1Prof. Tony Proctor

Chapter 1Chapter 1Creativity and its Importance Creativity and its Importance in Businessin Business

Definitions of creativity How ideas arise Importance of creative thinking in business Paradigm shifts Characteristics of creative thinking Acquiring creative skills

2Prof. Tony Proctor

DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY (1)DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY (1)

Creativity is an ability to come up with new and different viewpoints on a subject.

It involves breaking down and restructuring our knowledge about a subject in order to gain new insights into its nature.

Defining creativity is complicated because the concept has many dimensions.

3Prof. Tony Proctor

DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY (2)DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY (2)

Wertheimer…’restructuring our knowledge’ Kelly and Rogers…’understanding how we think’ Maslow…’primary versus secondary’ Rickards…’personal discovery process’ Gilliam…’making new connections’ Amabile…’novel and useful ideas’

4Prof. Tony Proctor

DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY (3)DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY (3)

‘Being creative is seeing the same thing as

everyone else, but thinking of something

different’

Charles Cave

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~caveman

5Prof. Tony Proctor

INVENTION AND CREATIVITYINVENTION AND CREATIVITY

Invention is an act of creativity that results in a device, process or technique that is novel enough to produce a significant change in the application of technology.

6Prof. Tony Proctor

HOW IDEAS ARISEHOW IDEAS ARISE

Generating ideas is not a chance process. Ideas appear to arise when people are actually

looking for them. It happens to people who are

Curious or inquiring. Engaged in a search for opportunities,

possibilities, answers or inventions.

7Prof. Tony Proctor

IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVE IMPORTANCE OF CREATIVE THINKINGTHINKING

Logical thinking is a series of steps that extend what we know already, rather than being truly new.

The need for creative thinking arises from the inadequacies of logical thinking.

It is a method for producing insights that might not be obtained through conventional or traditional methods of logical thinking.

8Prof. Tony Proctor

CREATIVE THINKING IN BUSINESSCREATIVE THINKING IN BUSINESS

Increasing number of problems have few or no precedents

Fewer tried and tested ways of approaching them Creativity is a vital asset for leadership Business problems are usually open-ended Planning, organising, leading, controlling

9Prof. Tony Proctor

PARADIGM SHIFTSPARADIGM SHIFTS

The need for creative thinking often becomes paramount when a paradigm shift occurs or is likely to occur.

A paradigm is a set of rules and regulations that guide our actions when solving problems.

Transport – train, airplane, spaceship

10Prof. Tony Proctor

CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF CREATIVE THINKINGTHINKING

Intelligence measures do not explain creativity. Creative thinkers form novel combinations. Making juxtapositions between dissimilar

subjects. Thinking productively rather than reproductively.

11Prof. Tony Proctor

PEOPLE WHO EXHIBIT CREATIVE PEOPLE WHO EXHIBIT CREATIVE BEHAVIOUR (1)BEHAVIOUR (1)

Challenge the status quo Confront assumptions Exhibit curiosity Like to investigate new possibilities Take the initiative Are highly imaginative Are future oriented

12Prof. Tony Proctor

PEOPLE WHO EXHIBIT CREATIVE PEOPLE WHO EXHIBIT CREATIVE BEHAVIOUR (2)BEHAVIOUR (2)

Tend to think visually See possibilities Are not afraid to take risks Are prepared to make mistakes Are adaptable to different environments Are adaptable to changing circumstances See relationships between seemingly

disconnected elements

13Prof. Tony Proctor

PEOPLE WHO EXHIBIT CREATIVE PEOPLE WHO EXHIBIT CREATIVE BEHAVIOUR (3)BEHAVIOUR (3)

Distil unusual ideas down to their underlying principles

Synthesise diverse elements Are able to spot underlying patterns in events Are able to cope with paradoxes Look beyond the first ‘right idea’

14Prof. Tony Proctor

ACQUIRING CREATIVE SKILLSACQUIRING CREATIVE SKILLS

Fluency - ability to produce many ideas Flexibility - ability to produce a varied mix of ideas Elaboration - ability to add detail, depth, mixtures

of viewpoints or perspectives Originality - uniqueness, novelty, newness