Slide 1: Creativity as a starting point for innovation
Stanislav Nemeržitski Tallinn University
Slide 2: Defining creativity
• Creativity is a set of individual traits and characteristics that gives advantage to solve problems in a novel way and get initially planned results, in all sorts of human activities (Taylor, 1970; Milgram, 1990) • During creative process a novel idea is generated or a novel/ original use is found for the existing applications • While speaking of creativity, we at the same time mean unusual, but also socially acceptable achievements
Slide 3: Defining innovation
• Innovation is a novel use of invention, discovery, or new or existing knowledge in mass economical process (Schumpeter, 1939) • While creativity is mainly associated with novel idea, novelty of the process or achievement/ result, innovation is focusing on implementation of such results • Innovation is often defined by competitiveness through changes and/ or improvements in technology, management, or product development • Danger to the interpretation of innovation: often seen as merely technological, only practical • Linear approach to innovation: new discovery (theory), then empirical study, then (economical) profit/mass use
Slide 4: Social innovation
• Changes on societal level (professional relations, cooperation of different sectors), that bring to icrease in efectiveness, productivity, quality etc • It’s generation and implementation of novel ideas about how individuals and social environment surrounging them interact with each other (Mumford, 2002) • Its’ goal is to fill the gaps and deficiences in the existing social systems, i.e social innovation reorganizes missing components between people and/ or social systems • Is needed often in unexpected, critical circumstances, where people face unknown situations that require novel solutions/ behaviour
Slide 5: Components theory of creativity (Amabile, 1996) and innovation
INNOVATION CREATIVE RESULT
IN NO VA TI ON
Work environment
Creative process (creative cognitive process) • Defining problem • Preparation • Generating answers • Validation and communication of solution
External component (independent of indiv.)
Intrinsic motivation
Field related knowledge
Creativity related processes
Internal components (depending on indiv.)
Slide 6: Team motivation (West, 1997)
INPUT
GROUP PROCESSES • Clarity of the goals and dedication to them • Participation of team members • Orientation towards the exercise • Support for innovation
(CREATIVE) OUTPUT • Amount of innovative solutions • Innovation’s... ...extreme ...extent ...novelty ...efectivity
roup content: eterogenety ize co)working experience roportion of innovators evel of knowledge, skills and abilities of the team
Slide 7: Supporting creativity in group leads to innovative ideas
• Novel ideas are perceived as threat to organization (risk to stability, change of status quo) • Different creative techniques combined together produce novel, original, creative outcome – which may lead to innovative implementation • TIME DEFINES CREATIVE OUTCOME! • Before creative session some rules have to be clear: ▫ Be laconic, content-rich ▫ Show genuine interest in the process ▫ No need for unnecessary critics ▫ Mark all the ideas popping up ▫ Prefer “yes, and...” rather than “yes, but...” ▫ Risk, offer and implement unknown and unfamiliar • In the time of creative crisis – take a creative break (traditional “coffee/smoke break” exhausts brain and imagination)
Slide 8: THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
