Creative Consumers; Adding Inspiration to Innovation By John Kearon – Chief Juicer ESOMAR Innovate Conference, May 10-12 th May 2006 The Mind Reading Agency

Ideas please…. – For making this toy more pleasurable for kids ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ What is Creativity?

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Edison’s gate and the visit of Albert Mann (President of the Bank of America) 1902

A $Trillion Marketing Services Industry Trying to satisfy the thirst for creativity

There is no IQ equivalent for creativity Can creativity be measured?

Define creativity Create measures of creativity Validate those measures Trying to measure creativity…

Define creativity

Create measures of creativity

Validate those measures

Creativity (or ‘lateral thinking’) is concerned with restructuring mental patterns, emphasizing/using information in provocative ways and challenging accepted ideas and notions – d eBono E . Creativity (or ‘Synectics’) is the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements. It involves seeking and using direct, personal, and symbolic analogies to find new solutions to problems - Gordon, W.J.J Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, & having fun– MaryLou Cook Creating a solution that is novel and appropriate– Sternberg B.

Creativity (or ‘lateral thinking’) is concerned with restructuring mental patterns, emphasizing/using information in provocative ways and challenging accepted ideas and notions – d eBono E .

Creativity (or ‘Synectics’) is the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements. It involves seeking and using direct, personal, and symbolic analogies to find new solutions to problems - Gordon, W.J.J

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, & having fun– MaryLou Cook

Creating a solution that is novel and appropriate– Sternberg B.

Defining creativity “ I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated”. Poul Anderson

an experiment with a Nat Rep sample of 5,000 Measuring Creativity Creating Measures of Creativity Implicit creativity measures (Personality tests) Explicit creativity measures (Creativity tests)

Personality test – Myers Briggs (MBTi) test Least Creative Most Creative

Willoughby Individualist -Team Player (WIT) test Adaptors/Team Players Prefer to take ideas & improve them. Fairly cautious, practical & standard approaches. Prefer incremental innovation, structure & consensus. Prefer to work in groups & motto is to do things better Innovators/Individualist Prefer to find new ideas & ‘big bang’. Can be risky, challenging & abrasive. Prefer solving problems with less structure & consensus. Prefer to solve problems alone and their motto is do things differently

Willoughby Individualist -Team Player (WIT) Test

Idea Generation Exercise

Multiple Creativity Tests

Mednick’s Remote Association Test

Insight Test (cognitive plane shifting)

Horowitz Test (abstract flexibility)

Torrence Test (fluency, flexibility, originality)

0-3 The lights are off . You're just not creative. Never mind, someone's got to follow the rules. You're probably a successful lawyer - or traffic warden. 4-7 = Night Light. You've got a flicker, maybe a weak glow of creativity going on but you prefer to stick to the facts and leave dreaming to others. 8-11= Regular 60 watt . You're a good all-rounder, rational and imaginative in equal measures. You can see a good idea even if you can't always think of one. 12-15= Bright Spark . You've definitely got what it takes. Idea generation comes naturally to you. Your rational streak makes you a great evaluator of those ideas too .....but may just put a break on your imagination. 16-18 = Incandescent! Welcome to the loony Leonardo club. The sparks are flying all over the place & you could easily set the world alight. You're out of the box definitely & out of your mind, maybe? It doesn't matter you're a creative genius. .

The Creativity Test Results Normal distribution

Creativity is like any other aptitude

More creative = more ideas Idea Generation Results 4.9 ideas per person 6.8 ideas per person +39% higher 10.1 ideas per person +49% higher +106% higher

More creative = better ideas Idea Generation Results Elephant ideas Make ears bigger Give it a squeak Make the eyes move Ears feels different Make trunk longer Squirt water from trunk (given as e.g.) Sing Nellie the ele Make it walk Elephant ideas & humanising ideas Pull the trunk to open it’s mouth Trumpet when it detects movement Have babies inside ----------------------- Allow it to speak Give it spectacles Give it clothes Talk back to you Record a message Have the child’s name on it Elephant ideas & humanising ideas & More abstract ideas A finger puppet Water proof 4 bath Whistle in trunk Make it laugh Make it dance Make it fart & burp Help spell & count roar when smacked ------------------------ Elephant Hoover A radio with tusks for volume & tuning A Pyjama case Tusks 4 teething +Wheels & ride it Vibrates to soothe Microwaveable as a hot water bottle

Elephant ideas

Make ears bigger

Give it a squeak

Make the eyes move

Ears feels different

Make trunk longer

Squirt water from trunk (given as e.g.)

Sing Nellie the ele

Make it walk

Elephant ideas & humanising ideas

Pull the trunk to open it’s mouth

Trumpet when it detects movement

Have babies inside

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Allow it to speak

Give it spectacles

Give it clothes

Talk back to you

Record a message

Have the child’s name on it

Elephant ideas & humanising ideas &

More abstract ideas

A finger puppet

Water proof 4 bath

Whistle in trunk

Make it laugh

Make it dance

Make it fart & burp

Help spell & count

roar when smacked ------------------------

Elephant Hoover

A radio with tusks for volume & tuning

A Pyjama case

Tusks 4 teething

+Wheels & ride it

Vibrates to soothe

Microwaveable as a hot water bottle

Which are the 3 best predictors of creativity? Age Gender Occupation Education level Self-assessment Willoughby (WIT) test Myers-Briggs (MBTi) 3 rd Best 1 st 2 nd Best

Age

Gender

Occupation

Education level

Self-assessment

Willoughby (WIT) test

Myers-Briggs (MBTi)

Statistically significant but not convincing In 3 rd Place = Myers Briggs SF 8.68 NT 9.68 ISFJ 8.62 INTP 9.81

In 2 nd Place = Occupation 1) Architects 11.00 33) Agricultural Workers 7.71 Statistically significant & quite convincing 17) Marketing 8.99 23.) Research 8.72 4) Engineers 9.38 30.) Construction 8.72

Individualists are much more creative In 1 st Place = Willoughby Individualist-Team Player (WIT) Test Team Player 9.0 Individualist 11.2 2% of pop. 12% of pop. 77% of pop. 7% of pop. 2% of pop.

WIT & Creativity correlate Idea Generation Results

Implications for Business

Implications for Business

Creativity can be recognized but not defined; measured but not easily produced Creative ability varies considerably; just 2% are extremely creative & perhaps 10% show strong creative potential WIT test shows that creatives are Individualists who question everything, ignore rules, work on their own & think differently Highly creative Individualists produce significantly better ideas as well as twice as many of them Summary of Findings

Creativity can be recognized but not defined; measured but not easily produced

Creative ability varies considerably; just 2% are extremely creative & perhaps 10% show strong creative potential

WIT test shows that creatives are Individualists who question everything, ignore rules, work on their own & think differently

Highly creative Individualists produce significantly better ideas as well as twice as many of them

Please STOP Brainstorming! Every person & idea has equal worth Only 2% of people are highly creative A group is better for creating ideas Individualists create better alone Suspending judgement helps creativity Creatives reject until they hit originality Fast, furious & lots of ideas is better Slow, calm & 1 good idea is better Preparation-Incubation-Illumination Implications for Brainstorming

Every person & idea has equal worth Only 2% of people are highly creative

A group is better for creating ideas Individualists create better alone

Suspending judgement helps creativity Creatives reject until they hit originality

Fast, furious & lots of ideas is better Slow, calm & 1 good idea is better Preparation-Incubation-Illumination

Creative Individualists are a better solution Stop using brainstorming to generate creative solutions Start using Incandescents & Bright Sparks as your creative resource Email the problem to 60 of them to think about (explanation & incubation) Collect online 1 or more creative solutions from each Individualist Select the best from 100 and action Repeat as required! Implications for Idea Generation

Stop using brainstorming to generate creative solutions

Start using Incandescents & Bright Sparks as your creative resource

Email the problem to 60 of them to think about (explanation & incubation)

Collect online 1 or more creative solutions from each Individualist

Select the best from 100 and action

Repeat as required!

The end (this is a static image. stare at any black dot to stop!)