Myths and Fantasies about Creativity and Innovation
1 August 2008
Read by 1803 persons
Creativity and pragmatism are two opposing terms for you? Do you think imagination and organization are irreconcilable? Think again, it's quite the opposite.
Creativity and innovation are certainly among the most overused words in business today, as Scott Berkun rightly points out in his column "Why innovation is overrated".
He explains that ultimately, the most innovative companies may not be those that use the word "innovation" the most, but rather precise and pragmatic terms such as "problem", "solve", "change", "experiment", "take risks", "prototype", etc.
The problem (precisely) is that companies such as Google, Apple... maintain the myth of "easy" innovation. A bit like top models contribute to the collective fantasy/dictat of the perfect woman, these economic models send companies an image of implacable and... inaccessible innovation.
To cite only the iPhone, its first version was a commercial flop: a very beautiful product which, of course, forced other operators to react quickly, which was acclaimed for its "closed" business model but which only met the... "geeks", therefore not the market. The second version serves as a catch-up session: to the great chagrin of these famous "geeks" (who must feel quite cheated in the story!) and with a slightly more "open" business model this time (there are trends against which you cannot go, even when you are a leader).
Creativity in business, too, has become a panacea.
Here are the 10 main myths among those cited by LifeDev: "Creative people are originals." "Put a dozen people in a room to brainstorm and creative ideas will come out". "Only creative people have creative ideas." "Creative people always have great ideas". "Time constraints stimulate creativity". "Competition (best idea prize) yields more results than collaboration". "Creative people are disorganized". "Structure is contrary to creative thinking". "There are only certain functions or professions that justify being creative". "Technology (software...) allows more ideas to be developed".
The Riddle is undoubtedly one of the best books to read if you find yourself in one of these ten phrases. Why? The author, Andrew Razeghi, simply explains that if there is no innovation without creativity, the latter has a very precise definition in business. Creativity in business is goal-oriented (nothing to do with artistic creativity). The objective of creativity is to create relevant solutions to an existing, emerging, or anticipated problem.
Finally, to close the loop, take a look below at the innovator styles (or problem-solving styles) proposed by DeGraff: those who tend to develop breakthrough ideas, those who will seek solutions with concrete and short-term results, those who will seek to combine to improve existing ones and those, finally, who will prefer to create communities of practice to develop new proposals.
No style is more innovative than another; it all depends on the market context, the company's position and values, but also on the objective to be achieved.
In a team, it is preferable to have all 4 types of profiles, simultaneously or not depending on the problem, to have a "360°" solution!
Marianne Dekeyser
Posted online August 1, 2008
newzy.fr
Creativity and innovation are certainly among the most overused words in business today, as Scott Berkun rightly points out in his column "Why innovation is overrated".
He explains that ultimately, the most innovative companies may not be those that use the word "innovation" the most, but rather precise and pragmatic terms such as "problem", "solve", "change", "experiment", "take risks", "prototype", etc.
The problem (precisely) is that companies such as Google, Apple... maintain the myth of "easy" innovation. A bit like top models contribute to the collective fantasy/dictat of the perfect woman, these economic models send companies an image of implacable and... inaccessible innovation.
To cite only the iPhone, its first version was a commercial flop: a very beautiful product which, of course, forced other operators to react quickly, which was acclaimed for its "closed" business model but which only met the... "geeks", therefore not the market. The second version serves as a catch-up session: to the great chagrin of these famous "geeks" (who must feel quite cheated in the story!) and with a slightly more "open" business model this time (there are trends against which you cannot go, even when you are a leader).
Creativity in business, too, has become a panacea.
Here are the 10 main myths among those cited by LifeDev: "Creative people are originals." "Put a dozen people in a room to brainstorm and creative ideas will come out". "Only creative people have creative ideas." "Creative people always have great ideas". "Time constraints stimulate creativity". "Competition (best idea prize) yields more results than collaboration". "Creative people are disorganized". "Structure is contrary to creative thinking". "There are only certain functions or professions that justify being creative". "Technology (software...) allows more ideas to be developed".
The Riddle is undoubtedly one of the best books to read if you find yourself in one of these ten phrases. Why? The author, Andrew Razeghi, simply explains that if there is no innovation without creativity, the latter has a very precise definition in business. Creativity in business is goal-oriented (nothing to do with artistic creativity). The objective of creativity is to create relevant solutions to an existing, emerging, or anticipated problem.
Finally, to close the loop, take a look below at the innovator styles (or problem-solving styles) proposed by DeGraff: those who tend to develop breakthrough ideas, those who will seek solutions with concrete and short-term results, those who will seek to combine to improve existing ones and those, finally, who will prefer to create communities of practice to develop new proposals.
No style is more innovative than another; it all depends on the market context, the company's position and values, but also on the objective to be achieved.
In a team, it is preferable to have all 4 types of profiles, simultaneously or not depending on the problem, to have a "360°" solution!
Marianne Dekeyser
Posted online August 1, 2008
newzy.fr
