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I woke up this morning pondering creativity and innovation and whether they could be learned or exercise therefore I wrote the following short blog entry to see whether I could sort it out or create a discussion!
Are creativity and innovation enhanced by volume? Do more chances at the innovation well lead to a greater likelihood that any single idea will hit the jackpot? There seems to be a belief that volume at the very least helps the process and may well increase the chance of finding a diamond. This of course can only true if you assure that all people or groups have at least one good idea in them and I would like to suggest that is probably not true. Another assumption that might make volume valuable is that creativity or the process of being creative and be strengthened by exercise. Bottom-line are creativity and innovation learned skills or just “tuned up”? I would suggest that developing a process helps, exposure to new inputs help and these things can be learned and tuned up but repetition and volume only count is there is a spark that can be fanned.
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June 20, 2008
June 20, 2008 at 6:51 pm
I don’t personally believe that anyone lacks the spark that you mention but that many aren’t provided the opportunity or the equipment to fan that spark and thus it dies. I think that all are born with an inherent desire and ability to invent, imagine, and innovate but that volume is not by any means all that is needed to foster creativity. I believe that it is a constant process of evolution and that it is a matter of the introduction of something new that helps that process come to fruition. From here it is only a matter of defining what you deem to be the “jackpot”. Who’s to say what creative ideas are successful. Who dictates the confines of success? Couldn’t failure be considered a mere break from the pressures of perfection just long enough to try that next new thing that leads us to the next big idea? I hope this is the type of discussion for which you were hoping.
June 21, 2008 at 11:14 am
Hi There, I believe that although some people are inherently more creative than other, creativity and inventiveness can be taught. There are thinking tools and processes which can be trained and these are powerful enough to enable a very precise definition of the problem and the target solution to be made. The tools I’m talking about come under the heading of classical TRIZ and modern TRIZ. I’ve seen people use these tools to transform their creativity. My blog covers many of these tools and sets out to open up discussion around new technology and innovative thinking.