Creativity is defined through three paradoxes: it is both an individual and a collective act, it embodies elements of the new and the old, and it exists as both a moment and a process. Successful creativity relies on the relationship between one's inner and outer establishments, emphasizing the importance of copying, transforming, and combining existing ideas to generate novel concepts. Additionally, creativity involves divergent and convergent thinking processes, supporting the notion that quantity breeds quality in idea generation.

1. September 20, 2016
Creativity
How it Happens, Thrives
and Dies

2. Creativity is comprised of three
mysterious paradoxes that define and
predict its emergence.

3. Creativity is…
An individual
& a collective
act.
1
The new
& the old.
2
A moment
& a process.
3

4. Creativity is both
an individual
& a collective act.

5. “Creativity is the
process by which a
symbolic domain in the
culture is changed.”
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
“Creativity means
using your imagination
to create something
new in the world.”
David Kelley, CEO of IDEO
One definition is about the individual. The other about culture. Why?

6. Physics
According to Csikszentmihalyi, creativity happens when novel ideas
emerge within symbolic domains.

7. Physics
Theory of
Relativity
The Skeptical
Establishment
However, even Einstein alone cannot transform an entire domain.

8. Physics
Theory of
Relativity
The Supportive
Establishment
His idea needs to be supported by the domain’s establishment.

9. The establishment is a powerful entity.

10. Design
Design Community Designer
Every domain has an establishment.

11. Business
The Market Startup

12. Workplace
Company Employee

13. A Problem
Team Individual

14. A Question
inner judge psyche
Even inside your mind.

15. It doesn’t matter how creative you are.

16. If your inner and outer establishments
never support your ideas, they will
never be seen by the world.

17. Your creativity has more to do with
your relationship to your inner and
outer establishments than with your
ability to come up with novel ideas.

18. How amenable are the spaces you live in
to new ideas?

19. Creativity is both
the new
& the old.

20. “If I have seen further, it is
by standing on the
shoulders of giants.”
Isaac Newton
An idea Newton heard from…

21. “We are like dwarves
perched on the shoulders
of giants.”
Bernard of Chartres
…this guy.

22. Gutenberg is famous for inventing the printing press.

23. But it was just one point along a long string of inventions.

24. Ford actually did not invent the automobile or the assembly line.

25. Those inventions existed long before the Model T.

26. “I invented nothing new.
I simply assembled the discoveries of
other men behind whom were
centuries of work. Progress happens
when all the factors that make for it are
ready, and then it is inevitable.”
Henry Ford
Ford was simply an outlet for this progress to manifest.

27. We see this phenomenon everywhere.

28. Copying is vilified, but it’s actually one of the core
methods of creativity.

29. It happens in movies.

30. Quentin Tarantino copied scenes from his favorite movies.

34. And in music. (Zepplin copied lyrics, scores and song titles.)

36. And I just copied this guy’s slides: Kirby Ferguson.

37. “Creativity isn’t magic. It
occurs by applying
ordinary tools of thought
to existing materials.”
Kirby Ferguson
So what are these ordinary tools of thought?

38. Copy

39. This is how we learn the basics from which we can be creative.

40. Transform

41. This is how we play and experiment with existing ideas.

42. Combine

43. This is how novelty is created.

44. Your desire to be original is your inner
establishment’s attempt at keeping you
safe from criticism.

45. Stop trying to be original and start
copying, transforming and combining.

46. What are your judgements about people
or companies that copy?

47. Creativity is both
a moment
& a process.

48. Here’s a fast, familiar thought we’ve had many times before.

49. Here’s a slow, new thought we’ve never had before.

50. Quick, think of five names of birds.

51. Now think of five more.
Notice how much longer it takes to come up with more names.

52. Now think of five MORE.
Your brain is doing everything possible to find more names.

53. Boom!
Suddenly, when one arrives, there’s an ah-ha moment.

54. Eureka!
Lightbulb moments make the story of genius simple.

55. But we forget that thousands of ideas happened beforehand.

56. The Process of Creativity
And only a few of them made the cut.

57. opportunity
definition
research
interpret
ideation
idea
selection
implement
test
Most business and design processes follow this pattern.

58. push pull
It’s like a pump that creates movement.

59. expand contract
Or like a pulse.

60. inhale exhale
It permeates every aspect of life.

61. birth death
It’s simply part of nature.

62. diverge converge
Ideas emerge when we do this in our minds.

63. ‣ Play.
‣ Free associate.
‣ Loosen our attention.
‣ Look from every angle.
‣ Defer judgement.
‣ Maximize options.
Divergent
Thinking

64. ‣ Are pragmatic.
‣ Find the essence.
‣ Narrow our focus.
‣ Take a stand.
‣ Embrace failure.
‣ Find/Combine the best ideas.
Convergent
Thinking

65. Quantity breeds quality.
A pearl diver never dives for just one oyster at a time.

66. Quantity breeds quality.
They collect many oysters at once before returning to shore.

67. Quantity breeds quality.
They know they must open many shells before finding a pearl.

68. collect open
It’s the same with creativity.

69. Brainstorming is a technique to collect many, many oysters.

70. We allow our brains to form many novel ideas.

71. Every idea is invisible until it is expressed into the world.

72. When we do that in groups, we become like a meta-neuron.

73. My ideas suck.
I’m not creative.
I’ll sound dumb.
But our inner establishment can
easily shut us down.

74. Their ideas suck.
They’re not creative.
They sound dumb.

75. I’m tired.
This is boring.

76. This is pointless.
We’re wasting time.

77. I’m afraid to step on toes.
I shouldn’t take up space.
I’m not a leader.
Tragically, many meetings result in zero novel ideas.

78. Do you know what your mind is doing?

79. And how it’s impacting others?

80. Divergent
‣ Play.
‣ Free associate.
‣ Loosen your attention.
‣ Look from every angle.
‣ Defer judgement.
‣ Maximize options.
Convergent
‣ Be pragmatic.
‣ Find the essence.
‣ Narrow your focus.
‣ Take a stand.
‣ Celebrate failure.
‣ Find/Combine the best ideas.

81. What if?
How might we?
What are all the
ways?
Divergent Convergent
‣ Be pragmatic.
‣ Find the essence.
‣ Narrow your focus.
‣ Take a stand.
‣ Celebrate failure.
‣ Find/Combine the best ideas.

82. What if?
How might we?
What are all the
ways?
How?
What’s feasible?
Desirable?
Viable?
What’s the best
way?
Divergent Convergent

83. Creativity is both…
an individual & a collective act.
For ideas to make a big impact, the
establishment needs to be ready to
receive them.

84. Creativity is both…
an individual & a collective act.
The first step to reforming organizational
culture is to start seeing the establishment
within your own mind.

85. Creativity is both…
the new & the old.
We can never, have never, and will never
invent alone.

86. Creativity is both…
the new & the old.
Creativity happens through consistent toil
using ordinary tools of thought.

87. Creativity is both…
a moment & a process.
Quantity breeds quality. Take a full breath
before exhaling.

88. Creativity is both…
a moment & a process.
Understand what your mind is doing and
how you impact others.

89. Thank you!
Eddie Y. Shieh, PCC, MFA
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