Creativity

Judith Masthoff

Why be creative?

• Finding the ‘killer application’

• Finding an innovative user interface

• Finding an innovative way of doing business

• Solving technical problems

• Solving organisational problems

• Solving personal problems

Why teaching creativity?

“ Only 2% of adults of any age level can be accurately classified as "highly creative" while over 90% of children five years old or younger can be classified this way. The huge drop-off begins at ages 6 and 7 (only 10% in these age groups were found to be considered "highly creative") ”

Ken Lizotte, Emerson Consulting Group

Things that often go wrongwhen solving a problem in a group…• Unstructured

• No notes

• Ideas are not really new

• Negative comments (“this idea will not work”)

• Some people speak a lot, others are silent

“But” people (1)

• This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us. (Western Union internal memo, 1876)

• We don't like their [The Beatles] sound, and guitar music is on the way out. (Decca Recording Company, 1962)

“But” people (2)

• 640K [memory] ought to be enough for anybody (Bill Gates, 1981)

• Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction. (Pierre Pachet)

• Who the hell wants to hear actors talk? (Warner Brother's H. M. Warner, 1927)

• I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. (Thomas Watson)

• Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds

- Albert Einstein

• The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.

- Chinese Proverb

• A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds. - Mark Twain

• Every really new idea looks crazy at first -Alfred North

Whitehead

What is creativity?

Ancient Greeks (Socrates)

• Creative ideas come from the Gods(Inspiration = the god within)

• Not when a person is rational, but when someone is "beside himself", when "bereft of his senses.

• Advice: "thinking" might prevent the reception of divinely inspired revelations.

19th Century

• Creative ideas come from “within”

• Hidden part of mind, “inner Africa”

• Emotional side

• Advice: Lead an unusual life

Graham Wallas’ model (beginning of the 20th century)

• Preparation: know field of study

• Incubation: spend time away from problem

• Illumination: flash of a new idea

• Verification: see if idea really works

CPS Model (Alex Osborne,1963)

1. Mess-finding (Objective Finding)

2. Fact-finding

3. Problem-Finding

4. Idea-finding

5. Solution finding (Idea evaluation)

6. Acceptance-finding (Idea implementation)

Synectics Process

Synectics

• “Together produce”

• A structured way of brainstorming in a group

Main rules

• All ideas welcome, certainly the crazy ones!

• “I wish I could….”

• Associative listening: dream away and build on what other people are saying

• No evaluation of ideas!

Associative Listening

• You hear one thing, you think of another

• Example: “Lion”

The players

• Problem owner– has a real problem and the power to act– takes the content decisions

• Facilitator– guards the process– does not get involved in the contents

• Resource– generate ideas

The process (divergent part)

Problem owner presents problem

Resources generate springboards

Optional Excursion

Until problem owner satisfied (enough ideas)

Presenting the problem

• Start with a headline!– I need to find a way to..– I wish I could...

• Give some background– the present situation and your ‘impossible’ wish– what you have thought of already– why interested in the problem and power to act

• Meanwhile, associative listening..

Synectics Example

Story excursion

Forget about the problem!

• Start of with a word

• Participants in turn add a couple of lines to the story

• Each bit has to have an unexpected ending

Come back to the problem…

Let’s try it...

Career excursion

Forget about the problem!

• Each participants is told to pretend they have a certain profession

• They think a minute

• They are asked “how does it feel to be a..”Come back to the problem...

Let’s try it...

Personal analogy excursion

Forget about the problem!

• Each participants is told to pretend they are a certain object

• They think a minute

• They are asked “what is it like to be a..”Come back to the problem…

Let’s try it...

The process (convergent part)

Problem owner selects idea (or combination) paraphrases it, and explains what (s)he liked about it

Problem owner poses new problem “What I need now is a way to..”

Divergent part on the sub-problem

Until problem owner satisfied or time up

Street excursion

Forget about the problem!

• Participants go for a walk

• They report on their walk Come back to the problem…

Let’s try it...

Synectics Practice

• Split in two groups

• Pick a problem owner and facilitator

Improving the problem specification

• Often problem specification is too vague,like ‘invent a new product’

• Often trying to solve the wrong problem!

Mind Mapping method

• Put the problem in the middle

• Branch out

Why? method

• Start with a problem statement, like‘How to ...’

• Ask ‘why do you want to...’

• Listen to the answer

• Ask why again, etc, till you really now why

Some other techniques

• Destination‘How to’ often getting from A to B

Is B the only desirable end, or are there others?

• ExcellenceMake ‘how to’ statement more extreme

Increase sales by 10% => Increase sales by 100%

• Rewording

Idea Selection

• Creative sessions lead to many ideas

• How to select the right one?

Questions Options Criteria (QOC)• Determine important criteria beforehand

• Judge each option (=idea) on the criteria

Criteria 1 Criteria 2 Criteria 3

Option 1Option 2Option 3Option 4

Criteria may have a different weighting...

I want a topics Top 11!

• Another idea selection technique: voting

• I will give you each ten colored stickers (= virtual money)

• If you think an idea is good (in this case, criterion is good), vote for it by putting sticker next to it

• If you think it is very good, you can put multiple stickers.

SWOT

• Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

• Specify each of these for each idea

• Often used to analyse business

• Can also be used to select ideas

• And to start brainstorm...

What if I have too many ideas?

• SWOT and QOC work well with a limited number of ideas to select from

• But not with 100s...

• You could vote for a top 10 and apply SWOT or QOC

• Maybe good to do some clustering first!(= merge similar ideas under one heading)