| News on Creativity and Innovation related
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Not To Be Missed
 Its nearly time for TED again! For
those who have not seen TED it is a conference with a
difference. Call it creativity, curiosity, insight or anything
else for that matter. All presentations can be viewed
afterwards on the website. For a taster click here or on the
image above to hear Sir Ken Robinson's brilliant speech in
2006 on the topic of Creativity in schools. Everyone can learn
lessons from this
TED takes place this year from February 9th -
13th.
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Dear Reader,
Welcome to first edition of Innovation
Matters for 2010. It is hard to believe that one
twelfth of 2010 has passed by already and it is nearly two
months since the last edition.
The long awaited revamp of ebook formats has not yet
been completed, but never fear, they are on their way!
Here is a quote that sums up what our attitude to
Innovation should be. Star Wars fans may
recognise this quote from the wise Yoda "Do
... or do not... , there is no try". So true!
In this month's edition there are three articles. The
first attacks the myth that Creativity Cannot Be
Managed whilst the second reinforces one valuable
aspect of creative thinking - the importance of
Challenging Assumptions. I always like to
promote the art of storytelling as a means of corporate
communications so I have included a short story with a
valuable lesson, so please take a little time
to read The Easy Way
To Communicate.
Once again, if you have missed previous editions of
Innovation Matters you can find them in our newsletter
archive.
As always, your thoughts and feedback are
welcome.
Happy reading,
Derek Cheshire
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 Creativity Cannot Be Managed - What
Rubbish!
I was recently taking part in an online
discussion about Creativity and Innovation when
one of the contributors posted something that just stopped me
in my tracks. There were a few words about how Creativity and
Innovation are not the same (about the only thing we did agree
upon) and some very logical and left brained words about how
Innovation can be managed and then the line
"Creativity cannot be managed".
How come you cannot manage Creativity, but you can manage
Innovation (which contains Creativity)? The rest of the
article led me to believe that the author did not have a
realistic grasp of the situation. As the person was obviously
keen on following manuals to the letter, I had to agree that
there is no manual for Creativity (one of my slogans as it
happens), but we know enough to be able to manage creative and
idea generating processes very successfully indeed.
There is much documentation on creative
techniques for solving problems, generating ideas and
making decisions. We know which ones work best for different
types of working, and there are many guiding principles to
help us set up our environment and ensure that creativity is
nurtured. We know the best ways to capture ideas and share
them, we can calibrate idea generation pipelines and we know
the ideal characteristics for creative team members, creative
teams and of those who try to manage them.
Better still we know how creativity fits into the process
of Innovation as a whole, so how can anyone claim that
Creativity cannot be managed? The answer lies in perspective.
Many consultants and advisers think that Innovation is
something that you do to a system i.e. you apply it by turning
a handle and following the book rather than a framework and a
set of behaviours that help you to innovate. Thus they get
stuck when it comes to Creativity, you cannot just do it,
there is no step by step guide to the whole process yet the
principles I mentioned previously can be applied (within your
individual context) to create a measurable and
hence manageable
system. |
 Challenging Assumptions - Digging
Deeper
Most people
reading this will know of the freezing weather that gripped
the UK over the Christmas and New Years periods together
with the associated problems. Although there was some
panic buying of food in the shops, by and large we survived
unscathed. Did this mean that when the road conditions were
appalling, my local supermarket was making superhuman efforts
to deliver my Cornflakes?
Towards the end of the freeze I went to a local supermarket
and was wandering up and down the aisles when I overheard a
conversation between two of the department managers. The first
was obviously toeing the company line and said something like
"the shelves have been full, the supply chain has been doing a
great job". Nice, I thought, he recognises the contribution of
drivers and warehouse staff in difficult circumstances. The
second manager said "there were less people going to the
supermarket because of the bad weather".
It did not matter to me, since I was getting what I wanted,
but it highlights a valid point. Accepting observations about
full shelves without looking at all the facts meant that I was
making a number of assumptions. If I was the supermarket
manager I could be patting myself on the back believing that
the arrangements I had put in place worked well. Next time
there was a big freeze I could do exactly the same. But what
if the local council gets better at clearing roads, or
everybody buys four wheel drive cars? More people will arrive
at the supermarkets and the food may disappear.
Do you think that this is what happened to many of our
businesses between 18 months and two years ago? There is no
need to become highly cynical, but learning to question the
status quo and challenge assumptions is an essential component
of an innovation
system. |
 Story - The Easy Way To
Communicate
Story is one of the best and easiest ways to
communicate meaning, rather than just spraying out words like
we tend to do from time to time. I came across this little gem
the other day which seems apt and needs no further
explanation. I do not know the author so if you have come
across this before and can attribute the author please let me
know.
What is recession?
This story is about a man who once upon a time was selling
Hotdogs by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read
newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to
the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television.
But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hotdogs. He was smart
enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales.
His sales and profit went up. He ordered more and more raw
material and buns and sold more. He recruited more supporting
staff to serve more customers. He started offering home
deliveries. Eventually he got himself a bigger and better
stove. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently
graduated from college, joined his father.
Then something strange happened.
The son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great
recession that is coming our way?" The father replied, "No,
but tell me about it." The son said, "The international
situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse.
We should be prepared for the coming bad times."
The man thought that since his son had been to college,
read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV. He
ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So
from the next day onwards, the father cut down the his raw
material order and buns, took down the colourful signboard,
removed all the special schemes he was offering to the
customers and was no longer as enthusiastic. He reduced his
staff numbers. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to
stop at his Hotdog stand. And his sales started coming down
rapidly and so did the profit. The father said to his son,
"Son, you were right. We are in the middle of a recession and
crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of
time." |
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