This document discusses creativity from several perspectives including the creative person, process, product, and environment. It describes characteristics of creative individuals such as fluency, flexibility, and risk-taking. The creative process is explained as involving preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. A creative product must be novel, meaningful, useful, and aesthetic. The creative environment should be stimulating, protective, and respect diverse ideas. Blocks to creativity like fear and conformity are also examined. Different learning and thinking styles are presented, as well as techniques to stimulate creativity like random word associations and morphological analysis.

1. Creativity
Creativity

2. Are you Creative?

3. 4 approaches to creativity
• Person
• Process
• Product
• Press/Environment

4. Person
A creative person is different from an ordinary person. He
possess unique capabilities like:
• Seeing problems
• Fluency
• Flexibility
• Originality
• Elaboration
• Inquisitiveness
• Persistency
• Risk-taking
• Visualisation
• Extending
Boundaries
• Humour

5. Process
According to “Wallace” a creative thinking process involves
• Preparation
• Incubation
• Illumination
• Verification

6. According to “Torrance”
creativity is a process of
enhancing incubation through
• Heightening anticipation
• Deepening expectations
• Keeping it going

7. Product
A creative product must be
• Novel
• Meaningful
• Useful
• Aesthetic

8. Press
A creative environment must be
• Stimulating cum protective
• Absent from premature criticism
• Freedom for diversity
• Opportunities to master techniques
• Physical and financial facilities
• Esteem for innovators

9. Principles for generating creative
environment
• Be respectful for unusual questions
• Be respectful of imaginative, unusual ideas.
• Show your peers that their ideas have
values.
• Encourage experimentation without the
threat of evaluation
• Evaluation with causes and consequences.

10. Blocks to Creative Thinking
• Perceptual
• Intellectual
• Emotional
• Cultural
• Environmental

11. Perceptual Blocks
These blocks result from our mental set or predisposition
towards seeing the problem or situation in the way we want to
or are used to.
• Imposition of self
restrictions
• Unable to see the
problems from varied
frames
• Fixed mental set
• Difficulty to establish
remote relationships
• Saturation of senses
• Failure to utilise all
sensory inputs etc.

12. Intellectual Blocks
These arise from our inability to restructure the problem
and/or our existing knowledge
• Preference for verbal
forms
• Inadequate use of
alternative problem
solving
• Lack of correct relevant
information
• Inability to identify
hidden assumptions
• Need for closure-forcing
incomplete incorrect
inferences etc.

13. Emotional Blocks
These frustrate our problem solving efforts and have one
common source…FEAR. They might have their origin in
childhood experiences and are usually irrational.
• Fear of making a mistake,
falling or taking risks.
• Fear of criticism, of being
changed, of insecurity.
• Inability to tolerate
ambiguity
• Preference for judging
rather than generating
ideas
• Inability to incubate
• Over motivation
• Difficulty in visualisation

14. Cultural Blocks
These blocks derive sustenance from an over-anxiety to
conform
• Fantasizing is a waste
of time
• Work and play cannot
mix
• Reason is rational,
Intuition is irrational
• Scientific thinking is
THE answer.

15. Environmental Blocks
These blocks arise outside ourselves and are the result of the
environment about us
• Compulsion towards
conformity
• Boss’ idea is the best
• Over reliance on
expertise
• Frequent distractions

16. Multiple Intelligences
• Linguistic – Skill with words (writers, public
speakers and negotiators)
• Mathematical/Logical – Skill in analysis and logic
(scientists, economists, mathematicians and
statisticians)
• Visual/Spatial – the ability to visualise and create
images in your mind’s eye (architects, navigators,
artists and photographers)

17. Multiple Intelligences
• Musical – The ability to create and identify
complex patterns of sound (musicians,
composers and lovers of classical music)
• Kinesthetic – The ability to use the body
skillfully – surgeons, athletes, dancers and
people who are “good with their hands”)

18. Multiple Intelligences
• Interpersonal- the ability to communicate
well (salespeople, gifted trainers and some
parents)
• Intra-personal – The ability to create one’s
own goals and plans, to be reflective (to
analyse one’s behaviour as a guide to future
action)

19. Ingredients of Creativity
• Recognising patterns
• Making connections
• Taking risks
• Challenging assumptions
• Taking advantage of chance
• Seeing new ways

20. Six common mistakes in logic
• Jump to conclusions
• Attack the person
• Appeal to an authority
• Think in “all-or-nothing” terms
• Base arguments on emotion
• Preconceived notions

21. Thinking Characteristics
Routine Thinking
• Little new or unknown
• Limited use of memory storage
• Little redefinition and comparing
of retrieved information
• Logical and precise
• Rigidity of ideas
• Conformist
• Passive
• Stereotyped
• Inhibited
• Reassuring, certainty
• High degree of “rightness”
• Convergent thinking – directed
towards right answer or solution
Creative Thinking
• Much new and unknown
• Full use of memory storage
• High degree of redefinition and
experimenting with retrieved
information
• Non-logical and approximate
• Fluency of ideas
• Spontaneous, flexible
• Active
• Original
• Free-ranging
• Confusion, uncertainty
• “Wrongness” accepted
• Divergent thinking –no precise
solutions but searching and
experimenting for further retrieval
and learning

23. Learning Styles
• Activist
• Reflector
• Theorist
• Pragmatist

24. Activist
Having an Experience
Most Preferred
• New Experiences
• Ideas without
constraint
• In at the deep end -
challenges
Least Preferred
• Listening to how to do
• Data Assimilation
• Solitary Work

25. Blockage to Learning - Activist
• Short of time to plan or think
• Preference to move quickly from one
activity to another
• Impatient for action
• Reluctance to listen carefully and
analytically
• Reluctance to write down things

26. Developing Learning Style -
Activist
• Practise observing verbal and non verbal
behaviour of others
• Keep a diary and reflect on what you have learnt
• Practise reviewing and summarising meetings and
discussions
• Offer to investigate a problem, research some facts
• List the pros and cons of proposed actions

27. Reflector
Reviewing the experience
Most Preferred
• Stand back and
observe
• Opportunity to review
learning
• Making decision in
own time
Least Preferred
• Instant reaction
required
• Given cut and dried
instructions
• Pressed for time –
rushed activities

28. Blockage to Learning- Reflector
• Fear of failure and of making mistakes
• Fear of ridicule
• Anxiety about trying unfamiliar things
• Strong wish to have everything well
thought out in advance
• Self-doubt, seeking confidence
• Taking life very seriously

29. Developing Learning Style -
Reflector
• Experiment with new behaviour
• Practise starting conversations
• Talk to managers from different functions
• Force yourself into the limelight e.g. chair
meetings, make presentations

30. Theorist
Concluding from the experience
Most Preferred
• Structured situation
• Clear Purpose
• System or model
offered
• Chance to analyse and
generalise
Least Preferred
• Emotional Situation
• Incompatible
Techniques
• Being out of tune with
others.

31. Blockages to Learning - Theorist
• Preference for perfect rather than practical
solutions to problems
• Seeing even useful techniques as over-
simplifications or gimmicky
• Enjoying interesting diversions and being side-
tracked
• Leaving things open-ended rather than committing
to specific action
• Believing someone else’s ideas will not work in
your situation

32. Developing Learning Style -
Theorist
• Collect as many techniques as possible
• Take the opportunity to experiment
• If others do something well, try to model
yourself on them
• Invite others to observe your techniques and
give feedback
• Concentrate on producing action plans daily
which are specific and have deadlines

33. Pragmatist
Planning the next steps
Most Preferred
• Linkages between
subject and problem
clear
• Opportunity to tackle
real problems
Least Preferred
• Talk and Chalk
• No apparent relevance

34. Blockage to Learning -
Pragmatist
• Taking things at face value
• Preference for intuition and subjectivity
• Dislike of a structured approach to life
• Giving high priority to fun-loving
spontaneity

35. Developing Learning Styles -
Pragmatist
• Devote time to reading course material
• Practise spotting inconsistencies in
arguments of others
• Plan discussions and meetings with clear
agendas
• Practise asking open questions
Why? What? How?

36. Attitudes that kill creative ideas
• Don’t be ridiculous
• We’ve tried that before
• We’ve never done it
before
• It costs too much
• That’s beyond our
responsibility
• It’s too radical a change
• We don’t have time
• We are too small for
that
• That will make other
equipment obsolete
• Not practical for
operating people
• The union will scream
• Lets go back to reality

37. Attitudes that kill Creative thinking
• Why change it? It’s still
working OK.
• You are two years ahead
of your time.
• We are not ready for that.
• It isn’t in the budget.
• Can’t teach an old dog
new tricks
• Top management will go
for it
• We’ll be the laughing
stock
• We did all right without
it
• Let’s form a committee
• Has anyone else ever
tried it?
• Are our competitors
doing it?
• That’s not our problem

38. SCAMPER
• Substitute
• Combine
• Alter
• Modify
• Put to other use
• Eliminate
• Reverse

39. Random Stimulation
• This is a discovery approach to finding
ideas, looking in random places where we
detect no kind of parallel in the hope of
finding something of value.

40. Random Stimulation – Step One
• Select any product you want to improve
• Write down the attributes of that product

41. Random Stimulation- Step Two
• Choose any word at random from a
dictionary or from the list below:
Barrack, tent, truant, blossom, cake, truck, fire, paper, lamp,
shirt, cigarette, TV, cow, heart, gambler, book, bed,
spectacles, bath tub, toothbrush, shoes, circle, sky, branch,
glue, ulcer, cloak, weed, miracle, forest.
• List the features or ideas that the word
brings to your mind.

42. Random Stimulation – Step
Three
• Now force fit the first attribute of the
product with the first attribute/idea of your
random word.
• Do it for all the attributes you have listed
for the product.

43. Plant Analogy
• Plants are the basic producers of all food. They
trap solar energy and store it up as starch. To do
this they need water taken in through the roots and
carbon dioxide gas taken in through the leaves. In
addition for healthy growth they need various
minerals from the soil which may have to be
replaced with compost or fertilisers. Plant systems
offer many useful parallels for analysing the
business situation in fresh ways.

44. Plant Analogy
• What kind of plant is our business most like – flower, vegetable,
shrub, tree?
• What is the sunshine of our business?
• What cuts off the sunshine and shades the plant?
• Describe the root system and explain how it spreads.
• Are there any stones or layers of hardpan or rock that restrict the
root growth?
• Does the plant get sufficient water; how can it be watered or
irrigated?
• Does the plant need fertilising, and if yes how this done?
• Is there a natural limit to the growth of this kind of plant even if
no other plants compete? Explain.
• Does the plant produce seeds?

45. Morphological Analysis
Power
Supply
Bulb
Type
Light
Intensity
Size Style Colour Material
Battery Halogen Low Very
Large
Modern Black Metal
Mains Bulb Medium Large Antique White Ceramic
Solar Daylight High Medium Roman Metallic Concrete
Generator Coloured Variable Small Art Terra
Cotta
Bone
Crank Arc Very
Small
Eastern Enamel Glass
Gas Flame Hand Held Industrial Natural Wood
Oil/Petrol Ethnic Fabric Stone
Plastic

46. Story Making
Main Secondary Other Scene Body End
Father Mother Aunt House Character Happy
Uncle Sister Cousin Countrysid
e
Murder Sad
Friend Neighbour Dog City Relationsh
ip
Mystery
I Colleague Hospital Emotional Tragic

47. How to grow up Creatively Gifted
E Paul Torrance
• Don’t be afraid to “fall in love with” something and
pursue it with intensity (You will do best what you
like to do best)
• Know, understand, take pride in, practice, develop,
use, exploit, and enjoy your greatest strengths.
• Learn to free yourself from the expectations of others
and to walk away from the games they try to impose
upon you.

48. How to grow up Creatively Gifted
E Paul Torrance
• Free yourself to “play your own game” in such a way
as to make good use of your gifts.
• Find a teacher or mentor who will help you.
• Don’t waste a lot of expensive, unproductive energy
trying to be well rounded (Don’t try to do everything.
Do what you can do well and what you love)
• Learn the skills of interdependence (Learn to depend
on one another, giving freely of your greatest
strengths and most intense love)