The document discusses the significance of creativity in modern workplaces, addressing misconceptions and emphasizing its value for problem-solving and self-actualization. It highlights the need to measure and manage creativity effectively in organizations to enhance competitiveness, citing influential surveys and theories from figures like Abraham Maslow and Steve Jobs. Various methods for testing creativity are presented, along with the idea that true creativity can be difficult to quantify fairly.

1. QUANTIFYING
CREATIVITY FOR
MODERN
WORKPLACES
-Asad Ali Junaid

2. How creative are you?
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Scale 1 to 10
10 – Extremely creative
1 – Least creative

3. MISCONCEPTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CREATIVITY
- Creativity is associated with artistry
- Creativity is a talent
- You either have it or you don’t.
- Creativity isn’t my job
- My technical skills and experience are enough
- No time for creative stuff.
- Creativity is frivolous – does not have any serious
purpose or value..
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4. Why do people want to be creative?#
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5. PEOPLE WANT TO BE CREATIVE FOR…
- Need for novel, varied and complex solutions
- Need to communicate – either thoughts, ideas,
findings, values, etc.
- And to fulfil the need for Self-Actualization
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6. “
A musician must make music, an
artist must paint, a poet must write, if
he is to be ultimately at peace with
himself – Abraham Maslow
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7. 7
ABRAHAM MASLOW’S 5 LEVELS OF BASIC HUMAN NEEDS
Self-actualization occurs when you maximize your potential, doing the best that you are
capable of doing.

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IN MODERN WORKPLACES…

9. Why do workplaces want it’s employees
to be creative?
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10. “
The best way to create value in the 21st
century is to connect Creativity with
Technology.– Steve Jobs
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11. RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT…
In order for the organization to compete most
effectively in the marketplace, Creativity must
be a vital skill of its employees.
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12. IBM SURVEY OF 1500 CEOS (2010)
- Most important leadership trait- creativity.
- Creativity ranked higher than integrity and
global thinking.
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13. ADOBE’S SURVEY OF 2500 ADULTS (2016)
- Two-thirds believe that being creative helps make
people better workers, leaders, parents and students
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16. How intelligent are you?
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Scale 1 to 10
10 – Extremely intelligent
1 – Least intelligent

17. ARE CREATIVITY AND INTELLIGENCE DIFFERENT?
- Can one be very intelligent and not very
creative
- - or very creative but not intelligent?
- The highest form of intelligence is to think
creatively.
- Intelligence and creativity cannot be
separated
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18. Why should workplaces want to
measure creativity?
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19. THE ‘HOLY GRAIL’ OF QUANTIFYING CREATIVITY IN WORKPLACES
- To form an opinion and to make decisions on
creativity, it is critical to be able to measure and
quantify creativity.
- Once creativity is measurable, it can be managed.
- And if creativity can be managed, then organizations
the world over can enable and make creativity
‘happen’.
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20. “How creative are you?”
- is this the wrong question?
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21. HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY
- Extraordinarily diverse,
- Tremendously dynamic and
- Entirely distinctive
- Every person’s intelligence and creativity are as unique
as a fingerprint.
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22. HOW CREATIVE ARE YOU?
- This question suggests that there is a finite way
of assessing intelligence/ creativity
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24. “
Everybody is a genius. But if
you judge a fish by its ability to
climb a tree, it will live its whole life
believing that it is stupid. – Albert
Einstein
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25. HOW ARE YOU
CREATIVE?
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26. HOW ARE YOU CREATIVE? Vs. HOW CREATIVE ARE YOU?
- Acknowledges that there are a variety of ways
to express intelligence/ creativity
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27. So - How do you measure creativity?#
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28. TESTS OF CREATIVITY MEASURE
- The number of alternatives that people can
generate
- The uniqueness of those alternatives
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29. 1. ALTERNATIVE USES TEST
One minute to think of as many uses
as possible for an everyday object.
E.g. This chair.
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30. 2. INCOMPLETE FIGURE TEST OR TORRANCE TEST OF
CREATIVE THINKING (TTCT)
E.g. Shape ‘<‘ – how many different
objects can you draw with ‘<‘ as the
base?
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31. 3. REMOTE ASSOCIATES
E.g. “Falling – Actor – Dust,” - come up
with a fourth word that connects all
three words
College graduates, thermometer,
location on the globe
Mattress, health resort, year
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32. VALIDITY OF CREATIVE TESTS
- The validity of creative tests has been
questioned in terms of their ability to predict
the true creative potential of those who take
them
- Tests have also been criticized for
▫ Unclear instructions,
▫ Lack of suitability for different populations, and
▫ Excessive narrowness in terms of what they measure.
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34. HOW DO WE QUANTIFY CREATIVITY IN EXEPERIENCE DESIGN?
- XDs are involved in a multitude of activities
- Which span a vast spectrum of people, skills and
situations
- XDs end up wearing multiple hats during the design
process.
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35. CREATIVE CONSTRAINTS
It is a misconception that Creativity is a product of
- Free-thinking
- No rules and
- Unlimited options
E.g. Entrepreneurs are most creative when..
- They are running out of money
- Are working under tremendous time and resource
constraints.
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36. HOW COULD CREATIVITY BE MEASURED FOR XD PROFESSION?
(1) Be clear about the category and connected attribute/
trait
(2) Pick a Task
(3) Set Constraints
- E.g. User Research
- What are the different “unique” questions that could be
asked in an interview or in a survey?
- Which questions produce the most insightful answers?
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37. Bonus - How people express creativity?#
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43. HOW ARE YOU CREATIVE?
- Perhaps no test could ever measure such
creativity to a fair degree
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44. Thank you!
I AM ASAD ALI JUNAID
You can reach me at asadjunaid@gmail.com
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