Developing Your Creativity And Innovation

Developing Your Creativity and Innovation I answered an fascinating query on Quora today about creativity and revolutionary thinking. I’ve encountered this question in its many types a number of occasions over in my lifetime. I bear in mind one of many earliest being when I was in highschool. The principal and a few academics fashioned a very small research committee that included 5 of their prime students, which included me (I wore glasses and seemed smarter back then). The objective was to create a program to spark, encourage, and guide the inventive power of the scholars within the school. We had been seeking the holy grail of looking for a program and process that was already successful. We found that no one was completely successful, though there have been some interesting aspects of the completely different programs. Fast ahead to my career in Silicon Valley and historical past has been repeating itself at each firm where I either labored as an employee or consulted. Everyone desires to discover a way for their workers and their organizations to be more revolutionary. I’ve studied this innovation problem, researched the creativity literature, read dozens of books, and tested many alternative approaches throughout the years with my very own organizations. A lot of approaches failed. But, I finally discovered a mixture of strategies that I imagine give an organization the most effective probability of success in creating and sustaining a viable innovation process that delivers results. I am working on documenting this method and hope to share it with you soon. But, first let me share some ideas that I assume any individual can apply to enhance their very own innovative considering expertise. First, I personally believe that “authentic thinking” and innovation solely occurs when you are “uncomfortable“. What I imply by that's that if you're continually immersed in your comfortable daily routine at home, on the commute, at work, and so forth.; you r mind runs on autopilot. To spark creativity, you need to overload your sensory system and shock your system into the next level of alertness. I find that top-of-the-line ways to do that is to travel. International journey appears to have the largest impact, as you can think about. When you are surrounded by a totally new surroundings (e.g., different languages, completely different food, new sights and sounds, etc.), you are completely “awake” absorbing the information round you. You are exposed to novel experiences and novel options to issues (at least they are novel to you). It makes you concentrate on things differently. Second, to take advantage of this new “heightened state”, you need easy access to instruments to capture your impressions, thoughts, and new concepts. This is usually a simple paper pocket book that's small enough to slide into your pocket or use one thing like Evernote on your cellular system (take notes, take photos). It is important that it's simply accessible and you may shortly jot down ideas. You don’t wish to lug around and fumble with a laptop computer if you’re trying to capture a flash of inspiration. I recommend that you simply get into the habit of carrying this observe-taking gadget with you at all times. Constantly observe the world round you and use it to capture alternatives. Another similar technique is to create a “This Sucks” list. As you go about your daily routine, pay attention to irritating events and failures. For example, “It sucks that I actually have to wait in line for xyz” and “I can’t imagine that there isn’t a greater way to handle abc”. Each of these is a chance for a solution or as Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, used to say; “Look for friction within the system and create a solution that reduces or removes that friction” (paraphrased). Third, shake up your every day routine. I know you could’t always go for a trip when you should be inventive. So, you possibly can apply less complicated versions of this course of regionally. Take a new route to work. Use completely different transportation. Explore a brand new neighborhood on foot. Meet new individuals. Go to a concert. Try new food. Just make sure that you shock yourself out of your traditional consolation zone. Some of this is covered by an strategy called “Design Thinking“. Tim Brown, of IDEO, wrote a superb article (PDF) on this within the June 2008 concern of the Harvard Business Review. Finally, a final attention-grabbing approach is to try to view the world through the “eyes of a kid”. If you have children, then you realize that they have very inventive and unique interpretations of the world around them. I love hearing how they view issues and the solutions they offer. You can try this for yourself by approaching the issue you are trying to resolve as when you have absolutely no information of any solutions (e.g., you’ve never interacted with the software/tool earlier than). It is n’t straightforward to clear your thoughts and play a totally naive function. But, the more you apply it, the higher you will turn out to be and the more attention-grabbing observations you'll make. I’d love to discuss this subject in additional detail with you in my non-public Facebook group. Just ask to hitch. You can even comply with me on Quora. Enter your name and email tackle to obtain occasional updates. Thanks! Success! Now examine your e mail to verify your subscription. There was an error submitting your subscription. 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