Creativity and Its Management

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Creativity and Its Management
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PROBLEM SOLVING
Backward Reasoning
Starting point
End Point
?
?
?
Need Knowledge
Forward Reasoning
Edward De Bono, Lateral Thinking for Management,
Penguin Books, 1990
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DESIGN
Starting Point
1 ?
?
?
?
End Point
2 ?
?
?
?
Need Knowledge Creativity
3 ?
?
?
?
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INNOVATION
Starting Point
End Point
1 ?
1?
2?
2 ?
3?
3 ?
4?
Need Knowledge Creativity
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ARRANGEMENT OF INFORMATION

• Analysis
• Description
• Proof

• Provocation
• Liberation
• Intermediate Impossible

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PO
PO
Creativity
Information
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Basic Lateral Thinking Processes

• ESCAPE from cliches and patterns
• CHALLENGE assumptions
• GENERATE alternatives
• JUMP to new ideas and then see what happens (?)
• FIND new entry points from which to move forward
  (?)

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PO A new functional word

• Logical thinking YES/NO
• Lateral thinking PO
• PO is an escape from YES/NO.
• PO introduces a discontinuity function.
• PO is a fantasy device
• PO is an insight tool.
• Po is a repatterning tool.
• PO is a-rational, not antirational.

• HYPOTHESIS
• SUPPOSE
• POSSIBLE
• POTENTIAL
• POETRY

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Number of ideas
5 min
10 min
20 min
PO
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Problem Find the size of the constriction in
the tube without pulling out the tube.
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PO Spaghetti

• Spaghetti?filaments ?push filaments down the hole
  one by one until no more will pass through the
  constriction ?diameter is then given by the
  number of filaments used.
• Spaghetti?filaments ?use fiber optics with a
  camera at the end to actually photograph the
  constriction.
• Spaghetti?macaroni ?tube ?attach a small balloon
  to the tube and push through constriction in
  deflated state, then blow up balloon and try to
  withdraw tube ?determine degree of inflation
  which will just allow withdrawal, then measure
  the diameter of the tube.

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Creativity

• The term creativity comes from Sanskrit kar,
  meaning to make, originate, to bring into
  existence.
• Creativity is about exploring as an end in
  itself, being interested in the unassuming,
  paying attention to the strange and the weird,
  not intending to produce any particular result,
  but delighting in the process of exploration
  Moore and Gillette.

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Chase, Chance and Creativity The Lucky Art of
Novelty
According to the book with the above title
written in 1978 by J.H. Austin (a neurological
scientist), creativity involves chance and there
are four types of chances Chance I Pure
accident through blind luck. No purposive
effort. We do not know how to motivate or
encourage it. Chance II Results from action even
when there is no clear goal. Kettering, the
famous automotive inventor said Keep going and
the chances are you will stumble on something,
perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have
never heard of anyone stumbling on something
sitting down. May be applicable in certain
purely empirical applied research. Lesson
Success may improve with more people employed.
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Some other serendipitous products
Microwave oven, Bendix brake linings, Gore-Tex,
Dynamite, Puffed wheat, Dextrose-Maltose, LSD,
Penicillin, Dramamine, X rays, Pulsars.
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Firm's Creativity
Opportunities
Present day knowledge and Experience
Problems
Normative Creativity
Exploratory Creativity
Majaro 88
Flow of ideas
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Serendipity

• Serendip was the ancient name of Ceylon or Sri
  Lanka used by Horace Walpole in his fairy-tale
  The Three Princes of Serendip. The heroes of
  this book were always making discoveries of
  things they were not in quest of. They simply
  floated over the waves of destiny and allowed
  chance to ordain the events that directed their
  lives. Majaro 88

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Brain Jogging Using a different approach each
time, divide each of the following squares into
four equal pieces Time 2 minutes
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Which of these four pictures differs from the
rest?
A
B
D
C
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What was special about 1961 that has not
happened since 1881?Majaro 88
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Solution to the Puzzle of Equidistant Trees

• Planting one tree on the top of a hill (or in a
  deep hole) makes it possible to plant the other
  three in a circle, thus they will be equidistant
  from each other. The problem seems difficult to
  solve when one is looking for a solution in one
  plane.
• Needs lateral thinking and flexible mind and the
  ability to search for solutions outside the
  narrow and conventional frame of reference.

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Solution to Historical Dates Puzzle

• Both 1961 and 1881 read the same if turned
  upside-down and are read back to front. No other
  dates between these two years manifest this
  characteristic. After 1961 the next one is in
  6009?a long time to wait!
• If you have solved this, you seem to have good
  lateral thinking.

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Ideas, like eggs, need time to hatch.
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The Creative Process 5 Stages
Recognizing that a problem exists and determining
to tackle it
First Insight
Attempts to understand the problem and to produce
solutions
Preparation
Periods of relaxation allowing subconscious though
Incubation
Sudden emergence of the idea (the act of
insight or creative leap)
Illumination
Conscious development and testing of the idea
into a workable solution
Verification
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Gutenberg was trying for years to develop the
printing press. He couldnt figure out how to
take the types away from the paper without
smudging till he happened to attend a wine
harvest. He got the feeling of Eureka! there.
He extended the concept of wine press to
printing.
EUREKA!
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What is intelligence?

• Theories about general intelligence, have been
  discussed since the early 20th century.
  Psychologist Charles Spearman defined general
  intelligence in 1904 as the kind of intelligence
  that is used to an extent in all intellectual
  tasks. This type of general intelligence is
  supposedly what is measured by standardized
  tests, such as IQ tests and the SATs.
• Gardner defines intelligence as the ability to
  solve problems or fashion products that are of
  consequence in a particular setting or community.

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Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory

• Proposed in 1983 that there is no single quotient
  of intelligence," but rather there are seven
• Visual / Spatial Intelligence The ability to
  perceive the world accurately and to perform
  transformations upon one's perceptions. Highly
  developed in guides, interior designers,
  architects, artists, and inventors,
• Musical Intelligence The capacity to perceive,
  discriminate, transform, and express musical
  forms. Highly developed in musical performers,
  aficionados, and critics.
• Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence The capacity to
  use words effectively, either orally or in
  writing. Highly developed in story-tellers,
  orators, politicians, poets, playwrights,
  editors, and journalists.

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All thinking involves of logic. There are two
kinds of logic.
Fuzzy Depends Shades of Gray Distributed
Membership
Crisp Yes/No Black/White Polar
1
0
1
0
YIN
YANG
BUDDHA
ARISTOTLE
ORIENTAL
OCCIDENTAL
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Sees things as a whole Holistic
Sees things in parts Sequential
Left
Right
Rhythm Music Imagination Images, Color Shape
recognition Day dreaming General creativity
Logic Reasoning Language Numeracy Analysis Lineari
ty Abstract
Majaro 88
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Screw Actuated Printing Press
Movement along one axis
Paper
Ink
High Pressure
No rotation of platen
Bottles
Need to remove charge
Grapes
Kegs
Screw actuated wine press
Gutenbergs invention of the printing press Two
intersecting pales of thought
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Load the mind with pertinent information and
identify the value problems
Divert the mind to permit the unconscious mind to
solve the problem
Create an environment that stimulates
the unconscious mind to deliver its solutions
Later we will study a technique called VALUE
ANALYSIS that helps implement the ideas we have
learnt concerning creativity.
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Three levels at which we use our mind.

• 1. Conscious level
• communication of literal ideas and reality.
• 2. Preconscious level
• Data processes at an extraordinarily rapid rate
  with great freedom, assembling and disassembling
  many diverse patterns (as in a dream).
• 3. Unconscious level
• a. Use of special competence and knowledge
• b. Express the needs dictated by the innermost
  concerns and emotions.
• Kostler No problem was ever solved in the
  conscious mind.

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Exercise

• Which of these types of intelligence are
  attempted to be refined during school and
  university studies?
• Which are of particular value to innovators?
• Which are of particular value to product
  managers?
• Explain your answers.

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Creating Innovative Product Ideas Takahashi,
1999

• Ideas generation may be stimulated by attempts
  towards
• Imitation (e.g., imitating how a bird flies).
• Analogy (e.g. computer- hamburger analogy,
• different modules/layers made to
  order.)
• Combination
• Transformation
• Improvement
• Invention
• These six methods of triggering ideas can be
  repeated
• with respect to each of the fifteen design
  contexts factors shown
• in the next slide Takahashi, 1999.
• Thus, the method enables at least 90 new product
  ideas
• to be generated.

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The Right Way Stage 1 Assembling Knowledge
Initial Feasibility Study
Market data including competition
Assess company strengths and weaknesses
Store Checks and Exhibitions
Agreed screening criteria
Group discussions with top market experts and
opinion formers
Screens
Creative Briefing
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The Right Way Stage 2 Idea Generation
Creative Briefing
From enthusiasts and discussion groups
From existing products
From other sources
Idea Making
From individuals
From unexploited patents
From brainstorming
First ideas list
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Idea generation (60 ideas)
Ideas recycled
?
The idea funneling process
Idea screening
?
Feasibility
Implementation (innovation) (1)
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The Right Way Stage 3 Screening and
Presentation
Screen First Ideas List
Short Ideas List
Product Concepts
Draft technical description
Visual Appearance
Business rationale
Test concepts with users
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The Right Way Stage 4 Development and
Implementation
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Generating Ideas Brainstorming

• Alex F. Osborne, Applied Imagination?Principles
  Procedures of Creative Problem Solving, New
  York, 1963, Charles Scribners Sons, 4th
  Edition.
• Osborn was a modest and unassuming person who
  developed a personal passion for one subject
  helping people, froups and organizations to
  become more creative Majaro 88.
• He said It is a little like trying to get hot
  and cold water out of the dame faucet at the same
  time the ideas may not be hot enough, the
  evaluation of them not cold or objective enough.
  The results will be tepid.
• He suggested that the idea generation phase and
  idea screening phase must be de-coupled.

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14. Retail System
11. Performance
13. Maintenance
7. Dimension
15. Logistics
4. Technology
10. Function
6. Structure
1. Concept
2. Strategy
5. Material
9. Finish
12. Cost
8. Form
3. Energy
1. Innovation
2. Analogy
3. Combination
4. Transformation
5. Improvement
6. Invention
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Volume
Place
Time
Increase
Bigger Heavier
Expand
Longer Fast
Shorter Slow
Smaller Lighter
Decrease
Segmented
Discontinuous Sequential
Split
Separate
Diverse
Continuous Concurrent
Integrated
Combine
Unified
All at once Forward
Transform
Abstract Rounded
Formal
Concrete Edged
Separately Reverse
Informal
Transfer
Takahashi, 1999
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Creative Phase Intuitive Method
Little by Little The SIL Method Battelle
Institute, Frankfurt

• Each member of the team writes down two or
• more of her/his ideas for solving a defined
  problem.
• Two members read their proposals aloud.
• All the team members try to combine these two
  ideas
• into a new common solution concept.
• Another member reads her or his own thoughts out
• loud to the team and again they attempt to create
  
• a new common solution.
• This process is continued until the group has
  found
• an acceptable solution or the process is
  terminated
• when a given time limit has been reached.

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3D-Morphological Analysis Exploration of New
Packaging Ideas
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3D-Morphological Analysis Developing a New
Concept in Air Fresheners
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4-D Morphological Analysis New Products in the
Disposable Container Business
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Problem Example

• A lift in a building is usually very crowded.
• You are being asked to submit a quotation for
  solving the problem.
• You could quote a new and larger lift. This
  requires major modifications to the building.
  Cost 500,000.
• You are looking for a far cheaper solution

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Ask an impertinent question and you are on the
way to a pertinent answer J. Bronowski,
scientist

• Why? followed by So?
• Step-up using Why?
• How?
• Unless?
• Petty 1997

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WHY-SO REASONING Petty 1997

• I need to reduce the waiting time for lifts.
• WHY?
• Because the lifts are inadequate.
• WHY?
• Because they are old-fashioned.
• WHY?
• Because they are in an old-fashioned building.

• So, fit a new lift shaft.
• So, modernize them.
• So, move to a new building.

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Step-up using Why?

• I need to reduce the waiting time for lifts.
• Why?
• Because people find waiting for the lift very
  frustrating.
• Why?
• Because they are bored.

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Side-stepping using Unless?

• I want to reduce the frustration of waiting.
• No! It is a nice rest to wait.
• Unless! you make waiting interesting by
  providing some sort of entertainment.

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• I need to reduce the waiting time for lifts.
• UnlessI can get people to accept the waiting
  time in some way.
• Either I need to reduce the waiting time for
  lifts.
• Or.reduce the number of people using them.
• Or.encourage alternative ways for people to get
  together.
• Orput people who communicate with each other a
  lot on the same floor.
• No! the waiting time is perfectly acceptable,
  stop fussing!
• No! lets make use of the time for corporate
  communications. What about a noticeboard.

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• The lifts are inadequate.
• UnlessI can speed them up
• Either the lifts are inadequate
• Ortoo many people are using them
• No! slow lifts are fine, they encourage informal
  communication.
• It is boring waiting.
• Unless you make it interesting.

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Or! Unless!
Sidestep to another way of achieving this goal
Keep stepping up until you discover your true goal
Why?
Step down to find a way of achieving this in
practice
Ive hit a difficulty
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Drawing Pins
Problem How would you attach the candle to the
wall, with only the candle, a book of matches
and a box of drawing pins.
Petty 1997
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Problem The candle splits
Problem The candle is too thick for the pins
etc.
The Candle Challenge
Try again shaving thinner
Shave the candle to make it thinner
P
P
P
Pin the candle to the wall
etc.
P
Melt the candle to make it thinner
Petty 1997
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Cliché Solution
Backtracking
t.
Conventional thinking
P
P
P
Backtracking
Original Solution
P
Petty 1997
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Analogy Petty 1997

• If a lift were a train
• an announcer would tell you when it was about to
  arrive
• there would be stopping and express lifts
• If a lift were a bus
• there would be a timetable telling you what times
  past the hour the lift would arrive
• you would be able to see it coming and rush for it

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Random Association Petty 1997

• Edward de Bono suggests that you could choose a
  set of simple nouns at random from the dictionary
  and then work towards the the desired subject
  matter through random association.
• Suppose a student is looking for the subject for
  her painting entitled Human Group.

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• recite?poem or reading ?group as an audience at a
  poetry reading
• revelation ?religious revelation ?angel appearing
  to group of shepherds
• glove ?hand ?handshake ?group of people meeting
  for the first time

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Random Association Lift Problem

• Fork ?Branching into two ?could each lift shaft
  have two lifts in it, one abobe and one below?
• Flow ?Could peak flow of people to the lift be
  reduced by staggering working hours and
  lunchtimes?
• Fund ?Could people be required to pay (to
  charity) for a badge enabling them to use the
  lift?

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Provocation Petty 1997

• A designer was working on a design for a flower
  pot that waters itself while the household is on
  holiday.
• ?Suppose the plant could water itself
• Could you put back the water evaporating from
  the plants leave back into the soil?
• Say, by putting a plastic cover on the leaves?

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• If a lift were a taxi
• you could call one up whenever you needed it, and
  it would tell you when it had arrived
• If a lift were a bicycle
• it would have a bell on it
• it would carry you there under your own steam,
  whenever you wanted to go (you could use the
  stairs)

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Innovation The practical application of such
ideas towards meeting the organizations
objectives in a more effective way
Creativity The thinking process that helps us
to generate ideas
Screening of ideas
Majaro 88
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Screening Ideas (Examples)

• Criteria of Attractiveness
• Originality
• Simplicity
• User friendliness
• Ease of implementation
• Elegance
• Difficulty of copying

• Criteria of Compatibility
• Compatibility with
• Company objectives
• Availability of financial resources
• Corporate image
• Ability to protect or patent
• Needs to solve problem

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Creativity (Idea Attractiveness)
High
Low
Medium
Second best ideas
Doubtful ideas
Best ideas
High
Second best ideas
Poor ideas
Innovation (Idea Compatibility)
Doubtful ideas
Medium
Doubtful ideas
Poor ideas
Poor ideas
Low
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AID TO IDEA SCREENING
A
B
AxB
Weight
1
0
3
2
7
10
9
8
6
5
4
0
Score
Criteria of Evaluations (examples only.)
0.10
Idea Attractiveness Ease of implementation
Originality
Sustainability
User-friendliness
Global acceptability
Compatibility Criteria Availability of finance
0.20
Solutions to problems
Our image
Our ability to protect
Our marketing competence
Total Score
1.00
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What you could do to become an innovator

• Develop a desire to create (invent).
• Channel mental energy into creating.
• Review magazines on innovations regularly.
• Become familiar with unusual phenomena.
• Familiarize with areas of science not included in
  your curriculum.
• Investigate products before discarding them.
• Improve hands-on working ability (hence the
  prescription of your basic training even though
  it is boring).
• Remember that opportunities arise as technology
  changes.
• Do not be in a hurry to become a manager.

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• How you can improve your creativity
• Keep track of your ideas at all times.
• Pose new questions everyday.
• Maintain competence in your field.
• Read widely in fields that are not directly
  related to your field of interest.
• Avoid rigid patterns of doing things.
• Be open and receptive to your own as well others
  ideas.
• Be alert in observation.
• Engage in creative hobbies (arts, crafts, puzzle
  solving, etc.).
• Improve your sense of humor and laugh easily.
• Adopt a risk taking attitude.
• Learn to know and understand yourself.

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Level of Creativity
High
Low
Medium
Creative Imitator
Uncreative Plagiarist
Winner
High
Creative Innovator
Uncreative Bumbler
Average
Level of Innovation
Medium
Extravagantly Creative
Creative Waster
Loser
Low
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Organizational Barriers to CreativityMajaro 88

• Lack of organizational slack
• Inadequate emphasis on thinking compared to
  doing
• Bureaucracy
• Too centralized organizational structure
• Poor lateral communication
• The imported talent syndrome
• Bean-counting

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• How can a manager promote innovation/creativity
• Be willing to absorb the risks taken by
  subordinates.
• Be comfortable with half developed ideas.
• Be willing to stretch organizational policy.
• Be prepared to make quick decisions.
• Be a good listener.
• Do not dwell on mistakes.
• Focus and gear the pressure to goals.
• Foster interpersonal contact.
• Give continuous feedback.
• Recognize the need for outside stimuli.
• Recognize creativity - publicly.
• Put up with some innocent foibles
• Maintain a balance between need for freedom and
  the necessity of structure.

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