CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

Introduction

I want to sharing with everybody on the title of CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION, this is one of the module that I was learned from my studies about the creativity, brain and mind. The purpose I introducing this subject because maybe we can learn something new and sharing the knowledge. This module lectured by Prof. Dr. Ahmad Rahman Songip, he is an expertise in Creativity and Innovation studies, also he is conducting teaching, training and consultation for this program.

For introduction, Creativity and Innovation is very important subject in our life. Creativity is the generation of new ideas, Innovation is the process of implementation of creative ideas into desired outputs.

We should know how creative are we? At this question have five levels; started from level 1: not creative, level 2: less creative, level 3: creative, level 4: more creative and level 5: very creative, so where your level?

The objectives of this module are; to understand creativity and innovation, to learn tools and technique of generating ideas, identify barrier of creativity and the ways to overcoming them, to understand roles of management to be create a conducive environment for creativity & innovation.

Working without use intelligent, we would not make something new to be successful. Creativity is important if not we would always doing the same pattern and just repeating the previously.

Edward de Bono said, he is a father of lateral thinking has said; “without creativity, there would be no progress. We would be repeating the same patterns”.

Thinking and to be creative are the power in innovation. Humans since was born has been given the creativity, intelligent and genius. The Intelligent of children’s started from baby at the age of five years old have 98%, age at ten is 35%, age at fifteen is 10% and age at 25 is 2%.

The facts has shown intelligent was drop when they growing up to be an adult. Why become like this? For our information that is because of family upbringing, most of the parents doing to decline their children intelligent.

Childrens are born geniuses, at the early age one to six years old parents are degeniusing them. It like the concept of bonsai trees, everyday the leafs will cut-off to make it seen smaller. But as humans we have to let our mind grow and works for thinking, our brain and mind will drive us to living up in this world.

As human, we should not to keep our mind thinking only in the box but hae to out of the box. Most peoples just continuing their parents habits to do want they want us to be follow their instructions. Since our childhood we has been teaching to listen whatever they said; do or don’t and yes or no, that why when we become an adult the creativity become less.

They only interested to works in the government agency or in the big companies. They do not creative doing differents things they only want in the comfortable zone with qualification they has must be related with their jobs.

Education systems has contribute to degeniusing childrens, the kids has been teaching the logically not for creative thinker. Some teachers they do not welcome students asking more questions, that is the different between Western peoples and us, our kids has been teaching the opposite ways.

From beginning we sent our kids to kindergarten, they has been teaching more on logically and the academic subjects. This is different with Japanese or Western countries, they were teaching their kids more to be creative to growing up their brain to make them interesting for learning things.

In Malaysia, every end of year have the graduations day for students in kindergarten they will be judge base on the academic result. It seem like we have putting them pressurised for themselves to get best result. It is same thing happened in primary schools, do this way is good for them? How for those who were do not get best result? Its not fair to them and too early to judge this way.

We are taught only in conventional thinking, that why estimated 80% of problems in life need creative problem solving. Are we ready at the right way to solve problems?

“He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever…” Chinese proverb.

Creative thinking is not a talent. It is a skill that can be learnt.We need creativity for; live forever, create new inventions, solving problems, changed for improvements.

“Imagination is the beginning of creation” George B Shaw.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge, for knowledge is limited while imagination embraced the entire world” Einstein

The founder of gravity has thinking how the apple can fall from the tree when he sat under the tree, at the same time he saw the moon does not fall down at ground. From that he keep thinking to use imagination how that its could be happened.

For Muslims God already told in the first surah of Al Quran has asked peoples to read, Iqra meaning is to read. It is to show peoples that we have to use our brain for learning process all that start from reading, and than we should thinking what was happened in the world.

“Personal and corporate future can changed if people will once again start tapping into their creative skill, which have sat dormant for long”… Micheal Jones.

Human capital need to create something through creativity & innovation.

Creative Problem Solving.

We have to understand the steps solving for all problems;

1- Understand the challenge; to determine, to get the matters, understand the situation and doing cause analysis problem.

2- Generate creative ideas; thinking out-of-box, break the pattern and think opposite.

3- Prepare for actions; developing the solution and building acceptance.

4- Just do it!; implement the action plans rapidly, track & evaluate result and reflect and learn from the process.

Generation of Ideas.

Does not require huge intelligence, 99% of all new ideas are garbage. The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas.

It has a techniques and tools to generation of ideas, using the technique we have to focus on the problem, allocate time for ideas, let the idea flow spontaneously and disabling our conscious mind. All these need the fun to do it.

The tools for generating creative idea;

1- Brainstorming; get as many ideas as possible from group of peoples in a short time. It the crazier is better, sometime no hope for it but if peoples is pissing the ideas that mean it good, trying enough and that is the impact of crazier. If people did not sometimes do silly things, noting intelligent would get done.

2- Mind-mapping; to record ideas, expend ideas and group ideas that have command theme. Preferred use image because our mind is easy to remember and to understand the image than the numbers or words. It need central idea than have the branches or line and further to sub branches with any issues, let the idea flow spontaneously. It has shown the interrelationship between the connections of ideas to developing the detail of subjects and clear pictures to identifying the information flow. Further, we would see the concept of ideas and the result.

1- Analogy; partial likeness between things that are compared. Relate or to look at problems with the things similarly with idea to solving and apply into the situation to discussed. To look at problem in different way, this is different with our conventional thinking style. Let the idea flow freely and look at problem in a more relaxed or open way. Pick analogy, expend the analogy using mind mapping, relate the analogy with the problem, and explore possible solutions to the problem. Aim the outrageous, wild and unique ideas.

2- Random association; the aim is to force a connection between two totally unrelated things. How many ideas hover dispersed in our head of which many a pair if they should come together. Innovative will come from the breaking of different types or between the connections to get a new solution or result. Direct connections are usually rare and need to explore series of connections before hitting on the right connection. Find out many craziest ideas from the mind mapping; randomly pick word from the word list and creatively set-up a unique and practical to business achieve.

Clarification; once we have chosen a topic and generation lot of ideas, we have than need to clarify the ideas.

The key research questions;
What, Where, When, Why, Who, and How.

For clarification, have four levels we need to know;
1- Does the idea fit in?
2- Could we change something?
3- Could we extract the concept of the idea?
4- Could we propose other new idea?

Evaluation; it is a benefit matrix to find or to get the best solution which is easy to implement or difficult to implement and small benefit or big benefit. All these will give the result to choose for these: quick wins, time wasters, bonus opportunities and special efforts.

Incubation; let our subconscious mind works on it as well.

Distillation; maybe at the first it look craziest idea, but have to ask for the clarification, whether it can solve the problem and asking WHY? It is the clarification, than will come out the solution.