CREATIVITY INTRODUCTION  

A Definition of creativity - play and reflect on what you think creativity is
The misconceptions of creativity - explore the rights and wrongs of creativity
Innovation and creativity - is there a difference?
Where can Creativity help? - why bother? What situations could need a little creativity
The Downside of Creativity - beware that creativity in business causes disruption
Humour and Creativity - whats the link. Can you be creative if you hate humour?
Systems view of Creativity - whats the link. Can you be creative if you hate humour?
Characteristics of the creative person - explore different professions to find the essence of creativity
Test yourself against a simple model of creativity - see where you compare to the ideal creativity formulation

PERSONAL CREATIVITY ASSESSMENT  
Eighteen exercises to assess your creativity.

Assessment Overview
The creativity Model
Measuring Creativity

Fuel - able to generate large volumes of ideas
New Uses Exercise - checks how many different uses you can find for a common object.
New Uses Theory
Connections - the way you associate one idea with others tests your ability diverge
Connections Theory
Sensitivity - my attempt to check you using a familiar but modified test
Interpretation - how do you see the world?
Word Stamina - similar to new uses but with letters

Freedom - mentally robust, positive outlook, internal motivation, belief and confidence to succeed
Stretch Exercise - How tough is your Goal setting and How positive are you
Stretch Theory
Beyond the obvious - Can you box break?
Beyond the obvious Theory
Aliens Exercise - how easily do you break out of mindsets
Aliens Theory
Odd one out Exercise - the correct answer!
Odd one out Theory
Rules exercise - can you break them?
Rules Theory
Personality - Risktaking, Independence, Nonconformity, Productivity and Persistence.

Flexibility - able to metaphorically shift mental gears
Left or Right brained? - a simple brain hemisphere preference
Left or Right brained theory
Generator or evaluator - do you prefer idea generating or evaluating?
Generator or evaluator Theory
Learning style (adapted KOLB)- how do you learn
Learning style Theory
L-mode pull - feel the dominant hemisphere 'drawing' you in
L-mode pull theory
Thinking modes - your preferred modality
Thinking modes theory
Negativity - How it develops from childhood

The Gym has several areas where you can 'mentally sweat' based on your Freedom, Flexibility and Fuel assessed earlier. Plus these exercises

Exercise I
Perspective - using devices for fresh perspective
Observation- paying more attention can reap rewards
Questioning - we have stopped asking the 'silly' question - start again!
Attention - a passage from Creativity : Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention - Csikszentmihalyi

Exercise II
Triplets - find the conncting word
Picture Puzzles - what does the visual image mean?

Exercise III
Unrelated Stimuli - practise using seemingly unrelated words, images ro find new solutions
What iffing (Michael Michalko) - using questions to direct your imagination towards a specific goal.
Metaphor - linking different worlds for a new perspective
Mirror - a simple reflector which allows you to dig into a situation

CREATIVITY MENTAL HURDLES

Creativity Theories
Carl Jung - how we take in information and process it.
Myers-Briggs - how Jung's work was extended. A simple test.
Group Think - how working in groups can affect thinking
Kirton Adapter Innovator model - KAI and creativity
Patterns and Solar Systems - self organising mind and habits, attitudes and beliefs.
The censor - how whole brain thinking gets diluted
Frogs - why humans can act like frogs when faced with small imperceptible change
Not Invented Here Syndrome - why established groups can ignore help from outside

Creativity Exercises
Luchins Jars - why use a simple process when a complex one will do
Duncker's Candle - functional fixedness
Ropes - more functional fixedness
The Gorge - using several mental strategies to solve a problem
The multiated Chessboard - analogies can help
Idea killers - comments you may get from idea killers and how to counteract them
Adams blocks - based on conceptual blockbusting by James L. Adams. There's lots here.
Mindreading - how can the computer read your mind?

Creative Reflections
Question maker by Penelope Kelly
The Calf Path - how the past can limit the future
More Frogs - metaphor for the organisation
It can't be done - what the 'experts' predicted.
QWERTY - the keyboard - sticking with imperfection
Vacuum wars - the vacuum tube manufacturers - an example of 'staying put'
Perspective -Taking a different view on a problem can lead to unexpected answers

BRAIN BASICS

Physical
Brain basics - neurons, interactions, myelin
Brain Development - from birth onwards how the brain grows and matures
Two brain halves? - two hemispheres, the Triune model and the whole brain model

Thinking
Two thinking heads? - the thinking specialitities of each brain hemisphere
Prove it! - split brain experiements
..or a Continuum
Mr L & Mr R - how someone with only one functioning hemisphere would be
Organisational effects - how problem solving and communications is influenced by brain dominance
Where techniques fit
Brainwaves
Intelligences

Intuition
What is it? - an explanation of intuition, tips to improve your intuition
Are you intuitive?
A Sufi tale - integrating reason and intuition

Creativity Improvement
The Rationale - is it possible to change?
L mode pull - an exercise to show how the left hemisphere interferes in creativity
The Stroop Effect - another exercise on interference
Brain Quadrant test - a test to show your dominant brain quadrant plus exercises
Music

Over twenty tactics to apply grouped according to problem stages

On-Your-Marks
Challenges - finding challenges using questions
Goals - what do you want to achieve
People - who's involved
World Record - setting expectations high

Getset
Tape - Generating lots of 'How tos' to get multiple perspectives
Perimeter - what are the assumptions surroundiong the challenge
Facts - collecting facts
Mirror - asking Why to dig deep

Go 1
Brainstorm - warm-up, quotas, time limits, incubation
Crazies - developing the crazy idea
Mexican BrainWave - maximising idea output

Go 2 - external stimuli
Random Word - starting form a fresh start-point can lead to different results
Random Picture
Coach - taking a different perspective
How's it like - using analogies
Reversal- reversing the challenge twice
Notting - simply adding the word NOT appropriately can bear new results

Go 3 - Evaluating the outputs
Set Criteria, Defer & Scoring
Pair Comparison - using a grid to select ideas

Finish
Force Field Analysis
Perception Mapping - creating a picture of perceptions
Risk Analysis - find out the risks involved in an IT implementation
5 Whys and How - simple questioning is effective

TACTICS SUPPORT

Principles
Process - what is it; frustration; snakes & ladders; diverge/converge; hemisphere switching
Mechanisms - brainstorming & brainwriting; related & unrelated stimuli; forced or free association
Proof - evidence to show the effectiveness of various approaches
Patterns - why pattern breaking creates the Big idea
Framing - how decisions are affected by question wording
Attention Escape and Movement - the three de bono principles
Wicked Problems - the unconventional problem

Precepts
Play - the rationale; comfort zones; new pathways
Judgement - how we judge; Osborne deferment
Yes, and.. - an attitude of positive reinforcement
Building - paraphrasing; stepping stones; incremental movement
Preferences - a quick test of your preference for building or judging
Attention - from Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention - Csikszentmihalyi

Models
Graham Wallas - an early model (1926)
Creative Problem Solving (CPS) - Sidney Parnes - Buffalo
Synectics - the bringing together of unrelated elements
Simplex - Min Basadur's 8 part approach
Lateral thinking - Edward de bono's famous approach to creative thinking
Six Thinking hats - an attitude setting mechanism devised by Edward de Bono
DirectedCreativity - Paul Plsek's model
Creativity Unleashed - Paul Birch & Brian Clegg
250 tools - Paul Plsek has identified 250 tools

INNOVATION

Metaphors of the process - relay races, funnels, Capturing ideas, Office of Innovation, Idea Screening
Goran Ekvall studies of the impact of organisational climate on innovation
KEYS - a climatic measure by Teresa Amabile
Situational Outlook For Creativity and Change Survey (SOCCS) Questionnaire - Scott Isaksen

Five key roles of Idea generator, Champion, Sponsor, Project Planner and Gatekeeper
Selling ideas - tips for moving ideas forward in the organisation
Innovation Diffusion - Everett Rogers ideas on how ideas propagate
Social Innovation - don't rest on your laurels set up the innovation infrastructure for sustainability
Scenario Planning

New Product Development History - how we came to stagegate
Stagegate - developed by Robert Cooper
Success or Failure - NEWPROD studies of where NPD works
Drivers - what you should concentrate on to maximise your chances of success
Profiting from Innovation
The Innovation Laboratory

Innovator Qualities
Stifling Innovation - ways to do it
Innovation Quotient - a quick test
3M - McKnight - background to the 15% rules and the Post-It note
Misfits - sticking out in the organisation