model for attaining clarity about tasks, defining
problems in a constructive way, generating possible solutions, preparing for
action and successful implementation of solutions, and dealing with change.
For more information about the Creative Problem Solving framework, see the
resources at the Center for Creative Learning.
It is also important to engage students in finding and solving real-life
problems or challenges within the classroom, the school, or the community.
Two widely known enrichment programs can provide engaging opportunities
for students to apply creative problem solving.
Preparing Students for a Changing World
By helping students learn and apply the attitudes and practical tools of
effective problem solvers, teachers can enhance student learning in powerful
ways that extend beyond memorization and recall. Even when teachers are
compelled to place great emphasis on basic learning and doing well on
standardized testsindeed, particularly at such timesit remains important
to balance the emphasis between process and content in teaching and
learning. Students who are competent in not only the basics of content areas
but also the basics of productive and creative thinking will be lifelong
learners, knowledge creators, and problem solvers who can live and work
effectively in a world of constant change.