Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mariana NICOLAE
James MOULDER
Managing Creativity:
ones own and other peoples
Editura ASE
Bucureti
2010
ISBN 978-606-505-376-2
Editura ASE
Tehnoredactor: Carmen Nica
Coperta: Simona Buoi
For all who wish to have thoughts they haven't had before.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 11
PART ONE
Managing One's Own Creativity ..................................................... 13
1
2
3
4
5
6
PART TWO
Managing Other People's Creativity.............................................. 37
7 When does an organization's culture encourage creative thinking? ........ 39
7.1 Alan Robinson and Sam Stern's criteria ........................................... 40
7.2 Teresa Amabile's criteria .................................................................. 43
7.3 The Situational Outlook Questionnaire's criteria.............................. 47
8 How may organizational design encourage creative thinking?................ 50
8.1 Blanchard and Waghorn's Structural Model..................................... 51
8.2 Moulder's Cascading Model ............................................................. 55
An appendix from the Center for Creative Leadership
The Innovation Assessment Process............................................................. 65
Conclusion................................................................................................... 67
Postscript
Managing Creativity in Higher Education Institutions ............................... 69
10
PART THREE
A Guide To The Literature Behind The Book............................ 75
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...................................................................................... 11
PART ONE
Managing One's Own Creativity ..................................................... 13
1
2
3
4
5
6
PART TWO
Managing Other People's Creativity.............................................. 37
7 When does an organization's culture encourage creative thinking? ........ 39
7.1 Alan Robinson and Sam Stern's criteria ........................................... 40
7.2 Teresa Amabile's criteria .................................................................. 43
7.3 The Situational Outlook Questionnaire's criteria.............................. 47
8 How may organizational design encourage creative thinking?................ 50
8.1 Blanchard and Waghorn's Structural Model..................................... 51
8.2 Moulder's Cascading Model ............................................................. 55
An appendix from the Center for Creative Leadership
The Innovation Assessment Process............................................................. 65
Conclusion................................................................................................... 67
Postscript
Managing Creativity in Higher Education Institutions ............................... 69
10
PART THREE
A Guide To The Literature Behind The Book............................ 75
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Introduction
Tom Peters likes to ask an audience whether anyone present knows what it
means to 'manage' the human imagination:
So far, not a single hand has gone up, including mine. I don't know what it
means to manage the human imagination either, but I do know that
imagination is the main source of value in the new economy. And I know we
better figure out the answer to my question quickly.
Tom Peters, Crazy Times Call for Crazy Organizations,
New York: Vintage, 1994, page 12.
Because creativity is driven by the imagination by focusing on what could
be the case rather than on what is the case, our book picks up Tom's
challenge in the context of managing our own and other people's creativity.
The first part of the book is about managing one's own creativity about
managing one's imagination about enriching and encouraging it. It involves
understanding and honouring the difference between adaptors and
innovators, as well as a four step creative process. It also involves mastering
brainstorming and three of the tools that are driven by it Edward de Bono's
Six Thinking Hats, Kurt Lewin's Force Field Analysis and software that
stimulates creative thinking.
The second part of the book is about managing other people's creativity
about managing other people's imagination about creating a climate and a
culture that stimulates and encourages creative thinking. It has a theoretical
and a practical dimension. The theory covers three sets of criteria for
assessing the extent to which an organization's culture encourages creativity.
The practical dimension explores two ways of designing organizations in
which creative thinking is required. One of them is rooted in the idea of
managing an organization's present and future simultaneously. The other
was created by us and employs the idea of coaching for creativity. Like the
first model, it has been tested in management environments and found to
work.
The third part of the book is about the literature that helped to create part
one and part two. It's about the ideas that shaped our ideas about the ideas
that helped us to figure out how to manage our own and other people's
creativity our own and other people's imagination. There are summaries of
12
the books and articles that inspired each chapter of the book, as well as
questions for discussion and further study.
There's also an appendix on a process for assessing an organization's
capacity for innovation.
Finally, there's a postscript some reflections on how the ideas in our book
could be used in higher education institutions.
Like any book that's about acquiring or refining a skill, the readers who try
to implement our suggestions are the ones who will get the best return on
their investment. A good place to begin is with the questions at the end of
each chapter questions for reflection and discussion which could lead to
experimentation.
May you benefit as much from trying out our ideas as we have benefited
from experimenting with them and sharing them with you.
PART ONE
Managing One's Own Creativity
This part of the book is about two theories and four tools.
One of the theories is about two ways of thinking creatively: inside the box
and outside the box. The other is about a four step process for thinking
creatively, a process that creative thinkers honour.
The tools are brainstorming, Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats for
exploring an idea, Kurt Lewin's Force Field Analysis for achieving a goal
and software that stimulates creativity.
Please remember that it's impossible to acquire or refine a skill by reading a
book about it. One has to try what the book suggests. And, like when one
learned to drive a car, one has to try again when one stalls the engine or
floods the ignition system or forgets to put on the handbrake.
Chapter 1
Adaptors and Innovators
People have different creative thinking styles:
some prefer to focus their creativity on how to improve what
they've got.
some prefer to focus their creativity on how to replace what
they've got with something else.
So, a good first step towards managing your creativity is to try to decide
which you prefer:
to try to improve what you've got?
to try to replace what you've got with something else?
KAI is a self-report questionnaire that may assist you to make this decision.
The process is straightforward:
first you complete the KAI questionnaire with a certified
practitioner or you complete an approximation to it like the one
in this chapter.
then you validate what it tells you about your creative thinking
style by asking your family, friends and colleagues at work to
what extent they agree with the result you got.
More about KAI
It yields scores between High Adaptation and High Innovation. The range of
scores is 32 to 160, with a theoretical mean of 96.
Although small differences can be quite noticeable, most of us are not at the
extremes. Nevertheless, most of us are either Adaptors, who prefer 'to make
improvements in existing ways of doing things', or Innovators, who prefer
'to do things differently'.
Range of KAI Scores
High Adaptors
32
High Innovators
48
64
80
96
112
128
67% of people
are in this range
see Kirton, 1994: 1419
144
160
16
Managing Creativity
Kirton equates the more adaptive style with (active, creative) attempts to
maintain a paradigm; and the more innovative style with (active, creative)
attempts to shift a paradigm.
But neither style is better than the other; depending on the circumstances,
each has benefits and drawbacks.
Cultures show no variation in Adaptor Innovator distribution.
In business or industry, there are roughly equal numbers of Adaptors and
Innovators.
Companies may be skewed in one direction or another; for example, at the
board level. Departments usually are skewed; and smaller units are nearly
always skewed. This creates differences in climate, policy, operation,
tolerance, and understanding between one organizational element and
another.
A six step approximation to the KAI questionnaire
1. From each of the 13 pairs, tick the statement which you think
comes closest to describing you.
2. If there are cases in which you can't choose, that's OK. 2. Simply
ignore that pair.
3. Add the ticks in each column to see whether you are more likely
to be an Adaptor or an Innovator.
4. Share your results with people who know you, members of your
family, friends and colleagues at work and ask them to what extent they
think your profile is a good description of what you do. The more they agree
with the result you have, the more likely it is to be reliable.
5. If you end up with the same number of ticks in each column, use
the conversations with people who know you to help you decide whether
your creative thinking style is adaptation or innovation.
6. If you still can't decide which option you prefer, simply accept
that you don't have a strong preference for either of the options.
Adaptors
are more likely than Innovators
[] - to prefer improving the
existing structures over mould
breaking change
Innovators
are more likely than Adaptors
[] - to prefer mould breaking
change over improving the
existing structures
17
Adaptors
are more likely than Innovators
[] - to start work only on projects
that can be completed
[] [] -
[] [] -
[] [] [] -
[] [] -
[] -
[] -
Innovators
are more likely than Adaptors
18
Managing Creativity
Chapter 2
The Four Step Creative Process
Whether you are a creative Adaptor or a creative Innovator, there is a
straightforward four step process for managing and enriching your ability to
think creatively:
Step 1
Preparation: Think about the problem
This step is about two things: defining the problem that requires a creative
solution and collecting information about it.
It's a good idea to try a number of definitions. Also to get as much
information you can; and from a variety of sources.
Step 2
Incubation: Stop thinking about the problem
This step sounds silly because it requires you not to actively think about the
problem. It requires you to allow your subconscious mind to take over.
Usually, you've been thinking long and hard about possible solutions to a
problem; but you haven't found a solution. So, it's time to relax. Go for a
walk. Take a bath or a shower. Try sleeping for a while. Do something
totally unrelated to what you've been working on.
Although this seems counterproductive, the incubation phase is critical to
producing new ideas. You won't know that it's happening, but your
subconscious mind will continue to work on the problem. In fact, it seems as
if it requires this time to find new and unusual links between the ideas that
you produced in the preparation stage.
Step 3
Illumination: Welcome the ideas you get
This is the moment when you get a new idea that seems to solve the
problem you were grappling with. This is the moment when your
subconscious mind transfers what it has been working on to your conscious
mind; and this is more likely to occur when you are relaxed.
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Managing Creativity
This is why a new idea usually arrives when you've laid the problem to rest,
focused on different activities, or relaxed yourself enough to let your
subconscious thoughts come through; for example, while you are driving, or
showering, or staring into space, or dreaming.
Note that many people think that this moment is the most important step in
thinking creatively. It isn't. Both preparation (step 1) and incubation
(step 2) are more important steps. They are the steps that prepare the ground
for illumination (step 3).
Think of a world-class musician. A particular recital is like the illumination
stage. But when you think about it, the success of the recital depends on
things that happened before it:
it depends on things like understanding the piece of music that
was played a step which is like the creative thinker's first step
(preparation) a step which involves things like exploring
possible interpretations of the music that has been chosen.
it depends on things like rehearsing the piece of music that was
played a step which is like the creative thinker's second step
(incubation) a step which involves moving from a very conscious
playing of the music to an almost unconscious playing of it.
So, yes, behind a musician's skilled and effortless performance a lot of
things happen. Things that aren't particularly glamorous. Things that require
considerable effort.
So, yes, as with a recital so with creative thinking. Before ideas arrive a lot
of things happen. There's the preparation stage and the illumination stage.
Step 4
Verification: Develop, test, and refine the idea
This is the time to refine and polish your idea. Not all the ideas you have are
going to work. So, because we often find it difficult, if not impossible, to be
objective about our ideas, we should try to involve other people in this step.
Involve them in evaluating, testing and refining an idea that looks like a
good idea that looks like the creative thinking that's required.
21
Chapter 3
Brainstorming
Brainstorming drives all the thinking tools that exist, including the two that
will be explored in the next three chapters de Bono's Six Thinking Hats
(chapter 4), Lewin's Force Field Analysis (chapter 5) and software for
creative thinking (chapter 6).
Please note that brainstorming is "a tool for getting a large number of ideas
from a group of people in a short time" (Rawlinson, 1996: 36). In other
words, brainstorming doesn't aim for good ideas, or even for new ideas; it
simply aims to get a large number of ideas.
This means that brainstorming should be followed by using other thinking
tools like Affinity Diagrams or Filters which will be described after we've
said something about the first five steps towards an effective brainstorming
session.
Step 1: Preparation
This involves doing three things:
1. Specify a time limit for the brainstorming session; something like
30 minutes, but a longer or a shorter time may be necessary.
2. Select or invite someone to record the ideas; or, to prepare the
way for creating Affinity Diagrams or applying Filters.
3. Alternatively - and preferably - give the participants large Post-its
on which they can record an idea. These notes can be moved
around on the board where they are posted.
4. Remind the participants that, because the aim is to generate as
many ideas as possible, they shouldn't criticize their own or
anyone else's ideas.
Step 2: Topic
Display the topic or focus of the brainstorm on a whiteboard or a flipchart.
Alternatively, display the object that is the focus of the brainstorm:
something like a picture, or a flower, or a prototype of a new product.
23
Step 5: Discussion
Once the list has been completed, discuss it with the group to clarify
anything that isn't clear, and to decide what happens to the ideas that have
been generated.
Step 6: Beyond Brainstorming
When all the ideas are in, the brainstorm is over. At this point it can be
wrapped up, or the group can move to creating Affinity Diagrams or
applying Filters:
1. When creating Affinity Diagrams, you sort the list of ideas
created during the brainstorm into affinity sets into sets whose
members are identical, equivalent or similar - which can be given
a title or label. For example, all the suggestions for working
smarter rather than harder could be put into an affinity set called
SMARTER.
2. When applying Filters, you use criteria (like cost, time, fit, or
availability) to eliminate the affinity sets that will be stored in an
electronic database instead of being turned into plans that can be
implemented.
3. When Storing ideas that have been eliminated you are affirming
an important habit that many creative thinkers have the habit of
24
Managing Creativity
not dividing ideas into good ones and bad ones. Instead, you
divide them into two other groups:
ideas you know what to do with more or less immediately.
ideas you don't know what to do with AT THE MOMENT
but which you may know what to do with later.
In other words, these thinkers don't throw away an idea simply because at a
given moment they don't know what to do with it.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. What do you find most problematic about brainstorming? Either
a) about what you've done in the past or
b) about what we've said about it here?
2. How, if at all, can you solve or manage these problems?
3. Which of the ideas in these notes, if any, are new to you?
4. Find an opportunity to trial the new ideas, at work, or in another
environment that interests you. Make some notes about what did
and didn't work. If you have a coach or a mentor, discuss these
notes with him or her. Repeat this process until you feel
comfortable about the way in which you run brainstorming
sessions.
Chapter 4
Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats for Exploring an Idea
Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats is a good example of how thinking
tools are driven by brainstorming. It represent six ways of brainstorming an
idea, or six ways of thinking about an idea, or six kinds of question that can
be asked about it:
1 = Red Hat = intuitive thinking
How do I feel about it? What's my gut reaction? What's my hunch?
2 = White Hat = neutral and detached thinking
What are the facts? What do I need to know?
3 = Yellow Hat = logical thinking (positive)
What's the good news? What benefits do I see?
4 = Black Hat = logical thinking (negative)
What's the bad news? What factual, logistical, or ethical problems do I see?
5 = Green Hat = creative thinking
What are the possibilities? The alternatives?
6 = Blue Hat = procedural thinking
Which hat should I use? Where do I go from here? Is it time for a summary?
How do you use the Six Hats in a meeting?
Either literally or figuratively, the facilitator puts on his or her Blue
(procedural) Hat and does four things:
1. puts forward an idea.
2. nominates the first hat that must be used to think about it.
3. ensures that all the hats are used.
4. collects the ideas for sorting, analysis, and further processing.
As in brainstorming, the facilitator records everyone's ideas on six separate
boards or flip charts. Alternatively, the participants put their ideas on large
Post-its and attach them to boards or flip charts. This makes it easy to move
them around and see how they relate to each other.
Note that any participant can ask the facilitator for the Blue Hat; perhaps to
suggest that it's time to change hats; or to ask for an opportunity to return
to a hat that was used earlier. In other words, the facilitator starts the
meeting wearing the Blue Hat; but any participant may ask him or her to
relinquish it.
26
Managing Creativity
27
What are the benefits attached to using the Six Thinking Hats method?
1 - It produces "Parallel Thinking".
In this approach to thinking, instead of attacking each other's ideas,
participants share their ideas in parallel with each other.
2 - It "unbundles thinking".
Unlike brainstorming, in which the different thinking modes occur in a
random and haphazard way, the Six Thinking Hats method attends to each
of them in a coherent and orderly way.
3 - It separates ideas from their owners.
De Bono calls it "separating ego and performance", because it requires
every participant to think about an idea from every angle rather than from
only the ones they prefer.
4 - It increases awareness of the kind of thinking that's going on.
Because it's a simple way of referring to different modes of thinking, people
become aware that they are stuck in one mode or another:
I think I've done only black hat thinking about this.
We should try some green hat thinking here.
This awareness enables them to comment on their own thinking or on the
thinking of others. And, in the case of commenting on the thinking of
others, if they feel like it, they can ask for a switch in the kind of thinking
that is being done.
28
Managing Creativity
4. Use the Six Hats to evaluate the chapters in this book - chapter 1
on adaptors and innovators - chapter 2 on the four step creative
process chapter 3 on brainstorming this chapter (number four)
on the Six Hats.
5. Use the Six Hats to think through something (not necessarily a
problem) that matters to you, something like a significant
relationship or the work you would like to do for the next 5 years
or where you would like to live or spend your next holiday or .....
6. Because the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone
else, teach Six Hats to someone else (like your partner) or to a
group (like the members of your team at work or the members of a
study group that you belong to or .....)
References and Acknowledgements
This chapter is based on:
Edward de Bono, Serious Creativity, pages 77-85, Harper Collins, 995,
ISBN 0006379583
Edward de Bono, Six Thinking Hats, second edition, Back Bay Books, 1999,
ISBN 0316178314
Six Hats Online:
www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php
www.debonoforbusiness.com/asp/six_hats.asp
Chapter 5
Kurt Lewin's Force Field Analysis for Achieving a Goal
Kurt Lewin's Force-Field Analysis is a tool for helping you to think about
how to achieve a goal-either a personal one or an institutional one.
Like de Bono's Six Hats, it's driven by brainstorming by brainstorming the
forces that could help you to achieve a goal or hinder you from achieving it.
Step 1: Identify your goal as clearly as possible
There's a simple rule at work here: the fuzzier your goal the more difficult it
is to think about how it could be achieved. Why is this case? Well, the
fuzzier your goal, the more difficult it is to identify the forces that impact it
negatively (to hassle and hinder you) or positively (to help you).
Attitudes of people
Regulations
Personal or group needs
Present or past practices
Institutional policies or norms
Values
Desires
Costs
People
Events
30
Managing Creativity
information available
more quickly
improved accuracy and
consistency of
information
gives people more time
for more interesting
work
negative forces
Goal
upgrade the organization's
information gathering from a
paper one to an electronic one
cost of the
technology
most of the staff
dislike
electronic
processes
disruption during
the change
complicated to
implement
Step 4: Give each force a score between 1 and 5, where 1 is low or weak
and 5 is high or strong.
positive forces
Goal
upgrade the
organization's
information
gathering from a
paper one to an
electronic
one
negative forces
31
positive forces
Goal
upgrade the
organization's
information
gathering from
a paper one to
an electronic
one
negative forces
total 13
Goal
upgrade the
organization's
information
gathering from a
paper one to an
electronic
one
negative forces
32
Managing Creativity
total 13
Chapter 6
Software for Creative Thinking
Question 1
What does software for creative thinking do?
Nothing. It's simply a tool. Like a paintbrush, it doesn't do anything until it
is used.
And, again like a paintbrush, what you produce depends on what you are
able to do with it. Just so, software for creative thinking isn't a substitute for
thinking: the better you are at thinking, the better you will use the software.
How does this kind of software work?
Each package has its own features; but, in general, all of them prompt you
to think in different ways and from different angles.
More specifically, a menu offers you a set of creative thinking techniques.
When you've chosen one of them, other menus guide you through the
process associated with that technique. By requiring you to work through
each step of the process it ensures that you don't miss any of them.
In other words, it reminds you of a set of creative thinking techniques. And,
when you have made a choice, it reminds you of all the steps that you have
to take to use the tool you've chosen.
Innovation Toolbox and Idea Generator illustrate these points.
Question 2
How does Innovation Toolbox work?
You start by having to describe what you want to think about: anything from
a very specific problem to a vague worry. The software then offers you
12 tools for thinking about that problem or worry:
Brainstorming
Manipulator
Random Word
Word & Phrase
Analogies
False Rule
Random Picture
Challenge Facts
Escapism
Wishful Thinking
Random Website
Search & Reapply
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Managing Creativity
When you've chosen one of the 12 tools, Innovation Toolbox guides you
through the steps you should take to use it properly.
Obviously, you can take all these steps without Innovation Toolbox's
assistance. It simply helps you to remember to take all the steps that are
attached to the tool you've chosen to use. And it gives you a user friendly
format in which to take them, to forward what you've produced to a friend
or a colleague and to save your thoughts for thinking about on another
occasion.
Question 3
How does Idea Generator work?
It has three parts:
Part 1 requires you to define your problem and your goals, as well as to list
all the people involved or on whom it impacts.
Part 2 offers you seven creative thinking tools:
1. Similar Situations directs you to take lessons from similar
situations you have encountered in the past.
2. Metaphors for the Situation prompts you to search for parallels
between familiar activities and the situation you face. For
example, you can explore what planning a garden may be able to
teach you about planning to enrich an organization's climate for
creative thinking.
3. Other Perspectives asks you first to play the pessimist and then
the optimist and see your situation through the eyes of others,
real or imaginary. For example, you can ask yourself, What
would Hilary Clinton (or Bugs Bunny) do in a situation like this?
4. Focus on Your Goals One by One lets you treat each objective
as the only goal. This frees you from trying to solve too many
problems at the same time.
5. Reverse Your Goals prompts you to generate ideas by thinking
about what you want to avoid. For example, you can ask
yourself, What must I do to kill any opportunities I have to think
creatively where I work?
6. Focus on the People Involved asks you to analyse qualities in
other people, helpful or hostile, as a source of new ideas.
35
Part 3 helps you evaluate your ideas. You have to prioritize them according
to the importance you have given to your goals; do a cost/benefit analysis of
each idea and determine its effects on other people.
Once again, you can take all these steps without Idea Generator's assistance.
It simply helps you to remember to take all the steps that are attached to the
tool you've chosen to use. And, once again, it gives you a user friendly
format in which to take them, to forward what you've produced to a friend
or a colleague and to save your thoughts for thinking about on another
occasion.
Question 4
What other software for creative thinking could you try?
Charles Cave does his best to monitor and evaluate what's available. His list
is on the Creativity Web at
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/Creative/index2.html
look
under Software which is under Resource Centre
36
Managing Creativity
PART TWO
Managing Other People's Creativity
This part of the book is about managing other people's creativity, about
developing organizations that stimulate and encourage creative thinking. It
has a theoretical and a practical dimension. The theory presents three sets of
criteria for assessing the extent to which an organization's culture
encourages creativity. The practical dimension explores two ways of
designing organizations in which creative thinking is encouraged. One of
them is rooted in the idea of managing an organization's present and future
simultaneously. The other was created by us and employs the idea of
coaching for creativity. Like the first model, it has been tested in
management environments and found to work.
Chapter 7
When does an organization's culture encourage
creative thinking?
The challenge
to isolate specific dimensions of culture
that if improved
will demonstrate a direct correlation to enhanced creativity
John Kutch
self-initiated activity
diverse stimuli
unofficial activity
with-in company communication
supervisory encouragement
challenging work
workload pressure
Motivation
Playfulness and Humour Few Interpersonal Conflicts
Exploration
Debates about the Issues Freedom
Resources
Idea Support
Challenge and Involvement
40
Managing Creativity
self-initiated activity
diverse stimuli
unofficial activity
with-in company communication
Their book argues for these six criteria. It can be reduced to four questions
and the answers to them.
Question 1
How do they define corporate creativity?
A company is creative when its employees do something new and
potentially useful without being directly shown or taught.
(Robinson & Stern, 1997, page 11)
Question 2
What are the results of corporate creativity?
The results of creativity in companies are improvements (changes to what is
already being done) and innovations (activities that are entirely new).
(Robinson & Stern, 1997, page 11)
Question 3
What is their negative message about corporate creativity?
Creativity methods such as brainstorming actually limit people's creativity
by removing them from their workplace, which is the source of most work
related creative acts.
(Robinson & Stern, 1997, pages 49-52)
Question 4
What is their recipe for creating a work environment that encourages
creative thinking?
Point 4.1
Embrace the "No Preconceptions Principle"
It is impossible to predict who will be creative, what they will do, and when
and how they will do it.
(Robinson & Stern, 1997, pages 19-20)
41
Point 4.2
Reflect on the significance of Paul Torrance's research
Early in the Korean War the United States Air Force hired Paul Torrance to
develop a training program that would prepare its pilots and crews to
survive extreme conditions of deprivation and danger, including intense
cold or heat; lack of food, water or shelter; and being downed at sea, in the
jungle, or even behind enemy lines. Torrance reviewed the research
literature and studied existing training programs. He also interviewed
hundreds of Air Force personnel who had survived such experiences in
World War II. In the end, what he found surprised him: one of the things
that had proven most critical for survival was something that no training
program taught. It was the ability to think creatively. Existing courses
offered plenty of information about how to deal with a variety of hostile
conditions, discussed actual cases of how people had survived and even
escaped from POW camps, and often included realistic simulation exercises.
But Torrance found that no matter how much training people had received,
when faced with the real thing, almost invariably they had to cope with
unexpected situations. Those who survived had combined elements of their
training and life experiences to create a completely new survival technique.
A technique they hadn't been taught.
In writing about the importance of creativity to survival, Torrance came to
this conclusion:
Creativity and invention are adaptive forces which have perhaps
been given too little attention in connection with problems of
survival and survival training. Successful survivors describe many
creative and imaginative behaviors which not only solved immediate
problems for them but apparently gave them renewed energy for
continued adaptation.
(Robinson & Stern, 1997, pages 11 and 12)
Point 4.3
Embrace the casino analogy
"Managing" creativity is about raising probabilities; and in this respect it is
like operating a casino. Although casinos do not know how individual
gamblers will fare at any given table, they know that if enough customers
play for long enough against the house odds, the casino will make a very
predictable and stable profit. In the short term, it is a matter of probability,
but in the long term, profits are a matter of certainty.
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Managing Creativity
In much the same way, companies cannot predict where specific creative
acts will come from or what they will be; but they can do things that will
increase the frequency with which creative thinking occurs.
(Robinson & Stern, 1997, page 12)
Point 4.4
Increase the probability that creative thinking will occur
For corporate creativity, the work environment is the dominant factor. A bad
system will beat a good person every time. Therefore, focus on six factors or
forces that encourage creative thinking in a work environment:
Alignment self initiated activity unofficial activity serendipity diverse
stimuli within company communication.
(Robinson & Stern, 1997, pages 12-16, 39 and chapters 6 to 11)
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. Compare Kirton's distinction between Adaptors and Innovators
(chapter 1) and Robinson & Stern's definition of corporate
creativity. What's different? What's similar?
2. How would you rank Robinson & Stern's six factors or forces on
the first page of chapter 7? Why is this how you would rank
them?
3. On a 5 point scale (where 5 is a "must have" for corporate
creativity and 1 is a "nice to have"), how would you weight each
of the factors or forces? Why is this how you would weight
them?
4. Think about the organization you work for, or about one that
interests you. How many of Robinson & Stern's six factors or
forces are present? What does this tell you about its potential or
actual level of creativity?
5. If you could ask Robinson or Stern only ONE question, what
would you ask them? And why is this the question you would
ask? And how do you think they would answer it?
References and Acknowledgements
This chapter is based on:
Alan Robinson and Sam Stern, Corporate Creativity: How Innovation and
Improvement Actually Happen, Business & Professional Publishing,
1997, ISBN 1875680462
43
supervisory encouragement
challenging work
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Managing Creativity
45
Section two
How to kill creativity
Amabile (1998) believes that many managerial practices kill creativity by
crushing intrinsic motivation - the strong internal desire to do something
based on interests and passions.
Obviously, managers dont kill creativity on purpose; but they often
undermine it by the way in which they pursue productivity, efficiency, and
control.
So, can these business imperatives coexist with creativity?
Amabile believes they can; but only if managers understand that creativity
has three parts:
1. expertise;
2. the ability to think flexibly and imaginatively;
3. and intrinsic motivation.
Managers can influence the first two, but doing so is costly and slow. It is
far more effective to increase employees' intrinsic motivation by pulling five
levers:
1. the amount of challenge they give employees;
2. the degree of freedom they grant around process;
3. the way they design work groups;
4. the level of encouragement they give;
5. the nature of organizational support.
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Managing Creativity
47
Motivation
Playfulness and Humour
Exploration
Debates about the Issues
Resources
Idea Support
Motivation
Playfulness and Humour
Exploration
Debates about the Issues
Resources
Idea Support
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Managing Creativity
Motivation
1 = Trust and Openness
Do people feel safe when speaking their minds and offering different points
of view?
2 = Playfulness and Humour
How relaxed is the workplace? Is it OK to have some fun?
3 = Few Interpersonal Conflicts
How often are people involved in interpersonal conflict?
Exploration
4 = Risk-taking
Is it OK to fail?
5 = Debates about the Issues
Do people engage in lively debates about the issues facing the organization?
6 = Freedom
How free are people to decide how to do their job?
Resources
7 = Idea Time
Do people have time to think things through before having to act?
8 = Idea Support
Are there resources to try new ideas?
9 = Challenge and Involvement
To what extent are members of the organization involved in its daily
operations and long-term goals?
Who created and validated the SOQ?
Goran Ekvall and Scott Isaksen. Ekvall was a research psychologist with the
Swedish Council on Work Life Issues in Stockholm, Sweden. Isaksen is the
President of the Creative Problem Solving Group in Buffalo, USA.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1. Go to the first page of chapter 7 and compare the factors and
forces that encourage creative thinking. The six that Robinson &
Stern have given us the six that Amabile has given us the nine
that the SOQ has given us. What's different? What's similar?
49
Chapter 8
How may organizational design encourage creative thinking?
Ken Blanchard and Terry Waghorn B&W have created a structural
model to answer this question.
James Moulder has created a cascading model.
Both models assume that everyone in an organization is required to think
creatively about their work. This isn't "a nice to have" an optional extra
that you can choose to do if you feel like it. Instead, it's "a must have" it's
something that's in everyone's job description and part of everyone's
performance appraisal.
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53
for creative
VISIONING
Wish List
Future Annual Report
Visualization
for creative
EXPERIMENTING
for creative
EXPLORING
Matrix Analysis
Morphological Analysis
Nature of the Business
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Managing Creativity
55
freedom
or
idea time
idea support
or
supervisory
encouragement
alignment
Robinson &
Stern
SOQ
Amabile
SOQ
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Managing Creativity
Section Two
An essay on cascading creative thinking
My essay first identifies two facts that can be used to create, implement, and
maintain a plan for enriching the climate for creativity in workplaces that
interest me. It then explains my position in the motivation debate. Finally,
two examples are used to clarify how the plan works and how to evaluate
the return on this kind of investment.
Two facts
The theory behind cascading creative thinking rests on two facts about
creativity:
1. Everyone has the ability to think about how they can improve or
change their work.
2. If they are given time, and training in creative thinking
techniques, everyone can improve this ability.
Although I believe these two facts are indisputably true, if you think they
aren't, you can verify them indirectly or directly.
The indirect way to verify them is to read any article or book on creativity in
the workplace. None of them deny these statements; in fact, explicitly or
implicitly, they all affirm them.
The direct way to verify these two facts is to talk to anyone about their
work. If, in this conversation, they are asked how they can improve or
change their work, they will tell you. Similarly, they will tell you that, if
they were given some time to think about their work, as well as some
training in creative thinking techniques, they would be able to improve their
ability to think about how to improve or change their work.
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Managing Creativity
enrichment plan of the kind I have described. But the two examples that
follow show that it can be done.
Example One = The University of Cape Town's Public Relations
Department (1981-1985)
The University had a cascading reporting system that worked like this: once
a month I reported to the Registrar who, in American terminology, was the
Vice-President for Administration; four people reported to me each month;
and each of them had about five people who reported to them.
In round figures, the opportunity cost of my monthly meeting with the
Registrar was $65 dollars; the total opportunity cost of the four meetings in
which people reported to me was $220; and the total of the PR Department's
attempt to enrich its climate for creativity was about $1200 a month, or less
than $15000 a year.
The return on this investment was measured in four quantifiable ways:
1. an increase in the number and size of donations to the University.
2. an increase in the square centimetres of print media stories about
the University.
3. an increase in the number of quality student applications.
4. improvements in the University's rating in national and
international surveys.
In each of the five years I was associated with this program, in the two areas
that could be given a monetary value (increased donations and increased
print media stories) the return on the annual investment of $15000 ran into
hundreds of percent.
I believe the program was successful, not because of the individuals who
drove it, but because of its structure. In other words, any PR department that
adopts this structured way of enriching its climate for creativity will achieve
similar IMPROVEMENTS and INNOVATIONS.
Example Two = The University of Natal's Philosophy Department
(1986 - 1994)
The University didn't have a cascading reporting system; but, because I was
Head of the Department, I had the authority to introduce the idea. After the
implementation phase, I met with the secretary once a month for an hour;
but, because most academics hate meetings, I met with them only twice a
59
year for two hours. The agenda was straightforward and always the same.
How can we improve our teaching in the coming semester? How can we
improve our research in the coming semester?
The annual opportunity cost of this investment was about $1200. Across
nine years, the monetary return came in two ways.
In the first year, the Department reduced its administrative costs from about
$5000 to about $4000; in the other eight, it accepted and met the challenge
of not spending more than $5000 on administration. The name of its game
was to beat inflation with IMPROVEMENTS and INNOVATIONS.
Similarly, the monetary return in the academic area was sustained rather
than spectacular. From no subsidy on publications for the five years before
the program was introduced to each academic attracting an annual subsidy
because of having at least one publication. The most spectacular
improvement was from someone who went from no publications in 20 years
to 12 publications during the nine years she participated in the program.
In addition, the program achieved two other quantifiable results: an increase
in postgraduate students; and an improvement in student evaluations of
teaching.
Once again, I believe the program was successful, not because of the
individuals who drove it, but because of its structure. In other words, any
academic department in the humanities that adopts this structured way of
enriching its climate for creativity will achieve similar IMPROVEMENTS
and INNOVATIONS.
Section Three
Q&A on the idea of cascading creative thinking
Q: What is creativity?
A: I don't have a general definition; but, in the context of trying to promote
creative thinking in a workplace, I work with the following equations:
creativity = creative thinking about the work one has to do
creative thinking = improvement-type and innovation-type
creative thinking
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CREATIVE
THINKING
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Conclusion
This journey into creative thinking has explored 9 paths:
1. Some creative thinkers (Adaptors) like to improve what they've
got. Other creative thinkers (Innovators) like to replace what
they've got with something else.
2. There's a four step process that assists creative thinking
preparation incubation illumination verification. But
incubation is where the power lies.
3. Brainstorming drives all the other creative thinking tools.
4. Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats is an excellent tool for
exploring an idea.
5. Kurt Lewin's Force-Field Analysis is an excellent tool for
achieving a goal.
6. There are software packages for assisting one to think creatively.
7. There are three sets of criteria for deciding whether an
organization's culture encourages or discourages creative
thinking. Robinson & Stern's set. Teresa Amabile's set. And the
SOQ's set. See the table below for the criteria in each set.
8. There are two models which assume that thinking creatively is a
significant part of one's job description. The one operates with the
idea of everyone in an organization belonging to a Present Team
(to think about present improvements) or to a Future Team (to
think about future changes). The other model operates with the
idea of a monthly meeting in which employees have time to think
about how they can do their work better or differently.
9. The Center for Creative Leadership's Innovation Assessment
Process. It assesses an organization's capacity for encouraging
creative thinking as the first step towards suggesting how this
capacity may be enriched.
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Managing Creativity
alignment
serendipity
organizational
encouragement
sufficient
resources
organizational
impediments
work group
support
freedom
workload
pressure
3 = the SOQ
Motivation
Trust
and
Openness
Risk-taking
Idea
Time
Playfulness
and
Humour
Exploration
Debates
about the
Issues
Resources
Idea
Support
Few
Interpersonal
Conflicts
Freedom
Challenge
and
Involvement
Postscript
Managing Creativity in Higher Education Institutions
The ideas in our book are for anyone and everyone. Also for any and every
organization. But we have a special affection for higher education
institutions and, in particular, for universities. And so this postscript is about
how the ideas in our book could be used in these environments.
In these environments, the largest unit is the institution. The smallest one is
the individual, who is either a member of the faculty or a student. A
department is place where they connect with institutional issues, some of
which can be dealt with only at a faculty level. Like so:
level 4
institution
the rector
and
vice-rectors
level 3
faculties
deans
and
deputy-deans
level 2
departments
HODs
level 1
individuals
faculty
students
Observation One
The first observation is that both part one and part two of the book applies to
the people who function at level 2, 3 and 4. To the HODs, the deans and
deputy-deans, the rector and the vice-rector. These people have a twofold
challenge:
How do they enrich their ability to think creatively?
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Managing Creativity
Motivation
Playfulness & Humour
Exploration
Debates about the Issues
Resources
Idea Support
This, of course, is only an example. The person who chairs this imaginary
committee may prefer Robinson and Stern's criteria. Or Amabile's. Or a set
of criteria we haven't discussed. The point is simply that at level 2 and 3 and
4, worrying about the extent to which creative thinking is encouraged or
discouraged is largely a matter of the extent to which it's encouraged or
discouraged in the work of committees.
Postscript
71
Observation Two
Our second observation is more like a request. A request to join us in
finding ways to use Blanchard & Waghorn's structure for managing the
present and the future of a higher education institution simultaneously and
creatively.
We've got one success story from the IPMI Business School in Jakarta. A
class of about 30 students divided themselves into a number of Present
Teams and a number of Future Teams. We didn't have either a Steering
Committee or Design Teams. Instead we used an iterative process. A
Present Team, for example, having presented its ideas for present
improvements to the School, handed its disc to the next Present Team who
built on what had been produced. And so on. For about 10 iterations. And
also for the Future Teams.
At the end of this process, which took about three weeks, we turned the
ideas that were on the discs into a memo. When the students had made some
corrections and additions it was given to the School's Board of
Management. The members of the Board were astonished. They had been
trying to produce a report of that kind for about 18 months, but they had had
no success. Over the next year, most of what the students had proposed was
implemented by the Board.
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Managing Creativity
The best thing about this experience was that the creative thinking came
from the bottom up. From the primary stakeholders. From the students. An
interesting question remained. If the Board had been asked for its
permission to produce a report of this kind and in this way, would it have
been given? Nobody knows. But the idea has been tried and it's been proved
to be a good one. Get the students in the institution or in the faculty or in the
department to think simultaneously and creatively about present
improvements and future changes to their education.
Observation Three
Still in the administrative dimension. Lewin's Force-Field Analysis is an
excellent tool for achieving the goals that Present Teams and Future Teams
have set for a department, or a faculty or an institution. Here's a reminder of
the forces that are at work. Forces that could help or hinder the achievement
of a goal.
Traditions
Vested interests
Organizational structures
Relationships
Social or organizational trends
Attitudes of people
Regulations
Personal or group needs
Present or past practices
Institutional policies or norms
Values
Desires
Costs
People
Events
Observation Four
Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats is an excellent tool for creative
thinking by students and those who teach them. It's a template that works for
creating lectures and presentations. For guiding a tutorial or seminar
discussion. For writing an essay or an academic paper. Even for writing a
book.
Postscript
73
Because teaching people to use the Six Hats is one of the best ways to
understand how to use it, this is where academics could begin. With a
session on the Six Hats, perhaps using some of the excellent presentations
available on youtube.com some of them by de Bono himself.
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Managing Creativity
The next step is to require students to use the tool. The quickest way is to
announce that only presentations and other assignments in a Six Hats format
can attract a High Distinction. Almost immediately the game is on. The
thinking improves. The students and those who teach them are empowered.
Towards a conclusion
If creative thinking is the name of higher education's game, then these
straightforward theories and tools are the way to go. The way to enriching
the thinking that's required at every level and by every individual in a higher
education institution.
PART THREE
A Guide to the Literature behind the Book
This part of the book is about the literature that helped create part one and
part two. It's about the ideas that shaped our own ideas, the ideas that helped
us figure out how to manage our own and other people's creativity, our own
and other people's imagination. In this part you will find summaries of the
books and articles that inspired each chapter of the book, as well as
questions for discussion and further study.
Please remember that we have also created a blog for our book:
http://mrs007a.blogspot.com/. On the blog you can find the hot links to the
materials used and recommended in the book as well as more links and
materials that could not find their way in the printed form. You will also be
welcome to send us your comments and suggestions related to the various
issues presented in the book.
Chapter 1
Adaptors and Innovators
The Adaption-Innovation theory was developed by Michael Kirton,
British psychologist and expert in occupational research in the 1970s. The
theory starts from the premises that all people are creative and solve
problems on a daily basis.
It makes a clear distinction between level (how much creative are we? how
high is our problem solving capacity?) and style (in what manner are we
creative/ in what manner do we solve problems?) of creativity, problem
solving and decision making and it only focuses on style.
According to Kirton, the preferred problem solving/creativity style is
genetically determined, unchangeable, and readily apparent in young
children, can be reliably tested in teenagers and does not change with age or
experience.
The A-I Theory states that people are different in regards to the cognitive
style in which they are creative, solve problems and make decisions. These
style differences are spread on a normally distributed continuum, ranging
from high adaption to high innovation.
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Managing Creativity
Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of
measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, cognition and personality traits.
Mudd, S, Kirtons A-I theory: Evidence bearing on the style/level and factor composition
issues, 1996
Sim, E., Wright, G A Comparison of Adaption-Innovation Styles Between Information
System Majors and Computer Science Majors, Journal of Information systems
Education, vol. 13 (1)
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81
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Managing Creativity
Bibliography
Hipple, J., Hardy, D., Wilson, S.A. & Michalski, J., Can Corporate
Innovation Champions Survive? Chemical Innovation, November 2001,
Vol.31 (11), 14-22.
Hyrsk K., Kangasharjuy, A., Adaptors and Innovators in Non-Urban
Environment, Babson College 1998
Kirton, M., Adaption-innovation: In the Context of Diversity and Change,
Taylor & Francis Routledge, 2003
Kirton, M., editor, Adaptors and Innovators: Styles of Creativity and
Problem Solving, Routledge, 1994
Mudd, S., Kirtons A-I theory: Evidence bearing on the style/ level and
factor composition issues, The British Journal of Psychology, 87, 1996,
pp. 241-254.
Samuel, P., Improving teamwork with Kirton Adaption-Innovation
Inventory, Breakthrough Management Group, 2007
Sim, E, Wright, G. A Comparison of Adaption-Innovation Styles Between
Information Systems Majors And Computer Science Majors, Journal of
Information Systems Education, Vol 13(1)
Stum, J., Kirtons Adaption-Innovation Theory: Managing Cognitive
Styles in Times of Diversity and Change Emerging Leadership
Journeys, Vol. 2 Iss. 1, 2009, pp. 66-78.
http://www.kaicentre.com
Chapter 2
The four step creative process
While historically, creativity was considered to be a spark of the moment
studies in the 20th century from leading mathematicians, scientists and
psychologist showed that there is a series of steps that are pivotal in the
creative process.
This unit will analyze the Four Step creative Process using some of the
perspectives presented by authors Jennifer Fleming and Paul Plsek.
In his working paper Models for the Creative Process Paul Plesk presents
a review of the literature of creative thinking models since 1908.
The first model presented is Graham Wallas 4 step Model for the Process
of Creativity:
1. Preparation (preparatory work on a problem that focuses the
individual's mind on the problem and explores the problem's
dimensions),
2. Incubation (where the problem is internalized into the
unconscious mind and nothing appears externally to be
happening),
3. Illumination or insight (where the creative idea bursts forth
from its preconscious processing into conscious awareness); and
4. Verification (where the idea is consciously verified, elaborated,
and then applied).
Initially the model, as presented in the 1926 work The art of thought
consisted of 5 stages1 but in later literature Intimation (the creative person
gets a "feeling" that a solution is on its way), was considered a sub stage.
Plsek argues that the inclusion of incubation followed by illumination may
be the explanation of why so many people see creative thinking as a
subconscious mental process that cannot be directed. However the first and
last phases of Wallas' model, preparation and verification suggest that
creative and analytical thinking are complementary.
The next model presented in the paper is Barons four phase psychic
creation model:
1. Conception (in a prepared mind)
2. Gestation (time, intricately coordinated)
1
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Graham_Wallas
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Managing Creativity
The last part of Paul E. Plseks paper presents a synthesis model for the
creative process as shown in figure 2.1.
The model combines concepts behind various models proposed over the last
80+ years. The model is divided in four quadrants: preparation,
imagination, development and action each of them including a series of
actions employed in the creation process.
Plsek defines directed creativity as purposeful mental movements made to
avoid the pitfalls associated with ones cognitive mechanisms at each step of
the process of searching for novel and useful ideas.
The second part of this unit will focus on business world examples of the
employment of the steps of creative thinking, from the perspective of
Jennifer Flemings paper Creativity for Web Developers: Understanding
the process of innovation.
As its title reveals, Flemings paper looks at creativity from web developers
perspective. Since the beginning of the paper the two main ideas portrayed are:
1. Creativity is a continuous process and cannot be scheduled.
2. Team collaboration the involvement of designers,
technologists, writers, marketers and managers- must play an
important part in the creative process.
The papers aim is to be a five step guide for creativity in the web
development world.
The first step in finding creative solutions is identifying the problems. The
author offers 2 examples of clients in similar situations but with different
demands. One would like Java as well as the possibility for customers to
submit information via web forms while the other is looking for new ways
2
Paul E. Plsek, Working Paper: Models for the creative process, 1996
87
to extend their commerce model onto the web without compromising their
in-store sales. The author explains that the 2nd clients request is more
closely tied to its goals and needs while the first offers no possibilities for
innovative approaches.
The paper argues that surveying the audience (users) and finding the
similarities in their answers is an effective solution for identifying the
problems if the problems are unclear.
The 2nd step in the creational process involves understanding the
parameters. Despite the fact that the perception of the majority of people is
that creativity requires total freedom, understanding the guidelines,
limitations and the clients definition for a successful outcome can help one
generate solutions that are both innovative as well as useful.
The example from the software world that is presented in J. Flemings paper
is an accountant wanting a solution that would fit the software hes already
using that may not be included among important criteria for success.
However, if the companys resources do not allow it to purchase new
accounting software the use of the one currently employed by the
accountant needs to be incorporated in the solution.
After the identification of the problems and the understanding of the
parameters the issue of finding sources of inspiration rises. Fleming
suggests that less conventional activities are a source for inspiration.
Running, playing, cat naps, listening to classical music or poetry can put
ones brain wave state into that much desired alpha state.
Another approach suggested for is the Fake ID technique which translates
into thinking with someone elses head and the business example
presented is the required actions for creating an e-zine for teenage girls. In
order to do so one must place himself/herself in the world of a teenage girl
and answer questions related to the task such as: What do they like to do?
What do they tend to read or talk about? Where do they shop? What's cool
and what's not? In order to answer such questions and be able to generate
such questions one may have to do a series of things common to this
particular segment.
The author suggests that this is a stage where one must keep an open mind
and absorb the experiences without any judgmental attitude.
After these first three steps, generating ideas comes into play.
Brainstorming plays an important part in this stage and, as suggested by
Alex Osborn3 the focus should be on the quantity rather than the quality of
the ideas.
3
Alex Faickney Osborn (1888-1966) was an advertising executive and the author of the
creativity technique named brainstorming.
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Managing Creativity
Bibliography
Jennifer Fleming, Creativity for Web Developers: Understanding the
process
of
innovation,
www.ahref.com/guides/design/199806/
0608jefprintable.html
Paul Plsek, Models for the Creative Process, www.directedcreativity.com/
pages/WPModels.html#PageTopWPModels
Chapter 3
Brainstorming
In his paper Creative Thinking and Brainstorming, G. Rawlinson defines
Brainstorming as "a tool for getting a large number of ideas from a group of
people in a short time". Brainstorming can prove to be a great tool for:
Expanding creative thinking
Identifying issues or opportunities
Identifying possible causes of a problem
Identifying data collection requirements
Identifying possible solutions to a problem
Seeing different points of view
Therefore, the main focus of brainstorming is not good or even new ideas,
but a large number of ideas; quantity over quality.
Two logic diagrams, in the Wikipedia article on Brainstorming present an
applicable variant for flow of actions necessary for preparing and
conducting a brainstorming session.
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Source: http://ooine.com/index.php/2009/06/23/brainstorming-is-an-inefficient-methodof-generating-ideas/
2. Topic
The topic of the brainstorming session should be presented for the
participants on a white board. If an object is the focus of the brainstorm it
should be displayed for the participants.
3. Private brainstorming
All participants should be allowed at least 10 minutes to brainstorm
privately and write their ideas down on paper or Post-its. After that they can
share them, either in turn or anonymously. The advantage offered by this is
that it encourages participation by more self-conscious people who might
otherwise feel intimidated.
4. Group brainstorming
There are a series of techniques employed in group brainstorming:
Freewheeling this is where participants are encouraged to
express their ideas in any order. Each idea is listed on a flipchart.
One of the main disadvantages of this type of brainstorming is
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Managing Creativity
Post-it method
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakecaptive/49915119/sizes/m/in/photostream/
5 Discussion
Once the list of ideas is completed, it is discussed with the group for
clarification and the decision regarding the destination of ideas generation.
93
6. Beyond Brainstorming
When all the ideas are recorded, the brainstorming session is over. At this
point it can be finalized, or the group can move to creating Affinity
Diagrams or applying Filters:
An affinity diagram (also called the KJ method, after its developer
Kawakita Jiro -a Japanese anthropologist) helps to synthesize large amounts
of data by finding relationships between ideas. The information is then
gradually structured from the bottom up into meaningful groups.
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Managing Creativity
Bibliography
Geoffrey Rawlinson, Creative Thinking and Brainstorming, Gower, 1996
Affinity diagrams
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_86.htm
Creativity and Innovation, CareerTrack Publications, USA, 1995
Top 5 Brainstorming techniques
http://www.wsa-intl.com/263-top-5-brainstorming-techniques/
Wikipedia article on brainstorming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming
http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/contents.html
Chapter 4
Edward de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats for exploring an idea
Edward de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats is a thinking tool for individual
thinking and group discussions. The principle behind it is parallel thinking,
which ensures that all the people in a meeting are focused on and thinking
about the same subject at the same time. Together, the 'Six Thinking Hats
system and parallel thinking, provide a means for groups to think together
more effectively, as well as a means to plan the thinking processes in a
thorough and consistent manner.
Edward de Bono (born in Malta in 1933) is considered by many to be the
leading authority in the world in the field of creative thinking as well as in
the direct teaching of thinking as a skill. He has authored 62 books which
have been translated into 37 languages and has been invited to lecture in 54
countries. He is considered to be the originator of lateral thinking which
treats creativity as the behaviour of information in a self-organizing
information system - such as the neural networks in the brain.
In the Six Thinking Hats system thinking is divided into six categories
with each category identified by its own thinking hat. By becoming presensitized to each of the hats one can easily focus and re-direct thoughts,
conversation, meetings or reports.
The white hat calls for neutrality and objectiveness, as it involves the
presentation of objectives, facts and numbers in a manner similar to the one
of a computer. Often, data is presented in an argumentation and may lack
objectiveness. It is then that a selector is needed to call for facts only. The
white hat manner of thinking calls for the thinker to clearly separate in his
mind the facts from extrapolation or from interpretation.
When one wears the white hat, the statements he issues must be presented
with a neutral objectivity and not be used to support a point of view. The
white hat excludes valuable elements like feelings, intuition, judgments
based on experience, impressions and opinions. This is the purpose of
wearing the white hat: to have a way to only ask for information.
With this thinking hat, one focuses on the data available. The available
information is analyzed, and what is useful is extracted from it. The
knowledge gaps are to be found and filled in or in into account.
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Source: http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/edward-de-bono-6-thinking-hats-mind-map
Some of the questions that can be asked from a white hats perspective are:
What is the information on hand?
What information is missing?
What additional information is required?
How is this information going to be obtained?
According to de Bono there is a double system of information divided into
two classes. The first class contains facts that are proven and verified while
the second class is composed of statements considered to be true but havent
been verified totally. The value of a statement can range from always true
to never true living room for classifications such as in general or
sometimes. When the white hat is being used the class of the information
should also be presented in order to indicate its degree of credibility.
When white hat thinking is being requested during a meeting, proposals and
arguments are being put aside and the focus is directly on information and
for that time being everybody should try to see what information is
available.
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Source: http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/edward-de-bono-6-thinking-hats-mind-map
The red hat deals with feelings, intuition, hunches and emotions. It is
almost the opposite of the white hat which is neutral and objective. The
colour red symbolizes the heart, passion and emotions.
The red hat allows people to express their emotions and intuitions without
having to justify them. Feelings can come into discussions without the need
to be disguised into logic. Intuition may prove to be highly valuable in the
assessment of a situation when it is based on experience.
Despite the traditional views that emotions confuse the thinking process, de
Bono argues that all correct decisions must be emotional in the last instance.
If one uses the white hat to draw a map, the values and emotions will
determine the selected route.
The red hat can reveal two large types of feelings: first of all the common
emotions such as fear, suspicion, jealousy or love. Secondly, it can unveil
complex judgments based on intuitions, sensations or aesthetic preferences
or other non-justifiable reasons that are perceivable. The red hat makes these
emotions visible allowing their consequences to be observed as well as the
removal of feelings that disrupt the thinking process as soon as they arise
from the surface.
Some of the questions asked form a Red Hats perspective are:
What is my initial reaction to a suggestion?
How do I feel about a decision I might make?
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Source: http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/edward-de-bono-6-thinking-hats-mind-map
The black hat concentrates on the dangers and flaws of each approach and
emphasizes the worst case scenarios. Black symbolizes pessimism,
negativity and gloominess.
The black hat thinking is used for critical judgment, pointing out why
something cannot be done or will not be profitable. The black hat is very
valuable as it prevents mistakes or illegal actions which can prove very
costly. It is the most used and probably the most useful of the hats.
The hat is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan or
course of action, allowing their elimination, the change of the approach, or
the preparation of contingency plans to counter problems that arise.
However, its overuse can turn out to be a problem as early negativity can
destroy creativity.
The questions asked from a Black Hats perspective can be:
What is a serious flaw of this recommendation?
What is a major drawback to this way of thinking?
What are the odds of failure?
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Source: http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/edward-de-bono-6-thinking-hats-mind-map
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Source: http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/edward-de-bono-6-thinking-hats-mind-map
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Source: http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mind-map/edward-de-bono-6-thinking-hats-mind-map
The blue hat is employed for process control and chooses the hat being
used. The blue colour symbolizes panoramic control since the sky towers
over everything. Blue also suggests spacing, tranquillity and self-control.
The blue hat sets the agenda for thinking, suggests the next step as well as
asks for summaries conclusions and decisions. It is usually used by the
chairperson but other participants can also advance suggestions. The blue
had is used for organizing the thinking process and making it more
productive.
The person using the blue hat defines the subjects that should be the focus
of thinking. He defines the problems and elaborates the questions. Blue hat
thinking makes sure the rules are observed. It takes the role of an umpire
enforcing and applying discipline. The blue hat wearer choreographs
thinking.
Questions asked from a blue hats perspective are:
What is the best way to define the actual problem?
What are the goals?
What are the desired outcomes of the solution-seeking process?
What is the most effective way of moving forward?
What is the optimal way out of the current circumstances?
Even though one person usually assumes the role of blue hat wearer this role
is open for anyone who wants to make proposals and suggestions that imply
blue hat thinking. The blue hat can call for the use of the other hats pending
on the situation.
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Edward de Bonos Six Thinking Hats technique represents a multidimensional tool that drastically improves the efficiency and effectiveness
of ones thinking methods. The method has two main focuses. First of all it
simplifies thinking by separating logic, emotions, information, hope and
creativity. The second one is two allow a variation of thought encouraging
parallel thinking as well as full spectrum thinking.
Bibliography
de Bono, E, Serious Creativity, HarperCollins, 1995
de Bono, E, Six Thinking Hats, second edition, Back Bay Books, 1999
de Bono for Business web site The de Bono Group
http://www.debonogroup.com/index.php
Edward de Bonos authorized web site http://www.edwdebono.com/
Official web site of The de Bono Group
http://www.debonogroup.com/six_thinking_hats.php
Six Thinking Hats article on Mind Tools
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.htm
The flow design pattern of the Six Thinking Hats technique
http://www.idspace-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&
view=article&id=66&Itemid=53
6 Thinking Hats for Solving Lifes Problems http://blog.iqmatrix.com/mindmap/edward-de-bono-6-thinking-hats-mind-map
Chapter 5
Kurt Lewins force field analysis for achieving a goal
Developed by social psychologist Kurt Lewin in 1947, force field analysis
is a method for listing, discussing and evaluating various forces that work in
favour or against a proposed change. Born in 1890 in Germany Kurt Lewin
was a Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at Berlin University until he
fled to the United States in 1932 to escape the Nazis. He is often recognized
as the "founder of social psychology" and was one of the first researchers
that studied group dynamics and organizational development.
105
Kurt Lewins force field analysis model evaluates the impact of all forces
influencing changes, forces that can be divided into two groups: driving and
restraining forces. As their name shows driving forces are the ones that
encourage change. Examples of forces that promote change in an
organizational environment are: increased efficiency, faster access to
information or the demand of customers. Restraining forces are described by
Lewin as acting in opposition to driving forces and leading to resistance to
change rather than representing consistent forces in themselves. Examples
of forces that may impede a company from implementing change are lack of
training or incentives, reluctance of staff towards using a new software
program.
When the total intensity of the two types of forces is equal, change is in a
state of equilibrium meaning there is no moment towards change or away
from it. However, the addition of one single element, or the change in the
intensity of an existing one would steer the decision towards one direction
or another.
Force Field Analysis can be used to develop an action plan to implement
change, by determining if a proposed change can get the necessary support,
identifying the obstacles to successful solutions and suggest actions to
reduce the strength of those obstacles. An important aspect of force field
analysis is that it focuses on identifying and lowering barriers between ones
current status and the desired change. This lowers the total amount of
energy needed to achieve change and therefore makes change easier.
Implementation of a force field analysis
Identifying and understanding the current state as well as the desired goal
state relative to the proposed change are two key factors necessary in order
for a change to take place.
In her article Kurt Lewin's Force Field Analysis: Decision Making Made
Easy Lyndsay Swinton, an experienced people manager and team leader as
well as a personal development and coaching expert, presents a five step
model for the implementation of a force field analysis:
The 1st Step suggested is the listing of all the factors for (pros) and factors
against (cons) a decision. The inclusion of intangible or emotional factors is
also suggested as ignoring these can undermine the decision.
In Step 2 each factor is given a score between 1 and 5 with one being the
weakest intensity and opposing arrows for each factor are drawn with the
size being represented by the score.
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During Step 3 the total is made for the for and against scores. If the result is
not the expected one Swinton suggests the brief review of the factors listed
in order to answer questions such as: Are there any missing? Are less
important factors overshadowing the more important factors? Are the scores
realistic, and spread across the full range? Another suggestion is the
changing of the factors and scores and the checking of scores afterwards.
The final step, Step 4, involves the verification if taking appropriate action
may increase the For score and decrease the Against score as well as the
review of the factors in order to decide what actions could be taken to
address or enhance any challenges. Afterwards, step 3 and Step 3 are
repeated, assuming that the necessary actions take place.
Applications of Force Field analysis
The applications can be found in various industries. Three main applications
for this tool arise: change management, productivity improvement and
decision making.
Change management is actually the primary application for the force field
analysis. Kurt Lewin actually created a three stage theory regarding change
management commonly known as Unfreeze, Change, Freeze.
The first stage, unfreeze, involves the preparation for change, from
realizing its necessity to assessing pros and cons for it. It is during this stage
that Force Field Analysis can prove a useful tool for understanding the
situation and developing strategies.
107
Bibliography
Force Field Analysis http://www.extension.iastate.edu/communities/tools/
forcefield.html
Force field analysis. Assessing the case for change http://www.strategiesfor-managing-change.com/force-field-analysis.html
Kurt Lewin. Change Management Model http://www.change-managementcoach.com/kurt_lewin.html
Kurt Lewin, encyclopedia http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/
Kurt+Lewin
Lewin, K, Principles of topological psychology, Mcgraw-Hill Book
Company, Inc, New York and London, 1936
Stephen Warrilow, Kurt Lewin - May the Force Field Analysis Be With
You!, http://ezinearticles.com
Swinton, L, Kurt Lewin's Force Field Analysis: Decision Making Made
Easy, www.mftrou.com
Using force field analysis to facilitate change,
http://www.thefreelibrary.com
Chapter 6
Software for Creative Thinking
Computers can be a helpful tool in the generation of ideas, writing business
plans, think of new uses for resources or finding new ways of doing things.
They will not help the creative thinking directly, but they will improve
certain aspects of the creation process allowing for less time to be spent on
those aspects.
Some of the stages of the creative thinking where software can be included
are generation, recording, manipulation and implementation of ideas.
Thinking techniques can be encapsulated into a program with the main
advantages being the compact storage and the ease of access.
Computers are highly efficient at storing and retrieving information and can
prove highly effective in manipulating it- storing, selecting or picking
random items from lists.
Anybody can benefit from idea generating software. Some of its uses are:
generation of ideas for writing stories, articles or scripts, advertising
campaigns, names of products or projects.
The next part of this section will present a classification and a description of
various types of creativity thinking software with examples for each
category.
1. Text based outliners
Text based outliners are computer programs that allow one the organization
of text into discrete sections that are related in a tree structure or hierarchy.
Text can be collapsed into a node, or expanded and edited.
The most used word processors such as Microsoft Word have an outline
mode built in. Microsoft PowerPoint also contains an outline mode that is
designed to create presentation slides or handouts.
2. Visual outliners
Visual outliners are software programs that attempt to automate the process
of drawing graphical outlines, mind maps, and concept maps. Such
programs can prove useful for presentations and publication.
Examples of such software solutions containing visual outliners are Mind
Mapper and Inspiration. We shall briefly present Mind Mapper Software to
exemplify the benefits of using such a software.
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3. Idea processors
An idea processor is used for organizing ideas, brainstorming, concept
mapping, mind mapping, analysis, flowcharting, and creative writing. A
multi-level user workspace is manipulated using a wide variety of linguistic,
analytical, graphical and compositional idea generation tools.
The Axon Idea Processor is a commercial Windows-based program that helps
users visualize and process interrelated thoughts and ideas. It aids users to
create, communicate, explore, plan, draw, compose, design and learn.
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Managing Creativity
4. Questioning programs
Questioning programs take a relatively small amount of input from the user,
and then use sets of questions, keywords, or exercises to provoke new ideas.
Two examples of such programs are: IdeaFisher Pro and Creative Whack
Pack.
IdeaFisher Pro is powerful brainstorming software that can help the
generation of new ideas with a minimum of training. It can be used for
everything from developing new product ideas and fine-tuning a companys
corporate strategy to writing a speech or looking for creative solutions to a
problem.
Its power comes from two main components: The QBank and the IdeaBank.
The QBank is a database of several thousand categorized questions, which
111
can be used to help with the focus and the definition of a problem more
clearly, and to improve or enhance the existing ideas. The second major
component is the IdeaBank, a database of more than 65,000 words, phrases
and concepts. They are grouped into topical categories, and further
subdivided into major categories to form a hierarchical structure. The words
and phrases in this immense database are also linked by more than 775,000
direct associations, giving the QBank a structure that mirrors the associative
power of the brain.
The Creative Whack Pack is a computer representation of 64 cards. It
consists of 64 cards, each featuring a different strategy. They assume
various roles from highlighting places to find new information to providing
techniques to generate new ideas or offering decision-making advice.
5. Story development software
Story development software is represented by programs aimed specifically
at fiction writers. The software guides writers through the process gradually.
They are prodded to make tiny, but powerful, decisions about plot, structure,
character and theme.
Examples of story development software include Dramatica Pro and
Storrybase 2.0.
Dramatica Pro is a software program for story development than can help
the writer plan a story plot completely.
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113
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Managing Creativity
115
Computers can prove an important tool for creative thinking but, without a
tremendous development of artificial intelligence they will never be able to
generate ideas. The conclusion is that computers can help one think
creatively, but the actual idea generation remains a human prerogative.
Bibliography
Cave, C, Can computers help you think?
www.members.optusnet.com.au/charles57/Creative/Software/essay.htm
Software for Creativity & Idea Generation - an overview of what's
available
www.members.optusnet.com.au/charles57/Creative/Software/swindex.htm
www.infinn.com/toolbox.html
www.projectkickstart.com/products/idea_generator.cfm
Mind Mapper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
http://www.mindmapperusa.com/
http://www.mindmapper.com/pro/pro_2009std.asp
Axon Idea processor
http://web.singnet.com.sg/~axon2000/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axon_Idea_Processor
Idea fisher Pro and Creative Whack Pack
http://www.innovationtools.com/Tools/SoftwareDetails.asp?a=93
http://www.creativewhack.com/product.php?productid=64
Dramatica and Story Base
http://www.dramatica.com
http://www.screenplay.com/p-13-dramatica-pro.aspx
http://www.storybase.net/software/software.html
Microsoft project
http://www.microsoft.com/project/en/us/default.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Project
Communications and the Internet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik i/Web_2.0
Artificial Intelligence
McCarthy, J, What is Artificial Intelligence?, 2007, Stanford University,
http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/node1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1002209,00.html
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_network
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_logic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_network
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programming_languages_for_artifi
cial_intelligence
Chapter 7
When does an organization's culture encourage creative
thinking?
7.1 Alan Robinson and Sam Stern's criteria
In their 1997 paper Corporate Creativity: How Innovation and
Improvement Actually Happen Alan Robinson, Professor in the Business
School at the University of Massachusetts, and Sam Stern, professor in the
Education Faculty at Oregon State University, present six elements of
corporate creativity, which are the key to increasing corporate creativity:
1. Alignment
As the two authors explain, alignment is the degree to which the interests
and actions of every employee support the organization's key goals.
While companies can function with relatively poor alignment, they cannot
be consistently creative unless they are strongly aligned. From the point of
view of corporate creativity, the effects of alignment are visible only when a
company is either extraordinarily well aligned or misaligned. However,
alignment is a double-edged sword as it can also limit a company's
creativity.
2. Self-initiated activity
Self-initiated activity allows employees to choose a problem they are
interested in and feel able to solve, for any reason, meaning that their
intrinsic motivation is way higher than would be the case if the project had
been planned or picked for them by someone else. As the two authors stress,
the majority of creative acts in companies are self-initiated, which explains
why they are unanticipated by management.
Alan Robinson and Sam Stern present five characteristics of an effective
system for responding to employee ideas, needs to promote self-initiated
activity:
1. Reach everyone.
2. Be easy to use.
3. Have strong follow-through.
4. Document ideas.
5. Be based on intrinsic motivation.
3. Unofficial activity
Unofficial activity is activity that occurs in the absence of direct
official support, and with the intent of doing something new and useful.
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Unofficial activity offers ideas a safe haven where they have the chance to
develop until they are strong enough to overcome resistance. Giving a
project official status raises all kinds of barriers to creativity which every
planned project encounters throughout its life.
4. Serendipity
A serendipitous discovery is one made by fortunate accident in the presence
of sagacity (keenness of insight). Fortunate accidents (the first half of the
serendipity equation) can be promoted through strategies that provoke and
exploit accidents. Sagacity - the quality of being discerning, sound in
judgment, and farsighted - (the second half of the equation) can be promoted
by expanding the company's human potential beyond its immediate needs.
5. Diverse stimuli
A stimulus can offer fresh insight into something a person already plans to
do, or it may bump that person into something different. However, it is
impossible to predict how an individual will react to a particular stimulus,
and what provokes one person may not even be noticed by another. An
organization should provide opportunities for its employees to tell others
about the stimuli they have received and the possibilities these stimuli
suggest to them.
Robinson and Stern provide four strategies companies can use to promote
diverse stimuli:
1. Identify stimuli and provide them to employees.
2. Rotate employees into every job they are capable of doing
3. Arrange for employees to interact with those outside the company
who are likely to be the source of stimuli.
4. Create opportunities for employees to bring into the organization
stimuli they get on their own.
6. Within-company communication
As planned activities take place in every organization communication
channels are necessary for these activities. However, it is the unanticipated
exchanges between employees who normally do not communicate with each
other which often enable projects that have not been planned to selforganize and move forward. Unanticipated within-company communication
seems to happen naturally at smaller companies, and less naturally at larger
ones.
According to Alan Robinson and Sam Stern there are three ways a company
can promote within-company communication:
1. Provide opportunities for employees who do not normally
interact with each other to meet.
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Managing Creativity
121
Resources. Time and money are the two main resources that
influence creativity. Managers need to allocate these resources carefully.
Similar to matching people with the right assignments, deciding how much
time and money to offer to a team or project is a complicated decision that
can either support or kill creativity.
Organizations will routinely kill creativity with fake deadlines, which create
distrust, or impossibly tight ones which cause burnout. In both cases people
feel over-controlled and unfulfilled which consistently damages motivation.
Managers that do not allocate time for exploration or do not schedule in
incubation periods are standing in the way of the creative process.
Also, many managers don't realize a restriction of resources can dampen
creativity and therefore often make the mistake of keeping resources tight,
which pushes people to direct their creativity into finding additional
resources instead of in developing new products or services.
Work-Group Features. Careful attention must be paid to the
composition of teams that come up with creative ideas. A manager must
create mutually supportive groups with a diversity of perspectives and
backgrounds. When teams consist of people with various intellectual
foundations and approaches to work - different expertise and creative
thinking styles - ideas often mix and ignite in exciting and useful ways.
One common way managers kill creativity is by assembling homogeneous
teams. The lure to do so is great as homogeneous teams often reach
"solutions" more quickly and with less friction along the way. But
homogeneous teams do little to improve expertise and creative thinking.
Everyone comes to the table with a similar mind-set. They leave with the
same.
Supervisory Encouragement. A simple step managers can take to
foster creativity is to not forget to praise creative efforts of their employees
regardless if they result in successful or less successful results.
One way managers kill creativity is by failing to acknowledge innovative
efforts or by meeting them with scepticism. New ideas are met not with
open minds but with time-consuming layers of evaluation - or even with
harsh criticism.
Organizational Support. Creativity is enhanced when the entire
organization supports it. This is the prerogative of organizations leaders,
who must implement appropriate systems or procedures and emphasize
values that make it clear that creative efforts are a top priority.
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Managing Creativity
Because rewards in money may make people feel as if they are being
controlled, such a tactic will probably not work. However, not providing
sufficient recognition and rewards for creativity can spawn negative feelings
within an organization as people can feel used, or underappreciated, for their
creative efforts. Politicking undermines expertise as politics get in the way
of open communication, obstructing the flow of information from one point
to another.
7.3 The Situational Outlook Questionnaire's criteria
The Situational Outlook Questionnaire (SOQ) is an assessment tool for
measuring the climate for creativity, innovation, and change created by
organizations, teams, and leaders. The multi-method measure, based on the
early works of Dr. Gran Ekvall- a world renowned Swedish climate
researcher- uses both quantitative and qualitative data to present powerful
results.
In part one, the respondents answer 53 questions using a scale to asses nine
dimensions:
Challenge/Involvement - the degree to which people are
involved in daily operations, long-term goals, and visions
Freedom - the degree of independence shown by the people in the
organization
Trust/Openness the emotional safety in relationships
Idea-Time - the amount of time people can, and do, use for
elaborating new ideas
Playfulness/Humour - the spontaneity and ease displayed within
the workplace
Conflict - the presence of personal and emotional tensions (a
negative dimension in contrast to the debate dimension)
Idea-Support - the way new ideas are treated
Debate - the occurrences and disagreement between viewpoints,
ideas, experiences, and knowledge
Risk-Taking -the tolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity
The next table exemplifies differences on the nine climate dimensions in
innovative, average and standard organizations. The scale ranges from 0300 with significant differences being around 25 points. People in
innovative companies perceive more of each dimension except for
Conflict since it is a negative dimension.
123
Average
Organizations
Stagnated
Organizations
Challenge/Involvement
238
190
163
Freedom
210
174
153
Trust/Openness
178
160
128
Idea-Time
148
111
97
Playfulness/Humor
230
169
140
Conflict
78
88
140
Idea-Support
183
164
108
Debate
158
128
105
Risk-Taking
195
112
53
Source: http://soqonline.net/soq/more_soq
For the 2nd part, the SOQ asks three open-ended questions so that
participants can provide more specific detail about:
Whats most helpful and supportive to their creativity?
Whats hindering their creativity?
What specific recommendations or concrete actions would
improve the climate for creativity and innovation?
Bibliography
Alan Robinson and Sam Stern's criteria
Alan Robinson and Sam Stern, Corporate Creativity: How Innovation and
Improvement Actually Happen, Business & Professional Publishing,
1997
Teresa Amabile's criteria
Teresa Amabile, A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations,
Research in Organizational Behavior, 1988, 10, pp. 123-167
Teresa Amabile, How to Kill Creativity, Harvard Business Review,
September-October, 1998, pp. 77-87
The Situational Outlook Questionnaire's criteria
www.soqOnline.net/
www.cpsb.com/assessments/soq
Chapter 8
How may organizational design encourage creative thinking?
8.1 Blanchard and Waghorn's Structural Model
Ken Blanchard and Terry Waghorn have created a structural model to see
how organizational design encourages creative thinking. The model assumes
that everyone in an organization is required to think creatively about their
work.
Blanchards and Waghorns (B&W) structural model is designed to help a
company focus on the present and the future at the same time, giving the
same importance to both. Another aspect involved in their model is the
leveraging by a company of the fact that it has employees that are either
adaptors or innovators.
B&WS solution involves the creation of two sets of teams formed of
employees with regular jobs, one in charge of finding and implementing
improvement ideas for the present while the other with the purpose of
finding and implementing innovation ideas for the future.
a suitable number of
the Team for
A Steering Committee
Present Teams
Designing the
supports
Present which
and coordinates
manages
the work of two Design
Teams
a suitable number of
the Team for
Future Teams
Designing the
Future which
manages
Present Teams try to see how the company's present products, services and
processes can be improved and, by asking and answering specific questions,
generate ideas and suggestions for improving the company.
Future Teams try to figure out how the company will compete in the future
(defined as a period between eighteen and thirty-six months from the
present period) and, by asking and answering specific questions, generate
ideas and suggestions for changing the company.
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Both present and future teams send their ideas to a design team.
The design team:
evaluates and coordinates the received ideas
decides which ideas can be implemented immediately and which
have to go to the Steering Committee for a decision
The Steering Committee balances the present and future focus of the
organization by supporting the two organization wide Design Teams.
William Miller (19999), places the creative thinking tools, that can be
employed by the future and present teams, into four categories (boxes):
For creative modifying
o Force- Field Analysis
o Attribute Listing
o SCAMPER
for creative visioning
o Wish List
o Future Annual Report
o Visualization
for creative experimenting
o Matrix Analysis
o Morphological Analysis
o Nature of the Business
for creative exploring
o Guided Imagery | Analogy
o Forced Association | Alternative Scenarios
o Dreaming | Drawing
8.2 Moulder's Cascading Model
While B&W have created a structural model to investigate how
organizational design encourages creative thinking, James Moulder has
created a cascading model. This model also assumes that everyone in an
organization is required to think creatively about their work.
James Moulder was educated at Rhodes University in South Africa and
Linacre College in the University of Oxford. He has taught various business
related subjects in Australia, China, England, Indonesia, New Zealand,
Romania, South Africa and Spain.
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Managing Creativity
The cascading model is presented in the first part of the book and is based
on the literature that is behind the rest of the book. This section will present
a brief description of the model.
According to Moulder the basic ideas about cascading creative thinking are:
it has three dimensions
o a (monthly) meeting
o the four step creative process
o tools for creative thinking
it rests on two assumptions
o Everyone has the ability to think about how they can change
or improve the work they have to do.
o If they are given time to use this ability, they can learn how
to think creatively about their work; they can change or
improve the work they have to do.
it's driven by two of Robinson & Stern's ideas
o the casino analogy = how does one increase the probability
that creative thinking will occur?
o the no preconceptions principle = it's impossible to predict
when creative thinking will occur
it employs four insights from SOQ, from Amabile and from
Robinson & Stern
o focus or alignment (Robinson & Stern)
o freedom or self-initiated activity (Amabile and SOQ;
Robinson & Stern)
o idea support or supervisory encouragement (SOQ; Amabile)
o idea time (SOQ)
it requires managers to manage people's imagination - it
employs Amabile's insight that managers either stimulate or kill
the creativity of the people who report to them, but it doesn't
follow her into the world of managerial whining, where the CEO
or the culture are blamed for poor performance.
Bibliography
Michael Kirton, editor, Adaptors and Innovators: Styles of Creativity and
Problem Solving Routledge, 1994
Jennifer Fleming, Creativity for Web Developers: Understanding the
process of innovation, www.ahref.com/guides/design/199806/0608
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