| News on Creativity and Innovation related
topics | |
 November 2009 | | |
 News
Derek was in Mexico City from 20th to 27th October. He
spoke at the British Chamber of Commerce on Innovation
- your source of competitive advantage in a crisis
and sparked interest from a number of sources. More to come on
this later ....
Workshop
and programme details can be downloaded from our
downloads
page.
Still not
taken our survey of barriers to organisational creativity? Click
here. | |
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Dear Reader,
Welcome to the ninth edition of Innovation Matters for
2009. As ever the UK Autumn weather has been changeable
so it was nice to return once again to Mexico
City. Whilst in Mexico I always try to look for
something odd or amusing. A worker busily tapping
away on his keyboard whilst having his shoes shined and Batman
cycling along the Paseo de La Reforma both brought a
smile to my face.
A big thank you to those who made me welcome and made
everything happen - you know who you are.
In this month's edition there are three articles. The
first ponders on the pace of Innovation in
developed and developing countries whilst there is one of my
favourite creative techniques for you to try - Working
With Aliens. The third article provides a simple
checklist to help you understand why
creativity may not flourish
in your workplace.
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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 Innovation - a human race
I often get asked about the pace of innovation in
different countries or their ability to innovate. Many such
questions come from people whose awareness of global issues is
sadly lacking and who represent so called developed countries.
The answer I give to them is the same as the one I give to
those in less developed countries who are seeking inspiration
and motivation for their efforts.
My own personal
definition of Innovation is purely based on Human Capital so I
choose a metaphor that involves people. Think of Innovation as
a race, but with a difference. Some runners have an advantage
in that they start further ahead, perhaps because of a time or
resource advantage and some start with varying degrees of
disadvantage.
Those initially at the front may be well
trained and have the latest sparkly gear but they are running
almost as fast as they can - improvements being measured only
in small amounts. Our runners at the rear will acquire the
trappings of leading athletes such as running gear, coaches
etc in due course.
There are still two very important
factors to consider. How long is the race and how fast can
those at the back run? The race we are in is, I believe, a
long one with sustainability and resilience to crises being
key. So, the longer race will provide greater opportunity for
less developed countries to narrow the gap. If their natural
talent is greater than developed countries, the race could be
close.
My word of warning to those in the lead
currently is never underestimate the opposition and look over
your shoulder once in a while. My words of encouragement to
those at the rear is to believe in your
talent.
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 Creative technique - Working With
Aliens
This technique is one of a series in which
random stimuli are used and alternative viewpoints are
adopted. It works best with well defined problems or where new
products or services are being considered.
To start,
define the problem or situation as best you can and brief
those who are taking part. A group of half a dozen or so is
ideal.
Imagine that an alien spaceship has landed on
earth and the aliens are looking at your problem or the object
that you have described. Next try to imagine what sort of
questions the aliens would be asking, what would they be
curious about? Many of the checklist techniques can provide
some guidance here. A possible list could be:
- What is the purpose of this?
- How does it work?
- Why does it have to be this way?
- Why do these earthlings use these
materials?
- Is it useful to me?
- Can I eat it?
- Why does this matter, and to whom?
- Is it worth any money?
- Is there any other value?
- Could it be used for
.....?
These (and
other questions) should be asked with childlike innocence i.e.
assume no familiarity with earthly concepts.
The
questions may throw up some ideas which indicate that the
original starting point was flawed. If this is the case then
revisit the problem definition stage of the creative problem
solving process. If some common themes emerge then record
these and use them as random stimuli for further excursions or
use a form of association to group some of themes to see if
they suggest further options, choices or
ideas.
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 Can Creativity flourish in your
working environment?
Here are some golden rules that you
can use as a checklist to see if a) creativity could flourish
if you are looking to embrace it or b) to find out why your
best efforts at being creative are failing
dismally.
Here are some rules for dealing with things
on a personal level:
- Mindsets must change, even if the
changes are small
- Explore the 'givens', the problem
boundaries
- Look at the broad picture AND
details
- Value play
- Build up, say 'yes and' not 'yes
but'
- Learn to live with ambiguity
- Don't force creativity on people,
nurture what is there
- Involve other people
- Be receptive, watch and
listen
- Know what your objectives are
- Cycle often, close late - don't just
plump for the quickest option
- Manage the process, if you don't it
will be a playground
...
and here are some things from the wider
environment:
- Whatever you do must be fun!
- Manage interpersonal differences,
they will come to the fore
- Manage status differences, these
will appear too
- Manage expectations, be realistic
but have goals
- Inhibition and risk need to
minimised, people need to feel comfortable
- Minimise group and critical
pressure, use the first checklist to help here
- Ban distractions, ban laptops and
mobile phones for a day if necessary
- Logistics, pay attention to small
things such as decor, refreshments etc
Pay attention to the above and you have a good
chance of succeeding. Now all you need to know is WHAT to
do!
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