Creativity and Innovation

Being creative and innovative at work has become mandatory for organizations these days. Companies like to think out of the box and present new concepts to the consumers. When creative thinking is applied to problem solving techniques, the result generated is often positive.

There are certain things that help us bring about creativity and innovation in the business. An organization must be open to learning as it encourages everyone in the office to keep thinking, innovating, collaborating, improving their capabilities, making personal commitments to their collective future, and thus increasing the firm's long-term competitive advantage.

A suggestion system must be developed by the company. They should have a system that considers creative ideas from all the employees in the organization. Every employee must be encouraged to practice this system. It should be easy to use and understand. A regular analysis should then be conducted and the employees whose ideas were accepted should be rewarded. This boosts their morale. Keep all the channels of communication open. Interaction and communication are very important as creative ideas develop through team work. This will help the company to enhance the ability to benefit from creative ideas

Creativity and Innovation

When an organization and its employees face a situation where they find themselves stuck and cannot find a solution, they should work towards arriving on a creative solution to the problem. If they focus on deriving at the right solution, their creative ability will be reduced. While doing this, a mental block can be created which will affect the flow of thought. Think of the issue in a different way and come up with a variety of solutions to choose from.

Be open to new ideas and ventures. It is not necessary to think logically at all times. Critical thinking skills based on logic are usually the main strengths deriving the right answer but it comes in the way of creative thinking and the various other possible solutions. If the company is too rigid about following specific rules it will not be able to come up with innovative ideas in the present or future. This will lead to a stunted growth of the company in the long run. Competitors may use various strategies which may leave the company lagging behind. Practical thinking comes in the way of creativity most of the times.

Bring about a little bit of fun into the workplace. This helps the mind to relax and function better by giving rise to creative ideas. Make room for mistakes. It is alright to make mistakes as they help learning what not to do. Creativity is reduced when your senses are blunted.

In order to be innovative the company must focus on doing things differently. They must we willing to try out new things and put them to practice. Every department can be broken into teams. Each team can be given an exercise to come up with the most creative solution to a problem without setting any boundaries. This will motivate the employees and make them feel important. They won't feel like they come to work with their briefcase, sit on their desk and work monotonously.

The management can find a solution to several issues if they involve the staff in solving the problem. This will lead to a rise in creativity, personal development and self growth in general.

Creativity and Innovation
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Ricky Kahn is a New York based writer who writes for briefcases, a website that offers luxury briefcases direct from the manufacturer. His writing skills reflect well in the fashion, travel and corporate sector.

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Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Part of the romanticism of entrepreneurship is the thought that entrepreneurs are creative, innovative, go-getters, risk takers, driven. All of that implies a high self-esteem and determination. In reality, having a clear understanding of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship allows managers of institutions and corporations, as well as individual, manage each area differently to get the best results.

People like creativity simply because it is fun. We reconnect with the pure pleasure of getting something that did not exist before. When we create we forget our problems, we are just being, the child comes out, we connect with ourselves and it simply feels good. Our energy pours from the inside to the outside and leaves our imprint, the object of our creation becomes an extended part of ourselves. Creativity also lives in a time and purpose vacuum. The worst enemy of creativity is a good idea.

People like innovation because it implies progress. When we innovate, we have a structure. Innovation becomes change. To change we need the reference, the constraints, the structure, the present, what is there. When we do things differently, we are also creating, but we create with a purpose, fun stops until we reach our goal. Thus, innovation has less power as a self-expression than creativity.

Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Then we come to the field of entrepreneurship, one of my favorite topics. Entrepreneurship is more about creating wealth than it is about creating a company. It is closely linked to creativity, entrepreneurs MUST have something NEW to offer. It is related to innovation, entrepreneurs MUST find new ways of getting in the market, making something new, doing things differently.

When we check most new businesses, they are me-too's, and most so-called entrepreneurs are people who have bought themselves a job. They don't create, innovate or add wealth. They shift what exists to a different person.

Entrepreneurship then is the process of exploring how to add value to others in a new or different way. Entrepreneurs capture that value in the form of wealth, and then that wealth with others: clients, users, employees, suppliers, community, governments, etc. To understand that being creative and being innovative is not enough and to be aware that there is a maximized value waiting to be discovered or created, is what entrepreneurs do best when they plan, then they take action, and finally, they evolve.

It is not a matter of luck as most people link entrepreneurship with creativity and innovation. If you don't have anything, you create. If you have an unwanted present, you innovate. If you want to create wealth, you give that creation or innovation, the best chance. You don't need money to create wealth, you need creativity and innovation.

It is by thinking and taking action, by consciously discovering where the creations or innovations have the highest perceived value that entrepreneurs build their wealth... and by doing so, create prosperity beyond themselves. It is not about becoming rich but building wealth.

Without the notion of creating wealth, creativity and innovation can't find a place in the market. To be able to distinguish where the highest value is, who is the ideal customer or client is to bring prosperity to our communities, and to act upon that thought, is what entrepreneurs thrive at.

There are many tools and methods that capture how entrepreneurs create wealth. It is not an art, or a science. It is the conscious effort of making the best of a product or a service, to find those who value it best, and capture that value, what lies inside the entrepreneur.

Creating wealth escapes the obvious, and creates new valued propositions. Sometimes we use innovation to improve what is there, but most likely, the best results come from a free, playful, fun exercise of creating wealth. Whatever you do to create wealth will improve your skills and build up that wealthing muscle. Even if you compose a song in tribute to your wealth when you are showering!

Here is to your wealth and joy,

Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
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Alicia Castillo Holley is an international expert on entrepreneurship and innovation. She has started 9 companies and one not-for-profit, raised millions of dollars and trained thousands of people. She's a recognized author, speaker and seminar leader.
http://www.wealthing.com

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Organizational Structure, Creativity, Innovation

Organizational structure can inhibit or foster creativity and innovation. The problem with organizational structure though, is that it is resultant of many factors, including history, organic growth, strategy, operational design, product diversity, logistics, marketing, client base, supplier base and so forth. Therefore, what managers need, are not recipes for complete structural change, but insights into the properties of fostering structures that can be adapted into the existing structure.

To start, it is useful to analyse the preferred structures against the not so preferred. There are many definitions of types of organizational structure, but one example is:

a) Mechanistic structures (generally not preferred) - includes centralised control and authority, clearly defined tasks, vertical communication links, obedience to supervisors, rigidity and inflexibility.

Organizational Structure, Creativity, Innovation

b) Organic structures (generally preferred) - decentralisation of authority, tasks loosely defined, horizontal communications, greater individual authority, flexible, adaptable.

Experience shows that the above can be misleading. For example, flat organisations are generally preferred and hierarchical ones not preferred, however, even flat organisations are in reality hierarchical.

Importantly, if we have a mechanistic structure, what factors allow us to move in the right direction without wholesale change?

Some answers include:

a) Direct communication links to decision makers.

b) Communication and information flow between departments.

c) Tangible progression of ideas from problem to solution, product development to commercialisation.

d) Creative teams working outside but linked into the organization, whose culture, processes etc diffuse into the existing structure.

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com

Kal Bishop, MBA

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Organizational Structure, Creativity, Innovation
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Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

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