Creativity

Creativity

Creativity Defined

The ability to produce work that is BOTH Novel (i.e., original, unexpected,

innovative) Appropriate (i.e., useful, practical,

effective) (Sternberg 1999; Finke, Ward, & Smith

1992)

Creativity Problem Solving

Insight 9-Dot Problem Remote Associates Test

Problem Finding Requires Problem Definition Requires an allocation of cognitive capital

(Sternberg & Lubart 1991) to “think about what you’re going to think about” (Nickerson 2000)

More associated with creativity (Csikszentmihalyi & Getzels 1971; 1975)

Creativity: An individual trait or situation-driven?

Both Individual Trait Situation-Driven

Theories of Creativity

Individual Traits Influencing Creativity

Intrinsic Motivation Personality (e.g., Myers Briggs)

Other Personality-Related Individual Differences: Left vs. Right Brain Need for Cognition Dogmatism Divergent Thinking Ability Willingness to Break the Rules

Intelligence

Creative Cognition

Path of Least Resistance (“POLR”) (Perkins 1997; Ward 1994)

Top-Down Process Recall an existing solution to an active

problem Implement a well-known plan to solve it

Creative Tools

Brainstorming

Rules Defer judgment Encourage wild ideas Build on the ideas of others

Sterling Rice Ideation Case Study: Hot Pockets!

Mind Mapping

A visual representation of relationships and critical paths

Harnesses the non-linear way our brains work by capturing associative patterns

Analogical Thinking

Three Stages Access Mapping Transfer

Breaking Patterns Abandoning assumptions and looking at

problems differently Changing environments: Hiking in Chautauqua Observing normal behavior: Flatirons Crossing

How do you get off the “path of least resistance” and out of “rule ruts”? Challenging your assumptions: Wine bottle exercise

What motivates you to do that?

Understanding Opportunity

The Entrepreneurial Revolution

1960’s: About 200,000 new enterprises were created per year

Now: About 3.5 million per year businesses are launched each year – with 10-15% of the adult population is attempting to start a business at any given time.

40% of American men will attempt to start a business within their lifetime

Traits of an Entrepreneur?

Challenges the status quo Recognizes patterns - makes new

connections Committed to learning – peripatetic Visionary Risk taker Self-motivated Locus of control Tolerance for ambiguity

Good Opportunity?

Market is strong & accessible Compelling need Unique/different Sustainable competitive

advantage Profitable Great management

Application

Crunch!

New Product Development: Risky

To avoid failure, everything has to be right: Concept Design Pricing Positioning Packaging Advertising and Promotion

PDMA Best Practices Survey

The Best: average 49% of sales from products < 5 yrs old have a success rate over 80% Use stage/gate processes more extensively (& more stages) reward team non-financially in public and private ways innovate in their use of market research and engineering

design tools

Source: Drivers of NPD Success: The PDMA Report

Beyond the Business World

The Role of Creativity in Diverse Disciplines Music Psychotherapy Mathematics

Managing Creativity

In a brand management context Bill Weintraub, former head of

marketing at Coors, Tropicana, Kelloggs More generally, the lessons from

last week