CREATIVITY & INNOVATION MANAGEMENT

Unit 2

1. What is creative process?

How does a creative idea come to you? Where does it come from and why does it
occur?These are questions we – as humankind – have been asking for centuries,
primarily because the process continues to mystify us. We can do a lot of incredible
things, but we just cannot quite figure out what is going on in our brains when we happen
upon an idea that is novel or stumble into a solution for a problem.For a very long time in
the history of human thought, creativity was thought of as just that: mysticism,
magic, incomprehensible.

In the ancient times, we used to believe that creativity was bestowed upon us from
a higher, otherworldly being. If you were suitable for acting on an idea, the gods would
grant it to you and expect you to follow through. Many people today still believe that
creativity is granted through some divine power. But the question is if the novel ideas
come, where do the ideas reside once they make themselves known?

Imagine you’re putting a puzzle together (a process we will relate to often while exploring
that of creativity), and you have the box of pieces sitting out in front of you.The first step
to figuring out the puzzle is to want to solve the puzzle. That’s the first step to
creative thought as well, though the difference between the creative process and
the process of putting a puzzle together is that, for creativity, you don’t have to
consciously have the intent.It’s enough to have an inkling of intent to have new ideas for
the process to start, your subconscious can take care of the intent for you (and it
undoubtedly will, if you let it).We know this is true because the brain is making so many
connections and continuously running through network processes on its own, even when
we’re asleep. So, if you have a problem to solve, or a project you need to work on, or a
deep desire to fulfil some creative need, you can count on your brain to naturally want to
work on that.

Creativity does not just happen. It is a cognitive process that produces new ideas
or transforms old ideas into updated concepts.

(Cognition is "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and

understanding through thought, experience, and the senses."Cognitive processes
refer to a number of tasks the brain does continuously. They are procedures in
charge of processing all the information we receive from the environment. Thanks to these
cognitive processes, cognition exists and it allows us to explore the world. Imagine you
are sitting on your sofa while watching a movie. Even though the movie is interesting, you
start smelling something burning. What do you do? Fortunately, your brain will centre all of
its attention in the possible danger you are facing. Suddenly, you remember that you had
a pizza in the oven. You will run to the kitchen as fast as you can and coordinate a series
of motor movements to take it out of the oven. Then you will decide whether to eat the
less burnt parts or go back to the living room. Cognitive processes have guided this whole
scenario and actions. Even though, the example we saw the cognitive processes acted
together, they can also act separately. For example, people with a language disorder
can still perceive stimuli perfectly and can solve mathematical problems.)

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So, the first thing in the Creative Process Model is that these steps or stages, are iterative
(they are not necessarily in a linear fashion). So sometimes you will go back and forth
between each of these different stages.

 Preparation
The first stage is the idea of Preparation, the idea that you are immersing yourself in
the domain. If you area musician you are absorbing a lot of the music that is inspiring
you to create this new piece. If you are a writer you are reading other writers in this
area. If you are an artist you are looking at other artist’s work in the area that you are
looking at creating something in. If you are a scientist you are looking at all the
background research. And if you are an entrepreneur or marketer you are looking at all
the previous market research and what other companies have done before.So this
stage is normally best carried out in a quiet environment. It is really this stage that you
are trying to absorb as much information as possible because this information will go
into your sub-consciousness where it is very important for the second stage, or second
level.

 Incubation
The second stage is what we call the Incubation stage. In incubation this is when all
the information that you have gathered in the Preparation stage really goes back.
While the individual begins to process his ideas, he begins to synthesize them using
his imagination and begins to construct a creation. Gabora states that during this step,
the individual does not actively try to find a solution but continues to mull over the idea
in the back of his mind. It starts to churn in the back of your mind, in the sub-
consciousness. This is an extremely important stage because sometimes it can take
days, or weeks, or months or sometimes even years. You were thinking about writing a
book or creating piece of music. What you do, you just leave it to the side for a while
and then you come back to it. Now the interesting thing about the incubation stage is
that to a certain extent it is not really under your control how long that stage will take. It
is something you cannot really rush because what it leads to is the third stage.

 Illumination or insight
The third stage is what most of the public think is a classic signal or sign of a creative
person, what is called the Illumination orInsight stage or the insight step. With insight
it is really the idea of the ‘Aha’ moment, the ‘Eureka’ moment. It happens generally
when you are doing some kind of low-level physical activity; going for a shower, driving
a car, having a walk. This is because your sub-consciousness in the previous stages is
bubbling away and this insight stage really allows the mind to work on something else.
And then bring these ideas to the forefront of your mind. So that is the third stage, the
insight’s stage.

 Evaluation
The fourth stage is this idea of Evaluation. This is something that a lot of creative
people struggle with because often you have so many ideas and you have a limited
amount of time. So, the evaluation stage is important because this is where it requires
self-criticism and reflection. It is asking yourself questions like:

“Is this a novel or new idea or is it one that is just re-hashed and has been done
before?”

It’s the idea of going out to a small group of trusted friends and saying:
“I’ve had this idea, what do you think about this?”
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  Implementation
This is where Edison said that it’s “1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Now the
implementation stage is the 99% perspiration stage. This is where you are actually
doing the work. So many people out there think that the creative process is that insight,
that ‘Aha’ moment, or the preparation part. But really a creative individual isnot
complete unless he can go through that and actually puts in the hard work. The
implementation stage is testing the idea, working on the idea, those late nights in the
studio, working at your desk, those hours in the laboratory if you are scientist, those
days testing and micro-testing products. This is the implementation stage.

2. Creativity on a competitive resource

Does competition make us more competitive? Competition can bring out the best in
salespeople, athletes, and participants in contests but can it make employees more
creative?

A recent working paper by Daniel P. Gross finds that competition can motivate
creative types to produce radically novel, untested ideas, but that too much
competition pushes them in the opposite direction. The findings could help
organizations generate more innovative ideas, sharpen R&D, and even improve “bake-off”
competitions between vendors used to award contracts. We tend to study innovation in
terms of inputs like R&D spending or outcomes like patents but creativity is really
about what happens in between. It is really about this process of exploring new and
untested ideas. Peering inside that black box to observe the creative process and
then understand how it works is very difficult, however.

A study was conducted to look at graphic design competitions that take place via
online platforms that help companies commission custom logos and other
commercial graphics. After providing information about its business and goals, a
company sponsors a tournament of successive rounds where designers submit proposals
to capture the winner-take-all award. Following each round, designers can modify their
submissions by a little or by a lot after feedback by the sponsor. On analysis, a pattern
was noticed. Sometimes, the participants were tweaking a single idea, over and over and
other times, they [would] branch out and completely change course. The question is what
was driving that decision.

Ratingsfrom one to five stars were given to the different designs after each round of the
tournament. It was noticed that the participants changed their designs in response to
feedback. What are the incentives that were driving their creative choices and what
spurred them to try out new ideas.Think of them as having a choice between three
options. They can try something incrementally different by making a minor modification;
they can try something radically different by making a fundamental departure; or they can
stop investing, stop trying to improve their product.

Analyzing data from 122 tournaments on the website, it was found that designers with
high positive feedback scores were more apt to follow the first course, discarding creativity
in favour of playing it safe by sticking with the design that was highly rated. Why mess with
success?Once they get their first five-star review, they generally make a full transition
from experimenting to tweaking.

Where the story gets interesting, however, is when a participant faced competition from
other top-rated designs. Going up against just one other five-star designer shook off the
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 participant’s complacency by about halfspurring him or her to once again experiment with
substantively different ideas rather than producing incremental variations.As the number
of top-rated competitors increased, however, a discouragement effect kicked in. And once
they were up against four to six high-rated competitors, they were likely to stop investing
altogether.

Overall, it was found that participants were most given to produce designs that were at
least 70 percent original when they faced just one or two competitors where competitive
pressure is neither too low nor too hot, just right, and creativity shines forth. This shows a
very clear indication of the relative risks and rewards of the creative process.Taking a
chance on an untested, new idea is risky, and if the [potential] payoffs are too low—in the
probability that it will either improve on your existing product, or produce incremental
market share in a crowded market—then it is not worth pursuing.

The implication for managers is that sharp incentives can be effective in eliciting creative
effort from employees—but require balanced competition to function most effectively. In
other words, you want to scatter your seeds widely to see what sprouts but you ought not
try to make a thousand flowers bloom, or else they will all turn out weak. To get a few
beautiful blossoms, you have to thin the flowers to allow the strong ones to grow.

The conclusion is that tasking a group of employees with a problem to see what solutions
they develop, but then focusing the competition to just a few people with the most
powerful ideas, transitioning the other employees to projects where they might have
comparative advantage.Similarly, when soliciting bids from suppliers to procure a new
product or service, it may be most effective to cast a wide net at first, but then bound the
competition to a smaller bake-off to spur the most original results.

While we may never be able to completely understand the kind of creative energy that
goes into creating an artistic masterpiece or a hit new song, we may at least be able to
spur individuals to become their best creative selves.

3. Convergent and divergent thinking

Convergent and divergent thinking are like two sides of a coin. They are completely in
contrast with each other yet extremely important in our daily lives. It is not a must
for one to always be in conjunction with another but they tend to function best
when used in conjunction. Both convergent and divergent thinking are vital in our lives.
Neither one is exactly more superior as compared to the other. For us to do well in various
tasks, we often need to use these opposite mental processes in conjunction. When faced
with a problem, we need to explore differing options (divergence). Afterwards, we
narrow down our choices and decide on the “best” solution (convergence).

Convergent thinking is the process of finding a single best solution to a problem

that you are trying to solve. Many tests that are used in schools, such as multiple choice
tests, spelling tests, math quizzes, and standardized tests, are measures of convergent
thinking.

Divergent thinking is the process of creating many unique solutions in order to

solve a problem. It is also referred to as lateral thinking, is the process of creating
multiple, unique ideas or solutions related to a problem that you are trying to
solve. Divergent thinking is similar to brainstorming in that it involves coming up
with many different ideas to solve a single problem.
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How does convergent thinking differ from divergent thinking? The problem of
convergent thinking is systematic and logical, unlike divergent thinking, which is
spontaneous and free-flowing. When using convergent thinking, we apply logical steps
in order to determine what the single best solution is. Whenever we use divergent
thinking, we search for options instead of just choosing among predetermined options.
Convergent thinking relies heavily on logic and less on creativity, while divergent
thinking emphasizes creativity. Divergent thinking works best in problems that are
open-ended and allow for creativity. Convergent thinking works best in situations where a
single best correct answer exists and it is possible to discover the answer through
analyzing available stored information. For example, if someone asked you what 2 + 2 is,
you know there is only one solution that works and that you can use your understanding of
addition and numbers to find the best answer, which is 4.

Did you know that Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were both famous divergent
thinkers?

Examples of Convergent and Divergent Thinking

 Suppose that you worked 50 kilometres away from your home and needed to
save money. What would you do?

You talk to your friends and find out that 12 of your co-workers save Rs 10,000 each
month by carpooling. You also found that ten of your co-workers traded in their
vehicles for a hybrid so that they get better fuel mileage.

 You have not done well in your sessional 1. You did not take the class test 1.
Your attendance is also dismal. Now, you have just about two months to
recover. What would you do to save yourself from appearing in summer
semester or save your one year?