Business Innovation - Personal Creativity

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.

There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.

There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted.

Personal Creativity

How can individuals maximise their idea pool? Some powerful techniques include:

a) Creative versus critical thinking. Adopt an uncritical frame of mind in order to generate a large set of ideas. Then apply reductive thinking, which involves being logical, practical, focused, conservative and feasible.

b) Break the task into smaller, manageable parts. Creativity can be problem identification, idea generation and the idea pool can be measured against the number of ideas, the diversity of ideas and the novelty of ideas.

c) Be prolific. It can be declared with great certainty that quality positively correlates with quantity. The single best creative product appears at that point in the career when the creator is being most prolific.

d) Engage in the process, which includes: identifying the problem, intensely investigating, seek stimuli, use techniques to force idea generation and engage in unrelated activities to trigger a variety of cognitive forces.

e) Import competencies to frame break, bridge and counter parochialism. Experience, tacit knowledge and intellectual cross pollination is the raw material of the idea generation process.

f) Set incremental and final deadlines. Targets produce more output than simply "do your best."

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop MBA, is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com/

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Creativity Information:

Related Articles

How To Master Your Game
Learn how to master your area of endeavor the right way. Start out by finding the people and books that will make you exceptional.
Computer In The Shop? What Do You Do Now?
Have you ever had one of those days when you just feel like something is missing? ? something just doesn't feel right? like you should be doing something but you can't remember what?Well, I had one of those days recently? my computer was in the shop for a minor repair. Ahhhhh! What was I going to do?Ok, so I planned to take my computer in for the repair.
How to Make Time for Art
The key to making time for art is the ability to say "NO".If you say "yes" to everything that is asked of you, you will not have time to be creative.
3 Clever Creative Strategies!
I've got a confession to make..
Trying to Create From Distorted Perceptions?
We've all met people who are "negative" - negative thinkers who consistently see the glass as half empty.In certain situations, particularly stressful ones, even the most positive person can fall victim to this distorted thinking.
A Book About Faith and Love
With news about Iraq and London and even our own neighborhood disasters, we need something to encourage us to keep going. While browsing the net the other day I came upon the most wonderful way of preserving my HOPE.
Overcoming Artists Block (Part 1)
How many times does an artist stare down at that blank piece of paper thinking "What on earth do I paint - Where do I put my first mark?" More often than you would imagine! It happens to all creative people actually, from visual artists, designers, poets, through to musicians and writers.When this situation arises, you are in the grip of creative block.
Codifying Creativity
Can we codify creativity? Within these few words are a number of principles that must be identified and resolved before we can really answer the question.The first question is, what is creativity? What are we trying to codify?One useful definition of creativity is that it is problem identification and idea generation.
How to Generate Ideas for Info-products?
Dear friends the current study shows that there are morethan 50,000,000 registered domain names on the Internet(approx.)(Reference http://www.
How To Get In The Zone And Blast Your Marketing To A Higher Level
This may come as a surprise..
Macrovision
These days it's all about breaking things down into manageable pieces in order to be able to reach a goal and track your process/progress, and keep yourself from going insane because there's not a lot of time to breathe.And I'm a firm believer in this approach, in, as I've heard it termed: 'microvision.
How You Can Improve Your Creativity - What You Need to Know
Would you like to enhance your creativity? Do you think that increased creativity is something that would improve your life?Before you answer yes or no to that question, take some time to explore what the word "creativity" means to you.If you think that creativity is something that you only need if you're an artist, while you happen to be a middle-manager in a corporation, you may decide that increased creativity is not really important to you.
Top Ten Reasons To Start Creativity Coaching
DEVELOP YOUR ARTISTIC CONFIDENCE I'd really like to write but I don't have enough time. Creativity coaching can give you back control over your calendar.
Creativity, Innovation, and Science - Separate and Distinct or Not?
There is a pervasive belief that creativity and innovation are separate and distinct from the concept of science. That creativity and innovation cannot be scientific.
Art, Artists and Vocation
"If you really want to upset your parents?go into the arts!"-Kurt VonnegutHow many times have people been told that "You can't make it as an artist."How many times when you've told someone that you are studying theater, dance, the visual arts, do people look at you and cringe; feel sorry for you, and feel that you and your family have wasted a great deal of money, and that you have wasted years of your life.
Revenge of the Sith - Creativity and Structure
The common belief is that lack of structure and randomness enhances creative output, whereas in truth, creativity is enhanced when it is organised, systematic and based on highly structured processes. This article will use Episode III of the Star Wars trilogy - Revenge of the Sith - to demonstrate that point.
Make EVERY DAY An Artist Retreat Day
What do you enjoy most about going on an Artist Retreat Day? For most of us it's getting away from our "normal routine", having our creativity sparked by new surroundings and having the luxury of "open time" to work on our creative projects.A retreat gives us the opportunity to step outside the day-to-day and look at the big picture of our creative dreams.
Creative Drought
For the past several hours, I've struggled with this week's message, the words, "what will I write?" screaming in my ears. I've felt like the princess who promises her first born child to the little man named "Rumplestiltskin" if only he will spin straw into gold.
Creativity Management - Don't Write, Rewrite
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
Becoming More Creative -- What We Can Learn From Disney
When you think about the legacies Walt Disney left us, do talking mice and a multigizillion dollar company come to mind? Actually, those are only the products of his prodigious and rich creativity - dig deeper and you start to realize one of the most intriguing heritages Disney left was his processes.Disney was a creative and problem-solving genius.
>