The document discusses bad habits that kill creativity, including being too focused on design, operating from ego, lack of listening, and hastily judging ideas. It provides lessons and takeaways for each, such as spending more time on research so solutions flow easier, focusing on problems not people, listening before responding, and looking for positives in ideas before judging. An overall takeaway is presented on good creativity practices like research, listening, positive thinking, communication, and losing fear of failure.

1. Beating the Bad Habits that Kill
Creativity
Anand Ramachandran
Creative Director
BYJU’S

2. I’M FRUSTRATED!

3. What is Creativity ?

4. THE DESIGNER INCIDENT
Act One

6. Lessons
• Being too designer-focused kills creativity by:
– Leading to generalized or vague problem statements, which lead
to generalized solutions
– Limiting the insights that are informing your thinking. Fewer
ingredients leads to fewer combinations and derivative
solutions.
Takeaway – Don’t be THAT designer. Do your research. The more time
you spend on research, the easier creative solutions will flow.

7. ENEMY #1
Act Two

9. WHO is right

10. WHAT is right

11. WHAT is right
Attack the problem and not the
person.
It’s okay to be wrong
It’s good to have shit ideas. And
lots of them.

12. Lessons
• Operating from Ego kills creativity by
– Promoting fear of failure (looking stupid, being blamed) and
eliminating spirit of experimentation
– Fostering negative communication, making it about people
rather than problems, distracting from the problem statement
Takeaway – Focus on PROBLEMS, not on PEOPLE (including
yourself). Learn to recognize when your decisions are being driven
by ego.

13. THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL
Act Three

17. Sigh

22. Listening = good things
Special Thanks to Raisa Elizabeth Bastian and Dwayne Johnson

23. Lessons
• Lack of listening kills creativity by:
– Hijacking conversations and preventing natural flow of ideas,
reducing possibilities
– Limiting deep understanding
– Cutting off the ‘conversation feedback loop’
Takeaway – Take the time to listen deeply and understand before
responding.

24. IDEAS ABOUT HAVING IDEAS
Act Four
#khanabdulgaffarkhan

25. LET’S BUY CHOCOLATES FOR ALL THE CHILDREN
WE KNOW

26. LET’S BUY BEER FOR ALL THE CHILDREN WE
KNOW

27. GOOD BAD
THE SPECTRUM APPROACH

28. GOOD BAD
THE SPECTRUM APPROACH
Resist urge to immediately classify ideas as good or bad.

29. GOOD BAD
THE SPECTRUM APPROACH
Resist urge to immediately classify ideas as good or bad.
Point out 3 things you like about an idea BEFORE you can point
out what you dislike.

30. GOOD BAD
THE SPECTRUM APPROACH
Resist urge to immediately classify ideas as good or bad.
Point out 3 things you like about an idea BEFORE you can point
out what you dislike.
Express criticism as a wish /desire

31. GOOD BAD
THE SPECTRUM APPROACH
Resist urge to immediately classify ideas as good or bad.
Point out 3 things you like about an idea BEFORE you can point
out what you dislike.
Express criticism as a wish /desire
Build on other people’s ideas

32. LET’S BUY BEER FOR ALL THE CHILDREN WE
KNOW
Redux

33. Lessons
• Hastily judging ideas kills creativity by
– Preventing people from contributing, hampering team creativity
– Promoting one-sided views, which tend towards conventional
thinking and premature convergence without incubation time
– Hasty judgement, combined with fear of failure, fosters negative
thought and communication, known creativity killers
Takeaway – Learn to look at the positive side of even seemingly
bad ideas.

34. Good Creativity Practices Cheat Sheet
• Do your research – especially on user insights
• Listen deeply and understand before responding.
• Think positively
• Communicate positively
• Lose your fear of failure
• Check your ego

35. Feedback