THEORY OF CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

 INNOVATION

Innovation is a process of taking new ideas to satisfied end-user. It is the conversion of new knowledge into new outputs and new services. Innovation is about creating value and increasing efficiency.

DISTINGUISHING INNOVATION FROM INVENTION

Invention is the embodiment of something new. While both invention and innovation have "uniqueness" implications, innovation also carries an undertone of efficiency and performance expectation.

CREATIVITY

Creativity is the ability to generate innovative ideas and manifest them from thought into reality. The process involves original thinking and then producing.

DISTINGUISHING CREATIVITY FROM INNOVATION

Creativity is typically used to refer to the act of producing new ideas, approaches or actions. Innovation is the process of both generating and applying such creative ideas in some specific context. A “new” idea is a combination of old elements. 

CREATIVITY TECHNIQUES

Reversal Thinking: Thinking of the opposite of something in some way: opposite in size, time, direction, meaning, etc; switching the roles of two people or things. What I find a solution that people are patient even the elevator is still slow?

Brainstorming is a technique for creatively solving problems. One of the main elements of brainstorming is the lowering of the limit for acceptance of ideas. İdeas are stated out loud and written down, including silly ideas as well as serious ones. No criticism of ideas is allowed. Criticism and evaluation is put off until the next phase, immediately after the brainstorming.

Mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

Combine Ideas. Choose at random two words. When you've selected two words, think about the words. Get clear in your mind what each represents. In a notebook, do a rough mind map of each word and figure out what each means and represents to you. For example, the word stone and the word camera.

First, I look at stone. And I figure its: hard, mineral, roundish, smooth, textured, solid, cold, that it can be used as a weapon, or decoration, or to build with, or to play with, as a weight. Next, I look at camera. A camera can be film camera, digital camera, video camera. It captures photos, pictures, images, or movies. It has a shutter to let light in. It has buttons to adjust settings or initiate taking a picture or filming. There's usually a lens that can be adjusted to focus near or far, and a lens cap. The camera shutter opens briefly to allow light in to register on a sensitive film. I don't know how it works in a digital camera so I will take a trip to Wikipedia to find out. You could further think about all the ways that cameras are used: to capture and record events, to entertain, for art, to create dramatic images to sell things, for security and so on. Once you have gotten clear on what each word means to you... then you can start combining ideas. Think about how the one thing relates or could relate to the other. Could you make a camera that looks like a stone? For a novelty item or for spy purposes. Could you make a stone look like a camera? Carving a stone sculpture of a camera. Could you design some kind of stone-like camera that you could throw near wildlife in order to film it?

INNOVATION & VISION

INNOVATION & INSIDE

If you want to spark innovation, forget about formulas for a minute and pay attention to what's happening on the inside. Because that's where it starts. With the innovator -- the inspired individual who sees a better way and goes for it.

QUALITIES OF AN INNOVATOR

So ... if you are one of the self-chosen few willing to start taking personal responsibility for innovating, here's a list of qualities that describe innovators:

Qualities of an Innovator

Challenges status quo; dissatisfied with current reality, questions authority and routine.

Curious -- actively explores the environment, investigates new possibilities, and honors the sense of wonder.

 


















Self-motivated -- responds to deep inner needs, proactively initiates new projects.

Qualities of an Innovator

Visionary -- highly imaginative, maintains a future orientation, thinks in mental pictures.

Takes risks -- goes beyond the comfort zone, experimental and non- conforming, courageously willing to "fail."

Playful/humorous -- appreciates surprise, able to appear foolish and child-like, laughs easily and often.

Qualities of an Innovator

Flexible/adaptive -- open to surprises and change, able to adjust "game plan" as needed, entertains multiple ideas and solutions.

Makes new connections -- sees relationships between seemingly disconnected elements.

Qualities of an Innovator

Tolerates ambiguity -- comfortable with chaos, able to entertain paradox, doesn't settle for the first "right idea."

Committed to learning -- continually seeks knowledge, synthesizes new input quickly, balances information gathering and action.

Some of these traits may be easy for you while 
others are more difficult.

That's normal ... even if you weren't "born" with some of these traits, you can develop them. Perhaps even more important, you can help create an environment where these traits can flourish.

Innovation is a process of taking new ideas to the target group. It is the conversion of new knowledge into new outputs and new services. Innovation is about creating value and increasing efficiency.