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Creativity - What's it to you?
We are surrounded by creativity and creative people and don't even think about it. Without creativity, we'd still be living in the pre-stone age era. Without creativity, your company wouldn't even exist. And the object of this brief article is to do some myth busting and expose you to some powerful opportunities presented by the field of creative studies and application. Those people and companies like Microsoft and General Electric that understand the secret of harnessing the power of creativity are excelling in their fields while others are also-rans. How do you think they have flourished…by sitting still? Where do you want to be in the future? Creative methods can help you get there. Myths and facts of Creativity:Myth: Creativity is only what artists and musicians do.Fact: A creative product is anything that is new and useful for a time. Creative products include such things as ideas, new widgets, a new way to make widgets, new operating methods, strategic plans, cost reductions, problem solutions, and much more. We are surrounded by new creations almost every moment of our lives. Bad art may not be creative but an effective new business procedure is.Myth: All truly creative people are geniuses, mad, or both. Fact: We tend to focus on geniuses because they stand out so brightly. But the reality is that for every genius there are millions of us who are creative in a less dramatic way. We may not light up Broadway or preside at Princeton or Yale but we each, in our own personal way, truly make the world go.Myth: Creativity is only the big stuff like what Picasso, Einstein, and Bell did. Fact: Smaller incremental changes may not be as obvious but are still creative as long as they fit the definition of being new and useful for some period of time. Look at what Sony did with the tape recorder to take it from two cubic feet and 25 pounds down to the current Walkman designs. Most of the changes were one small move at a time…thousands of times.Myth: Creativity is what other people do. I'm not creative. Fact: We are all creative in our own ways even though some are more prolific than others. It's a matter of creative style. Some people prefer an innovative style. Like many research scientists, they are more likely to prefer to create major changes like radical new inventions. Others prefer an adaptive style and, like many people in accounting, are more comfortable with making minor changes. Do you really want your company Controller to use radically creative accounting? No, you want him to do it efficiently and he has probably created methods to accomplish that.Myth: Creativity cannot be understood or learned. Fact: After about 50 years of serious study and application, creativity has been well understood taught how to understand they creative style preferences and how to use tools and methods that allow them to be more effective in skills such as idea generation and problem solving. Creative Problem Solving is one such method that has been proven effective.Myth: Solid, practical solutions to problems don't involve creativity. Fact: When you have a problem, the fact is that you probably need a new idea and you are going to use creative skills to find that new idea. The more complex the problem, the more you can benefit from the tools of creativity. They can help you understand the problem, generate ideas, and take it to completion. Creativity is practical and real.Creativity - what's it to you?: Well, it can be your ticket to success.Learn Advanced Product Development techniques from an expert in creativity: Steven C. Martin is one of fewer than 300 people in the world to have a Master of Science degree in Creativity. He is a member of the adjunct faculty of the International Center for Studies in Creativity at the State University of New York College at Buffalo. He is a patented inventor and creativity expert who has taught widely in a broad range of settings. We teach creativity and innovation in courses ranging from hours to one week. These high-impact hands-on creativity sessions are guaranteed to teach you how to be more creative and innovative. |
Cost Reduction & Profit Improvement
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