Five Levers to increase Creativity
Peter de Jager is a provocative Speaker,
Writer and Consultant. His primary focus in on how we manage change,
technology and the future. In addition to speaking at conferences
worldwide, he also writes monthly columns for CIO Magazine and
Computerworld Canada. His goal is always to question what we
think is so, and in so doing perhaps open up new opportunities. If you'd like permission to reprint any
of Peter's articles, please contact him directly. You can contact him at Or sign the Guest
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pdejager@technobility.com
If you’ve ever managed a
production line, then you’re well acquainted with the concept of a
‘bottleneck’. You know, based upon past experience, that there is no
point in increasing the production level of stage ‘A’, if the next
stage in the process is already running at capacity.
With that
example in mind, let’s examine this thing called ‘Creativity’. I’d
like to suggest the problem is not in a lack of new ideas, but an overly
effective set of filters, that allow practically nothing to escape from
your mind and into the light of day.
Proof of
that statement is as close as this evening’s dreams. All day we search
for new ideas and come up dry… and yet the very instant we fall asleep
and cease the mental struggle, our dreams are flooded with the
fantastical. Our challenge is to find a way to tap into that Creativity
while our eyes are wide open.
4
- Be conscious of your Nose
Nope, not the nose in the middle of your face. But the ‘No’s that
arise every time you see, hear or read something different. Rather than
numbering these points, I thought I’d use a random sequence of numbers.
Why? I honestly don’t know… the idea was there and I thought I’d act
on it.
Now that
I have, it makes some sense. To be ‘conscious’ means to be aware of
what’s going on around you, at all times... for the unexpected, for the
thing out of sequence. If you’re saying to yourself… ‘using random
numbers is silly/stupid/(insert your favourite derogatory adjective
here)’ then you’re not allowing a new idea a chance to grow.
1
- Make your intuition visible
A very simple technique. Next time you cannot logically, rationally,
choose between two alternatives… Flip a coin… heads it’s A, tails
it’s B… and then at the very instant when you see the result… are
you pleased or disappointed with the outcome?
By
focusing your attention to that split second of discovery, you’ll learn
which choice you ‘prefer’… I’m not suggesting you follow that
knowledge… but at least you’ll have some more information with which
to decide.
3
- Put ‘Freudian’ slips to good use
We make slips, mistakes and typos all the time. A simple method of forcing
yourself to think along a different track, is to ask yourself the
question, “What would I have meant, if I’d meant to say that?”
I awoke
one morning and reached out to get a ‘tooth pick’… and the words
that echoed in my mind was ‘Truth Pick’… If ‘Truth Pick’ was
what I meant?...’ I came up with this… A Short, pointed commentary
designed to extract the ‘Truth” from a quote… you can download the
result of that thought from www.truthpicks.com
5
- Look to the flipside
This is the old, yet still useful, chestnut of turning Lemons into
Lemonade. It’s not really a bad strategy; it’s what’s used to keep
bridges from falling down. Take the most powerful force working against
you, gravity in the case of bridges, and get it to work in your favour.
Bridges don’t fall down, because we’ve learned to harness gravity and
make it work for us.
Admittedly
the concept is simple enough, but making it happen takes determination and
a not insignificant amount of skill. But, when it works? Situations that
once created problems - suddenly create profit.
2
- Ask the stupid question… Why?
And keep asking it until there aren’t anymore answers. Of all the
‘Why?’ questions, the most powerful one you can bring to bear on your
organization is “Why are we doing it this way?”
The
amount of Creativity you can bring to bear on a task, is more a function
of the courage to do something new, than it is of coming up with new
ideas.
© 2005,
Peter de Jager – Peter is passionate about change, how it affects both
individuals and organizations and allows them to grow and prosper. To contact him, and
host internal seminars on Change Management visit www.technobility.com
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