 |
|||
         |
 |
||
 |
(From
Mass High Tech, Vol. 19, Issue 48, Nov. 26, 2001)
As the economic downturn continues, many people are looking toward corporations' capacity for innovation as a key to survival. Gaining new efficiencies, reducing costs and waste, developing new products and services, motivating employees in the face of layoffs - these are a few areas where creative problem-solving is a necessity. Business leaders instinctively know that if there are solutions to the daunting challenges they face, many must come from within their own ranks. Nobody has a better understanding of a business and the obstacles it must contend with than its own employees. But knowledge and experience alone can't guarantee innovative solutions. Problem-solvers need to think about these challenges in new ways to avoid coming up repeatedly with the same fixes. They need to use their imagination and creativity both individually and in concert with their colleagues in order to bring new thinking to these issues. So the question arises: Can creativity be taught? Actually, it's the wrong question. The truth is, your people already are creative simply because they're human. Creative thinking consists of making mental connections between seemingly unconnected concepts, and as a result, coming up with something new and original. We all engage in creative thinking, often without even realizing it. Witness the occasional "Eureka!" we experience coming up with a novel idea or surprise solution to a problem. Typically, this occurs when we have turned our attention away from the problem at hand and allowed other stimulus material to occupy our senses. Our minds then do what the human mind does so well: it makes connections between these new stimuli and issues that are important in our personal or professional lives. So the real question is: Can people be taught to use more of the creative power they already have? The answer is yes. People can learn and practice techniques for accessing their personal creativity as well as gain new insights on how to build on the creative thinking of others in a team context. Here are five key principles for helping people get in touch with the creativity that lies within: 1. Have a clear objective for problem-solving. Problem-solvers will experiment with new thinking if they know what they're trying to accomplish. A clearly stated objective serves as a touchstone in a process that may go in many different directions. 2. Bring your whole self to the process. Each of us is more than the facts, figures and knowledge we've acquired about our jobs. We are also artists, athletes, parents, worshipers, movie-goers and so on. Our total life experience is source material. 3. Use speculative language when searching for new ideas. We need to give ourselves permission when trying out new, untested ideas. Particularly in groups, using phrases such as "I wonder if ..." or "Just suppose ..." reinforces the open-ended, wishful nature of creative idea generation, discouraging premature judgment and critique. 4. Listen to associate, not evaluate. Every idea has the potential for suggesting another that may be more promising. Listening this way opens up many more possibilities than the more typical critical listening we engage in. It also encourages fellow problem-solvers to stay involved and take some chances. 5. Use "irrelevant" stimuli to get ideas. There are clues embedded in almost all our experiences that we tend to ignore because they don't seem related. Copyright © 2001 The Innovative Edge™ Inc. The
Innovative Edge, Inc. |
|
|
|
|||