This document summarizes Kevin Popović's session on creativity and innovation. The session included playing icebreaker games, discussing divergent thinking and how creativity can be developed like a muscle. It also covered motivation, curiosity, fear and evaluating ideas. Popović presented on making and breaking connections between ideas, developing a creative profile and balancing left and right brain thinking. Students were assigned to develop their own creative profile, take a brain dominance test and complete readings and quizzes on design thinking.
Creativity and innovation are integral to an organization’s ability to survive and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace.
This course provides students with an understanding of how creativity and innovation can be facilitated and managed in a work setting.
Students will learn about theoretical conceptualizations of creativity and innovation as well as practical applications involved in fostering creativity and innovation in the workplace.
Students will be expected to play an active role in learning through class exercises, class discussions, and dialogue with guest speakers, and presentations about real (or planned) innovations in organizations.
Find a partner to your left. Play Rock, Scissors, Paper – Best of 10
One, two, three – shoot!
Find a Partner on your right. Play Rock, Scissors, Paper – Best of 10
Who wanted to win?
What were you thinking about? (Yourself, other person)
Participants think of self – want to beat the other person
Find a partner to your left. Play Tiger, Fireworks, Hello– Best of 10
One, two, three – shoot! Aargh, Boom, handshake / hello
Find a Partner on your right. Play Tiger, Fireworks, Hello– Best of 10
Who wanted to win?
What were you thinking about? (Other person, group)
Help participants think of others
What do we know about creativity?
Stereotypes? Who was the “artsy” one growing up?
What do we think about creativity?
Are you creative? Why do you think this?
Provide an example of some type of creativity. If you can be creative for one thing, you can be creative for another.
I believe everyone is, in some way creative, or has the ability to be creative.
We are all created (more or less equal).
You can increase your creativity.
If you don’t use it you will lose it.
Extrinsic Motivation: Money, fame.
While powerful in stimulating various kinds of actions (what do people do for money?) it tends to diminish the quality of creativity UNLESS it occurs in a proper relationship to intrinsic.
“Some for the meal, some for the reel.”
Intrinsic Motivation: Personal satisfaction, sense of accomplishment, pride.
Comes from persons natural affinity – its what moves them (in spirit, thought and action). Associated with passion, fun, and high creative quality.
Class Discussion: What are the benefits of having both, merging?
Answer: everyone wins: happy employees, prosperous company
Employee Retention, Satisfaction, Morale
Company productivity, profitability, reduced expenses
Class Discussion:
What are you curious about?
How will this motivate you? To do what?
What would you future look like if this occurs?
What will have to change for this to happen?
Class Discussion: When have you been afraid? Of What? What did you do to overcome this fear and proceed?
Discuss solutions to fear:
Identifying answers – removing the unknown
Asking for help to overcome obstacles
There are no bad ideas.
Yes there are.
All things considered…
When it really comes down to it.
The lesser of the evils…
Allow this to happen.
Provide the time necessary to multiply, reinforce, and verify new connections until they fulfill their promise.
New ideas do not have to be complete to be presented
They need to be explored, modified tailored before ANYONE can make a fair decision about their worth.
To successfully call on motivation, curiosity and fear, making breaking connections, and evaluation you can practice and exercise in those dynamics, just like an athlete.
With practice and exercise, you can improve the ability, confidence, and strengths you’ll need to put the dynamics into play.
We practice with words every day – how far have your words advanced in the last two years? What has contributed to this advancement, confidence, application?
Sun Tsu, The Art of War: “Know thy enemy, know yourself.”
“I am my own worst enemy.”
“To thine own self be true.”
Motivation: Intrinsic or Extrinsic? Do you know what you want in life? What is your special purpose?
Curiosity: Do you allow yourself time to explore your interests? DO you learn daily? Have fun? Are you satisfied? Do you want more?
Management of Fear and Stress: Are you able to manage fear and stress in yoru life? Does anxiety overtake you? Are you able to share your fears in a humorous light?
Connection Breaking: Can you accept when things don’t work? Can you be wrong? When is wrong acceptable? Can you be silly? Can you tolerate ambiguity, the unknown?
Connection Making: Do you enjoy new ideas, the unknown? Others ideas? Can you create absurd ideas at will?
Class Exercise: Write down what you want to be when you grow up? Write down 5 things you will be able to do when you reach this goal.
Creative Evaluation Capability: Can you identify merit in ideas? Others ideas? Do ideas have good parts, bad parts? Can you like an idea even if you don’t think it will work?
Self-Confidence: Can you find answers to problems you don’t know anything about yet? Are you creative? Tell me why (self-confidence) I should think you are creative. Can you listen to criticism without it creating fear?
Ability to Innovate: Can you get others to follow your ideas? Can you accept a compromised idea? Can you identify and idea and get an idea to work?
----- Meeting Notes (9/3/15 21:26) -----
Note: Provide this as a document for students to complete to reduce how much thinking they need to format. Some didn't get assignment.
Share several in class to help others understand better, demonstrate how others are addressing, defining
Exercise:
Draft a creative profile of yourself.
Answer for each item
I will pick 5 students randomly to present to the class. (Test confidence in front of an audience)
You have 5 minutes.
Assignment: Develop your Creative Profile. Download, complete, submit as homework.
Assignment: Take the “Right Brain Left Brain Creativity Test”, submit results page
http://testyourself.psychtests.com/testid/3178
Assignment: Read “The Eureka Hunt” by Jonah Lehrer, The New Yorker, July 28, 2008
Assignment: “Design Thinking” by Tim Brown, Harvard Business Review