What is round and dangerous? A vicious circle. That is a good description of the creative process for many entrepreneurs.
What is the secret to creating value in the marketplace? The entrepreneur must apply creativity and innovation to solve problems and exploit opportunities that have a practical application. People tend to use these two terms interchangeably, and though they are related there is a basic difference. Creativity is not simply about generating new concepts or ideas – it is also about thinking of new associations between existing concepts, and this is called divergent thinking. Innovation is about implementing those new concepts, ideas, or associations. This is why both are essential elements of the entrepreneurial spirit.
Traditional assumptions or perspectives are creativity killers because they are self-imposed boundaries. A dominant paradigm, in terms of social psychology, is a preconceived idea about the world and how the world operates. Paradigms can become so deeply rooted that they become logjams in the creative process. Creativity involves a paradigm shift that allows the entrepreneur to see clearly, without preconceived expectations. Try to suspend that conventional thinking in the context of the creative process. Look at the situation in question from as many angles as possible, and try to elicit points of view from other people. Be open to constructive criticism as well as alternate opinions. Entrepreneurial spirit is not about orthodoxy. And it’s important to remember that generating one or two creative solutions to the problem or need in question is not enough to keep an entrepreneurial enterprise functional in the long term. This should be a continual process.
The brain is divided into two hemispheres that develop asymmetrically, and each hemisphere governs specific thinking sets. The left brain functions in a logical, step-wise progression and handles language, logic, and symbols. The right brain involves associative and lateral thinking – reasoning that is not immediately obvious and ideas that may not be obtainable through orthodox thinking. The following points are a provocative operation, which is used to produce a solutions which may not be “good ideas,” but move the creative process forward to a new place, where a new, novel idea set can be generated. When applied to a specific problem, this can activate lateral thinking processes:
Is there a better way?
What is customary or routine in terms of this issue?
What are my available tools?
What other uses do these tools have, unrelated to this issue?
If I lived in a world where there were no physical or legal constraints, how could I address this issue?
What is the big picture?
What is my focal area of change?
Physicalize the process: create images, and in a group setting share your images with each other. Read and interpret those images – this allows you to form and explore hypotheses from a visual basis.
Create characters using those physicalized images through discussion. This allows for a deeper examination of thought and action. Understand the players involved.
Look for relevant information that is not obvious.
Happy accidents only matter if someone notices them and applies their utility.
Familiarity breeds contempt – find a way to make familiar information novel, to you. External input is a great tool for this.
The next step involves the innovation – implementing those novel ideas generated from the lateral thinking process. Insight must be put into action to make a genuine difference. This is the part that requires discipline within the group dynamic because innovation occurs at the organizational level rather than the individual level, which holds the lion’s share of the creative process. Think of innovation as the process by which you capture the value of creative thinking.
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Interesting article. Thanks for sharing.
*R*