Monday, August 2, 2010

What is Creativity?

I define creativity as the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. Innovation is the production or implementation of an idea. If you have ideas, but don't act on them, you are imaginative but not creative.
"Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being...creativity requires passion and commitment. Out of the creative act is born symbols and myths. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness-ecstasy."- Rollo May, The Courage to Create
"A product is creative when it is (a) novel and (b) appropriate. A novel product is original not predictable. The bigger the concept, and the more the product stimulates further work and ideas, the more the product is creative."- Sternberg & Lubart, Defying the Crowd



Creativity and Economic Development:We are living in the age of creativity




The Nomura Institute of Japan classifies four eras of economic activity:1. Agricultural2. Industrial3. Informational... and now through the evolution of technology4. Creative: constant innovation.
Daniel Pink expanding on this idea in A Whole New Mind (2005) defines Economic Development as:1. Agriculture Age (farmers)2. Industrial Age (factory workers)3. Information Age (knowledge workers)4. Conceptual Age (creators and empathizers)
Pink argues that left-brain linear, analytical computer-like thinking are being replaced by right-brain empathy, inventiveness, and understanding as skills most needed by business. Pink points to Asia, automation, and abundance as the reasons behind the shift.Pink says "Logical and precise, left-brain thinking gave us the Information Age. Now comes the Conceptual Age - ruled by artistry, empathy, and emotion."What does this mean for future jobs? Winners are designers, inventors, counselors, ethnographers, social psychologists, and other right-brain folks, while lawyers, engineers, accountants, and other left-brainers will see their jobs migrate to Asia.

Creativity at Work

Creativity is a core competency for leaders and managers and one of the best ways to set your company apart from the competition. Corporate Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Generating fresh solutions to problems, and the ability to create new products, processes or services for a changing market, are part of the intellectual capital that give a company its competitive edge. Creativity is a crucial part of the innovation equation.

By: Linda Naiman

No comments:

Post a Comment