Creative thinking

Creativity

Creativity

Are you Creative?

4 approaches to creativity

• Person

• Process

• Product

• Press/Environment

PersonA creative person is different from an ordinary person. He

possess unique capabilities like:

• Seeing problems

• Fluency

• Flexibility

• Originality

• Elaboration

• Inquisitiveness

• Persistency

• Risk-taking

• Visualisation

• Extending Boundaries

• Humour

ProcessAccording to “Wallace” a creative thinking process involves

• Preparation

• Incubation

• Illumination

• Verification

According to “Torrance” creativity is a process of enhancing incubation through

• Heightening anticipation

• Deepening expectations

• Keeping it going

ProductA creative product must be

• Novel

• Meaningful

• Useful

• Aesthetic

PressA creative environment must be

• Stimulating cum protective

• Absent from premature criticism

• Freedom for diversity

• Opportunities to master techniques

• Physical and financial facilities

• Esteem for innovators

Principles for generating creative environment

• Be respectful for unusual questions

• Be respectful of imaginative, unusual ideas.

• Show your peers that their ideas have values.

• Encourage experimentation without the threat of evaluation

• Evaluation with causes and consequences.

Blocks to Creative Thinking

• Perceptual

• Intellectual

• Emotional

• Cultural

• Environmental

Perceptual BlocksThese blocks result from our mental set or predisposition

towards seeing the problem or situation in the way we want to or are used to.

• Imposition of self restrictions

• Unable to see the problems from varied frames

• Fixed mental set• Difficulty to establish

remote relationships• Saturation of senses• Failure to utilise all

sensory inputs etc.

Intellectual BlocksThese arise from our inability to restructure the problem

and/or our existing knowledge

• Preference for verbal forms• Inadequate use of

alternative problem solving• Lack of correct relevant

information• Inability to identify hidden

assumptions• Need for closure-forcing

incomplete incorrect inferences etc.

Emotional BlocksThese frustrate our problem solving efforts and have one common source…FEAR. They might have their origin in

childhood experiences and are usually irrational.• Fear of making a mistake,

falling or taking risks.• Fear of criticism, of being

changed, of insecurity.• Inability to tolerate

ambiguity• Preference for judging

rather than generating ideas• Inability to incubate• Over motivation• Difficulty in visualisation

Cultural BlocksThese blocks derive sustenance from an over-anxiety to

conform

• Fantasizing is a waste of time

• Work and play cannot mix

• Reason is rational, Intuition is irrational

• Scientific thinking is THE answer.

Environmental BlocksThese blocks arise outside ourselves and are the result of the

environment about us

• Compulsion towards conformity

• Boss’ idea is the best• Over reliance on

expertise• Frequent distractions

Multiple Intelligences

• Linguistic – Skill with words (writers, public speakers and negotiators)

• Mathematical/Logical – Skill in analysis and logic (scientists, economists, mathematicians and statisticians)

• Visual/Spatial – the ability to visualise and create images in your mind’s eye (architects, navigators, artists and photographers)

Multiple Intelligences

• Musical – The ability to create and identify complex patterns of sound (musicians, composers and lovers of classical music)

• Kinesthetic – The ability to use the body skillfully – surgeons, athletes, dancers and people who are “good with their hands”)

Multiple Intelligences

• Interpersonal- the ability to communicate well (salespeople, gifted trainers and some parents)

• Intra-personal – The ability to create one’s own goals and plans, to be reflective (to analyse one’s behaviour as a guide to future action)

Ingredients of Creativity

• Recognising patterns

• Making connections

• Taking risks

• Challenging assumptions

• Taking advantage of chance

• Seeing new ways

Six common mistakes in logic

• Jump to conclusions

• Attack the person

• Appeal to an authority

• Think in “all-or-nothing” terms

• Base arguments on emotion

• Preconceived notions

Thinking CharacteristicsRoutine Thinking

• Little new or unknown• Limited use of memory storage• Little redefinition and comparing

of retrieved information• Logical and precise• Rigidity of ideas• Conformist• Passive• Stereotyped• Inhibited• Reassuring, certainty• High degree of “rightness”• Convergent thinking – directed

towards right answer or solution

Creative Thinking• Much new and unknown• Full use of memory storage• High degree of redefinition and

experimenting with retrieved information

• Non-logical and approximate• Fluency of ideas• Spontaneous, flexible• Active• Original• Free-ranging• Confusion, uncertainty• “Wrongness” accepted• Divergent thinking –no precise

solutions but searching and experimenting for further retrieval and learning

Learning Styles

• Activist

• Reflector

• Theorist

• Pragmatist

ActivistHaving an Experience

Most Preferred• New Experiences• Ideas without

constraint• In at the deep end -

challenges

Least Preferred• Listening to how to do• Data Assimilation• Solitary Work

Blockage to Learning - Activist

• Short of time to plan or think

• Preference to move quickly from one activity to another

• Impatient for action

• Reluctance to listen carefully and analytically

• Reluctance to write down things

Developing Learning Style - Activist

• Practise observing verbal and non verbal behaviour of others

• Keep a diary and reflect on what you have learnt• Practise reviewing and summarising meetings and

discussions• Offer to investigate a problem, research some facts• List the pros and cons of proposed actions

ReflectorReviewing the experience

Most Preferred• Stand back and

observe• Opportunity to review

learning• Making decision in

own time

Least Preferred• Instant reaction

required• Given cut and dried

instructions• Pressed for time –

rushed activities

Blockage to Learning- Reflector

• Fear of failure and of making mistakes

• Fear of ridicule

• Anxiety about trying unfamiliar things

• Strong wish to have everything well thought out in advance

• Self-doubt, seeking confidence

• Taking life very seriously

Developing Learning Style - Reflector

• Experiment with new behaviour

• Practise starting conversations

• Talk to managers from different functions

• Force yourself into the limelight e.g. chair meetings, make presentations

TheoristConcluding from the experience

Most Preferred• Structured situation• Clear Purpose• System or model

offered• Chance to analyse and

generalise

Least Preferred• Emotional Situation• Incompatible

Techniques• Being out of tune with

others.

Blockages to Learning - Theorist

• Preference for perfect rather than practical solutions to problems

• Seeing even useful techniques as over-simplifications or gimmicky

• Enjoying interesting diversions and being side-tracked

• Leaving things open-ended rather than committing to specific action

• Believing someone else’s ideas will not work in your situation

Developing Learning Style - Theorist

• Collect as many techniques as possible• Take the opportunity to experiment• If others do something well, try to model

yourself on them• Invite others to observe your techniques and

give feedback• Concentrate on producing action plans daily

which are specific and have deadlines

PragmatistPlanning the next steps

Most Preferred• Linkages between

subject and problem clear

• Opportunity to tackle real problems

Least Preferred• Talk and Chalk• No apparent relevance

Blockage to Learning - Pragmatist

• Taking things at face value

• Preference for intuition and subjectivity

• Dislike of a structured approach to life

• Giving high priority to fun-loving spontaneity

Developing Learning Styles - Pragmatist

• Devote time to reading course material

• Practise spotting inconsistencies in arguments of others

• Plan discussions and meetings with clear agendas

• Practise asking open questions

Why? What? How?

Attitudes that kill creative ideas

• Don’t be ridiculous• We’ve tried that before• We’ve never done it

before• It costs too much• That’s beyond our

responsibility• It’s too radical a change

• We don’t have time• We are too small for

that• That will make other

equipment obsolete• Not practical for

operating people• The union will scream• Lets go back to reality

Attitudes that kill Creative thinking

• Why change it? It’s still working OK.

• You are two years ahead of your time.

• We are not ready for that.• It isn’t in the budget.• Can’t teach an old dog

new tricks• Top management will go

for it

• We’ll be the laughing stock

• We did all right without it

• Let’s form a committee• Has anyone else ever

tried it?• Are our competitors

doing it?• That’s not our problem

SCAMPER

• Substitute

• Combine

• Alter

• Modify

• Put to other use

• Eliminate

• Reverse

Random Stimulation

• This is a discovery approach to finding ideas, looking in random places where we detect no kind of parallel in the hope of finding something of value.

Random Stimulation – Step One

• Select any product you want to improve

• Write down the attributes of that product

Random Stimulation- Step Two

• Choose any word at random from a dictionary or from the list below:

Barrack, tent, truant, blossom, cake, truck, fire, paper, lamp, shirt, cigarette, TV, cow, heart, gambler, book, bed, spectacles, bath tub, toothbrush, shoes, circle, sky, branch, glue, ulcer, cloak, weed, miracle, forest.

• List the features or ideas that the word brings to your mind.

Random Stimulation – Step Three

• Now force fit the first attribute of the product with the first attribute/idea of your random word.

• Do it for all the attributes you have listed for the product.

Plant Analogy

• Plants are the basic producers of all food. They trap solar energy and store it up as starch. To do this they need water taken in through the roots and carbon dioxide gas taken in through the leaves. In addition for healthy growth they need various minerals from the soil which may have to be replaced with compost or fertilisers. Plant systems offer many useful parallels for analysing the business situation in fresh ways.

Plant Analogy• What kind of plant is our business most like – flower, vegetable,

shrub, tree?• What is the sunshine of our business?• What cuts off the sunshine and shades the plant?• Describe the root system and explain how it spreads.• Are there any stones or layers of hardpan or rock that restrict the

root growth?• Does the plant get sufficient water; how can it be watered or

irrigated?• Does the plant need fertilising, and if yes how this done?• Is there a natural limit to the growth of this kind of plant even if

no other plants compete? Explain.• Does the plant produce seeds?

Morphological AnalysisPower Supply

Bulb Type

Light Intensity

Size Style Colour Material

Battery Halogen Low Very Large

Modern Black Metal

Mains Bulb Medium Large Antique White Ceramic

Solar Daylight High Medium Roman Metallic Concrete

Generator Coloured Variable Small Art Terra Cotta

Bone

Crank Arc Very Small

Eastern Enamel Glass

Gas Flame Hand Held Industrial Natural Wood

Oil/Petrol Ethnic Fabric Stone

Plastic

Story MakingMain Secondary Other Scene Body End

Father Mother Aunt House Character Happy

Uncle Sister Cousin Countryside

Murder Sad

Friend Neighbour Dog City Relationship

Mystery

I Colleague   Hospital Emotional Tragic

How to grow up Creatively GiftedE Paul Torrance

• Don’t be afraid to “fall in love with” something and pursue it with intensity (You will do best what you like to do best)

• Know, understand, take pride in, practice, develop, use, exploit, and enjoy your greatest strengths.

• Learn to free yourself from the expectations of others and to walk away from the games they try to impose upon you.

How to grow up Creatively GiftedE Paul Torrance

• Free yourself to “play your own game” in such a way as to make good use of your gifts.

• Find a teacher or mentor who will help you.• Don’t waste a lot of expensive, unproductive energy

trying to be well rounded (Don’t try to do everything. Do what you can do well and what you love)

• Learn the skills of interdependence (Learn to depend on one another, giving freely of your greatest strengths and most intense love)