Creative Thinking

Understanding Creativity and Innovation

(Short Course)

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this unit the learner will be able to:

 Identify the difference between creativity and innovation

 Recognize your own creativity

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Understanding Creativity and Innovation

What Is Creativity and Innovation?

Creativity and Innovation: A Breakdown

Defining the Terms

What is creativity? What is innovation? Are they the same thing?

Creativity can be defined as the generation of ideas in the attempt to solve a problem or produce
something new. Innovation can be defined as the implementation of the ideas generated from the
creative process. Innovation transforms the idea into something concrete.

Here is an example of creativity: A bank creates a new program intended to offer mobile banking
services for their customers. If they do not have the means to carry out this idea, like the proper Internet
platform to support the program, they must use innovation to build the platform.

Being creative and innovative can be much simpler and on a much smaller scale. Imagine a painter who
is creating a landscape portrait. They run out of orange paint for the sky as the sun begins to set. Since
they are working on a hilltop in the middle of nowhere, they have a choice: they can get innovative or
lose the perfect opportunity to finish the painting. By mixing yellow and red, the painter gets his orange
paint. He creatively thought of a solution and used innovation to achieve success.

What Am I?
Am I creative? Am I innovative?

Regardless of our personal belief, we all possess the ability to be creative. You don’t have to be
considered “artistic” to be creative. If you need proof, think back to when you were a child. A tree house
was not just wood; it was a space used to create our own imaginary worlds. Blankets and pillows were
not just bedding; they were fort building materials!

The challenge for creativity lies in our confidence. Some of us have convinced ourselves that we are not
creative. What we fail to recognize is that we do creative and innovative things every day, like stretching
budgets. Even picking our clothes in the morning can be a creative activity. Getting better with creativity
and innovation will take practice. It’s like a muscle – you use it or you lose it. But, with practice and
effort, the creativity process will become easier.

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Know Your Creative Potential

Describe a time when you felt most creative. This event can be either personal or work related.

Why do you feel this event reflects your creativity?

What made this event a success?

How can you replicate this feeling of success both at work and in your personal life?

Individual Creativity

Know Yourself
Working in a group can help you with your own creativity, but it is essential to get to know your own
creative rhythm. Understanding your creative groove comes with having a high degree of self-awareness.
You need to pay attention to instances when you felt particularly creative. Ask yourself questions like:
 What sparked my creative thinking?

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 Where was I when I did my creative thinking? What was my environment?

 What time of day did I think the best?
 What strategies or tools did I use to aid my thinking?
 What challenges did I have when trying to generate creative solutions?
 How long could I sit and think before needing to take a break?

Asking yourself questions to increase your self-awareness can help increase your creative thinking
potential.

Tips for Increasing Your Individual Creativity

Practice. Another key element to developing your creative rhythm is practice. High levels of creativity
can come naturally to some people, but most of us have to work at it. Giving yourself plenty of time and
opportunity to flex your creative muscle will help you increase your creative potential.

Give yourself some distance. When looking to increase your creativity, you need to understand that
your creative level can be situation or context dependent. Have you ever helped a friend generate ideas
on how to solve their problems? Don’t you sometimes find it easier to offer solutions to their problems
rather than figuring out solutions for your own? Sometimes when we are too close or emotionally
involved in a situation, we find it hard to see our options.

With this in mind, a way to work on increasing your creativity is to put distance between yourself and the
problem you are looking to solve. Looking at the problem you are facing with a bit of psychological
distance can help to decrease stress and increase focus. A strategy for increasing distance is to look at
the issue from someone else’s perspective. Ask yourself questions like: “How would my spouse look at
this issue?” or “How would Donald Trump solve this problem?” Creating distance between yourself and
the problem can help give you the psychological edge you need to develop insight.

Give yourself time. You can also increase your creativity by giving yourself enough time to be creative.
Too often, we are working under tight deadlines. Without a sufficient amount of time to think and
percolate ideas, we tend to panic. Panic does nothing for creativity. In fact, it makes you react instead of
acting with clarity, purpose, and direction.

A good technique to help take your focus off time might be to pretend you are on a desert island. You
are going nowhere and you have all the time in the world! Adopting this mindset can help you focus on
the creative process rather than other factors.

Organize your life. Another tip to increase your own creative potential is to organize your life so your
energy is being spent in the right places. Here is an example to illustrate this point.

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Every day, you come home from work and put your keys down in the first spot you see. You go about
your routine and need to step out for a moment. You spend ten to 15 minutes searching for your keys.
You think “Where did I put them?” and, “Could they be under here?” You repeat this process hundreds,
maybe even thousands of times throughout your life. By thinking about the same pointless issue, you are
zapping your creative energy. Focus your thoughts on new, fresh, and useful topics rather than the
mundane.

Educate yourself. Increase your own creativity by educating yourself on the creative process of other
people. Choose someone you find particularly creative and would like to emulate. Let’s use Steve Jobs
(the founder of Apple computers) as an example.

Ask the following questions to gain insight into the person’s creative process.
 Why do you feel Steve Jobs is creative?
 How was Steve Jobs creative? What did he do?
 What was his attitude toward creativity?

Investigating the creative process of a mentor can help you enhance your own individual creativity. Pick
the approaches you would like to try and be aware of the effect these new approaches have on your
level of creativity.

Boost Your Creative Juices

Make a list of 15 things that you could do in your personal and professional lives to help increase your
own creativity.

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Get Creative

Pre-Assignment
What does creativity and innovation mean to you?

When you think of someone as being creative, what traits do they possess?

Is there a difference between creativity and innovation?

When do you feel most creative?

Where do you feel most creative? (Examples: when you are driving, at work, or having a conversation
with a good friend.)

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In what areas of your life would you like to be more creative?

In what areas of your work would you like to be more creative?

How would being more creative and innovative benefit your life?

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being not creative at all and 10 being bursting with creativity, give the
number that best represents your current creativity level.

Using the same 1-10 scale, give the number that represents the creativity level you would like to be at
in the future.

Developing the Right Environment for Creativity

What Does a Creative Environment Look Like?

People often think that creativity and insight comes from being in a profound, awe-inspiring place. The
reality is that, for most people, a complex environment can be too distracting for deep, prolonged
thought to occur. Additionally, most of us do not get to see these awe-inspiring places on a daily basis.
The most we see is our usual workspace, whether that’s a cubicle, home office, or somewhere else.

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The truth of the matter is that idea generation and implementation of ideas takes place in normal
settings. A great example of this concept is author Anthony Trollope. Trollope was the most prolific
writer of the Victorian literature era, but he did his writing in addition to working for the post office. His
writing routine involved writing for three hours each day prior to having breakfast. He disciplined himself
to write 250 words in each 15 minute time period, whether he was writing at home or on a train while he
travelled for the post office.

Building your best creative environment is a highly individualized activity. What worked for Trollope may
not work for you. When trying to create your best thinking environment, pay attention to events that
spark your thoughts.
 When are you the most creative?
 Do you find ideas on long drives, over a stimulating conversation with a friend, while reading,
or when walking the dog?
 Do you find the best time for thinking in the early morning, afternoon, or night?

Getting to know your own creative rhythm and implementing some general tips will help you create the
right environment.

Tips for Building Your Own Creative Environment

Work in an easy and uninterrupted concentration. Interruptions lead to broken thoughts. Trying to
think in a disruptive environment can be extremely frustrating and stressful, especially when you are on
a deadline. If you work in a cubicle where noise and distractions are just a reality of life, see if you can
book time in a boardroom or meeting room. The quiet will allow you time to think.

Make sure you have everything you need. This could include pens, paper, sticky notes, highlighters,
coffee, music, etc. Each time you have to get up from your workplace is a distraction. Make sure you
have what you need to minimize interruptions.

Take a break when you need to. When you are feeling like you need some time and distance away from
the issue you are trying to solve, take a break. Scheduled breaks can actually help increase creativity.
Having time away from an issue can help to forge unexpected connections and creative solutions.

Make your creative space your own space. When you are creating, make the space you are working in
your own. Put up pictures that have personal significance. Play your favorite music. Light your favorite
candle. Construct this space so that you feel comfortable and in control. Try to make your space as
unique as you are.

Exercise and eat well. Exercising and eating well can help increase our mental and physical endurance.
When you do not eat properly, your brain is not functioning at its optimal level. Creativity is not just
about cognition. You need your physical self to be well maintained too!

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Get plenty of rest. Coming up with creative solutions to complex problems can be strenuous at times.
Make sure you are well rested. Working with complex problems when fatigued can result in feeling
ineffectual and frustrated. Worse still, because of your fatigue, you may jump at the first solution that
comes to mind just to have the problem solved.

Clear your mind. Even with an optimal creative space, when your mind is cluttered, you will have trouble
getting into the creative groove. Use some relaxation techniques to bring focus and direction to your
thoughts. Try deep breathing exercises, taking a short walk, or some guided meditation. One helpful
technique is to close your eyes and imagine your mind is like a room with many doors. Behind each door
is an issue that you are thinking about. Imagine closing each door, one by one. When you have all the
doors closed, you are standing in an empty room and have figuratively closed these issues from your
mind.

Remember that building your creative environment is a highly tailored, personal process. There is no one
perfect pattern that will do the trick. No one can tell you where you think best or what your best thinking
environment looks like. Building your creative environment takes time and a high degree of self-
awareness.

Build Your Creative Environment

Make a list of 20 things that you would like to have in your creative environment.

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For five of the items on the list, provide an explanation for why you chose the item.

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