What Are Creativity and Innovation - Essay Example

MYTHS ABOUT CREATIVITY By What is Creativity? The intangible nature of creativity does not lend itself to easy definition. When you mention creativity in any context names such as Picasso, Newtons, Einstein, Da Vinci, Darwin, Beethoven and other people regarded as “creative geniuses” will always come up. The English dictionary defines creativity as the ability to form original ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods and interpretations. Since the word “creative” comes from the word “create” which means constructing something out of nothing, creativity can be defined as creating something out of nothing. This sounds wayward and impossible. A religious fanatic may argue that this ability is reserved purely for a supreme being. That is the magic of creativity. It is unfathomable and difficult to understand how it happens. The steps involved in creativity cannot be as easily defined as the steps involved in any other corporate processes. Margaret Boden describes creativity as a mystery. Well, something mysterious is beyond the reach of science. She further mentions that creativity is paradoxical, making it very difficult to understand how it is possible at all. The definition of creation as bringing into being or form out of nothing makes creativity seem unintelligible but strictly impossible. This thus reduces the definition of creativity to either denial or magic (Boden, 2004). This is not any different from the psychological definition of creativity as the production of new ideas. Andriopoulos and Dawson describe creativity as creating something from nothing, being inspired to compose a symphony of lasting beauty, imagining the new within the constraints of modern thought and thinking outside of traditional beliefs and conventions. They however admit that despite creativity’s being viewed as an asset for individuals and organizations alike, it has traditionally been associated to a mystical process (Andriopoulos and Dawson, 2009). David Burkus, also a researcher on creativity, admits that a precise definition of creativity is yet to be agreed on despite nearly one hundred years of research. There however appears to be a small consensus by most experts that creativity is the process of developing facts that are both novel and useful. Burkus gives the example of the Mona Lisa that is considered universally as an important creative work. A photocopy of the Mona Lisa is seen as however not quite original. Photocopies were however to a great degree useful and novel once Xerox released the first office photocopier in 1959 (Burkus, 2014). The development of ideas, projects, processes and programs that are novel and useful in organizations “is the vital antecedent to leveraging innovation and staying competitive” (Burkus, 2014). Creativity and Innovation Creativity and innovation are often used interchangeably to mean the same thing. They share a unique relationship (Burkus, 2014). Creativity involves coming up with the big idea while innovation requires the execution of the idea (Govindarajan, 2010). Execution is the successful conversion of a big idea into a successful business. Iny and Brabandere gave another almost similar distinction between creativity and innovation. They describe creativity as people’s ability to change their perception to reality and thus create new ideas, hypotheses and approaches. Innovation, on the other hand, is defined as a change in reality. This simply means taking an existing idea and turning it into reality (Iny and Brabandare, 2013). Teresa Amabile, a the Harvard Business School proffesor, believes that creativity by individuals and teams is the starting point of innovation. She however clarifies her belief by saying “ the first is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for the second.” Amabile believes that creativity is a source of innovation, but that does not mean it comes from the divine (Burkus, 2014). According to Amabile, creativity is influenced by four separate components namely: domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant processes, task motivation, and surrounding social environment. Innovation is the resultant of the alignment of these factors and application of the resulting creativity (Burkus, 2014). Myths Surrounding Creativity David Burkus defines myths as very old stories developed and passed down generations to explain why mysterious events happen or to affirm how we should behave or think. Myths are produced by cultures to explain the world to them when the existing knowledge becomes too insufficient and unreliable. He gives an example of the Greek mythology of muses. The muses were nine divine sisters who received and answered the prayers of ancient writers, engineers and musicians. The Greeks held a belief that all creative insight flowed from the muses. They, therefore, worshiped the muses in search of the source and created something extraordinary (Burkus, 2014). The Greeks started legends to warn against the dire consequences for anyone who dared to cross the muses. They believed that creativity was a divine gift. The mysterious, mystical and magical nature of creativity makes it difficult to explain and therefore myths about it are bound to be created. David Burkus conducted an extensive research on creativity and innovation and came up with ten myths surrounding creativity. These are discussed below: 1. The Eureka Myth This is the belief that new ideas appear as a sudden flash of insight as in the story of Isaac Newton and the falling apple. This myth is based on the belief that being in the right place at the right time will cause your idea to manifest it when triggered by something outside your control (Canfield). However, Burkus (2014) shades light on the matter and says that these insights are the results of hard work on a problem or project. The creative process includes preparation, incubation, insight, evaluation and elaboration. It is not a gift as usually perceived. It is the result of hard work combined with a wandering mind (Canfield). Very often, the “new idea” always results from the connection of the fragments of older ideas. 2. The Breed Myth This is the perception that creativity is for those with a special genetic composition. People view creativity as limited resource available to only a rare breed of individuals (Burkus, 2014). This means that there are those born creative and there are those born without any ounce of creativity in them. This is false and there has been no evidence to support it. In fact, it has been proven through research that all are born with the same ability to generate ideas. Robert Keith Sawyer (2012) even uses biology to discredit this myth. He says that numerous studies conducted on twins by renowned scholars found very little genetic connection to creativity. In fact, in one of the studies, no evidence of heritability was found on the two traits thought to be closely connected to creativity. These traits are ideational fluency or divergent thinking, and originality (Sawyer, 2012). According to Joe Canfield, we have five primary personality components: openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism (Burkus, 2014). Out of these five components, only openness has a measurable correlation to creativity. Openness is however not inheritable. It is not fixed and therefore can be learned or expanded (Canfield). The corporate world has adapted well to dispute this myth. Evidence is the action of several firms in restructuring their organization to abolish the divide between creative and non-creative jobs. Innovation has been part of everyone’s job description (Burkus, 2014). 3. The Originality Myth This myth emphasizes the misguided notion that creative ideas are entirely original to their creators. Whenever an original idea comes to mind, a person who thought of it owns it. In business, this is what is referred to as intellectual property (Burkus, 2014). This is the basis of issuance of patents and copyrights. However, the truth of the matter is that new ideas are built from combinations of previous ideas, which can be shared to generate more innovation (Burkus, 2014). Joel Canfield supports this point by stating that a majority of great ideas can be traced to previous thinking. In numerous cases, great ideas occurred simultaneously to more than one person. He cites examples such as the invention of the telephone, calculus and the personal computer. Another example is the printing press combining the wine press technology with moveable type (Burkus, 2014). This is similar to the case of the film Star wars. Star Wars refers to a mash-up of former science fiction movies with samurai films set against a plotline borrowed from ancient myths (Burkus, 2014). Burkus adds that research demonstrates that the most creative people are those whose brains for new connections the easiest. 4. The Expert Myth Well, who never goes to an expert for advice on contentious issues? No matter the size of the ego, one must have consulted at least once in life. Going to ones teacher to ask for help on the project to undertake is probably one of those cases. The expert myth is the belief that more experts can only solve harder problems (Burkus, 2014). It is true that some level of expertise does matter, but research has proven that the most creative solutions always originate from the “outsiders” with limited knowledge of the subject matter. These “outsiders” are those who have gathered enough experience over their careers to understanding the problem but at the same time not inhibit their creative abilities (Burkus, 2013). The level of expertise that is higher than required can lead to narrowed thinking and consequently decrease creative output (Canfield). Further research also shows that over the course of one’s career, they tend to reach the peak early o then embark on a downward trend. To continue a high level of productivity, one has to cultivate outside mindsets by learning more fields and applying the new ideas to old problems. An example of someone who did this was the mathematician Paul Erdos (Burkus, 2014). Burkus also recommends that companies should tap into the “outsiders” to find more innovative solutions to difficult problems. 5. The Incentive Myth If you fall for the expert myth, you will most likely fall for the incentive myth. That is according to David Burkus, who argues that companies that rely heavily on experts will often fall for the incentive myth. The incentive myth is the belief that incentives motivate employees and therefore increases their creative ability. Yes, incentives do help but the cons outweigh the pros. The standard management rule by organization recommends the issuance of incentives if something needs to be done. This would work flawlessly under circumstances other than those dealing with creativity. Creativity is driven by intrinsic motivation aligned with our intrinsic desires and not extrinsic motivation such as incentives (Burkus, 2014). Intrinsically motivated people are those who are turned on by their work, often creatively (Breen, 2004). Grants for the MacArthur Fellows program was founded on this notion. The program gives recognition and monetary support to creative people who are already hard work, instead of to match the project with a creative person and to offer a prize (Burkus, 2013). 6. The Loan Creator Myth This myth is the result of the tendency of people to assume that historic breakthrough inventions and creative works were because of a sole person’s efforts. This ignores those individual’s and collaborators who had an enormous influence on those works (Burkus, 2014). Creativity needs teamwork, and that is why most breakthrough ideas come from teams. Burkus gives examples of Thomas Edison, who had a team of fifteen inventors working with him, and Michelangelo who painted the Sistine Chapel with the help of thirteen artists. Research has also proved that best teams have a mix of long-term colleagues as well as new collaborators. Companies are, therefore, advised to build the best teams for maximum creativity (Burkus, 2013). 7. The Brainstorming Myth Where there is a team, one notable method always used to reach solutions is brainstorming. However, brainstorming cannot be used by itself as a means of arriving at creative solutions. It is used only as a stage in a multi-stage process. Brainstorming is just a way of generating a list of ideas. What matters is what happens to the list afterward, after which we can determine whether the results are creative or not. 8. The Cohesive Myth It is the belief that keeping a cohesive relationship within an organization can enhance creative thinking. The truth however is too much cohesiveness hinders creative thinking. Conflict is needed in order to run a successful creative process. For example, Film studio Pixar has meetings in which directors would take a copy of the film-in-progress and give it up to criticism (Burkus, 2013). Criticism is a sign of suggestion of new ideas as long as it stays task focused. 9. The Constraints Myth This is the assumption that organizations that allow their employees access to unlimited resources are always the most innovative. This only means constraints hinder creativity (Burkus, 2014). The opposite is true. According to Burkus, research has proved that creativity is highest in constrained environments. 10. The Mousetrap Myth Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door (Burkus, 2014). This proverb might be historically faulty, but its meaning is straightforward. In the world of innovation, it just does not apply. Decent innovative ideas are turned down on the first representation. Research in psychology has suggested that people have a bias against creative ideas. Companies need to better at recognizing creative ideas from their employees instead of striving to make them original. Conclusion The definition of creativity continues to elude us, and with that comes the growing number of myths surrounding it. This essay has discussed some of the major myths based on one of the most recent researches on creativity done by David Burkus. Burkus might have explained the myths in the context of business, but it is a fact that myths about creativity exist beyond just the business world. Reference List Andriopoulos, C., & Dawson, P. (2009). Managing change, creativity and innovation. Los Angeles, SAGE. Burkus, D. (2014). The myths of creativity the truth about how innovative companies and people generate great ideas. John Wiley & Sons. Burkus, D. (2013). Debunking the Myths of Creativity. Available from http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Debunking-the-Myths-of-Creativity.aspx [2 Dec 2014] Breen, B. (2004). The 6 Myths of Creativity. Available from http://www.fastcompany.com/51559/6-myths-creativity [2 Dec 2014] Canfield, D.J. n.d. Myths of Creativity. Available from http://www.actionablebooks.com/summaries/the-myths-of-creativity/ [2 Dec 2014] Boden, M.A. (2004). The Creative Mind: Myths and mechanisms. Psychology Press. Govindarajan, V. (2010) Innovation is Not Creativity. Available from https://hbr.org/2010/08/innovation-is-not-creativity.html [1 Dec 2014] Iny A. & Brabandere L. (2013) Apple’s New iPhone 5C and 5S: the Results of Creativity or Innovation? Available from https://hbr.org/2013/09/apples-new-iphone-5c-and-5s-th/ [1 Dec 2014] Sawyer, R. K. (2012). Explaining creativity: the science of human innovation. New York, Oxford University Press. Read More