Continuous creativity slideshare

Continuous Creativity for Agile Teams
Roger BrownMark LevisonAgile 2010
© 2010 Roger.W.Brown

Why should you care?
Creativity increases productivity
Your team can be more creative
Knowing how it works makes it easier to achieve
Teams can achieve a state of Group Flow
Creativity can be nurtured

Group Flow
How to Nurture it
Group Creativity
Where does it come from?
What is Creativity?

What is Creativity?

Would you like to be more creative?

What is holding you back?

Creative people work alone, right?

Creative people are born that way, right?

2x + 3y = z
And then it happened…

What defines a creative idea?
You tell us…

What defines a creative idea?
Novel
Relevant
Spontaneous

Creativity helps with
Problem Solving
Refinement of Product and Process
Invention and Innovation

Have you ever tried really hard to be creative?

Can creativity be learned?
Aha!
Mozart
coffee
brainstorm
innovate
think!

There are many models for fostering creativity

A Neuro-Based Model
Attention
Reflection
Insight
Action

Exercise
Using a single stroke, turn the Roman numeral seven, shown below, into an eight.
VII
If you get stuck, ask a partner for help

Exercise
Using a single stroke, turn the Roman numeral 9, shown below, into a 6.
IX

Exercise
Using a single stroke, turn the Roman numeral nine, shown below, into a six.
IX

Where does creativity come from?

Outdated Sources
Smarties
The Muse
Genetics
School
IQ

Fact or Myth?We use only 10% of our brain.

We use our whole brain, all the time
Logical?
Creative?
Longer branches, more dendritic spines, less precise
Shorter branches, fewer dendritic spines, more precise

Brain Basics

Most “Thinking” is Subconcious

Brain Capacity and Speed
Long Term Memory
WorkingMemory
slow
real fast

Test Drive

Brain Circuits
New Info
Impasse
Existing Neural Map 1
Existing Neural Map 2
New Neural Map

What does creativity look like?
© 2006 David Rock

Brain Waves
awareness reflection insight action

Group Creativity

Can a team be creative?

Famous Collaborations
Apollo 13
J.R.R.Tolkien and the Inklings
Jobs and Wozniak
Lennon and McCartney … and Harrison and Starr

Not-so-famous Collaborations
Morse – Jackson – Gale – Vale
Darwin – Lyell – Malthus – Wallace

Exercise – 10 min
Collaborative problem solving
Choose a partner
Think of a challenge you have at work and write it
down in 5 words or less
Read the challenge to your partner. Look for a feeling of impasse.
Partner asks questions that facilitate reflection and watches facial expressions.
key words: quiet, deep, close, hunch
Switch roles after 4 minutes.
Class debrief.

Impediments to Creativity
You tell us…

Our Top 5 Impediments to Creativity
Too much detail in goal
Too open-ended a target
Command and control
Noisy, stressed mind
Yes, but…

How to NurtureGroup Creativity

EmotionalSafety

Intrinsic Motivation
autonomy
mastery
purpose
and a sense of progress

What About Stress?
Performance
Arousal

The Group Creativity Toolbox

Align to Common Goal

Prepare

Simple Factors
Be creative!
Be visual
Be physical

Check Assumptions

Make it safe to fail

Quiet Mind

Appropriate Brainstorming

Expand Your Universe
Engage outsiders
Examine failures
Remove predictability

Many Perspectives
Innovation Games ™
Six Hats
Agile Games

Group Flow

Flow
P
Panic
Anxiety
Challenge
Flow Channel
Boredom
Skill and Confidence

Agile activities are continuous
Can creativity be continuous?

Group Goal
nasahq photo

Deep Listening

Complete Concentration

Autonomy

Blending Egos

Equal Participation

Familiarity and Continuity
Performing
Performance
Forming
Norming
Storming
Forming Storming Norming Performing

Constant Communication

Moving Forward
Yes, and… we can all wear hats like mine!

Embrace Failure

Exercise – 15 min
Your turn
5 min: Working in pairs, brainstorm 3 ways that you can help your team to become more creative.
5 min: As a group, filter the top 3 most interesting ideas generated at your table.
5 min: Debrief

Why should you care?
Creativity increases productivity
Your team can be more creative
Knowing how it works makes it easier to achieve
Teams can achieve a state of Group Flow
Creativity can be nurtured

Creativity is a series of many
small insights

The End
Emmy Awards
2000: Outstanding Writing - Comedy Series - won
2001: Outstanding Writing - Comedy Series - won
Writers Guild of America
2001: Best Writing - Episodic Comedy - nominated
2004: Best Writing - Episodic Comedy - won

Roger Brown , Moonrise Consulting
roger@moonriseconsulting.com, @rwbrown
Mark Levison, Agile Pain Relief Consulting
mark@agilepainrelief.com, @mlevison

Continuous creativity slideshare

by Roger Brown on Aug 14, 2010

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