Creativity and Innovation

1. Creativity and Innovation Discussion Session #21

2. To strive and thrive you need creative ideas • ….downsizing tends to make us timid when we need to be bold • ….the creative employees are the ones that will survive

3. The Creative Process • The work environment • Traits • The four step creative process • Brainstorming • Divergent thinking

4. The Creative Process …..is anything but orderly …..has no respect for time

5. The Creative Process • The work environment • Traits • The four step creative process • Brainstorming • Divergent thinking

6. 1. The environment that supports creativity…. • The size of the team is critical • Think about where you come up with your more creative ideas • A passion for what they were doing, a genuine respect for others’ ideas

7. The Creative Process • The work environment • Traits • The four step creative process • Brainstorming • Divergent thinking

8. 2. Traits of creative people • Simply believing you’re creative • Curiosity • Confidence • Courage • Constancy • They understand the creative process itself

9. The Creative Process • The work environment • Traits • The four step creative process • Brainstorming • Divergent thinking

10. 3. The 4-step Creative Process • Preparation • Incubation • Inspiration • Verification

11. Preparation • Gather data • Subject-specific • Divergent

12. Incubation • Steps to achieve “alpha state” • Close your eyes • Slow, deep breaths • Focus on a single image

13. Inspiration • Be prepared to act • Don’t waste a good idea

14. Verification Ideas are common….. …it takes more than merely a good idea

15. The Creative Process • The work environment • Traits • The four step creative process • Brainstorming • Divergent thinking

16. 4. Brainstorming • Define the problem • Write it down so the whole team sees it • Let everyone take 10-20 minutes to think quietly and write down their ideas in silence • Let everyone give one idea from their list • Encourage “out of the box” thinking

17. Four laws of suggestion • The mind understands the Positive. • Your mind only recognizes the Present. Say “I am successful”, not “I will be successful”. • Repetition or Persistence increases the power • Emotion or Passion increases the power of suggestion

18. The Creative Process • The work environment • Traits • The four step creative process • Brainstorming • Divergent thinking

19. 5. Divergent Thinking (Manipulation) • Throw your mind out to something other than what you are working on • As it wanders back, it will hopefully bring up some interesting merging ideas

20. Managing to Creativity • Keep the passion flowing • Keep the focused on what the purpose is • Continue to break down inhibitions between team members • Improvisation • Structure the group differently • Provides several iterations of solutions • Smaller teams with more “talk time”

21. Putting Creativity to Work • Part of your life • Quantify creativity • Part of your culture

22. Top 10 Commandments for Managing Creative People • Give folks time to follow their muse • Create a culture of cooperation • Measure your results • Stay ahead of the customer • Stage a lot of celebrations

23. Top 10 Commandments for Managing Creative People • Be honest and know when to say no • Make the company a lifetime career • Give your best managers assignments overseas • Keep increasing R & D spending • Don’t heed everything Wall Street tells you

24. Evaluation Questions Use: • Strongly agree • Agree • Disagree • Strongly disagree • Don’t know • I found the presentation of material easy to understand. • This Advantage session increased my knowledge on the subject presented. • I will be able to use some of the information from this Advantage session in the future. • The presenter was well prepared for this Advantage session. • This presentation should be repeated in future semesters.