This document discusses various techniques for improving creativity and innovation in organizations. It argues that it is easier to change an organization's climate than its culture, and that a positive climate can help foster a more creative culture over time. Several key aspects of an organizational climate that supports creativity are identified, including providing time for idea generation, supporting new ideas, encouraging challenge and involvement, trusting relationships, playfulness, and resolving conflicts constructively. Specific techniques described for generating new ideas include brainstorming, the nominal group technique, lateral and parallel thinking, mind mapping, and metaphorming.

1. CREATIVITY

2. CLIMATE or CULTURE?

3. CLIMATE or CULTURE?
It is difficult to change a culture.
Values are cherished
Challenging values generates out-group attributions
Beliefs & assumptions sustained by selective perception
It is easier to change the climate. Culture may follow.
Many staff will mirror behaviours of certain people.
Attitudes & feelings often change to match behaviour,
in order to avoid dissonance
The opportunity may be enough, as people enjoy creativity

4. CLIMATE FOR CREATIVITY (Ekvall & Isaksen)
Resources:
Idea Time
Idea Support
Challenge and Personal Involvement
Motivation
Trust and Openness
Playfulness and Humour
Conflict Resolution
Exploration:
Risk-taking
Debates about the Issues;
Freedom to respond to challenges
Dynamism

5. IDEA TIME
If people are given:
• Time when they are not doing tasks
• Opportunities to discuss
Then they can explore and test suggestions
They can elaborate on alternative approaches
If every minute is booked and measured,
they can only think within their given routines

6. IDEA SUPPORT
If people respond to ideas and suggestions with:
(managers, peers and subordinates)
• Attentive listening
• Professional respect
• Practical and emotional support for initiatives
Then the atmosphere is positive and constructive
ways of trying out new ideas are created
If not, people expect the automatic “no”
faults are found and obstacles raised

7. CHALLENGE & INVOLVEMENT
If people are involved in:
• Daily operations
• Long-term goals and visions
Then they will be motivated, committed, inspired
They will enjoy their work and find it meaningful
If not, they will be detached, alienated, apathetic

8. TRUST & OPENNESS
If people are given:
• emotional safety in relationships
• personal support and respect
Then they can be genuinely open and frank
They count on each other for professional support
If not, they feel suspicious and are on guard
They avoid revealing their plans or ideas

9. PLAYFULNESS & HUMOUR
If people are given:
• An easy-going light-hearted atmosphere
• Permission to make good-natured jokes
• Professional attitudes within the humour
Then they can have fun and laugh
They can suggest zany ideas, ‘out of the box’
If the atmosphere is stiff and gloomy
Jokes are seen as improper, laughter intolerable

10. CONFLICT RESOLUTION
If people are helped to:
• control their own negative impulses
• gain psychological insight into others
Then they can deal effectively with diversity
If work is full of personal and emotional tensions
people dislike or even hate each other
indulge in slander and gossip
plots, traps and territorial struggles

11. RISK TAKING
If risk is expected as natural in the course of work
• Uncertainty and ambiguity is tolerated
• Bold initiatives can be taken
• People feel they can risk their own ideas
Then bold initiatives can be taken
People will go “out on a limb” to put ideas forward
If not, people are cautious and hesitant
set up committees, cover themselves

12. FREEDOM
If people are given:
• Autonomy to decide how they do things
• Discretion in day-to-day activities
Then they will exercise discretion, take initiative
They will seek & share information about the work
If not, they will blindly follow prescribed tasks

13. DEBATE
If people often meet to hear many voices:
• discuss differing ideas and viewpoints
• disagree and put forward their own ideas
Then a the organisation has access to
a wide range of knowledge and experience
careful consideration of many alternatives
If not, people follow authoritarian patterns
do daft things without questioning them

14. DYNAMISM
Organisational life should be eventful
so that people get experience in adapting
When anything interesting happens,
tell the story – to everyone

15. FACTS model

16. BRAINSTORMING
1. Review the rules of brainstorming with the entire group:
– No criticism, no evaluation, no discussion of ideas.
– There are no stupid ideas. The wilder the better.
– Record all ideas (if not enough ideas try a fishbone diagram)
– Piggyback: combine / modify / expanding other peoples’ ideas.
2. Review the topic or problem to be discussed.
3. Make sure everyone understands the subject.
4. Allow two minutes of silence for people to think.
5. Invite people to call out their ideas. Record all ideas, in words as
close as possible to those used by the contributor. No discussion
or evaluation of any kind is permitted.
6. Continue to generate and record ideas until several minutes’
silence produces no more.

17. NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE
NGT is a variant of brainstorming that enables less vocal people.
1. State the subject. Clarify the statement until everyone understands.
2. All silently think and write as many ideas as possible in a set period.
3. Each states one idea aloud. Facilitator records them on the
flipchart.
4. Continue around the group till done, or for an agreed length of time.
5. Discuss each idea in turn to clarify meaning, explain logic / analysis.
– Raise and answer questions, .
– Change wording only when the idea’s originator agrees.
– Strike ideas from the list only by unanimous agreement.
– Discussion may or state agreement or disagreement.
6. Prioritize the ideas using multivoting or list reduction.

18. EDWARD DE BONO – LATERAL THINKING
1. Don’t try harder in the same direction. Change
direction.
2. Don’t play with the existing pieces. Seek new
pieces.
3. The brain forms asymmetric patterns. Aim to
move across these patterns.
4. Aim to escape from the local optimum in order
to move towards a more global optimum.

19. EDWARD DE BONO – PARALLEL THINKING
Parallel thinking is opposite of adversarial thinking.
Adversarial only discovers 'truth‘. Doesn’t build anything.
In 'parallel thinking' all sides think in the same direction.
There is co-operative and co-ordinated thinking.
Can change direction to give a full scan of the situation.
At any moment each thinker thinks in parallel with others.
There does not have to be agreement.
Contradictory statements are laid down in parallel.
The way forward is 'designed' from all the parallel thoughts
Use the Six Hats method (see roles).

20. TONY BUZAN
Mind Maps express our ideas visually
for creativity for learning

21. METAPHORMING (Todd Siler, artist)
Associative thinking = creating new connections through:
metaphors, similes, analogies, figures of speech, symbols, stories, puns,
visualizations, hypotheses, empathy, models …
Metaphorming is the act of connecting ideas to generate innovations ,
continually transforming meanings + uses by applying them in new contexts
5D symbolic modelling (length, width, height, time/motion, symbols)
Method:
1. Form: a group with a wide variety of skills and experience
2. Connect: brainstorm relationships, connections, associations
3. Discover: develop connections by generating more viewpoints
4. Invent: hypothesise practical uses for the ideas
5. Apply:

22. METAPHORMING