Posted: February 28th, 2023
Creativity in Entrepreneurship: Pushing Out of the Comfort Zone (Writing)
E-book attached for references and guide about this class.
Project (Individual): Pushing Out of the Comfort Zone
During this module, you must engage in 6 new experiences. By “new”, I mean the activity is novel to you. The activities will vary depending on your past experiences as each must be a new experience for you! Give yourself permission to push your own boundaries. Be adventurous and playful. If you do not draw, pick up a pencil and sketch a flower for an hour. If you do not create videos record a video to go viral. If you do not build model airplanes give it a try. Create an NFT and list it on an exchange. Give yourself permission to create for one hour. Do not erase: what you create, is what you create. The only person to see your work will be me and anyone with whom you share it.
You will need to submit your progress on these experiences on a weekly basis. Failure to submit your new experience each week will reduce your overall grade for the assignment.
This project should be both fun and a little bit “scary” as we push outside our comfort zone and enter our learning zone. The most memorable experiences are likely accompanied by the possibility of crossing into the panic zone.
A final summary is required. You are to take a “30,000 foot view” of the project experiences and jointly consider them.
Address the question: “What did I learn about creativity from all the “pushing your comfort zone experiences.”
The final project report should include a description of each new experience and what you learned. The final report should be between two and four pages single-spaced.
Please see below the list of my weekly experiences to use for the writing assignment:
1. For the first week’s experience I created an NFT of my favorite soccer player, the GOAT: Lionel Messi.
https://rarible.com/token/0xb66a603f4cfe17e3d27b87a8bfcad319856518b8:2067396211346135116566395057285364239272745225360945819037864334542078214145
2. For this second week’s experience, I decided to give myself the opportunity to create a short music track based on drums instruments only, I have never been an expert in music but I had the curiosity of creating at least a music track or writing a short song.
3. For this third experience, I decided to do something I have never done before, not part of my comfort zone, which is painting or drawing. I heard that Vans, the sneakers manufacturing company, released some models for people to paint on it, so I thought that was a good idea for this week, it is something that is out of my comfort zone but it is also to explore that area of creativity that usually I do not feel comfortable doing. It took me about two days to finish the project and was a great experience.
4. For this experience of week 4, I decided to visit an uncle that began painting with acrylics after he retired. I have always had a curiosity about painting something abstract because I am not an artistic person.
5. My week 5 experience was a kind of adventure experience because I decided to take my wife to do kayaking here in Miami, we had never done that and it was very fun but it is also a very exhausting activity,
6. My week 6 experience was trying something I had always been curious about but never attempted before, I did some bakery with my sister-in-law. She likes to do some things of bakery for her friends and family so I asked her if she could guide me through this kind of art, and these were the results.
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Organizational Creativity
Praise for Organizational Creativity: A Practical Guide
for Innovators & Entrepreneurs
“Simple, deep, entertaining and useful—that rare combination can be found in this engaging
book. A must-read for anyone interested in innovation and creativity. I enjoyed it and strongly
recommend it.”
—Sergio Fajardo, Ph.D. in Math, UW-Madison; Mayor of Medellín (2004–2007) and Governor
of Antioquia (2012–2015), Colombia
“Organizational Creativity is one of the most lucid, thoughtful, and insightful books on how
organizations can leverage creativity to produce innovative results. The “know-do-be” theme and
the engaging writing style convincingly articulate ways to develop creativity skills and traits.
Anyone interested in fostering innovation in organizations needs to read this book.”
—Srikant M. Datar, Arthur Lowes Dickinson Professor of Business Administration, Harvard
Business School; Coauthor of Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads
“Another insightful contribution to understanding creativity from Buffalo’s International Center.
The significance of creativity for innovators and entrepreneurs is badly in need of such
clarification.”
—Tudor Rickards, Emeritus Professor, Creativity and Change Management, Alliance
Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
“Organizational Creativity is a wonderful book—so engaging, enlightening, and inspiring that
readers will hardly notice how much they are learning. It gives a guided tour through each stage
of the innovation process, from identifying and defining the most important problems to
generating breakthrough ideas to successfully implementing the best solutions. Aspiring
entrepreneurs, innovators, and business leaders will find here the keys to nurturing not only their
best ideas but also their most creative selves.”
—Teresa Amabile, Professor and Director of Research, Harvard Business School; Coauthor
of The Progress Principle
“Creative thinking is widely considered a 21st-century skill. To best prepare students for today’s
complex work world, colleges and universities must find pedagogically sound practices that
promote creative thinking. Here at Sheridan we have adopted, with great success, many of the
principles, methods, and tools described in Organizational Creativity. There is little doubt that
these strategies are contributing to our students’ creative-thinking capabilities.”
—Mary Preece, President & Vice Chancellor, Sheridan College, Ontario, Canada
“Educational experts and business leaders throughout the world have consistently cited
creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial skills as vital for professional success in this century.
At the Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga we have used the contents of this book to help
guide a powerful institutional intervention to make our university the first creative campus in
Latin America. As a result, our students now have strategies to release the utmost potential they
have within them.”
—Alberto Montoya Puyana, President, Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Colombia
Organizational Creativity
A Practical Guide for Innovators & Entrepreneurs
• Gerard J. Puccio
• Buffalo State–State University of New York
• John F. Cabra
• Buffalo State–State University of New York
• Nathan Schwagler
• The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
FOR INFORMATION:
SAGE Publications, Inc.
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SAGE Publications Ltd.
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Copyright © 2018 by SAGE Publications, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Puccio, Gerard J., author. | Cabra, John F., author. | Schwagler, Nathan, author.
Title: Organizational creativity : a practical guide for innovators & entrepreneurs / Gerard J. Puccio, Buffalo State,
State University of New York, John F. Cabra, Buffalo State, State University of New York, Nathan Schwagler,
University of South Florida Dali Museum.
Description: Thousand Oaks, CA : SAGE, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016051144 | ISBN 9781452291550 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Creative ability in business. | Creative thinking. | Problem solving. | Technological innovations.
Classification: LCC HD53 .P83 2018 | DDC 658.4/094—dc23 LC record available
at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016051144
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Acquisitions Editor: Maggie Stanley
Developmental Editor: Neda Dallal
eLearning Editor: Katie Ancheta
Editorial Assistant: Ashley Mixson Production Editor: Jane Haenel
Copy Editor: Mark Bast
Typesetter: C&M Digitals (P) Ltd.
Proofreader: Christine Dahlin
Indexer: Terri Morrissey
Cover Designer: Janet Kiesel
Marketing Manager: Ashlee Blunk
Brief Contents
1. Introduction: Purpose and Design of This Book
2. About the Authors
3. Part I. Knowing: Creativity Knowledge to Support a 21st-Century Innovator
1. Chapter 1. Innovation Wired: You Evolved to Create
2. Chapter 2. How to Survive and Thrive in an Era of Innovation and Change
3. Chapter 3. What We Know About Creativity
4. Chapter 4. The Practical Benefits of Creativity: Becoming an Innovation Asset
4. Part II. Doing: Proven Practices for 21st-Century Innovators
1. Chapter 5. Think: How to Improve Your Fundamental Capacity to Think in
Creative Ways
2. Chapter 6. Understand: The Power of Observation and the Importance of Problem
Definition
3. Chapter 7. Ideate: Ways to Visualize and Generate Breakthrough Ideas
4. Chapter 8. Experiment: Strategies to Develop and Validate the Best Solutions
5. Chapter 9. Implement: Gaining Buy-In and Driving Change
5. Part III. Being: Ways to Sustain Yourself as a 21st-Century Innovator
1. Chapter 10. The Emotionally Intelligent Leader
2. Chapter 11. Sustaining Your Creativity: Learning to Defy and Transform the
Crowd
6. Notes
7. Index
Detailed Contents
1. Introduction: Purpose and Design of This Book
2. About the Authors
3. Part I. Knowing: Creativity Knowledge to Support a 21st-Century Innovator
1. Chapter 1. Innovation Wired: You Evolved to Create
1. Knowing—You Were Born to Be Creative
1. Creativity Lessons From Evolution
2. Everyday Creativity
2. Doing—Tuning in to the Creativity Already Inside of You
1. Idea Journal and In-and-Out Note Taking
3. Being—Making Reflection a Habit
4. ► Case Study: The StartupBus
2. Chapter 2. How to Survive and Thrive in an Era of Innovation and Change
1. Knowing—The Forces for and Against Creative Thinking
1. Creativity Lessons From the Chicken
2. The Domestication of the Human Being: The Positive Side to
Conformity
3. Overcome Your Inner Chicken: Getting Out of Your Comfort
Zone
4. The Impending Perfect Storm
2. Doing—Removing the But in Your Thinking
3. Being—Reflecting and Redirecting Yes-But Thinking
4. ► Case Study: Physician of the Future
3. Chapter 3. What We Know About Creativity
1. Knowing—Sorting Creativity Fact From Fiction
1. Misconceptions and Mysterious Things That Go Bump in the
Night
2. A Model for Understanding Creativity: Like a Crime
2. Doing—Creating Your Own Mood
3. Being—Developing an Internal Locus of Control
4. ► Case Study: Hacking Creativity in Taiwan
4. Chapter 4. The Practical Benefits of Creativity: Becoming an Innovation Asset
1. Knowing—Top Reasons for Studying and Developing Your Creativity
1. Reason #1. Sustains and Fuels Prosperity in the Innovation Era
2. Reason #2. Necessary for Success in Today’s Workplace
3. Reason #3. Contributes to Effective Leadership
4. Reason #4. Improves Problem-Solving Skills
5. Reason #5. Enhances Resilience, Coping Skills, and Psychological
Well-Being
2. Doing—Selling Creativity
3. Being—Making Creativity a Habit
4. ► Case Study: Keen IO: A Learning-First Organization
4. Part II. Doing: Proven Practices for 21st-Century Innovators
1. Chapter 5. Think: How to Improve Your Fundamental Capacity to Think in
Creative Ways
1. Knowing—Understanding the Creative Mind
1. A Story About Managing Judgment
2. Creative Thinking and the Creative Process
3. Developing the Mindset for Improved Imagination
2. Doing—Training the Creative Mind
1. Improving Imagination by Applying Principles for Divergent
Thinking
2. Defer Judgment: The Key Attitude to Open the Creative Mind
3. Seek Novelty: An Attitude to Ensure Original Thinking
4. Go for Quantity: A Universal Cognitive Strategy
5. Make Connections: The Cognitive Ability to Form New
Combinations
3. Being—Internalizing the Divergent Thinking Principles
4. ► Case Study: Dr. Dominic D’Agostino: Navy Seals, Seizures, and
Starving Cancer
2. Chapter 6. Understand: The Power of Observation and the Importance of Problem
Definition
1. Knowing—Seeing and Questioning What Others Miss
1. Observation and Problem Defining: In Our DNA
2. The Power of Observation
3. The Importance of Defining the Problem
2. Doing—Acting Like a Serial Opportunist
1. Honing Observational Skills
2. Honing Problem-Defining Skills
3. Being—Living Like a Serial Opportunist
4. ► Case Study: Innovation by Observation: NanoTouch Technology
3. Chapter 7. Ideate: Ways to Visualize and Generate Breakthrough Ideas
1. Knowing—Ideating: The Mind’s Capacity to See the Future
1. Visualize: Understanding the Behaviors That Lead to Seeing
Ahead
2. Generate: Knowing How to Produce Many Alternative Ideas
2. Doing—Using Associative Thinking to Visualize Anew
3. Being—Living Like an Idea Generator
4. ► Case Study: The Aha Behind Intezyne
4. Chapter 8. Experiment: Strategies to Develop and Validate the Best Solutions
1. Knowing—Developing and Validating Through Experimentation
1. Development: Refining Ideas Through Play, Sketching, and
Prototyping
2. Validation: How to Refine and Select the Best Options
2. Doing—Acting Like an Idea Developer
1. Honing Your Idea Development Skills
2. Honing Your Idea Validation Skills
3. Being—Living Like an Idea Developer
4. ► Case Study: From Student, to Student-preneur, to Millionaire: The
Story of Check I’m Here
5. Chapter 9. Implement: Gaining Buy-In and Driving Change
1. Knowing—Everyone Is in the Business of Sales
1. Perspective Taking Replaces Sales Bluster
2. Influence Management: The Fine Art of Getting Buy-In
3. Drive Change: Bridging and Managing Four Critical Aspects
2. Doing—Acting Like an Influencer and Change Agent
1. Honing Your Pitch Skills
2. Honing Your Change Skills
3. Being—Influencing and Leading Change
4. ► Case Study: ChappellRoberts: Creative Ideas
5. Part III. Being: Ways to Sustain Yourself as a 21st-Century Innovator
1. Chapter 10. The Emotionally Intelligent Leader
1. Knowing—Emotional Intelligence Is Not a Soft Skill
1. A Story About Managing Emotions
2. Research Support of Emotional Intelligence
3. Emotional Intelligence Abilities
4. Transformational Leadership
5. Blocks and Barriers to Creative Thinking
6. Fear: The Silent Killer
2. Doing—Tools and Strategies for Overcoming Creative Blocks
1. Embracing and Internalizing the Terror of the New
3. Being—Actively Learning From Failure
4. ► Case Study: Airbnb
2. Chapter 11. Sustaining Your Creativity: Learning to Defy and Transform the
Crowd
1. Knowing—Investment Theory of Creativity
1. A Story About a Sandwich That Revolutionized an Industry
2. Sternberg and Lubart’s Investment Theory of Creativity
2. Doing—Addressing Resistance to Change
3. Being—Becoming a 21st-Century Innovator
1. Limiting Your Options
2. Resting on Success
3. Expecting Guarantees
4. Letting Other People’s Approval Be More Important Than Your
Own
5. Not Being Clear About What You Want
4. ► Case Study: Repeatable Magic: Sergio Fajardo and the Transformation
of Medellín, Colombia
6. Notes
7. Index
IntroductionPurpose and Design of This Book
We begin this book with an exercise in creative thinking. Ponder this: What do Bob Dylan and
James Dyson have in common? To be fair, to answer this question, you must first be familiar
with these two individuals. Most will easily recognize the name Bob Dylan, but in case not, he is
an American singer, songwriter, artist, writer, and Nobel Prize winner. Dylan’s recording career
has spanned more than 50 years, during which time he has sold more than 100 million records.
As for James Dyson, have you ever dried your hands in a public bathroom that had the Dyson
Blade mounted on the wall? James Dyson is a British inventor, innovator, and entrepreneur.
So, what do a famous musician and an entrepreneur have in common? The answer is creativity.
Both have been successful professionally because of their creativity, but more than that, both are
ardent creativity advocates as well.
Dylan and Dyson recognize the power of a creative idea and encourage others to address
significant issues in their lives through the deliberate application of creative thinking. Bob
Dylan, for example, was recently named founding patron of the University of Auckland’s
Creative Thinking Research Fund and is the inaugural creative laureate of that university’s
Creative Thinking Project. This project promotes a deeper understanding of the creative process,
to encourage wider participation in creative thinking and to promote creativity as being crucial to
individual and community success, well-being, and development.1 As Jenny Dixon, chair of the
Creative Thinking Project and deputy vice chancellor of the University of Auckland, stated,
Creative thinking drives success. Creativity is a proven force for cognitive development,
academic achievement and social and economic innovation. Being creative strengthens neural
pathways and generates connections. It opens up worlds of possibilities and change.2
James Dyson is quick to attribute his success as an entrepreneur and innovator to his prowess as
a creative thinker. In fact, Dyson is a passionate spokesperson for the importance of
organizational creativity and creativity in education. Indeed, he has put his money where his
mouth is by establishing a foundation to support the next generation of innovative engineers.
Dyson makes a close connection between creativity and the invention process, and in the
following excerpt from a Wall Street Journal interview, it is easy to detect how important he
believes creative thinking is for organizational success.
I think if you have a general atmosphere of creativity, of wanting people to come up with ideas
and not rejecting them when they do—but trying them out and seeing how they work—and of
generally employing engineers who are creative and scientists who are creative, and if you have
the reputation of following good ideas through, however unusual and however strange they look,
then I think you attract people who are creative and who want to do their best creatively. So I
don’t think there is any magic potion. I think it is simply having the right attitude internally—
that you are there to create things.3
Creativity, and to be more specific creative thinking, has always been important. In fact, you
could say creativity is a basic human need. In Franken’s popular book on human motivation, he
argues that humans are driven to create for at least three fundamental reasons:
• Need for novel, varied, and complex situations;
• Need to communicate ideas and values; and
• Need to solve problems.4
Given the pace of change in the 21st century, it could be argued—and we do so in this book—
that creativity and creative thinking are necessary for success now more than ever. Indeed, the
World Economic Forum recently published a report on workplace trends in which they forecast
that in 2020 creativity will become the third most important job skill (complex problem solving
will be number one).5 Bob Dylan’s own words capture well life in our times: “There is nothing
so stable as change.” What Dylan’s quote does not capture is the pace of change. For instance,
the case has been made that a student pursuing a 4-year technical degree will discover that nearly
50% of the knowledge acquired in the first year of study will be out of date before
graduation.6 In the early 21st century, creative thinking has become a survival skill.
In 2008, Harvard Business School, perhaps the preeminent business school program in the
United States, celebrated its 100th birthday. Three Harvard Business School professors, Datar,
Garvin, and Cullen, used this milestone to reflect on how current and future business education
might better meet students’ needs. Their book, Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a
Crossroads, highlights what they see as the unmet needs associated with business programs.
Included in their list of unmet student needs is “acting creatively and innovatively,” which they
describe in the following way: “finding and framing problems; collecting, synthesizing, and
distilling large volumes of ambiguous data; engaging in generative and lateral thinking; and
constantly experimenting and learning.”7 Perhaps influenced by this work, or in recognition of
the innovation economy that defines modern-day life, the Association to Advance Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB) updated its accreditation standards around the three themes of
innovation, impact, and engagement.8 To that end, as of 2013 the AACSB standards for general
business programs at the master’s degree level now include thinking creatively. And, we would
strongly suggest, creativity and creative thinking are basic skills for undergraduate students to
master as well.
Whereas the field of creativity studies has enjoyed more than 6 decades of research and practice,
relatively few business programs, let alone colleges and universities, have incorporated the key
insights and best practices from this field into their curricula. This book shares knowledge and
practices drawn from the field of creativity so that business school students, as well as any
program that prepares students to join or create their own organizations, might reignite and
further develop their capacity to think creatively and to produce innovative outcomes. Indeed, a
model of entrepreneurial competencies and cognitive skills reads like the classic description of a
creative person: energetic, open to risks, unafraid of failure, and intuitive; demonstrating a need
for achievement, an internal locus of control and the ability to work with change; capable of
fluent idea generation; and ultimately, flexible and original thinking.9 What the field of creativity
education and studies has shown us is that these attitudes and skills are highly teachable. The
goal of this book is to expose the reader to knowledge and tools aimed at improving these and
other creativity-related skills and traits.
The reader will quickly recognize that this book has adopted a tone that is not typical for most
textbooks. Because of a creativity exercise the authors self-administered, one that placed us in
the user’s experience—the student reader—we decided to adopt a writing style designed to speak
directly to the audience. Why? Ultimately, creativity is both an act of doing and being, not
simply knowing or dreaming. We wanted to engage the reader in a manner that we hope will lead
to personal transformation and growth. To that end, you will find the book uses an active voice
and often speaks directly to you—the reader.
Besides writing in an engaging voice, we also included “thought starters” in the text to invite the
reader to interact with the ideas presented in this book. Adults learn best and retain the most
information when their minds are actively involved and provoked. You will get more out of this
book if you use these thought starters. The thought starters are designed so that the reader can
pause to interact with some of the main concepts in the book by generating reactions, thoughts,
reflections, and connections. When you see a thought bubble, we encourage you to actively
engage with that particular concept by capturing your thoughts in the margins of the book or
elsewhere. Effective creative thinkers find it easy to make associations. Each thought bubble
provides an opportunity to practice associative thinking, thereby allowing you to further develop
your creative-thinking skills.
Recognizing that some learners learn best through visual stimuli, we include original sketches by
the famous surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. We selected Dalí’s work for several reasons. First, as a
surrealist artist Dalí attempted to communicate abstract concepts, such as emotions and the
cognitive processes associated with the unconscious, human characteristics and qualities that
often go unnoticed and unobserved but have a profound impact on our lives. Like surrealist
artists we endeavor to help our readers become more aware of the emotions and cognitive
processes that make up creativity. For many, a heretofore-unconscious experience once grasped
can transform your life—positioning you to be an innovator or entrepreneur. Second, Dalí, like
all successful creatives, deliberately engaged in the creative process. Whereas he is famous for
his large canvasses, he had to play with many ideas before arriving at these final products. His
sketches provide insight into his creative process, and show how he tinkered with ideas, played
with alternatives, made unusual connections, and refined original ideas into workable
solutions—aspects of the creative process that we all can master.
Finally, the structure of the book is unique as well. Datar and his colleagues from the Harvard
Business School recommend that effective business programs, and we would suggest any
educational or training program, should balance three components: knowing, doing, and being.
Knowing, which is the focus of most programs, is concerned with transmitting facts,
frameworks, and theories. Doing relates to practices that develop skills and capabilities. Being is
concerned with ongoing personal development and integration that sustain beliefs, values, and
attitudes in a way that allows one to model the way for others. This book uses these components
in a fractal manner, in that these components repeat themselves. Specifically, the chapters are
organized into these three categories, starting with what we “Know” about creativity (Part I). We
then move to the “Doing” chapters that focus on practices associated with effective creative
thinking (Part II). In the spirit of integration, we close with chapters in the “Being” section aimed
at helping you to sustain your creative behavior. Additionally, each chapter is structured using
the same framework. All begin with what we know about the topic addressed in that chapter.
This material is followed by recommendations for activities you might do to develop skills
relative to the chapter’s topic. Finally, each chapter concludes by exploring ongoing actions
aimed at sustaining the newfound skills and behaviors (i.e., being). All chapters end with a case
study designed to provide a real-world example of concepts explored in that chapter.
We believe creativity is an essential life skill. Our goal is to provide the necessary background
information (knowing), along with proven creative-thinking strategies (doing) that, when
internalized (being), help the reader bring about creative breakthroughs that are valuable to an
organization (either an existing organization or a start-up). Through developing and improving
these creative-thinking skills, the reader will be prepared to serve as a creative leader, someone
who successfully facilitates organizational creativity.
With this aim in mind, our book is intended to accomplish two primary objectives: (1) to guide
readers on a journey through the creativity essentials (intellectual, cognitive, affective, and
behavioral) needed to position themselves as creative assets in the organizations they serve—
whether they be for-profit or not-for-profit or existing or start-up ventures—and (2) to support
instructors in their efforts to prepare students for successful intrapreneurship and
entrepreneurship in the age of innovation.
Acknowledgments
Collectively the authors wish to express their deep appreciation to their colleagues at the
International Center for Studies in Creativity, Buffalo State. This unique group of professionals
teaches, studies, and promotes creative thinking and creative problem solving on a daily basis.
By living what we teach, we have created a rare environment, a work climate characterized by
colleagueship and friendship. Thanks, Mike, Marie, Selcuk, Susan, Cyndi, Roger, Deb, Lee Ann,
Jo, and all our wonderful adjunct lecturers—you make coming to work a joy! And a special
thanks to our former graduate assistant, Molly Holinger, for creating the learning activities in this
book.
As the International Center for Studies in Creativity begins its 50th year at Buffalo State, we
wish also to acknowledge the founding faculty members, Drs. Sid Parnes and Ruth Noller. We
stand on the shoulders of these giants. We also want to express our gratitude for the ongoing
support on the part of the Buffalo State administration, especially Associate Dean Rita Zientek,
Dean James Mayrose, Provost Melanie Perreault, and President Katherine Conway-Turner.
Finally, we wish to thank those whose feedback was instrumental in shaping the final version of
this book. Jasmine Hodges, our writing coach, provided feedback that was both invaluable and
inspirational. Maggie Stanley, business and management acquisitions editor for SAGE, guided
this book from inception to realization. Mark Bast, our copy editor, whose attention to detail was
truly impressive. And to the team of reviewers who pored over early drafts of our manuscript.
• Lizabeth Barclay, Oakland University
• Sara Beckman, University of California, Berkeley
• H. David Chen, Saint Joseph’s University
• Gary Coombs, Ohio University
• AnnMarie DiSiena, Dominican College of Blauvelt
• Lesley Dowding, Coventry University
• Susan Fant, University of Alabama
• Michael Littman, SUNY Buffalo State
• Patrick Lee Lucas, University of Kentucky
• Enrique Mu, Carlow University
• Patricia K. O’Connell, Lourdes University
• Jim Olver, College of William and Mary
• Tudor Rickards, University of Manchester
• Rajesh Sharma, University Centre Croydon
• April J. Spivack, Coastal Carolina University
• Eric M. Stark, James Madison University
• Paul D. Witman, California Lutheran University
• Amy Zidulka, Royal Roads University
Authors’ individual acknowledgments follow.
G. J. Puccio
It is an illusion to think that a creator can be successful without the love, support, and energy of
others. I wish to express my deepest appreciation to those very special people in my life who
inspire me: Gabe, Anthony, Pam, Ben, and my mother—Teresa Puccio.
J. F. Cabra
I owe a debt of gratitude to Jennifer Greer, my editor. You helped turn some of my chapters into
something I could be proud of. To my sister Claudia, you are a wonderful sister, and I thank you
for your many words of cheer. To my treasured friend Cyndi Burnett, thank you for your many
encouraging walks. Let me also give special thanks to Dr. Alberto Montoya, president of the
Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga, and dear friend Cesar Guerrero, for supporting this
work. To Dr. Sergio Fajardo, we asked for half an hour of interview time from your busy
gubernatorial schedule, and you unselfishly gave us 2 hours! I owe gratitude to my academic
advisors Reg Talbot and Andy Joniak. From you stem my love of scholarship. To my children,
Michael and Annalise, you inspire my creative spirit. And finally, to my father, Gonzalo Cabra,
and mother, Adela Cabra, thank you for serving as beautiful role models. You gave up
enormously to come to the United States long ago, and in pursuit of your dreams, you helped me
to pursue mine. This book is a testament to your many sacrifices. You left me a heritage of hard
work and perseverance.
N. Schwagler
For Joshua, my compass.
To my parents for providing an imaginative youth sufficient distance to experiment and scratch
elbows, knees, and pride—and for always being there when a hug, a creative whack on the side
of the head, or a solid debriefing conversation was needed.
To Trish and Bobby (and Max) for the privilege of your company and the opportunity to think
and to write in your sacred space; Dr. Stephanie Andel for teaching me about grace, voice, and
the importance of standing up for what you believe in; and Carissa and Grant for the refreshing
reminder that play is the way.
To the Dalí Museum family for teaching me about artistry and the importance of ensuring that
artistic expression remains a creative cornerstone of our educational practices—and to its
executive director, Dr. Hank Hine, for believing in me and sharing a belief that an art museum is
an unsuspecting yet ideal location for a creativity and innovation services laboratory.
Family, friends, colleagues, and mentors. Students. Scientists. Artists. Builders. Hustlers.
Innovators. Creative misfits of atypical types, and for all who believe in the depths of their being
that we can be better humans with imagination and effort: my heart and this book to you.
About the Authors
Gerard J. Puccio
is department chair and professor at the International Center for Studies in Creativity,
Buffalo State. Gerard has written more than 60 articles, chapters, and books. His most
recent book, The Innovative Team, coauthored with Chris Grivas, is a fable about a team
that turns around a dysfunctional situation through the use of proven creative-thinking
tools. In 2011 he and his colleagues, Marie Mance and Mary Murdock, published the
second edition of their widely adopted book Creative Leadership: Skills That Drive
Change.
Gerard is an accomplished speaker and consultant; he has worked with major
corporations and universities. Some of his recent clients include the BBC, the
Smithsonian Institute, BNP Paribas, Rubbermaid, and Coca-Cola. In 2013 Dr. Puccio was
selected by the Teaching Company as one of America’s Great Lecturers and as such was
invited to design and deliver a course composed of 24 video sessions. This “Great
Course,” titled The Creative Thinker’s Toolkit, was released in January 2014.
Among other responsibilities, Gerard serves as a distinguished visiting scholar at
Sheridan College, Oakville, Canada, and is a member of the selection committee for the
Toy Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Play.
John F. Cabra
is an associate professor at the State University of New York College at Buffalo’s
International Center for Studies in Creativity where as part of a team he focuses on
teaching, assessing, and researching the science of creativity. John specializes in
facilitating and accelerating scientific and interdisciplinary innovation as part of his work
through Knowinnovation. John has written journal articles, book chapters, and books in
the areas of business, technology, engineering, and creativity.
In recognition for his work, he was awarded the President’s Award for Excellence in
Teaching, the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in
Teaching, and grants from the National Science Foundation and the State University of
New York. John is also a Fulbright Scholar. He served his Fulbright at the Universidad
Autónoma de Bucaramanga, Colombia.
Some organizations that have benefited from John’s training and organizational
development expertise include IBM, Pfizer, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola, British Home Office,
National Science Foundation, NASA, Drexel University, Penn State University, Purdue
University, and the Ohio State University.
Dr. Cabra held internal consulting positions for American Airlines in the fields of training
and development, employee relations, and organizational development. Before joining
American Airlines, he was a training and organizational development specialist for
Fisher-Price.
Nathan Schwagler
is a founding codirector of the Dalí Museum Innovation Labs, where he serves as lead
program designer and executive facilitator. Before joining the museum, Nathan served
as the nation’s first business school “Creative in Residence” at the University of South
Florida, St. Petersburg, where he designed and delivered courses on creativity and
innovation and new venture creation. His students were back-to-back-to-back national
champions in the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organizations’ business simulation
competition, and his three-member startup academic department was recognized as
the top Emerging Entrepreneurship Education Program across the entire United States
by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) in
2013.
As a consultant, Nathan has supported more than 150 organizations, including Abbott
Labs, Transamerica Insurance, DuPont Chemical, Novartis, the Miller/Coors Brewing Co.,
the Converse Shoe Co. (NIKE), the Tampa Bay Rays, the Home Shopping Network,
Bloomin’ Brands, Raymond James Financial, and thousands of innovators as they’ve
deployed their innovation capabilities to drive business outcomes.
Nathan holds a BA in psychology and a master of science degree in creativity from
SUNY–Buffalo State and a master of science degree in entrepreneurship from the
University of South Florida. He is a published author of peer-reviewed and popular press
articles.
Part I KnowingCreativity Knowledge to Support a 21st-
Century Innovator
Chapter 1 Innovation WiredYou Evolved to Create
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Use a scientifically based argument to defend the view that all humans are creative
• Explain the lessons that can be extracted from evolution and how these lessons
translate into strategies for innovators and entrepreneurs
• Contrast two fundamentally different forms of creativity: eminent creativity and
everyday creativity
• Appraise the degree to which you actively work to enhance your innate creativity
through practice, passion, and play
• Formulate a plan for improving your creative thinking by using journaling and/or in-and-
out note taking on a regular basis
Knowing—You Were Born to Be Creative
Creativity Lessons From Evolution
The question is not whether you are creative. You are! The better question is, am I living up to
my creative potential? And, assuming there is always room for growth, a natural follow-up
question is, in what ways might I be able to enhance my creativity? This opening chapter uses
information extracted from science, biology, and anthropology to demonstrate that all humans
with normally functioning brains are endowed with creative thinking and therefore possess the
ability to create. Our species alone has the imagination and the dexterity to make complex tools
and to produce new technology. Creative thinking is the competitive advantage of our species;
thus, through evolution this competitive advantage has been selected for and developed through
the millennia.1 You were born creative, and we contend that you can enhance your success as an
innovator and entrepreneur if you tap into your innate creativity. To that end, we use lessons
from evolution to present the first set of tips you can follow to extend the natural creative talent
you already possess.
Let’s be honest about our species. When you compare humans to other animals with whom we
share planet Earth, it is plain to see that humans are not the fastest, strongest, or biggest. Humans
cannot fly away from danger nor hide underwater (at least not for very long). Even though the
human body is not particularly well insulated from cold temperatures or designed to efficiently
cool down in blistering heat, our species has found a way to expand around the globe and to
inhabit a wide range of climatic conditions. How is this possible? To what quality can we
attribute such adaptability and flexibility? If it is not strength and speed, nor other forms of
physical prowess, could it be the size of our brains? It is not size alone, however, for humans
cannot claim to have the largest brains; the prize for size belongs to elephants and some whales.
What is unique about the human brain is its rare and valuable cognitive ability—creative
thinking. Humans may not be fast, strong, or big, but humans can employ imagination in a way
that leads to mental and behavioral flexibility that, through experimentation and evaluation, leads
to novel solutions.2
It is likely that the mental ability to generate creative solutions was present in its nascent state in
prehumans and then developed in ever-expansive ways from early humans through to the
creative minds now found in modern humans. Although human evolution did not advance along
a straight line, with competing branches often existing at the same time, evolutionary
psychologists have concluded that developments in the size and structure of the human brain
over time led to corresponding increases in the complexity of products generated by the
evolving Homo species.3
In 1974 an unusually complete skeleton of a species that served as a forerunner to humans was
found in Tanzania, Africa. The skeleton, nicknamed “Lucy,” had been preserved in sediment for
more than 3.6 million years. Lucy and others from her species, called Australopithecus afarensis,
were about the size of chimpanzees and walked upright. These diminutive creatures survived for
about 700,000 years, from about 3.6 million years ago to about 2.9 million years ago, an
impressive longevity for an animal so small and fragile. Imagine the frightening conditions this
prehuman species must have faced, an easy meal for any number of four-legged animals and
birds of prey. It is likely that the mental conditions that eventually blossomed into the highly
functioning creative brains humans enjoy today were beginning to form in Lucy’s mind.
According to science writer Douglas Palmer, Lucy and her tribe lacked sharp teeth, claws, and
speed; however, they made up for these physical deficiencies with cooperation, communication,
and creative intelligence—exemplified by the use of sticks and stones as weapons.4
Figure 1.1
Source: Bellville/MCT/Newscom
There are animals today that use objects found in nature as tools. Sea otters, for instance, use
rocks to crack open crabs, mussels, and oysters. Chimpanzees strip the leaves off small branches
to fish for termites and ants. Early humans carried out similar forms of practical problem solving
that eventually led to what anthropologists refer to as the creative explosion in human
civilization about 50,000 years ago. At this critical breakpoint, humans moved from applying
imagination to solving practical problems, like finding food to eat, to applying imagination in all
sorts of interesting ways, such as burial rituals and art.
Let’s look at some examples of the tools created through the imaginations of the earliest human
species. The first tool made by humans is called the flaked tool (approximately 2.6 million years
ago). With a brain capacity of about 50% of modern humans’, the Homo habilis broke fine-
grained rocks into sharp-edged flakes to split open fruit and nuts. The process of manufacturing
this tool—and we do mean manufacturing, in that these early humans had to first locate the
materials and then fashion these tools from them—required a degree of higher-level thinking.
The flaked tool lasted about 1 million years, then like all creative ideas, it was surpassed by a
new and improved idea—the hand ax.
Homo ergaster, with a brain 75% the size of that of modern humans, is credited with the
development of a symmetrically shaped tool that was easier to hold while striking objects
(approximately 1.76 million years ago). The pear-shaped design had a sharp point and edges on
one side and a blunt end, held in the palm of the hand, on the other. Some experts argue that this
more complicated, all-purpose tool is evidence of increasingly more complex mental functions in
humans. Geneticist Morriss-Kay, for example, suggests that the multistep manufacturing process
associated with the hand ax illustrates the emergence of mental operations unique to the human
species, such as being able to see “in the mind’s eye.”5
The life cycle of the hand ax endured over 1 million years. Although we are endowed with great
imagination, it may be difficult to imagine any product created today that will still be in use in
half the life cycle of the hand ax, that is, 500,000 years from now. In today’s world,
manufactured products go through fundamental redesign every 5 to 10 years, whereas
technologically based products experience significant redesign every 3 to 6 months.6 How long
do you think it will be before you consider that phone in your pocket so outmoded that an
upgrade becomes necessary? Contrasting the life cycle of these early creative products to those
of today highlights the increase in the pace of change as driven by human creativity.
With each successive human species came more sophisticated tools. And with Homo sapiens, the
modern human being, the expanding use of imagination eventually led to a tipping point referred
to as the creative explosion, that is, a dramatic increase in the complexity and diversity of human
artifacts dating back to about 50,000 years ago. In a relatively short span of time, 10,000 to
20,000 years, the human imagination began to produce art (e.g., cave paintings and figurines),
sew clothing, create musical instruments, construct purpose-built shelters, and develop elaborate
social rituals such as those associated with burial.
Given that the brain reached its present volume with the emergence of Homo sapiens roughly
200,000 years ago, it might occur to you that the creative explosion lagged far behind the
emergence of the modern human—a gap of more than 100,000 years. Why was there such a lag
between the appearance of the fully modern human and the diverse application of creativity?
Following are some insightful explanations of human evolution that connect to our contemporary
understanding of creativity and underscore, we believe, how humans have been wired to be
creative.
Development of the Fully Creative Brain: Use Your Whole Brain
Some psychologists, scholars, and archeologists believe that whereas the thinking skills
associated with creativity were present in early Homo sapiens, these skills continued to be
refined as the modern human evolved. It took time for modern humans to learn to direct their
thinking. Humans are self-aware and can think about their own thinking. For the creative
process, it is especially important that humans manage to balance and move back and forth
between two basic forms of thinking—divergent and convergent thinking.7 Divergent thinking is
an exploratory form of thinking, looking for possibilities, identifying in our mind’s eye what
might be, generating novel responses, and making associations. For example, the Dalí sketch
included in this chapter reflects this artist’s ability to see in his mind’s eye a strange new
possibility. Though drawn in 1936 this sketch looks a lot like augmented-reality goggles used by
today’s gamers. Convergent thinking is testing, evaluating, refining possibilities, and exploring
ways to make our novel ideas valuable. To create, humans need to be able to engage in both
forms of thinking and to direct their thinking so they apply these skills effectively. Cognitive
scientist Liane Gabora argues it is exactly this process of switching between these two forms of
thought that makes up the fundamental approach used by successful creative people today:
When tackling a problem, they first let their minds wander, allowing one memory or thought to
spontaneously conjure up another. This free association encourages analogies and gives rise to
thoughts that break out of the box. Then, as these individuals settle on a vague idea for a
solution, they switch to a more analytic mode of thought.8
Another significant shift in thinking believed to have contributed to the creative explosion is an
ability called cognitive fluidity.9 It has been argued that before 50,000 years ago human thinking
tended to be domain specific; that is, our thoughts were isolated to specific areas of knowledge—
silos, if you will—that did not interact with each other. For example, Steven Mithen, a professor
of archeology, describes three fundamental domains or areas of intelligence that were mastered
by Homo sapiens and likely Neanderthals as well.10 These were social intelligence, natural
intelligence, and technical intelligence. Domain-specific thinking is a form of vertical thinking in
which a person builds up knowledge in isolated areas. By contrast, cognitive fluidity is a form of
flexible thinking in which a person is able to develop new insights and ideas by cross-fertilizing
thoughts from different domains.
Salvador Dalí, Freudian Portrait of a Bureaucrat, 1936 pencil on paper, image: 10 5/8 in × 7 3/4
in.
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
This ability to connect ideas across areas of knowledge is crucial to the creative process and
helps to drive innovation. The way termites build their mounds, which are the tallest structures
on Earth (when comparing the builders’ size to the size of the building), inspired an African
architect who built highly efficient energy buildings. Ships’ propellers provided the solution for
powering heavier-than-air flying machines. Facebook was inspired, in part, by the idea of a
collegiate yearbook. Without cognitive fluidity, our creative thinking, problem-solving, and
innovation efforts would be severely limited. Steve Jobs seemed to be abundantly aware of how
the ability to cross-fertilize thoughts contributes to innovative success. As he observed, “I think
part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and
poets and artists and zoologists and historians who also happened to be the best computer
scientists in the world.”11
It took time for the human brain to develop the capacities to effectively engage in divergent
thinking, convergent thinking, and cognitive fluidity. The good news is that, thanks to your
ancestors, you are endowed with these same abilities, and through this book you will learn to
take advantage of these innate thinking skills.
Emergence of Pretend Play: Be Childlike
Some scholars argue that cognitive abilities alone were not sufficient to cause the widespread
application of our creative potential. It has been suggested that humans also had to develop a
creative attitude to maximize the ever-increasing horsepower of their brains. Let’s look at an
analogy: Two drivers may have equally powerful engines in their cars, but the one who has the
willingness to explore the full power of that engine is likely to win in a head-to-head race. By
contrast, the risk-averse driver is likely to be cautious, thereby underusing the full horsepower at
his or her disposal.
In a similar way, our brains need an emotional partner that does not constrain creative thinking.
Philosopher Peter Carruthers eloquently argues that this creative attitude comes easily to us as
children.12 Children suspend their judgment, thus allowing their imaginations to roam unfettered.
This ability to remain emotionally open, not to prematurely eliminate a novel idea, is crucial to
divergent thinking, that is, the production of novel options and ideas. Without the emotional
ability to remain open, to suspend our judgment temporarily, our thinking would not venture into
new areas. Carruthers suggests the kind of pretend play humans engage in as children is crucial
for adult creativity. After the emergence of Homo sapiens, and before the creative explosion, it is
believed that our modern ancestors needed to hone their ability to engage in pretend play. It was
the attitude of playful thinking that unshackled the human capacity for divergent thinking;
judgment limits possibilities, whereas an attitude of suspended judgment promotes unlimited
possibilities. As Carruthers states, “The cognitive prerequisites for pretence were in place at least
at the advent of language, I suggest; but actually engaging in frequent pretend play in childhood
served to practice and enhance our imaginative abilities.”13 As with our ancestors, this has
implications for both your own creativity and how you might best position yourself as a catalyst
for innovation and entrepreneurial endeavors. To fully leverage your creative-thinking skills, you
need the right attitude—a willingness to suspend your judgment and engage in pretense—and
you need to practice this attitude regularly. Without it, your imagination will be constrained,
limiting the number and range of possibilities for innovative ideas and solutions.
Sexual Selection Favored Creative Partners: The Drummer Effect
There is an urban legend that musicians and other creative types find it easier to attract mates.
Perhaps there is some truth to this belief, in that scholars have suggested that over time creativity
and creative problem solving were qualities that rendered one a more appealing mate.14 And one
recent study has provided evidence for this claim.15 Analysis of a questionnaire completed by
more than 400 adults in England revealed a strong relationship between creative activity and
success in mating. Specifically, those research participants who reported greater levels of
creative productivity in poetry or art also reported having had greater numbers of intimate
partners.
What might account for the relationship between creativity and sexual attraction? First, it’s
conceivable that individuals who were more creative and more effective at creatively solving
problems were more likely to survive and thus reproduce. In this way creative tendencies were
passed along, compounding with each successive generation. Second, it has been argued that
individuals looking for mates will prefer effective problem solvers, who are likely to ensure a
more secure future. As Carruthers suggests, the selection of more creative partners results from
the “human capacity to detect the casual connection between creative thinking, on the one hand,
and problem-solving success, on the other.”16 So there seems to be some support for the belief
that creativity does intersect with sexual selection, and if this is the case, then it could be
reasoned that over time creativity and creative problem solving are traits that have been passed
down from one generation to the next—once again supporting the point that creativity is innate.
Numerous reports on workplace skills include creativity and innovation as essential for
professional success. Like our early ancestors who recognized that a good mate is one who can
problem-solve, today’s organizations recognize that their survival depends on attracting
employees who are creative thinkers. Therefore, honing your creative problem-solving skills can
make you a more attractive match for organizations in a hypercompetitive world.
This is not a lesson in evolution; if it were, we would be guilty of treating the subject too lightly.
Rather, our goal was to demonstrate that the story of human evolution is a story of creativity and
that within this story, a major plot line has been creativity’s contribution to the survival of the
human species. Furthermore, our creativity doesn’t just help us to survive but also to thrive.
Unlike any other species on the planet, humans can imagine and create a diverse range of
products, from tangible objects like technological products that let us leave Earth and explore our
galaxy to intangible products like culture, music, art, laws, and more.
Let us be very clear: We suggest that our creativity was initially designed to enable the relatively
weak human species to survive. Once the ability to imagine novel solutions was well entrenched
in our practical problem-solving abilities, humans expanded the application of imagination in
other interesting ways. As Morriss-Kay suggests, “Without these survival-enhancing functional
origins, it is unlikely that we would have the neural equipment to create art.”17 This line of
thinking fits well with Charles Darwin’s view on the modes of transition in organs; that is, an
organ designed for one purpose can evolve toward other functions. This may be exactly what has
happened to the human brain and to imagination. Initially the function of the brain was to apply
creative thinking to solve the practical problems related to survival, that is, finding food to eat
and avoiding becoming food for others. Then through the evolution of this organ, the human
brain, the power of imagination expanded and broadened beyond immediate problems of
survival and has been employed in a way that has literally shaped the world we live in today.
Like no other species, for better and for worse, humans have created the very conditions within
which we live. It’s sort of circular. For most of human history, imagination allowed humans to
adapt to the environment. More recently, the expanded application of imagination has resulted in
changing the very conditions of our environment. Consequently, humans must apply their
creative thinking in both their personal and professional lives to respond more and more quickly
to the changing conditions brought about by their own creativity. The pace of change that
humans must adapt to is unlikely to slow down. The more humans create, the more they are
required to use their creativity to adapt.
Thought Starter
Innate Creativity
Creativity is primal. It is in all of us. As part of the human race, you came into this world with
both the mental and emotional prerequisites to be creative. Like the inexplicable primal response
to the beat of a drum or the innate sensation of danger when standing on the edge of a precipice,
all humans have been wired through evolution to create. Whereas our understanding of human
evolution continues to develop with new scientific discoveries, we feel certain that humans have
survived for more than 2.5 million years because of our unique ability to creatively solve
problems. Moreover, we believe, as do other educators and business leaders, that due to the
rapidly changing conditions in the 21st century, which are being driven by human creativity,
everyone will need to call on this primal skill to continue to survive and thrive.
Before we leave the topic of evolution, there are other lessons important to creativity that can be
drawn from Charles Darwin’s teachings.18 The following are a few we wish to highlight. We
start with the most fundamental of concepts and then elaborate with two specific insights that the
study of evolution gives us into creativity.
Change Is Natural: The Only Way to Stop Changing Is to Become Extinct
Evolution teaches us that change is constant and not just in our natural world. Everything around
us, including ourselves, is in a constant state of flux. Society, the economy, technology, and
knowledge are perpetually changing. Because of this universal principle, organizations and
individuals that do not actively evolve will watch their success erode and eventually become
extinct. Recent examples of organizations that did not continue to evolve include Blockbuster,
the brick-and-mortar video rental giant that was too late in joining the online movement, and
Kodak, the leader in film photography that actually created the first digital camera in the 1970s
but was late transitioning over to this new technology. And, because change is ongoing, if such
innovative organizations as Redbox and Nikon do not continue to evolve, you can bet they too
will slowly evaporate. Ideas, like species, are always evolving, with new ideas replacing old
ideas. In this way, creativity has a destructive quality to it. As new and better ideas emerge, they
displace old ideas. For individuals to remain current and to continuously add value to their
organizations, they too must be ever vigilant in facilitating their own evolution. In an era of
unprecedented change, those who stop evolving may not literally become extinct, but they will
quickly become irrelevant.
Novel Variation Is the Stuff of Life: Without Novelty, There Is No Growth
Evolution is the balance between two forces, the generation of novelty and the selective retention
of those alternatives that are most adaptable to the environment. Both are necessary, but there is
an implied and very important sequence to evolution. The first ingredient in evolution is the
production of novel variations, the new alternatives without which there would be no change, at
least not creative change. Darwin highlighted the important impact of novelty:
Consequently, in the course of many thousand generations, the most distinct varieties of any one
species of grass would have the best chance of succeeding and of increasing in numbers, and of
supplanting the less distinct varieties; and varieties, when rendered very distinct from each other,
take the rank of species.19
In the previous quote, replace the word grass with the word ideas, and you will easily recognize
how novelty ushers in entire new industries or completely new trends. To add value to an
existing organization, you need to sow the seeds of ideas. For it is ideas, those that solve
problems and those that create new opportunities, that sustain an organization. And for those
interested in entrepreneurship, it is again novel ideas that help to distinguish new start-ups, which
lead to new industries and markets.
Let’s be a little less lofty and consider novelty and its role in an individual’s life—your life.
Think about the degree to which you explore new ideas and experiences. Novelty is important in
our lives for at least two reasons. First, by continuously experimenting with novel ideas,
individuals discover and grow. Second, novel ideas and experiences can serve as stimulants for
breakthrough ideas. Time and time again, we hear stories of people developing creative ideas
because of a connection stimulated by exposure to a novel experience. So if you want to be sure
to stimulate ongoing growth and new thinking, make it a regular habit to try new things and to
learn about new topics. We hasten to add that there are important physiological benefits to
seeking out novel ideas and experiences. Current research shows that those who remain actively
curious live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives.20
Everything Is a Prototype: No Idea, Product, or Person Is Ever Complete
and Perfect
One of the hard lessons given to us by evolution is the fact that every idea and product is always
under development; it is never complete. Just as past species gave rise to subsequent species,
ideas and products serve as bridges to future ideas. Darwin captured this point well when he
stated, “Almost every part of every organic being is so beautifully related to its complex
conditions of life that it seems as improbable that any part should have been produced perfect, as
that a complex machine should have been invented by man in a perfect state.”21 This is a real risk
for those organizations that lead their respective markets, because it can be difficult not to fall
overly in love with your product line, thereby failing to see what might come next. This is why it
is sometimes easier for organizations that are not market leaders to be innovative, because with
distance they can sometimes more easily see ways to improve or leapfrog their competitors’
products and services. This is equally applicable to entrepreneurs, who are less apt to be wedded
to past ideas. We say this is a hard lesson because the recognition that everything is a prototype
suggests that organizations can never really stop creating. The research is clear: Those
companies that have stood the test of time are always experimenting and exploring, pursuing
what might be thought of as continuous creativity.22 Great companies reinvent themselves. And
in the 21st century, when it is expected that people will change jobs up to 11 times before
retirement, people will need to reinvent themselves as well.23
Everyday Creativity
In the previous section we made the case that because of human evolution you have been gifted
with cognitive and emotional skills that make you creative. Still, some of you may doubt this. As
professionals in the field of creativity, the three authors of this book often have people tell us
they are not creative. Conversations when meeting someone new usually go like this: “Hi, nice to
meet you,” they begin. This is almost always followed up by, “So what do you do for a living?”
A typical response from any of the three of us is, “I teach, train, and study creativity.” Our
unusual occupation sometimes stuns the unsuspecting stranger, generally followed by the
comment, “Oh, I’m not creative.” Now, we just covered the fact that everyone with a normally
functioning brain is wired to be creative, so in both theory and practice it is impossible for
anyone to “not be creative” whatsoever. This is akin to saying, “I’ve never used my imagination
or solved a problem in an interesting way in my entire life,” which is highly unlikely.
We suspect that there are two reasons for the “I’m not creative” response. The first is that some
people are under the false impression that creativity is strictly about excelling in some artistic
way, for instance, writing poetry and playing music. This is a narrow view, for the use of
imagination to produce novel solutions and new knowledge is applicable to any field of
endeavor.
The second reason we believe people so quickly judge themselves as not being creative is the
comparison of themselves to great creators like Pablo Picasso, Dean Kamen, Ernest Hemingway,
Bill Gates, Leonardo da Vinci, J. K. Rowling, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Steve Jobs, Kid Cudi,
Maya Angelou, and Thomas Edison, to name a few. In our culture we raise great creators to
legendary status, and therefore it would be presumptuous for someone to put himself or herself in
the same class as these individuals. The reflexive “I’m not creative” response denies our
humanity, and it ignores a very important kind of creativity called everyday creativity.24
In the field of creativity studies, a distinction is made between eminent creativity and everyday
creativity, sometimes referred to as “big C” creativity and “little c” creativity, respectively. Big
C creativity refers to those who become socially recognized for their creative products and
performance. Little c creativity refers to creative acts that occur on a daily basis, for example,
making a good meal, solving a problem at work, or planning a party. This is the kind of
creativity that all humans display on a regular basis and the type of creativity that clearly
demonstrates that all humans have been born with the capacity to be creative.
The main difference between big C and little c creativity is the scope of impact. That is, big C
creativity is appreciated by, and impacts, a large number of people, whereas little c creativity is
useful to the individual or to those most closely associated with the individual. Despite popular
beliefs, eminent creators are not born with some special talent that makes being creative any
easier than it is for the rest of us.
Thought Starter
Little c creativity
But wait, you say, what about people like Mozart, the boy genius who began composing music at
age 5 and publicly performing on the violin and piano at age 8? When he was 17, he was
appointed as a court musician in Salzburg and went on to produce more than 600 compositions
before his premature death at age 35. Wasn’t Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart special? Didn’t he
come into the world as a gifted creative genius? Right? Wrong! Mozart may have had some
advantages, but it’s not because he was gifted with innate creative genius from conception. At
least two factors contributed to his big C creativity. First, he had a domineering father who
literally wrote the book on violin instruction. In fact, Leopold Mozart’s book was published the
year Wolfgang was born.25 Leopold started little Wolfgang on an intensive training program at
the age of 3. Leopold also had a heavy hand in Wolfgang’s early compositions, editing and
revising these works. Second, Wolfgang worked hard at being creative. Even though Mozart is
held up as a child prodigy, the reality is that he worked very hard, practicing for hours on end
and tirelessly revising his musical compositions. His incredible work ethic is visible in the large
body of compositions he generated in a short career. Mozart did not simply produce a small
number of works; instead, he was prolific, and this approach paid off when his first masterpiece
came at the age of 21. This was about 40% of the way into his lifetime body of work, or about 16
years after it is said that he began writing music. Instead of being a child prodigy, perhaps
Mozart really was a late bloomer, in that Howard Gardner’s research on eminently creative
individuals shows that it takes about 10 years of hard work to yield a first big C creative
product.26 What is unusual about Mozart is that he had a much earlier start than the rest of us.
From the Mozart example, and from studying other great creators, we can learn some valuable
lessons about how to maximize the creative potential we all possess. To make it easy to
remember, we call this the 3 Ps of creativity.
Practice
Evolution occurs naturally over time, with the chance emergence of novel variation and the
retention of those variations that are most adaptable. However, evolution can be sped up and
directed. It’s called breeding. Humans can, and do, intercede and manipulate evolution. For
example, that’s why we have such a great variety of dogs, apples, and so many other
domesticated animals and plants. As with evolution, humans can move their creativity from the
natural creativity that they brought into the world to more deliberate creativity. This is perhaps
the most important difference between eminent creators and everyday creators: Eminent creators
deliberately work on their creativity.
Let’s take Benjamin Franklin as an example. He was a founding father, businessman, and
inventor, another person who must have been destined by birth to be a creative genius, right?
Here’s a small example of how he was deliberately creative. To perfect his writing skills,
Franklin would study his favorite articles in a publication called the Spectator. Days later he
would reconstruct the article in his own words. He would then compare his version to the
original article, making corrections as necessary. Franklin didn’t stop there; next he would
translate these articles into rhyme and then back into essay form. This dedication to perfecting
one’s creative skills is not unusual and is found in most, if not all, great creators. They commit to
their creative process and work hard at applying their creative talents. And guess what? The
creative-thinking skills they possess and the creative process they follow can be used on an
everyday basis. Indeed, the skills taught in this book are the very same types of skills used by
great creators.
Passion
Great creators are passionate about their work. This passion fuels their creativity and enables
them to persist, to continuously practice their skills and refine their work. Generally they are
driven by intrinsic rather than extrinsic rewards. That means they pursue an idea, problem, or
performance for its own sake, for the joy and stimulation that come from complete immersion in
the creative process. It’s not that extrinsic rewards, such as monetary gain and fame, are
unimportant, but these are not the primary driving forces of their creativity. In fact, research
shows that when people focus on extrinsic rewards, it distracts them and undermines their
creativity.27 Want to maximize your creativity? Focus on those areas in life about which you are
most passionate.
Play
The young of all mammals engage in the kind of play that develops skills necessary to
survive.28 The offspring of cats play by stalking, pouncing, and wrestling. As we noted earlier,
human offspring play by engaging in pretense. Pretend play requires an ability to suspend one’s
judgment, to entertain the belief that all things are possible. This ability to suspend one’s
judgment plays a crucial role in the creative process of great creators, and for all of us. Much
learning and discovery comes through play. It allows us to experiment without pressure, to try
something new.
In this chapter we have tried to lay down some important foundational concepts and principles
for this book. First and foremost is the assertion that all humans with normally functioning brains
have the cognitive and emotional prerequisites to be creative. Creativity comes naturally to all of
us, or at least when we were young it did. Whereas some of us are able to retain our natural
creativity, for many of us it has eroded over time (more on how our creativity is lost in the next
chapter).
The good news is that all of us can build on our natural creativity. It is possible to leverage the
natural, hard-wired, deep-seated aspects of creativity that Mother Nature bestowed on us. In this
respect, creativity is just like breathing. All humans breathe, no thinking necessary—it’s natural.
There are times, though, when we want to take this natural activity and be more deliberate about
our breath, such as when playing a musical instrument, singing, running, or meditating. Just as
we can learn strategies and practice ways to be more deliberate about breathing, we can improve
on our natural creativity by learning and practicing deliberate creativity methods. In this way, it
is possible to move our creativity from chance to on demand. Sometimes it’s not convenient to
wait for lighting to strike; sometimes you need to be like Benjamin Franklin and go out and catch
it (as he did with lightning and his own creativity). In the next section you will learn a deliberate
creativity tool that can assist you in moving from creativity by chance to creativity on demand.
Learning Activity: Big C and Little c
Reflect back on the concepts of big C and little c creativity. In your own words, define big C and little c. Generally,
it is easy to think of examples of products and people that demonstrate big C, for example, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon
Musk, Larry Page, and Oprah Winfrey, to name a few. Oftentimes, however, we overlook the numerous instances of
little c in our daily lives. Take some time to reflect on how you and others demonstrate acts of little c creativity on
an everyday basis. See how many examples you can capture, again, both your own and others’. What insights does
this provide you in terms of your own creativity? Given the examples you identified, in what ways does this help
you to develop a deeper appreciation for creativity? Big C and little c are not necessarily a dichotomy; how might
practicing creativity on little c acts help to enhance big C?
Doing—Tuning in to the Creativity Already Inside of You
Idea Journal and In-and-Out Note Taking
The first tool we wish to introduce is straightforward and effective and starts by having you
simply tune into the creativity already happening inside of you. Many great creators keep track
of their thinking through note taking, journals, and sketchbooks. Da Vinci’s notebooks are
famous for their innovative ideas. Whereas da Vinci’s journals are held in great esteem, the
award for most prolific journal writer might go to Picasso, who generated 175 notebooks of his
draft ideas from 1894 to 1967. Perhaps the prize for the most unusual notebook goes to Andy
McCluskey, who used his bedroom wall to capture all sorts of ideas, such as song lyrics, song
titles, and poetry. McCluskey, along with Paul Humphreys, founded one of the most successful
British new wave bands of all time, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). OMD has sold
more than 40 million records, and one of their best-known hits is “If You Leave,” written for the
movie Pretty in Pink. Despite his mother’s disapproval, the wall in McCluskey’s bedroom
launched this songwriter’s career.
Capturing your ideas via written or electronic journal, in words and visuals, creates three
immediate advantages. First, by capturing your ideas you relieve your memory from having to
hold onto the idea, thus freeing the brain to refine and build on the concept or to generate new
insights. Second, capturing your ideas allows you to cross-fertilize your thinking. Once captured,
it becomes easier to cross-reference, double-check insights, and to connect two or more ideas
into even bigger breakthroughs. Finally, by capturing the insight you stand a better chance of
retaining it for future use. Ever have a sudden insight, perhaps in the middle of the night or
during some routine activity, and then later can’t remember that big idea? Sure, most of us have
had this “aha” moment. You might believe the insight is so profound that it will never be
forgotten, so you don’t stop to capture it. Alas, the brain moves on, and what was a brilliant
insight soon becomes an irretrievable memory. Why take that chance? Instead, use a laptop,
pocket notebook, the memo function in your phone, or some other tool to immediately capture
the idea. Mimic da Vinci and Picasso by being systematic about capturing your ideas. Create
different electronic files, notebooks, or sketchpads for different categories of ideas and projects.
Journaling doesn’t need to wait for a precise time or a fixed schedule. Our minds wander
naturally. Have you ever noticed in a classroom or meeting or while reading that other ideas and
thoughts besides the content under examination or discussion come to mind? We suggest that
you can take advantage of the fact that your mind is always working. A tool we recommend is
called in-and-out note taking. This tool allows you to tune in to the creativity that is naturally
occurring in your mind. With in-and-out note taking you create space wherever you are taking
notes to capture two types of notes, that is, your “in” thoughts and your “out” thoughts. Your in
thoughts are the specific details you want to remember in terms of the content being presented in
the meeting, classroom, or book. Out thoughts refer to the thoughts and ideas that come to you
while your mind is wandering. Sometimes these thoughts are a simple recollection of something
you need to do, but often they are creative ideas and possibilities that are sparked by the content
being presented to you. A standard approach for capturing in and out thoughts is to divide a sheet
of paper, actual or electronic, into two columns. One column is labeled “In Thoughts,” and the
other is labeled “Out Thoughts.” Notes are then placed in the appropriate column. Find a system
to organize your in thoughts, and commit to reviewing your out thoughts and following up on
those that pose the greatest value for you. As a reminder, we have placed thought starters
throughout this book to encourage you to engage in “out” thinking. The thought bubbles should
serve as cues for you to tune into your own creative thinking and to challenge yourself to see
what associations you might make with the main concept featured in that particular thought
bubble.
Thought Starter
In-and-Out Thinking
Learning Activity: Practice Imaginary Play
Leonardo da Vinci used his journal as a tool to capture his imaginative thoughts. Begin a journal and make your first
entry an exercise in imagination. Imagine that 5 years into the future you are the head of a thriving start-up. What
does your start-up do? What is your role as CEO? Who works there? Where is it located? What does the office space
look like? Whose lives might be made better as a result of your start-up? What trends does your start-up leverage?
Envision the start-up of your dreams without editing or worrying about practicalities. Allow yourself to dream;
practice visionary thinking and imaginary play by exploring the limitless possibilities. Start your entry and then add
to it over time. How does your dream expand and change? What were the benefits of distilling your imaginative
thoughts into a written and/or visual form?
Being—Making Reflection a Habit
In-and-out note taking allows you to take advantage of the fact that your mind naturally makes
connections. By practicing this form of note taking, you are in a better position to take advantage
of your own creativity and to further enhance your ability to make meaningful associations.
When creative imagination is ignored, the ability slowly wanes with time; journaling and in-and-
out note taking are like exercise for your creative brain.
Our minds are wired to be efficient. Neuroscience shows that humans develop well-worn
pathways along which our thinking travels.29 These well-established neural pathways act like
superhighways, allowing our thoughts to travel fast. However, creative breakthroughs often
happen when people allow their thoughts to travel along new pathways. In-and-out note taking
and journaling help us to slow our thinking down, to recognize and nurture side journeys. When
you drive fast, you tend not to notice what is around you; however, when you slow yourself
down, such as when you walk or bike, you become much more aware of your surroundings.
Through in-and-out note taking you encourage your mind to become accustomed to seeking
connections by opening up to side trips, then through journaling you allow your mind to more
deeply explore and elaborate on these new journeys. This is a powerful set of tools for both
intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs.
As an old friend of ours liked to say, “Learning without application achieves the same end as
ignorance.” We therefore want to encourage you to apply in-and-out note taking and journaling.
With this goal in mind, we close the Being section of this chapter with the following two
activities.
Learning Activities: Use In-and-Out Note Taking
Commit to using in-and-out note taking for 3 weeks. If you are a student, use in-and-out note taking in all your
classes. If you are employed, use in-and-out note taking in the meetings you attend. After all, in the United States
alone approximately 11 million business meetings are held daily—think of all the creativity that is being lost!30 To
do in-and-out note taking, create two columns on your computer or sheet of paper. You decide what width works
best for you in terms of whether you wish to dedicate more space to the “in” or “out” thoughts. Use the In column to
capture notes related to the content being presented. Then use the Out column to tune in to the natural side journeys
your mind takes while you participate in class or the meeting. In this column record your ideas, new insights,
possible actions, things you need to do, and other miscellaneous thoughts. After 3 weeks, look over these notes and
make decisions as to whether there are ideas and thoughts you need to follow up on in your Out column. Going
forward, consider ways you can incorporate this tool into other areas of your life. After practicing this tool describe
how it was beneficial.
Begin an Idea Journal or Idea Log
Create a system to capture your ideas. And be sure, because ideas appear at random and unexpected times, that this
idea-capturing system is portable so that you can have it with you always. You can use the memo function in your
smartphone, carry index cards, use a small notepad, or create a file in your laptop or e-reader. You may need to try
several methods before you strike on one that works best for you. As in the in-and-out note-taking activity, commit
to capturing your ideas for at least 3 weeks. And don’t just capture the ideas; commit to reviewing, organizing, and
elaborating on these ideas at least once per week. Use this time to do at least two things. First, expand on the ideas
you like best. Second, organize the ideas. If you have ideas that relate to a project you are working on, organize
these ideas so that they are clustered together. Additionally, if you are using in-and-out note taking at the same time,
review those notes to see what ideas might need to be transferred into your idea journal. Because our minds are
always working, we encourage you to make the idea log, as well as in-and-out note taking, an ongoing habit. Then,
after 3 weeks, ask yourself these questions: In what ways was it valuable to deliberately capture your ideas in an
idea log or journal? What did you learn about your own creativity (strengths and weaknesses)?
Case Study: The StartupBus
Introduction
According to the influential British artist David Hockney, “People tend to forget that play is serious.” After
interviewing Elias Bizannes, it’s apparent that he’s not among the forgetters. In 2010, a pint-fueled Bizannes pitched
an idea to some friends at a San Francisco pub: rent a bus and go on an epic journey to the popular Austin, Texas–
based South by Southwest music festival (SXSW). A seemingly innocuous idea on the surface but one with an
interesting catch: to ride on the bus means you are agreeing to conceive, build, and launch a start-up company along
the way!
Elias went to bed that night, largely writing the idea off as an alcohol-inspired impracticality. His beer mates, on the
other hand, liked the idea so much they went home and mocked up a website for the road trip. With the website
published, several additional friends jumped on board for the adventure, and, suddenly, their playful ideation had
gained momentum and was morphing into something larger!
Soon thereafter, a popular technology website, TechCrunch, scooped the plot and published an attention-getting blog
post about Bizannes’s SXSW bus plan.31 With this newfound social pressure, Elias felt he was on the hook to really
make the trip into something special. With just a few short weeks to pull everything together—and with the help of
his talented co-conspirators—Elias and company successfully orchestrated the world’s first StartupBus.
Equal parts entrepreneurial boot camp and multiday business competition, the StartupBus is a playful yet high-
stakes “hackathon-on-wheels” designed to stretch participants to their limits (and perhaps beyond). The mission,
should each “buspreneur” choose to accept it: brainstorm business concepts with complete strangers, converge on
the best ideas, form implementation teams, and then turn the most promising ideas into functioning businesses. In 72
hours. On a bus.
Since 2010, the StartupBus has blossomed into an active, global community of technology-driven change makers. In
2010, a single bus left from San Francisco. In 2011, six buses rolled from all corners of the United States. In 2012,
11 buses—including a bus originating from Mexico City, Mexico—competed. Since then, in addition to maintaining
the U.S.-based operations, additional global StartupBus challenges have been executed in Europe (twice), Australia,
and Africa, and in 2015, the first India-based competition was launched.
Because of its unique style, ability to attract top talent, and track record of successes, StartupBus has been able to
obtain high-profile sponsors such as Microsoft, Elance, Rackspace Hosting, and MailChimp. In addition, the
investor community has supported the competition; notable investors are Dave McClure (of 500 Startups) and the
popular technology blogger Robert Scoble.
Results
Most start-ups created on “the Bus” don’t actually translate into postbus success, but, as Elias and his team would
come to learn, that’s not actually the point of the trip. The “secret sauce” lies with the development of people;
StartupBus participants make lifelong friends, and, perhaps even more importantly, meet future collaborators and
cofounders. As global director Mitch Neff says, “We’re here to build people, not companies.” A prime example of
this is the connection of two buspreneurs from 2011 who would exit the bus and go on to cofound a grocery delivery
service: Instacart. Since its 2012 launch, Instacart has proven its business model and solved several key
technological and logistical challenges that had thwarted previous attempts at third-party grocery delivery. As a
result, investors have backed them to the tune of at least $275 million, at a current company valuation of more than
$2 billion! Forbes magazine recently awarded them the top spot on their “America’s Most Promising Company” list
for 2015.32
To be successful in the StartupBus competition, teams must organically form themselves around an interesting
problem they want to solve or an idea that catches attention and gets others excited. From there, they must work
toward meeting developmental milestones such as the creation of social media assets, website mock-ups, and mobile
and/or web-based application prototypes. They collect early adopter/user feedback and use that feedback to iterate
and improve their product, and they create and refine a compelling investor pitch showcasing their prototype(s) and
business model. It’s a start-up on steroids.
According to Bizannes, the goal is to create a learning journey for buspreneurs that challenges them to overcome
obstacles and to practice the art and science of entrepreneurship while staring directly into the face of adversity.
Constraints include but are certainly not limited to a fast-moving bus (ever try to type, design, or code on a moving
bus?), interpersonal conflicts (ever try to collaborate with a team of complete strangers with different backgrounds
and skill sets?), spotty Internet connectivity, device charging issues, time pressure and sleep deprivation, and
pervasive uncertainty at the hands of organizer curveballs!33
The combination of stressors can quickly take their toll, and this is precisely when participants realize what they’re
made of and what they’re capable of achieving. The StartupBus teaches riders that there will always be more to do
and that prioritization and execution are key. In the midst of it all, if you can find a way to be successful while
enjoying the mania and not taking yourself (or what’s going on around you) too seriously, then you are winning (by
growing).
Why on earth would people subject themselves to this? According to StartupBus alumnus and bus conductor Greg
Ross-Munro,
The bus shows people a different way that they can live their lives; people don’t always realize that you can have
fun at work and be surrounded by inspiring and talented people who are amazing at what they do. Buspreneurs come
(and come back) because it’s an opportunity to work with people who are as equally competent and high achieving
as they are. The bus truly gives people a taste of what it really means to be on a high-functioning team; they cannot
forget how that felt, and if they do it right, they’ll be able to bring a little bit of that back home for their next project.
The experience can be addictive (as demonstrated by repeat riders and the connectivity between alumni). StartupBus
alumni are highly active and engaged on social media platforms after the competition is over. A contributing factor
to this “stickiness” of the StartupBus experience is the deliberate commitment to playfulness. For example, one of
the authors has participated in the StartupBus challenge (twice) and recalls one year where participants unknowingly
got off the bus at Rackspace corporate headquarters (a converted shopping mall) and were secretly greeted by
hundreds of company employees hiding behind the front doors waiting for the buspreneurs to walk in. Upon entry
the employees began hooting, hollering, clapping, and cheering as loud as possible, and they showered their guests
with company-branded swag and support and encouragement that was greatly appreciated after three long and
difficult days on the road. We felt like rock stars, if only for a moment.
Ultimately the experience is intended to give participants an accelerated, deep dive into the entrepreneurial process,
and it’s designed in such a way that risk aversion cannot be a successful strategy; the competition unfolds so that the
only way out is to seriously play your way out.
Closing
Five years in, the StartupBus leadership team (consisting of a dedicated core plus a revolving network of alumni
volunteers) has helped thousands of people around the world locate and tap into their inner entrepreneur and to get a
taste of what the entrepreneurial lifestyle is like, while simultaneously embedding them into a community of
practitioners and a network of potential cofounders. Indeed, the riders return to their respective homes (you
famously have to find your own way because the buses are only a one-way trip to keep costs down!), but riders
never return in quite the same condition as when they’d left. Greek philosopher Plato suggests, “Life must be lived
as play,” and, after riding, we know the StartupBus community is on board.
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. In the landscape of entrepreneurship education models, the StartupBus format is
unique. What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of their approach to
teaching and learning? What about their unique model adds value to the learning
process? Alternatively, what do you think might get in the way of learning?
2. How does the StartupBus help riders develop entrepreneurial skills? Specifically, how is
this accomplished? What factors contribute to entrepreneurial skill development?
Application Questions: Doing
1. In your opinion, does the StartupBus embrace the notion of creative play? If so, identify
and describe the ways in which it does so; if not, use your imagination to think up some
alternative ways it could do a better job of weaving creative play into its entrepreneurial
boot camp experience.
2. What role does creativity play in your life? When does it occur? What instigates it? Who
else is involved? Would you rather there be more or less? Why?
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. Can you see yourself ever applying to ride the bus? Imagine you are interested in riding.
What would you include on your application? How might you help the organizers
determine that you’d be a good candidate?
2. Can you imagine yourself ever starting a company? If so, how do you see yourself
developing the entrepreneurial skills necessary to take on the unique challenges of
launching your own venture?
3. What stops creative play from unfolding more often in your work? If your goal was to
increase creative play in your environment, how might you create the conditions for
increased play so that it occurs more often?
Chapter 2 How to Survive and Thrive in an Era of
Innovation and Change
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Describe how socialization and educational practices undermine creative thinking
• Explain the upsides and the downsides of conformity
• Define creativity and describe why creative thinking is included among the most
important skills in today’s workplace
• Assess your responses to activities and tasks associated with your comfort zone,
learning zone, and panic zone with the goal of improving performance through
deliberate practice
• Devise a more positive and open-minded response to a creative idea through the use of
Yes-And thinking
Knowing—The Forces for and Against Creative Thinking
Creativity Lessons From the Chicken
What can a chicken teach us about creativity? If metaphorical thinking is applied, then there is
much that can be learned about creativity from a chicken. It has been demonstrated repeatedly
throughout history how creative breakthroughs can be sparked through the use of metaphors and
analogies. Let’s look at an example. Before the middle of the 1400s, book publishing consisted
of either individuals copying manuscripts by hand or the labor-intensive process of carving a
single block of wood for each page. Johannes Gutenberg used analogical thinking, borrowing
ideas from at least two technologies (i.e., coin making, which suggested separate metal letters,
and the wine press, which suggested the pressing mechanism) to create the printing press.1 Dalí
was a master at making metaphorical links.
Applying our creative thinking like Gutenberg and Dalí, let’s see what parallels might be created
between the story of the chicken and creativity. We begin by examining your associations with a
chicken. When you think of a chicken, what comes to mind? Immediate reactions are likely to
revolve around four categories. Undoubtedly one such category of association is chicken as a
meat product; this is no surprise, for in the early 1990s chicken surpassed beef as the most
widely consumed meat in America. Some will think of the eggs produced by chickens. They can
be scrambled, poached, boiled, and mixed into a great variety of recipes. The third category that
might come to mind is the physical characteristics of this bird, that is, its size, color, sound, and
even smell. Finally, some may associate chicken with the slang expressions associated with the
word, such as a reference to someone who is cowardly.
Many may not realize that humans did not initially seek out chickens for culinary
reasons.2 Rather, the docile creature known to us today is believed to originally have been used
for cockfighting, which some refer to as the oldest sport in the world. The Greeks, Romans, and
many other cultures paid great homage to the fighting prowess of chickens. However, once the
culinary benefits were discovered, chickens went through the process of domestication, yielding
a docile ground bird with seriously limited flying capabilities. The following passage from
Darwin underscores the physical and mental changes in the chicken brought about by its
domestication.
But this instinct [Darwin is referring to flight] retained by our chickens has become useless under
domestication, for the mother-hen has almost lost by disuse the power of flight. Hence, we may
conclude, that under domestication instincts have been acquired, and natural instincts have been
lost, partly by habit, and partly by man selecting and accumulating during successive
generations, peculiar mental habits and actions. . . . In some cases compulsory habit alone has
sufficed to produce inherited mental changes.3
Darwin’s observations can be used to extract from the chicken our first creativity lesson. In
the first chapter we suggested that all humans are born to be creative, that our evolution has
wired us to innovate and to be creative problem solvers. Unfortunately, what evolution has
created society can undo. As Carruthers observed, all human offspring—children, that is—
engage in pretend play.4 However, your observations of most adults, perhaps yourself included,
may indicate that somewhere along the line many people lost their instinctual ability to play.
Thinking metaphorically, chickens no longer fly, and adult humans often find it difficult to
engage in pretend play.
We do not offer only pure speculation—and a chicken metaphor—to make the case that
creativity, especially pretend play and imaginative thought, atrophies with age. Extensive
empirical evidence supports this view, though most people’s own life experiences are likely to
bear this out as well. Perhaps the most recent and most expansive study to examine changes in
creativity over time was carried out by Kyun Hee Kim.5 This study, published in 2008, examined
changes in creative thinking over a 40-year period. Kim analyzed the creative-thinking abilities
of nearly 300,000 students and adults. The student sample spanned all grade levels, from
kindergarten through 12th grade. Using one of the most popular measures of creative thinking,
the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), data were collected and compared from 1968
to 2008.
Before looking at the results, let’s briefly examine what the TTCT measures. As the name
suggests, the TTCT measures creative-thinking abilities, specifically divergent-thinking skills.
Divergent thinking is a form of thinking unique to humans. As we discussed in the previous
chapter, through evolution humans have developed a capacity to defocus their minds in a manner
that allows for a broad search for new alternatives and possibilities, to imagine concepts that do
not exist yet.
The main skills measured by the TTCT are fluency, the ability to generate many responses to
open-ended tasks; flexibility, the ability to generate different kinds of responses; originality, the
ability to produce rare and novel responses; and elaboration, the ability to expand on one’s
responses. The TTCT has been demonstrated to be a good predictor of real-life creative
achievement. High scorers on the TTCT are much more likely to become entrepreneurs,
inventors, software developers, and authors. In fact, the TTCT is a much better predictor of adult
creativity, and engagement in occupations that involve creative thinking, than the standard IQ
test.6
Numerous research studies have investigated the positive benefits of divergent thinking. Through
these studies we know that divergent thinking predicts a number of important achievements,
among others leadership effectiveness,7 future professional
success,8 entrepreneurship,9 inventiveness,10 resolution of social dilemmas,11 and
happiness.12 We hope you recognize the important role divergent thinking plays in problem
solving, success, and life in general. Here is the unfortunate news: Kim’s longitudinal study
demonstrated that divergent thinking rose steadily until about sixth grade, then dropped
dramatically.13 Specifically, both fluency and originality in thought dropped significantly starting
in sixth grade. Originality made a slight rebound, though not statistically significant, in
adulthood (see Figure 2.1a), whereas fluency continuously declined into adulthood (see Figure
2.1b). Resistance to premature closure, an attitude necessary to support divergent thinking,
followed a similar pattern as originality; that is, scores dropped significantly after sixth grade and
bounced back for adults (see Figure 2.1c), although not to a level equal to the high points seen in
third, fourth, and fifth grades.
Figure 2.1 Divergent Thinking
So what does Kim’s research tell us? The results of this extensive study highlight what most of
us probably already recognize, that the ability to think creatively is present in early childhood but
drops over time. In fact, Kim’s study gives us some insight into an age and year in school that
seems to be the critical nexus point for creative thinking. Up until about sixth grade, roughly
ages 11 and 12, divergent-thinking skills grow steadily but then afterward drop drastically. In
what ways, then, are humans like chickens? Does the domestication of human beings erode our
ability to think creatively? In the same way chickens have lost the power of flight, do humans
lose the power to let their imaginations soar? In the next section we explore possible reasons for
the decline in creative thinking. The good news—and the research is clear—is that it is possible
for us to reignite our creative-thinking skills.
Thought Starter
The 6th-Grade Drop
The Domestication of the Human Being: The Positive Side to
Conformity
Whereas a number of factors may undermine creativity in humans, we suggest there are at least
two culprits responsible for the slump in creative-thinking abilities around the sixth grade. The
first reason relates to the domestication of humans, that is, the socialization process, and the
second has to do with how humans are trained to think, that is, our educational experiences. Let’s
begin by examining how enculturation impacts individuals’ creative thinking.
Imagine you are invited to participate in a research study. You are ushered into a room and
presented with four lines as seen in Figure 2.2. You are seated at a table with several other
individuals, and the researcher asks which line is the shortest. Look at Figure 2.2. Which of the
four lines is the shortest? Is your answer C? Look again. Are you certain the shortest line is C?
Returning to the scene of the research study, the researcher goes around the room and asks each
person to report out loud the line he or she believes is the shortest. Unbeknownst to you, the
other participants in the study are actually working with the experimenter. Each person before
you says Line A is the shortest. You can plainly see that Line C is the shortest. So now it’s your
turn. What do you say? If you are like most participants in this study, roughly 75%, you will go
along with the crowd and give an incorrect answer.14 You might disagree, vehemently holding
the belief that you would not cave in and go along with others who are so obviously wrong, but
evolution, which has made you creative, so too has built in a bias for conformity. And this is for
good reason, because there are many benefits to conformity. Here are a few:
Figure 2.2 Which Line Is Shortest?
• Promotes collaboration. Conformity makes it much easier for humans to work together, thus
promoting group problem solving. It is easy to imagine how banding together enabled our
ancestors to survive. Need to protect yourself from threats in the environment? Work together.
Need to take down some large animal to feed yourself and your family? Combine forces with
others. In other words, conformity, like creativity, enhances survival, and it certainly helps things
run much more smoothly in teams and organizations.
• Forms culture. Conformity is the underpinning of culture. Through conformity humans develop
accepted norms, practices, morals, and rituals. And these agreed-on elements, over time, lead to
the formation of a cultural identity. A kind of circularity emerges; that is, conformity helps to
form culture and then communicates to individuals the norms to which they must conform to fit
into the collective. There are many benefits to adopting a shared culture. A few of these benefits
include finding a mate, knowing how to raise children, and experiencing a sense of belonging.
• Aids learning and spreads creativity. Conformity enables us to quickly adopt the successful
behaviors we see in others. This saves us huge amounts of time and helps us to be efficient by
imitating what those before us found to be highly useful. In this way individuals do not have to
invent or discover everything for themselves. Simply learning to imitate others would seem to fly
in the face of creativity, and it can, but it also promotes creativity. Without conformity, creative
ideas would not get passed along. Evolutionary psychologists Dunbar, Barrett, and Lycett
provide an excellent summary of the interplay between conformity and creativity:
True imitation means that, if you notice that the particular technique someone is using is better
than yours, you can adopt his or her technique and improve the quality of your own work. If you
then modify the technique and further improve it, others will imitate your technique and take
advantage of your innovation.15
Of course, conformity has its disadvantages. As a polarity, a concept that has both pros and cons,
the previous bullet points underscore the positive side of conformity, but when taken to an
extreme, there is a downside to conformity. Strict imitation without experimentation limits the
development of new possibilities. Sticking with the tried and true simply because it is familiar
can blind us to new opportunities. We suggest that all humans are born with an internal struggle
between their conformity bias and their penchant for creativity. To be successful, individuals
need to balance conformity and creativity; unfortunately, it could be argued that our society puts
a higher premium on conformity than creativity, thus reinforcing our internal conformity bias.
Perhaps this explains why Kim found the precipitous drop in creative thinking in the sixth grade.
It could be that when students reach sixth grade, they become hypersensitive to others and their
opinions, thus turning up the internal conformity meter and downplaying their creativity to get
along with others. For further thoughts on the relationship between creativity and conformity, see
Gerard Puccio’s popular TEDx talk on this topic.
The current state of affairs in our educational system may further compromise the natural
tendency humans have to be creative. A 2012 study of 5,000 individuals in five countries showed
that 52% of people surveyed believed that their educational experiences undermined their
creativity. In the United States this figure was even higher at 70%.16 Surveys of current students
reveal a similarly dismal outlook on the interplay between creative thinking and contemporary
educational practices. For example, 71% of teenagers in the United Kingdom said they don’t get
to be creative enough at school. In the same study, 69% of students ages 12 to 18 said that
pressure to pass exams stifled their creativity.17 And here’s what one of the greatest
entrepreneurs of our time said about his early years in school: “I encountered authority of a
different kind than I had ever encountered before, and I did not like it. And they really almost got
me. They came close to really beating any curiosity out of me.”18
That quote came from Steve Jobs. Although Jobs dropped out of college, he did hang around
college friends, sometimes sleeping on their floors and sofas, and he sat in on college classes.
And it may have been the content of one such class that was so profound that the lessons learned
from this course helped to revolutionize computing. What was this course you ask? It was a
college-level class on calligraphy. Jobs reported that the mix of beauty, history, and artistry of
typography fascinated him. Later Jobs indicated that everything he learned in that course came
back to him when he was designing the first Mac.
William Damon, a professor of education at Stanford University, believes that many
entrepreneurs, like Steve Jobs, are unable to satisfy their curiosity in today’s
classrooms.19 Damon argues that the focus on improving test scores, with attention primarily
given to developing basic and remedial skills, leads to dreary memorization and often pushes out
the kinds of courses that these students would find much more stimulating, such as art, music,
theater, and emerging media technologies. Moreover, Mark Runco, a current creativity scholar,
has suggested that schools put much greater focus on convergent thinking, the ability to get the
right answer, to the detriment of promoting divergent thinking.20 Schools today seem to focus on
teaching students to think like everyone else, rather than learning to think for themselves.
The strange irony in the prevailing approach to education today is that rather than helping
students develop the highest form of human thinking, creativity, there is a much greater focus on
rudimentary thinking skills. Sadly, standardized tests do very little to prepare students for
professional careers and lives in which there will be few multiple-choice problems. In her
book The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are
Undermining Education, Diane Ravitch offers a retrospective look at the consequences of
standardization. Comments such as the following underscore how standardized testing forces a
lid on higher-order thinking skills:
In Texas, which was the model for No Child Left Behind, students became better and better at
answering multiple-choice questions on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, known
as TAKS; the passing rates on ninth-, tenth-, and eleventh-grade tests steadily increased. But
when eleventh-grade students were asked to write a short answer about a text they were given to
read, half of them were stumped. . . . They had mastered the art of filling in the bubbles on
multiple-choice tests, but they could not express themselves, particularly when a question
required them to think about and explain what they had just read.21
We will be completely frank. As creativity teachers and scholars, it seems clear to us that the
focus on making education more rigorous has caused rigor mortis in students’ creative-thinking
skills. Of course, rigor is important, and so is critical thinking, but we would also argue that
education should promote, not undermine, imagination. As Judy Estrin concludes in her
book Closing the Innovation Gap, the focus on using test data to evaluate schools has resulted in
promoting educational practices that undermine the development of the innovative mind.22
Overcome Your Inner Chicken: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
Whereas it is true that society and education shape individuals, it is ultimately up to each person
to decide what shape he or she wants to take. Our external conditions, social pressures, and
educational practices do not absolve us of individual responsibility for growth and development.
Awareness now empowers you to put a stop to the slow erosion of your creativity, to take steps
to repel the potentially deleterious effects found in your specific life circumstance. In doing so, it
may be helpful to begin by looking at factors most in your control—your own attitudes,
behavior, and thinking.
Ackoff and Vergara define creativity as the ability to modify self-imposed
constraints.23 Continuing to take creativity lessons from the chicken, as a slang
term, chicken refers to being scared, acting in a cowardly way, being unwilling to venture into
new territory or to take risks. In his book Talent Is Overrated, Geoff Colvin suggests that
effective human development can be viewed in terms of three concentric circles (see Figure
2.3).24 The smallest circle is our comfort zone. The comfort zone refers to behavior, practices,
and tasks that we engage in without much thought. They are automatic and feel natural. When
engaged in such acts, there is a sense of complete comfort, safety, and confidence. This is where
the “chicken” resides, and if you stay in your comfort zone, there is no growth.
The next-largest circle is the learning zone. By venturing into the learning zone, individuals
begin to experiment with new attitudes, behaviors, and skills. And because these are new, at first
they will feel slightly uncomfortable. Engaging in something new can feel awkward; there is a
high probability of failure, and self-confidence is likely to waver. The trick is not to retreat into
the safety of the comfort zone but to persist so that over time you develop an expanded level of
comfort and confidence—resulting in a wider comfort zone. As Michael Jordan, one of the
greatest basketball players of all time, said, “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something.
But I can’t accept not trying.”
Figure 2.3 Human Development Zones
The third circle is the panic zone. This circle represents new activities and behaviors that stretch
us too far. These are activities and behaviors for which individuals are completely ill-prepared
and find themselves thrust into with little instruction and limited prior experience. Imagine
someone who has never spoken in public before and suddenly finds himself or herself in a
position to speak in front of thousands. When in the panic zone, there can be a strong physical
reaction, the kind of response indicative of anxiety. Steve Jobs was hailed as a great public
speaker. In the latter part of his career, he delivered what many considered to be some of the
greatest business speeches ever; however, what seemed to be a natural comfort on stage was not
always the case. In what is reported to be his first television interview, in 1978, Steve Jobs was
visibly anxious to the point of feeling ill.25 He was in the panic zone. Over time, with practice
and experience, Jobs was able to expand his comfort zone in regard to public speaking.
So how do you expand your comfort zone? The answer is deliberate practice. Consider how
people—how you yourself—develop proficiency in some task, such as playing a musical
instrument, writing, drawing, or pursuing a hobby or sport. The research shows that mastery is
much less dependent on innate talent than on deliberate practice. A wide range of studies, across
diverse domains of human endeavor, show consistent results—deliberate practice generally
trumps innate talent. As Ericsson, Prietula, and Cokely conclude from their review of factors that
contribute to the making of an expert, “Consistently and overwhelmingly, the evidence showed
that experts are always made, not born.”26
Note that we explicitly use the term deliberate practice and not just some generic reference to
practice. When engaged in deliberate practice, individuals focus on precisely defined elements of
performance and then work very hard to successfully master these skills. The following
characteristics distinguish deliberate practice from less rigorous forms of practice.
• It takes time and is highly repetitious. Research on those who achieve the highest levels of
human performance shows that practice, even more so than initial raw talent, is a significant
indicator of mastery and expertise. When you see a rap artist, writer, public speaker, athlete,
artist, lawyer, or electrician who appears to be a natural at his or her chosen field of endeavor, it
only looks natural because of the countless hours of practice. During this extensive training
period, those committed to deliberate practice push themselves to repeat again and again skills
that lie in their learning zone. For instance, a study that looked at the factors that distinguished
different levels of achievement among violinists showed that the chief difference came down to
the amount of time student musicians spent practicing alone.27 Those identified as the top tier,
that is, destined for international careers, spent twice as much time practicing alone compared to
those considered good violinists. This kind of repetition, the kind of practice that makes body
parts ache and brains numb, isn’t much fun. It takes great resolve and dedication.
• As you develop, so must your teachers and mentors. Although hours must be dedicated to
individual practice, it is equally important to balance alone time with the input of teachers and
mentors. Learning and development need to be guided by someone who has more expertise than
you. Without the watchful eye and guidance of a coach or mentor it becomes too easy to develop
poor habits, to stay within one’s comfort zone and to limit the scope of one’s performance to the
skills acquired through random experimentation. Performance is greatly accelerated by exposing
oneself to someone who is experienced in the domain. And it is crucial to move through ever
more experienced and proficient coaches and mentors as one’s skill level improves. Even world-
class performers, musicians, and athletes retain coaches and mentors.
• Effective feedback is continuously available. According to Colvin, “You can work on technique
all you like, but if you can’t see the effects, two things will happen: You won’t get any better,
and you’ll stop caring.”28 One of the great advantages of working with effective coaches or
mentors is receiving their immediate and accurate feedback. Individuals are rarely the best
judges of their own performance. Have you ever had an experience in which you felt your
performance was stellar, perfect, beyond improvement, only to walk off the stage, the court, or
out of the classroom to be met with surprising, yet admittedly accurate, feedback about your
deficiencies? Distance and expertise are necessary for objective and effective feedback. To
develop mastery, your opinion of your own performance can only take you so far; it is crucial to
receive objective observations of both the things that are working and the things that need to be
improved. The teacher, coach, or mentor who knows exactly how to dole out the right dosage of
feedback will nurture the performer’s growth by providing continuous stretch goals. Performers
will stop developing when there is too little or too much feedback.
Through deliberate practice, creative thinking can be improved; the research is clear on this
point. An innovative and entrepreneurial mind can be developed. This book is designed to take
you on a personal journey that aims to elevate your creative-thinking skills to the next level.
However, reading alone will not get you there. Only if you choose to deliberately practice the
skills shared in this book will you enhance your creative mindset. Why should you care? Why
might this be important to you? Simply put, your professional and personal success may depend
on it. Next we explore why creative thinking is considered a 21st-century survival skill.
The Impending Perfect Storm
A “perfect storm” is a scenario in which an exceptionally rare set of circumstances come
together to dramatically, and negatively, impact a situation. We believe such conditions exist
today, and you run the risk of being swept up in this perfect storm. Here are the forces that are
coming together. The first force is human evolution. As we have argued, evolution has wired and
built humans to be innately creative. The combination of thinking skills, attitude, language
acquisition, and physical dexterity allows humans to create. However, there is a countervailing
force. As highlighted in this chapter, even though humans are innately creative, the combination
of societal pressures for conformity, educational systems that focus on lower-order thinking
skills and knowledge acquisition, and personally imposed constraints slowly but surely erode
individuals’ natural creative tendencies (Chapter 10 explores further barriers that undermine our
creativity). What makes this a perfect storm is the fact that, perhaps like no other time in modern
history, humans are called on to use their creative talents. Change has never come more quickly,
and it will only continue to escalate. Consider the following:
• In the 20th century it was estimated that accumulated knowledge doubled roughly
every 25 years. In the early 21st century an IBM study put the estimate at every 11
hours.29
• In the 20th century most workers were likely to work their entire career in one
organization or one field. In the 21st century the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects
that workers are likely to change jobs more than 11 times before they even reach the
prime of their careers at age 42.30
• Those employed 100 years ago were not only likely to work in the same organization but
also on the same product or service for a good portion of their entire career. Today
manufactured products go through fundamental redesign every 5 to 10 years, and
technological products undergo significant change every 3 to 6 months. How long will it
be before that mobile phone in your pocket is considered obsolete?
• Given the pace of change, it is hard to predict the kinds of jobs that will be available in
the future. In fact, some sources suggest that as many as 65% of future jobs have not
yet been invented.31 One thing that seems to be certain is the clear trend away from
routine physical work.32 For example, it is anticipated that in 25 years people will no
longer drive vehicles; as a consequence, today’s 4 million driving jobs will be lost. These
lost jobs will join the ranks of numerous other disappearing jobs in manufacturing and
other forms of labor, swept away by technological changes.
• In the face of advances in technology, most notably robotics and computers, it is
projected that over the next several decades approximately 47% of jobs will become
automated. Jobs least likely to be overtaken by machines are those that require creative
problem solving, creative thinking, and social intelligence.33 Some of the jobs with the
highest probability of becoming computerized, with a probability of 0.90 or greater,
include telemarketers, library technicians, loan officers, bank tellers, credit analysts,
insurance appraisers, umpires and referees, tax preparers, budget analysts, waiters and
waitresses, and accountants and auditors.
Given the winds of change, the need for creative thinking as a competence to survive and thrive
is widely recognized. By widely recognized we mean that numerous lists touting the skills
necessary for success in today’s workplace, and in the near future, include creativity and
creativity-related skills. Here are a few examples. According to the authors of the book Tough
Choices or Tough Times, “What it will take to hold on to our standard of living [is] high skills
combined with creativity and a hunger for education.” These same authors suggest that “the best
employers the world over will be looking for the most competent, most creative, and most
innovative people on the face of the earth and will be willing to pay them top dollar for their
services.”34 In the book The Global Achievement Gap, Wagner lists as his seventh survival skill
“Curiosity and Imagination.” He argues:
It’s not enough to just be trained in the techniques of how to ask questions—as lawyers and
MBAs often are, for example. Employees must also know how to use analytical skills in such
ways that are often more “out-of-the-box” than in the past, come up with creative solutions to
problems, and be able to design products and services that stand out from the competition.35
Although we could go on with many more examples and quotes attesting to the urgent need for
creativity-related skills, we will go to the marketplace to see what hiring managers say about the
skills necessary for professional success in the 21st century. The findings here are drawn from a
2014 study of more than 1,000 hiring managers.36
• Seventy-eight percent indicated creativity is required for economic growth.
• Since the Great Recession, salaries have been stagnant, with the exception of
employees who possess higher-order thinking skills. Problem solving (51%) and
creativity (47%) showed the greatest relationship to driving salary increases.
• According to hiring managers, the top three work skills were tech savvy (88%),
communication through digital and visual media (82%), and creativity (76%).
• By a ratio of 5 to 1, hiring managers preferred job candidates with creative skills over
conventional skills.
• Eighty-two percent of hiring managers reported seeking well-rounded candidates who
are able to apply their creativity skills to a range of business and technical problems.
• Recent graduates who set themselves apart did so by developing a broad range of skills
(60%), focusing on increasing their creative skills (47%), understanding that innovation
and creativity can be learned (35%), and recognizing that creative thinking would take
them further than technical know-how (35%).
Further evidence of this perfect storm of a changing marketplace and unprepared workforce is
highlighted in a recent Bloomberg Businessweek study of job recruiters. In this study creative
problem solving was identified as one of the top five most important employment skills, yet
these same recruiters indicated that it was the second most difficult skill to find among job
applicants.37 In fact, a national report on workplace readiness found that more than half of job
applicants did not possess the necessary creativity skills desired by prospective employers. And
to make matters worse, when asked about the kinds of training provided to employees, nearly
70% of those organizations surveyed provided no skill development in creativity (it actually
topped the list of most-needed skills, yet no relevant training was offered).38
Here, then, is the perfect storm. Whereas numerous experts, educational leaders, business
professionals, and futurists suggest that workplace success depends on an individual’s ability to
think creatively, society in general and educational practices in particular are incredibly
ineffective at promoting this essential life and workplace skill. Organizations desire it but don’t
know how to develop it themselves. The economy needs it, but society crushes it. Individuals
become more valuable and attractive to prospective employers when they know how to think
creatively, yet as a workforce we often resemble the flightless chicken in our state of adapted
conformity and loss of divergent thinking.
Thought Starter
Perfect Storm
Although we have stated our case in strong terms, we do not believe the point has been
exaggerated. To be successful in the 21st century, personally and professionally, one needs to be
an effective creative thinker. The purpose of this book is to help the reader reclaim and develop
his or her creativity. Yes, creativity is a skill that can be developed. Earlier we described
deliberate practice. Like all other skills, creativity can be enhanced through deliberate practice.
In the next section you will learn a simple yet highly effective tool for improving creative
thinking. The goal is to help you survive and even thrive in an era of rampant change and to
become a creative asset to your organization or to use your creativity skills to enhance your
entrepreneurial success.
Learning Activity: Comfort Zone, Learning Zone, Panic Zone
Geoff Colvin breaks down human development into three concentric circles: our comfort zone, our learning zone,
and our panic zone. Review the meaning of each zone and identify at least two personal examples for each zone. To
deepen your understanding, write a sentence or two for each example. Compare and contrast the emotions you
experienced in regard to your personal examples across the three zones. Assessing your examples, what cues help
you to know when you are experiencing each of the respective zones? Take one of the examples you placed in the
panic zone and identify a moment when you pulled yourself out of the panic zone in a way that led to a successful
outcome. What happened? How did you do it? What helped?
Doing—Removing the But in Your Thinking
Many would say that Ernest Hemingway was highly creative; indeed, he received the Pulitzer
Prize in recognition of his literary excellence. We would suggest that he is an excellent example
not only of a highly creative person but also of an individual who worked hard to develop and
practice his creativity skills. Ernest Hemingway, when at home, would begin writing at six
o’clock in the morning. He always began at his standing desk. Starting with a pencil and working
furiously to capture his ideas, to keep his pace up he ignored grammar and wrote in incomplete
sentences. He avoided overscrutinizing his work, and to that end, the pencils he used had no
erasers. When he had a sufficient flow of ideas he would then sit at his typewriter. He generally
finished writing by noon, and he always stopped when he knew where he would pick up again.
At the end of his writing day he would count the number of words written and chart them.
Afterward he would go for his daily half-mile swim. Hemingway, like many other great creators,
did not leave his creativity to chance. Great creators find ways to practice their creativity. They
make creativity a habit, if you will.
For many great creators it was persistence, experimentation, and mentoring relationships that
helped form their creativity routines and procedures. Today, those interested in deliberately
developing their creativity have a significant advantage—the more than 60 years of accumulated
practice and knowledge in the field of creativity education and training. The research from this
field is clear. Analysis of 70 empirical studies on the effectiveness of creativity training
programs shows that creative-thinking skills can be enhanced by learning strategies.39 And this
research highlights the fact that the most impactful programs provide learners with cognitive
strategies, that is, tools that guide their thinking as they tackle open-ended challenges. Moreover,
such training works for people of all intellectual abilities. The evidence is in: Everyone’s creative
thinking can be enhanced through training and practice.
Here’s a simple, easy-to-implement tool that has been used for well over three decades to
improve creative thinking. It’s called Yes-And.40 When people respond to a novel idea, the
reflexive retort is often “yes . . . but,” or sometimes just “but.” When someone says “yes, but,”
there is a strong suggestion something is terminally wrong with the idea and thus it would be
foolish to go forward with that idea. Perhaps this tendency to leap to negative judgment is the
result of the combination of the domestication of humans and the emphasis on thinking critically
in schools. Premature negative judgment of a novel idea generally results in stopping the idea in
its tracks and undermining future creative ideas. Yes-But thinking can be applied to ourselves, in
our own thoughts, or to others in a verbal exchange. No matter how it is used, it generally results
in the same outcome—creative ideas are snuffed out.
The Yes-And response to new ideas has the opposite effect. This tool suggests that the idea has
potential merit and that there are ways to improve it. College sports, especially Division I
football and basketball, are big business. In the 2011–2012 academic year the University of
Texas football team netted a tidy profit of $77.9 million. College athletes at this level receive
scholarships, but some now argue that they should receive pay.41 So imagine if colleges and
universities began to pay their players. The automatic reply by many would be, “Yes, but they
are amateurs and they receive full scholarships.” Let’s shift the thinking from Yes-But to Yes-
And. The Yes part of Yes-And is used to identify points that support the idea, whereas the And is
used to highlight areas that if addressed successfully would improve the idea. For example, the
Yes-And tool could lead to the following statement: “YES, it seems unfair that Division I
football and basketball coaches make six-figure salaries, with some earning more than $1 million
a year, when the players receive no compensation. AND the idea could be improved if there were
ways to be sure that student-athletes do not lose their focus on education and ultimately earning a
college degree.”
There are two ways to use Yes-And. One approach is to pair every Yes statement with
an And statement, as just shown. This approach might be used in a conversation when
responding to a novel idea. The second approach is to create a Yes-And Chart. In this more
systematic method, separate lists of Yes statements and And statements are created (see Figure
2.4). Under each And statement, a box labeled “How to avoid?” is inserted. This question forces
the mind to think of answers to the objection or limitation identified in each
respective And statement. The next step is to generate thoughts that will help improve the
original idea by addressing each objection or limitation. Finally, suggestions for improving the
idea are reviewed to see what might be incorporated into the original idea and decide whether the
new and improved idea should be pursued. For example, based on the Yes-And analysis
in Figure 2.4, it might be decided to go forward with paying college athletes in good academic
standing a limited salary, allowing them to earn extra money through endorsements, and
providing financial rewards to players on teams that cannot afford a payroll when they defeat
better-resourced teams.
Thought Starter
Yes-And Paid Athletes
Did the Yes-And Chart begin to shift your thinking toward the idea of paying college athletes?
Try it out on others. Share the idea with them and see how they initially react. Then walk them
through the Yes-And Chart to see if this analysis opens their minds to the potential in the idea.
Compare initial reactions to the idea of paid college athletes to the perceptions after applying the
Yes-And tool. Hopefully, in cases where the first impulse was negative, the individual moved
toward a more open-minded perspective. The goal of the Yes-And tool is to hold off premature
judgment, creating sufficient space to allow the idea to be examined for possible improvements.
Afterward, an informed decision is taken as to whether the new and improved idea is strong
enough to carry forward.
Figure 2.4 Yes-And Example
Learning Activity: Applying Yes-And Thinking
We described how to use Yes-And thinking through the systematic creation of a Yes-And Chart. Practice this
process by using Yes-And thinking to analyze and develop any of the following proposed ideas: legalization of
marijuana, widespread use of driverless cars, automated waiters and waitresses, Uber’s use of independent
contractors (versus hiring drivers as employees), the adoption of drones to deliver packages to homes, or your own
controversial start-up idea. After completing the Yes-And Chart, analyze and describe the benefits of this tool. It is
easy to go back to the old habit of using Yes-But thinking; how might you make Yes-And more habitual?
Being—Reflecting and Redirecting Yes-But Thinking
Tudor Rickards, a longtime business school professor and creativity scholar from the University
of Manchester, United Kingdom, felt strongly that Yes-And thinking was central to a successful
creative problem-solving attitude. He felt this so strongly that in his own book he instructed
readers not to go on until they embraced the Yes-And philosophy. Borrowing from Rickards, we
will make the same suggestion. As he put it,
If the technique has raised doubts in your own mind, stop at this point. Practice the “yes and”
approach to explore those concerns until you are satisfied you are ready for the next section,
which is otherwise likely to reinforce the feelings that all of this creativity stuff is not for you
after all.42
Remember that years of socialization and education were likely to build a strong but into your
thinking. When this simple word but is inserted into one’s thinking, it has the effect of killing or
at least diminishing all forward creative momentum, undermining change in the process.
Socialization and education teach us the value of conformity and judgment, and they support
analysis. For instance, when a teacher assigns a case or an essay for students to critically analyze,
he or she usually has an idea of the answers that provide evidence of good critical analysis.
Effective critical thinking enables us to think like everyone else or, at least like other effective
critical thinkers, to arrive at the same conclusions or insights. In contrast, it is much more
difficult to predict the precise outcome of a task that requires creative thinking. In a world that is
less predictable, individuals are expected to come up with their own new and continuously
evolving answers. Critical thinking is reactive; creative thinking is proactive. Together they are
strong partners. In a fast-changing world, a creative attitude paired with creative thinking enables
us to more readily flow with changing circumstances in our personal lives, allows imagination
geared toward opportunity finding, and positions us for professional success. Creative thinking
creates value and distinction.
Living in a flat world means the competition increasingly possesses the same knowledge and
skills as you. Therefore, it will take a life of continuous creativity to survive, that is, to generate
novel responses and ideas that effectively solve problems, to produce new ideas to which others
are attracted, to flexibly adapt to change, and to thrive by becoming a creative change leader.
Mastering Yes-And thinking encourages continuous creativity by looking at the world in a way
that spots opportunities as opposed to maintaining the status quo through Yes-But thinking. It is
one thing to be effective at using the Yes-And tool on occasion when necessary but another
matter to make this a part of your mindset.
To make this kind of thinking a habit, it will be necessary to do two things: reflect and redirect.
Reflection allows you to be more aware of how you react to ideas in the moment. Do you find
yourself to be an idea killer, of your own ideas or others’, or are you an idea promoter? Once you
become more aware of your mental habits, you can then catch those times when you are putting
the brakes on an idea by focusing only on its drawbacks and redirect your thinking by asking
yourself, What’s good about the idea, and how might it be improved? When you begin to see
your surroundings as a world of possibilities rather than just a series of issues, problems, and
inconveniences, that’s when you are more fully embracing an innovative and entrepreneurial
mindset.
Learning Activity: Escaping Your Comfort Zone
As most of us know, it is exceedingly easy to stay within our comfort zone, and the longer we stay within our
comfort zone, the easier it is to remain there. Within the next 24 to 48 hours, engage in a new activity or
experience—something that is novel and challenging to you. Capture in your journal how this experience went for
you. How did it feel? In what ways was it beneficial?
Case Study: Physician of the Future
The Challenge
Medical education in the United States takes too long, doesn’t instruct the right things, and is biased against
admitting the best candidates in the first place. At least that is the thinking driving one medical innovator to lead a
national charge to reimagine the process by which the next generation of medical doctors will be trained.
The current path to becoming a medical doctor in the United States consists of 4 years at a college or university to
earn a BS or BA degree, often with a scientific focus. From there, interested parties must take the Medical College
Admission Test (MCAT), where a strong score is needed to apply to a Liaison Committee on Medical Education
(LCME). If accepted, students must complete 4 more years of preclinical and clinical education, thereby earning
their doctor of medicine degree (MD).
The journey does not end there, however. Newly graduated MDs who want to specialize in an area of medicine must
enter into a supervised residency program that can range anywhere from 3 to 7 years. From there, subspecialty
training (a medical fellowship) is an option for some doctors who wish to become highly specialized in a particular
field.
After completing undergraduate, medical school, and graduate medical education (GME), physicians—often in their
early to mid-30s and carrying more than $200,000 in student loan debt—must still obtain a license to practice
medicine from a state or jurisdiction of the United States in which they are planning to practice. They apply for the
permanent licensure after completing a series of exams and completing a minimum number of years of GME.
Additionally, physicians may choose to become board certified. This certification ensures that the doctor has been
tested to assess his or her knowledge, skills, and experience in a specialty and is deemed qualified to provide quality
patient care in that specialty.43
Indeed, this model of physician education has produced a reliable and knowledgeable pipeline of medical doctors in
the United States, yet there are leaders in the field such as Dr. Stephen Klasko, president and CEO of Thomas
Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson Health—an 11-hospital network with annual revenue exceeding $4.8
billion and more than 28,000 employees, 7,800 students, 6,000 physicians/practitioners, and 4,000 faculty—who
believe this approach to physician training has reached its expiration date. Furthermore, Dr. Klasko believes that
current MD training programs will not be adequate to meet the needs of what he describes as the physician of the
future.44
The Physician of the Future
Health care communications strategist and executive editor of the Healthcare Transformation journal Michael Hoad
argues: “We cannot continue to select physicians based on their organic chemistry GPA and their scores on a
multiple-choice exam (MCAT), and if we do, we shouldn’t be shocked when we find that students who excel at
memorizing information in textbooks aren’t prepared to be empathetic, creative, and communicative when helping
patients address their health challenges.”45
“Physicians join a cult,” says Dr. Klasko, and in this cult are baked-in biases toward hierarchy and against risk
taking, and an adaptive bias toward accepting full responsibility for patient outcomes and therefore a
bias against teamwork and collaboration.
This is problematic because, according to Klasko and Hoad, the next generation of physicians will need to work
more collaboratively to deliver team-based care. Specifically, they envision a world where an app on a mobile
device offers you access to an instant, streamlined health care team consisting of physicians, nurses, clinical
pharmacists, physician assistants, and even contributors whose jobs don’t formally exist in the health care space
(yet): probability experts, electronic health care ambassadors, and telehealth professionals.46
Additionally, argues Klasko, the physician of the future must be skilled in the “art of attending”— a program he
initiated with colleagues across several partner organizations that focuses on training students to become skilled
observers. Instead of training their minds to run through a diagnostic checklist—a task much better suited for a
supercomputer such as IBM’s WATSON—these students are trained in critically analyzing artwork and developing
narrative explanations of the artistic content. In their pilot program, participants who experienced this art-driven
curriculum made more observations in physical diagnosis than participants who didn’t, they documented more and
took more detailed notes, and they communicated more effectively. In short, they were better physicians.
Another interesting insight emerged from the pilot program: As participants from other academic programs were
allowed into the class, an observable distinction emerged in the way that physicians were interpreting an image
versus the way that public health students were interpreting the same image.
For example, when public health students looked at the artwork, they were more likely to have looked “outside” the
frame to explore factors about the lives of the characters in the artwork (e.g., poverty, nutrition, culture), whereas the
prospective medical doctors immediately looked inside the frame—on the hunt for perceptible details present in the
painting.
This is important, suggests Hoad, because in a world of augmented diagnosis, where supercomputers handle the
diagnostic duties of doctoring, patients will need a different kind of support from physicians—more life-planning
and conversational support to help patients understand what life will be like after their diagnosis and their prescribed
plan of care. Doctors skilled in the art of attending are the ones who will add more value to these patients’ lives.47
Dr. Klasko breaks down the future-focused physician skill set further: In a world where the scientific component of
medicine is outsourced to computers, the customer-facing physician of the future must be “emotionally intelligent,
self-aware, self-managing, with an ability to adapt, and who has social awareness, empathy, and relationship
management skills, and who excels at teamwork and embracing change versus fighting it.”48
The Academic Medical Center of the Future
For admissions criteria to change, and for pedagogical approaches to be updated to reflect the evolving skill sets
required of tomorrow’s physicians, the core operations and culture of academic medical centers must also evolve.
For Dr. Klasko and Jefferson University, this meant admitting a new class of student into their program and having
those students compete not based solely on who had the highest GPA but also on who demonstrated the greatest
emotional intelligence and leadership.
In addition to updating curricula with innovative programming such as “the art of attending,” the Jefferson team also
redesigned their curriculum to ensure that all students had access to mentorship, and that teaching and learning
followed a mentorship-driven style (versus traditional lecturing).
The benefits associated with this new approach became immediately apparent. Specifically, as a result of the
reworked admissions process, a more diverse group of participants were represented in the cohort. Additionally,
students began seeing themselves as contributors to conversations as opposed to recipients of one-directional
information. They also began to see self-expression and articulation as valuable competencies, particularly in
contrast to the more practiced process of memorization. Furthermore, medical students became more verbal and
developed the ability to describe scenarios with a mature narrative style. Finally, participants openly took on cause-
oriented positions in discussions and readily identified leadership positions in ethical debates.49
It wasn’t all positive, however. As you might expect with any new program, potential watch-outs were also present
in the inaugural cohort. For example, tension with other medical students occurred, with some nonparticipants
expressing uncertainty and resentment for not being included. Another complication arose when considering the
upcoming challenges the students would face upon exiting their programs. The United States requires new medical
doctors to pass three standardized tests for licensure known as the boards. For some students, there was uncertainty
about deviating from the traditional approach of educating physicians, choosing instead to focus on empathy,
observation, communication, and bedside manner, knowing that they would have to then turn around and be
measured by standardized board exams that would not take into consideration their unique educational experiences
and refined 21st-century skill sets.
The Future at Jefferson
In addition to revising admissions standards and updating curricula, Dr. Klasko and the team at Jefferson have begun
outlining and implementing a variety of bleeding-edge programs and initiatives to shift the culture of the institution
toward becoming the nation’s first “academic medical center of the future.”
They began building a compelling narrative to help communicate their vision of change to the system. They also
hired a senior VP of innovation—a position carrying with it legitimate influence and power, operating at the level of
provost or a senior vice president of academic affairs. Importantly, they also changed faculty tenure criteria to
ensure that innovation is valued (versus the more traditional formula that relies almost exclusively on the amount of
federal funding received for their research). These moves not only helped set the tone and mission of innovation but
also established a practical challenge for everyone to participate. Next, they amplified the message so it was directed
not only internally to existing students, administrators, and faculty but also externally to ensure that the entire
medical community knew Jefferson is the place to be if you want to be innovative and entrepreneurial.
Hand-in-hand with innovation comes failure. In recognition of this, Jefferson reframed the way it perceived high-
risk, high-reward projects and decided it would ultimately recategorize risk as an essential ingredient of innovation
leadership. In practice, this means creating a way to forgive people for losing money if their projects do not unfold
as designed.
To help showcase new and innovative efforts, the Jefferson Jazz Tank (an internal spin-off of the popular television
program Shark Tank) was launched. As an additional boost to the innovation engine, health-oriented hackathons
were designed and supported in partnership with internal and external organizations such as MIT. These tactics
played a key role in recruitment, and, as a result, Jefferson was able to acquire talented individuals in health and the
emerging field of telehealth from other areas of the country and the world to join their team. Again, the message was
clear: Jefferson is the place where you can be creative; Jefferson is a home for innovators.
Closing
Hoad describes the transition to next-generation medical services with the following question: Who would choose to
schedule an appointment days, weeks, or even months in advance; to then drive to a big, expensive, maze-like
building; to deal with the hassles of parking and navigating look-alike corridors; when they could just see a
physician instantly by phone? This is not some futuristic view of the medical field; it’s already here! Through
technologies such as the Jefferson Connect app (JeffConnect50), people have a choice between spending $1,500, on
average, for a 6-hour emergency room visit during which they actually receive 7 minutes of face time with an actual
doctor, or they could spend just $49 for 15 minutes with a doctor on-demand, via their smartphone, tablet, or
computer.
The consumer revolution hasn’t yet impacted the health care industry the way it has affected others; however, it may
just be a matter of time, and physicians such as Dr. Klasko and the team at Jefferson believe that much of the care
that average patients need can (and will) be delivered at a retail level—for example, Walmart, Target, Walgreens—
and secondary care will be provided via smart device. If history is a guide, consumers will likely reward increased
access, convenience, and reasonable (and understandable) costs. How academic institutions will shift their structures
and programs to train the physicians of the future who must thrive in this new reality is yet to be seen.
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. What practices in this case study are pushing up against the comfort zone associated
with the field of medicine?
2. How do past and present selection criteria for medical school, as well as practices in the
medical profession, limit creative thinking?
Application Questions: Doing
1. Using the Yes-And tool, create a Yes-And graphic associated with this case. Refer to your
responses to Question 1 above to assist you with this tool; this might illuminate some of
the “buts” people might express relative to future changes in medical practice.
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. In your opinion, how might patients resist future technology and health care
experiences described in this case? If you were leading an initiative to help society adapt
to these future changes, what would you do? How would you accelerate the degree to
which patients might conform to these new practices?
2. What are your reactions to the future of medical practice as described in this case?
What are you comfortable with, and what makes you somewhat anxious?
Chapter 3 What We Know About Creativity
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Contrast popular misconceptions of creativity against evidence-based facts
• Appraise the degree to which you and your present situation fit the means, motive, and
opportunity model of organizational creativity
• Assess your internal climate for creativity
• Judge the degree to which your locus of control is more externally or internally oriented
Knowing—Sorting Creativity Fact From Fiction
Misconceptions and Mysterious Things That Go Bump in the Night
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart might be considered the poster child for individuals born as great
creative geniuses. Let’s closely examine his creative process and sort fact from fiction. A letter
attributed to Mozart is said to give great insight into his creative process. Mozart begins this
famous letter by saying that when he is relaxed and in a good mood, say, walking after an
enjoyable meal, compositions seemingly popped into his mind. To directly quote from this letter,
“Whence and how they come, I know not; nor can I force them. Those ideas that please me I
retain in memory.”1 Mozart’s creative process seemed to be straightforward and apparently
beyond his control. Creative ideas came easily to Mozart, so much so it was as if they emerged
fully formed and out of thin air. As he states later in the letter, “For this reason the committing to
paper is done quickly enough for everything is, as I said before, already finished; and it rarely
differs on paper from what it was in my imagination.”2
In the past, this letter has been held up as exhibit A of Mozart’s creative genius. Recalling
from Chapter 1 how we dispelled the commonly held belief that Mozart came into the world with
his creative genius complete and fully formed, statements like those in Mozart’s letter perpetuate
the misconception that the creative process of great creators is free and easy. To the contrary, it
is clear from analysis of Mozart’s manuscripts that he worked very hard at creating his
compositions, constantly revising his music. And in the case of this famous letter, it would
appear someone else had an interest in cultivating Mozart’s creative persona in the public’s eye,
for scholars now agree that the letter was almost certainly a forgery.
The content of this letter helps to reveal one of the main misconceptions about creativity—the
perception that the creative process is magical. By magical we mean a process that seems to
happen with some element of surprise, like a rabbit being pulled out of a hat. However, magic is
an illusion, and the more practiced the magician, the greater the illusion. Similar statements can
be made about creativity; great creators can give the illusion that it is a magical process, with
ideas seeming to appear from nowhere.
The study of human evolution, creative cognition, and neuroscience has increasingly revealed
how our creative minds work, thus removing the illusion of magic. Let’s briefly see if we can
reveal some of the operations in our minds that specifically support the creative act. As many of
us know, only a small percentage of an iceberg is visible above the waterline. Likewise, we see
only a small percentage of the creative act, the most visible being the eventual creative outcome
or product. However, there is much processing that goes on below the surface. Through this
chapter, and especially the process chapters, we reveal the hidden creative processes, thereby
demonstrating that rather than being magical and unpredictable, the creative process is actually
predictable and repeatable.
The human brain has evolved to engage in two distinct forms of thinking that, when properly
balanced, are central to the creative process. On one hand is the ability to generate novelty, using
imagination to produce original thoughts and alternatives. On the other hand is the ability to
explore the value of novelty, focusing our minds in such a way as to select and develop the most
promising novel options.3 Unique to humans is the ability to shift and direct our thinking; to
defocus our minds in a way that facilitates a search for original thoughts, ideas, and solutions;
and then to focus our minds to select and refine the most promising option from a set of
competing choices.
These two fundamental mental operations may occur in different parts of the brain. Mounting
research evidence indicates that greater activity in the right hemisphere facilitates higher levels
of divergent thinking—the broad search for nonobvious alternatives.4 It may be tempting to
assume then that such neurobiological research supports the popular misconception that “right-
brained” people are more creative. However, creative thinking is complex, and true creative
cognition is the balance between the generation of novel ideas in combination with the selection
and development of the most promising ideas. The left hemisphere, associated with knowledge
acquisition and analytical thinking, then has an important role to play in the creative process as
well.5 Creative breakthroughs come about through the successful integration of both hemispheres
of the brain. In Part II of this book, you will learn strategies that build on, and make even more
effective, the creative cognition you already possess. Like magicians, who rehearse and perfect
their tricks so it appears that they are performing magic, you can practice using cognitive tools
that will enable you to generate creative breakthroughs on a more consistent basis. To others not
familiar with such practices, you may appear to possess the same creative magic as Mozart.
Through this discussion we have attempted to dispel the misconception that creativity is magical.
There are, however, other misunderstandings that can get in the way of taking full advantage of
one’s personal creativity. Next we present other common misconceptions and their
counterpoints. As you read about these misconceptions, consider to what degree you have been
susceptible to each one.
Creativity Is All About Having Fun and Letting Loose
There are those who believe that a call for creativity is permission to do anything you wish, that
creativity is a license to be free and simply have fun. Engaging in creative acts can certainly be
fun and highly stimulating, but at the same time it is generally hard work. The essence of the
word creativity is “to create.” That is, when one is engaged in creative thinking, the goal is to
produce something new and valuable. Along this line of thinking, creativity scholar Reg Talbot
provides a succinct definition of creativity as the ability to make a change that sticks—at least for
a while.6 Maya Angelou, Pablo Picasso, Steve Jobs, Dean Kamen, Bill Gates, Frank Gehry,
Mark Zuckerberg, the Beatles, and other great creators all worked very hard to produce their
breakthrough ideas. Picasso, for example, generated eight full notebooks of sketches before
producing his groundbreaking masterpiece Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, the painting that
launched cubism. Similarly, Apple’s iPad was released commercially in 2010, but only after 8
years and numerous prototypes. To be sure, creativity is stimulating and satisfying and can be
fun, but as most people recognize, the making of something, especially something that has not
been done before, takes a great deal of effort.
Most creativity scholars agree that creativity is the manifestation of something rare, novel, and
original and at the same time valuable, useful, or appropriate. When you hear someone utter the
statement, “Hey, I’m just being creative,” it would seem creativity is being used as an excuse to
be different or outrageous. In such cases, the behavior being displayed by the individual may
certainly be novel, but the question becomes to what degree it is truly creative—both novel and
valuable.
Creativity Is All About Having Ideas
When the word creativity is tossed about in conversation, it is often used narrowly to refer to the
process of coming up with ideas. Yet being creative is not limited to the production of ideas. If
creativity is a process that leads to original and valuable propositions, then our conception of
creative thinking needs to be broadened to encompass a fuller and more complete process.
Simply put, thinking of creativity as strictly coming up with ideas is like saying all you need for
a good hamburger is raw meat.
Although the field of creativity possesses many models of the creative process, none of these
models positions idea generation as the sole step necessary to create. In fact, at best, idea
generation can be thought of as one fourth of the creative process. Before ideas can be generated,
it is extremely helpful to have knowledge about the context or the situation in which a person
desires to produce a creative breakthrough (Step 1). This upfront stage of the creative process is
all about clarifying, which involves gathering information, identifying important facts, asking
good questions, considering what has already been attempted, and framing the most pressing
challenges that need to be addressed. To be effective, ideas generally must respond to some issue
or challenge. To paraphrase a statement credited to John Dewey, American educator and
philosopher, a problem that is properly stated is already half solved.
The clarification step of the creative process sets up the individual or team for effective idea
generation. This enables innovators and entrepreneurs to take a more targeted approach to
producing ideas by providing a goal for idea production. What challenge do you need to address?
What kind of product are you attempting to produce? What type of business model best fits your
new enterprise? In what specific ways are you attempting to improve your organization? Only
after the situation is clarified can productive idea generation occur (Step 2).
Once generated, the most promising ideas need to move into another step of the process, an area
of thought in which good ideas are transformed into great solutions (Step 3). This is where much
of the hard work of creativity occurs. And Mozart, the boy genius, offers a good example of how
deliberation and development pay off. Despite the claims of the forged letter, Mozart’s
compositions did not occur to him fully formed. Rather, his manuscripts reveal that he tinkered
with, revised, and tested modifications to his compositions as he worked toward the end product.
Finally, the new proposition needs to go into action or be put into use, either for the individual or
for some group. This is the implementation step of the creative process (Step 4). It is the
successful implementation of novel and valuable ideas, on a consistent basis, that earns
individuals the badge of innovator or entrepreneur. Without implementation, our new ideas are
nothing but idle daydreams and fantasies.
In this brief description of the creative process we hope to have highlighted the fact that
creativity is more than idea generation. In Part II of this book, the Doing chapters, we use a
version of this four-step creative process to help you, the reader, generate creative ideas more
consistently and put them into practice.
Creativity Is About the Arts
Some believe that to be creative means to be a dancer, musician, painter, or some other kind of
artist and that creativity is about applying imagination. Whereas imagination certainly plays an
important role in the arts, creativity is not limited to the arts. Imagination knows no boundaries
and is crucial in all human endeavors. The ability to imagine alternatives and to see new
opportunities is equally applicable to business, science, architecture, engineering, medicine, and
any other field in which problems need to be addressed and new discoveries hold the promise of
building new knowledge—which pretty much means all fields. So, if you can’t draw or sing, that
doesn’t mean you are not creative. Can you use your imagination to solve problems in your field
of choice or to add new discoveries? Do you use your imagination in your daily life? It’s the
application of your imagination that is the indicator of creativity. After all, if an individual has
learned to sing a song written and performed by someone else, is he or she really being creative?
Such a scenario is likely to be a better representation of talent than creativity.
Creativity Is Associated With Madness and Mental Illness
There are those who quickly associate creativity with mental illness. For some, the thought of a
creative person immediately conjures up images of the mad scientist or the depressed artist.
Popular culture and a few iconic creators feed these images; think of Virginia Woolf, Ernest
Hemingway, and Vincent van Gogh, each of whom committed suicide. People seem to be drawn
to offbeat or unusual stories, and as a consequence, there may be a tendency to sensationalize the
unusual behavior exhibited by some legendary creators. But what does the research tell us about
the link between psychopathologies and creativity? Well, the results are mixed. Some
studies7 have shown a link between schizotypy, traits that enhance the probability of psychotic
illness, and creativity, whereas others have shown that high creative achievers score lower on
measures of psychopathology.8 And at least one eminent creativity scholar, Albert Rothenberg,
has suggested that the literature that links creativity and mental illness has serious shortcomings.9
The fact that research results are inconclusive doesn’t really matter, because the prevailing
misconception holds that one must be mentally ill to be creative. Even if research shows a
correlation between schizotypy and creativity, it must be remembered that this does not
demonstrate cause and effect, that is, mental illness is a necessary condition for someone to be
creative. There are certainly plenty of examples of people who suffer from mental illness who
are not creative high achievers, as well as highly creative individuals who are mentally healthy.
A strong case can be made that the stereotypical view of the “mad genius” is simply not
true.10 To the contrary, recent research on the brain shows that consistent creative activity
facilitates a longer life, reduces dementia, and promotes more fulfilling relationships and
happiness.11
There are, of course, other misconceptions of creativity.12 Our goal is to debunk some of the
more common ones. For the remainder of this chapter, we turn our attention to some things we
know about creativity.
Thought Starter
Creativity Misconceptions
A Model for Understanding Creativity: Like a Crime
The field of creativity has grown from humble beginnings in the middle of the 20th century to an
active academic field with more than 11 journals, countless books, numerous conferences, and a
special division in the American Psychological Association. This growing interest in creativity
has led to a broad body of knowledge, much too large to attempt to cover in one book. Instead
we highlight some of what is known about the nature and nurture of creativity using a model that
looks at the conditions necessary for individuals to express their creativity within the
organizational context, whether an existing or a newly started enterprise. As such, this model
gives us a useful framework for the study and application of creativity in keeping with the
purpose of this book—to assist readers in positioning themselves as creative assets, resulting in
enhanced entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial activities.
This model, initially developed by Reg Talbot, likens creativity in organizations to the
perpetration of a crime.13 To do either requires three things: the means, the motive, and the
opportunity. Detectives in books and movies can zero in on suspects by determining which
individuals possess the capability of committing the crime (the means). Here the concern is the
degree to which the suspect had the strength, mindset, and tools to commit the crime. The
suspect might have had the means to commit the crime, but did he or she have a motive? To what
extent did the person have a compelling reason, a driving force, that gives a clear indication as to
why the crime was committed? Finally, the detective needs to determine whether the person had
the opportunity to commit the crime. Can that person be located at the crime scene, or did he or
she have the chance to carry out the crime?
When all three elements intersect (i.e., means, motive, and opportunity), the probability that a
person committed the crime is much greater. The same is true for creativity. Creative outcomes
are much more likely to occur in organizations when individuals have the means, motivation, and
opportunity to be creative. We use this framework as a structure to review some specific
components of each.
The Means to Create
We start with the means. We begin here because means focuses on the person, and this is where
the scientific study of creativity began. It is also where creativity begins, for without the person
there is no organizational creativity. Much of the early work in the field looked at the personality
traits that distinguished individuals who demonstrated higher levels of creativity versus traits of
those who did not. We do not present a comprehensive list; rather, we share some of the
dispositions most often cited in the literature. Because these personality traits are so fundamental
to creativity, you will see some of them revisited and further described in additional chapters. To
personalize this list, we encourage you to assess the degree to which you possess these
personality traits; to bring them to life, we link each trait to an icon of creativity—Steve Jobs.
• Risk taking. Individuals engaging in higher levels of risk taking show independence in thought,
are often nonconforming, defy the crowd, question assumptions and norms, do not demand
guarantees, and move forward even when failure is a possibility. Steve Jobs was a classic risk
taker. His penchant for taking risks was evident even from an early age. When he was 12, he
dared to call Bill Hewlett, cofounder of Hewlett-Packard, to ask for spare parts to feed his
fascination with computers. As Jobs said, “You’ve got to be willing to crash and burn. If you’re
afraid of failing, you won’t get very far.”14
• Open-mindedness. Highly creative individuals suspend their evaluation, remain open to
possibilities, show a high tolerance for ambiguity, show patience in the face of uncertainty, and
demonstrate flexibility in considering different perspectives and opinions. They also display a
willingness to shift to another approach when the previous strategies are shown to be ineffective.
In his 2005 commencement speech at Stanford, Jobs captured the value he placed on being open-
minded: “So when a good idea comes, you know, part of my job is to move it around, just see
what different people think, get people talking about it, argue with people about it, get ideas
moving among that group of 100 people, get different people together to explore different
aspects of it quietly, and, you know—just explore things.”15
• Curiosity and playfulness. Those inclined to engage in creative behavior and to produce
creative breakthroughs often show relentless interest in discovery and experimentation. They
actively explore the world and themselves. They approach concepts, possibilities, and ideas in a
playful manner. When Apple was founded, and for a long time afterward, Steve Jobs liked to
think of the company as a group of swashbuckling pirates—a small band of mavericks who were
going to shake up the computer industry. In fact, Jobs flew the Jolly Roger flag outside of Apple
headquarters.
• High energy level. Highly creative people throw themselves into their work. They maintain
their energy over long periods of time, both on specific projects and across their careers. Steve
Jobs was well known for his high energy level, a seemingly endless reserve that allowed him to
relentlessly pursue the next big idea. Without such drive, it would have been impossible for Jobs
to bounce back from his dismissal at Apple to then serve as cofounder of Pixar Animation
Studios. As one professor of entrepreneurship and Wall Street Journal blogger said of Jobs, “He
didn’t flinch from the unrelenting reality of the situation, charted a clear strategy going forward,
and was willing to commit to huge amounts of energy to reach the goal.”16
• Embodiment of contradictions. The creative personality possesses traits and attitudes that
seemingly contradict each other. MacKinnon’s famous study of some of America’s most creative
architects, for example, revealed such opposing qualities as daring yet also “planful,”
unconventional and at the same time organized, spontaneous but adaptable, and a mix of both
forgiving and egotistical.17 Csíkszentmihályi made a similar observation of creative people,
adding such opposing traits as smart yet naive, high energy but often quiet, a mix of playfulness
and discipline, an ability to move from imagination to a rooted sense of reality, both extroverted
and introverted, and a mix of masculine and feminine.18 So, creative people seem to possess a
complex personality in which they are able to adopt and merge different personal traits. When
Walter Isaacson, author of the biography on Steve Jobs, was asked about his main insight into
the real Steve Jobs, he said,
He had a lot of contradictions in his personality. Connecting a counterculture, rebel, misfit
sensibility with a business-like, engineering sensibility is part of what made him contradictory,
but what also made him amazing. He approached all aspects of his life with these contradictions:
his cancer, the products he made, his personal life.19
Beyond possessing personality traits that predispose someone to act and think more creatively,
an individual must also possess the necessary knowledge in his or her chosen field. A scientist,
teacher, chef, manager, entrepreneur, or artist who does not possess the basic knowledge of his
or her domain is at a serious disadvantage. Basic knowledge provides the building blocks to
creative breakthroughs. However, to make creative contributions or to stand out as distinctive,
one must avoid being trapped by the limits of current knowledge. This is where the personality
traits described earlier contribute to creative success. It is the curious, open-minded risk taker
who is most likely to take knowledge and apply it in new ways, thus making valuable
contributions as an innovator or entrepreneur. Organizations do not start up and evolve on their
own; they do so only through the imagination of individual members. So having basic
knowledge allows you to acquire the same raw material as everyone else, but the person with a
creative disposition can take that raw material and make something new.
Personality, then, is one part of the means necessary for someone to be creative. Personality
creates the right mindset or attitude that allows the creative mind to roam more freely, but it
takes effective creative-thinking skills to maximize the creative spirit. Attitude creates the space
for possibilities, whereas thinking creates the possibilities themselves. Earlier, when we
debunked the misconception that creativity is some magical process, we indicated that our minds
evolved in such a way that enables us to engage in a number of thinking skills that promote
creativity. Again, a way of thinking that is central to creativity is divergent thinking. Divergent
thinking is the ability to generate many different and original responses to a challenge, and this
skill is a strong predictor of lifetime creative achievements. In the previous chapter, we described
the four main thinking skills associated with divergent thinking: fluency, flexibility, originality,
and elaboration. Next we list a few more skills associated with effective creative thinking.20
• Problem finding and formulation. Highly creative individuals have been described as problem
finders. They sense gaps and see opportunities where others do not. They point out problems
when others ignore them. They spot difficulties and deficiencies in things, people, and
themselves. Individuals who come up with new innovations are rarely presented with a nice,
neat, and tidy problem. Rather, they discover interesting problems that need to be solved. And
research shows that the time spent on clarifying the problem translates into more creative
outcomes. Innovators and entrepreneurs cannot generate breakthroughs if they do not know what
problem they are solving.
• Conceptual combination. Highly creative individuals are able to integrate previously separate
concepts and ideas. They borrow and transpose concepts from one field to another. For instance,
George Lucas borrowed from mythology, Nazi ideology, and American Western lore to create
the epic film series Star Wars.21 Among all American presidents, perhaps no other has been more
written about than Abraham Lincoln. Seth Grahame-Smith’s recent fictional book, Abraham
Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, provides a good example of how a novel combination could shed new
light on this well-known historical figure.22 His novel cleverly weaves vampires into the story in
such a way as to offer an entirely new alternative explanation for the cause of the Civil War and
portrays this great president as a devout, and immortal, vampire killer.
• Analogy. Whereas conceptual combination brings together two, or more, previously unrelated
concepts to produce a new outcome, analogical thinking is focused on finding similar situations
from which to borrow ideas in order to solve a problem. Charles Darwin, for example, borrowed
ideas from geology and the slow development of the physical characteristics of land formations,
like river valleys and mountains, to gain insights into biological evolution. Mark Zuckerberg
borrowed ideas from the college yearbook to create Facebook. The creators of Google,
comparing finding a page on the World Wide Web to locating a single page in an entire library,
used this analogy to guide the development of their ubiquitous search engine.23
The Motivation to Create
Imagine two people in the same field who essentially possess the same knowledge, personality
traits, and creative-thinking skills, such as those skills just described, yet one is primarily driven
by an interest in rewards and acclaim, whereas the other is driven by passion for the work itself.
Who would you predict is more likely to produce more creative outcomes? It is one thing to
possess the means to be creative, but means without motivation is likely to produce very little.
And, it turns out, a particular kind of motivation is best at unlocking creative potential—intrinsic
motivation. This is the kind of motivation that comes from within; it’s engaging in an activity for
the pure joy and satisfaction inherent in the activity itself. In contrast, extrinsic motivation has an
external focus, an interest in rewards such as fame and fortune. Extrinsic motivators can also
take the form of other people, such as competitors or those who will evaluate the performance. In
such cases, individuals may become more concerned about the competition or the observer,
shifting creative energy away from the task at hand.
Teresa Amabile, Harvard Business School professor, has carried out a great body of research on
motivation and creativity, clearly demonstrating the overwhelmingly positive effects of intrinsic
motivation and the deleterious effects of extrinsic motivation on creativity.24 Dr. Amabile uses a
wonderful metaphor to contrast the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. There are two
mice whose task it is to move through a maze. The mouse that gets through the maze first
gets the food, whereas the other goes hungry. With food as a reward, and given the fact that
competition means there will be only one winner, this situation is heavily tipped toward extrinsic
motivation. Therefore, our racers will be focused on finding the quickest way through the maze.
And if the race is conducted time and time again in the same maze, the mice will simply learn to
run faster and faster through the maze, taking the same route, the most direct, over and over
again. So what’s the problem? you say. To the victor go the spoils. Let’s say one mouse is
curious and wants to spend more time in the maze exploring. This mouse isn’t interested in
finding the quickest route through the maze but wants to find alternative ways through the maze.
The extrinsic dynamics here are likely to undermine this mouse’s intrinsic curiosity. After all,
being curious and exploring is a big risk, a risk that the mouse will go hungry.
Writers, scientists, entrepreneurs, inventors, and others engaged in creative pursuits are often
more like our second mouse; they are curious and wish to spend time exploring interesting
alternatives. They report that they are less concerned about money and other rewards than they
are about producing interesting work. This is not to say that extrinsic rewards are completely
ignored, of course; some level of reward is required to sustain us. And when the extrinsic
rewards align with intrinsic motivation, this can become a winning combination, especially as
the extrinsic rewards help to reinforce the intrinsic value the person derives from his or her work.
Steve Jobs provides a perfect example of this winning combination, but most importantly, he
exemplifies the importance of intrinsic motivation and how it feeds creative work. Here are a few
quotes from Jobs that underscore how intrinsic motivation fueled his creative power.
I was worth over $1,000,000 when I was 23, and over $10,000,000 when I was 24, and over
$100,000,000 when I was 25, and it wasn’t that important because I never did it for the money.
Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve
done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me
make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all
fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only
what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid
the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to
follow your heart.25
Doing something for the love of it is what sustains motivation and energy over the long haul. In
1990 J. K. Rowling stood on a train platform in Manchester, England, waiting for a train to
London; perhaps fortunately for the world, the train was delayed. As someone who had been
writing since she was a little girl, naturally her imagination was not idle during this hour-long
delay. A story began to form in her mind, the story of a school for wizards, a character named
Harry Potter, and a train referred to as the Hogwarts Express. Once onboard, she discovered she
had no pen or pencil to jot down her ideas, so she spent the next 3 hours elaborating on this story
in her mind. When she arrived in London, she dashed home and lost herself as she captured the
story that originated on the train platform in Manchester. She experienced the state of flow—that
peak experience in which the creator becomes so lost in the creation experience that he or she
loses all track of time.26
The story doesn’t end, however, with this aha moment and state of flow; it took 7 years before
the first Harry Potter book appeared in bookstores. And these were not easy years. J. K. Rowling
experienced many setbacks and challenges in her personal life. She went through divorce, lost
her mother, and lived off government support for a time. Furthermore, as a single mother, it was
difficult to find blocks of time to write. In fact, while living in Edinburgh, she would take her
daughter out for a stroll in her baby carriage, waiting for her to fall asleep. J. K. Rowling would
then stroll her sleeping daughter into a café or coffee shop and write until her daughter awoke.
What allowed J. K. Rowling to persist through these challenging times? We would suggest it was
her intrinsic drive to write this story. As Rowling said, she simply knew she had to write the
story. So despite the fact that things were so bad that J. K. Rowling referred to herself as the
biggest loser she knew, she persisted over those 7 years to see her book finally published. The
Harry Potter series is one of the bestselling sets of books in history, with more than $400 million
in worldwide sales.
J. K. Rowling found writing intrinsically motivating. If you don’t already know what
intrinsically drives you, how do you find out? Harvard University education professor Tony
Wagner suggests that three characteristics signal activities that are intrinsically motivating for
someone.27 They are play, passion, and purpose, the 3 Ps of creativity presented in Chapter 1. If
the activity feels like play to you, if you are passionate about it, and if it feels like the activity
fulfills, in part, your life’s purpose, then you may well be engaged in an intrinsically satisfying
effort. People who find their work intrinsically satisfying report greater creative outcomes, joy,
and engagement at work.28 And employees who are intrinsically engaged are significantly more
innovative. Where do you experience play, passion, and purpose? It’s crucially important to
figure this out. Steve Jobs said:
Our work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do
what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you
haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know
when you find it.29
Whereas the means to be creative and the motivation to be creative make massive contributions
to individual creativity, one more factor is necessary, and this is especially true in organizational
contexts—people need the opportunity to be creative.
The Opportunity to Create
About four decades ago, a Swedish professor by the name of Göran Ekvall was studying
employee suggestion systems in a large European-based car company.30 As Ekvall examined
how well these employee suggestion systems were working, he discovered something peculiar.
Despite the fact that he was studying various manufacturing plants within the same company, he
observed that in some locations there was great success, lots of employee involvement, and many
ideas being adopted, whereas in other sites the suggestion systems were hardly used. This made
Professor Ekvall curious, and he embarked on a program of research to discover what caused
such noticeable differences.
Early research in the field of creativity focused on characteristics of the person. More recently,
scholars like Ekvall have turned their attention to the environment for creativity. Just because a
person has the requisite knowledge, coupled with the right set of personality traits and thinking
skills, there is still no guarantee that creative results will follow. Place an individual with the
means and motivation to be creative in an unsupportive environment, and you are likely to find
very little of this potential realized.
The environment for creativity can be thought of in a number of ways. It refers to physical space
and how the structure of the surroundings facilitates or undermines creative thinking. Closely
associated with physical environment is the availability of resources to support creativity.
Scientists need their labs. Designers need access to material and technology. Artists need their
studios. Environment also refers to culture, the deeply held values and norms in society or an
organization. It has been argued, for example, that America’s cultural values related to
individualism, hard work, and self-made success have favored our creativity as a nation. Another
concept related to the creative environment is psychological climate. This is the factor Ekvall
found to be a significant predictor of successful employee suggestion systems, and he
subsequently demonstrated that climate has a profound impact on the level of innovation found
in an organization.
Climate refers to the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that permeate an organization or a work
team.31 Where there is a positive climate, the opportunity for individuals to be creative is much
greater. Ekvall identified 10 climate dimensions that promote organizational creativity; to
provide a sampling of these dimensions, we describe five of Ekvall’s factors. In our discussions
with corporate groups, these are the five dimensions most often cited as crucial for employee
creativity. When looking for an opportunity to be innovative, we strongly suggest that you
examine the degree to which these five qualities are present in your place of employment (or
prospective employment). And for those with an entrepreneurial bent, to sustain innovation in
your organization, it will be important to imbue your start-up with these qualities. For the other
five dimensions, see Ekvall32 or Puccio et al.33
• Freedom. A work environment with a high level of freedom means that employees have
some degree of autonomy; that is, they can explore different ways of carrying out work.
In an environment low in freedom, everything is prescribed; there is no scope for
exploration or deviation.
• Idea support. This dimension has to do with how ideas are received. In a climate high in
idea support, new ideas are treated with great care and actively sought after.
Conversely, new ideas are met with immediate skepticism and critique in an
environment low in idea support.
• Risk taking. A workplace that accepts failure and is comfortable with uncertainty is
indicative of a climate where risk taking is encouraged. In contrast, a low risk-tolerant
environment is marked by hesitation, fear, and cautiousness. In such environments,
employees work hard to avoid making mistakes and therefore rarely experiment or try
new ideas.
• Idea time. Idea time refers to a climate in which there is time to reflect, time to think,
and time to puzzle through complex problems. Without idea time, employees feel a
great deal of pressure to meet deadlines. They focus on just getting the job done and
pay little attention to more innovative practices and opportunities. Certainly deadlines
are necessary, but the most innovative companies, such as Google, Gore, and 3M, adopt
organizational practices that allow individuals time to explore interesting ideas.
• Debate. In a climate that allows for debate, people are able to disagree and to challenge
others’ views and positions. High levels of debate encourage an exchange of different
viewpoints and greater diversity of opinions. Low-debate environments are likely to
suffer from groupthink because people are unwilling to question each other.
It takes the means, the motive, and the opportunity for individuals to be creative. Whereas all
three are essential, the opportunity to be creative, especially in the workplace, can often be the
crucial deciding factor as to whether an individual is creatively productive and happy at work.
This fact is highlighted in the powerful stories and research outcomes associated with Amabile
and Kramer’s analysis of nearly 12,000 daily diaries generated by 238 employees from seven
different organizations.34 Their analysis of these employees’ work experiences showed that more
positive work experience translated into more successful and innovative outcomes for their
organizations. Of course, the opposite was true as well; employees suffered when creative
opportunities were not available, as did the success of the organization. In a dramatic example,
Amabile and Kramer describe how in just 4 years a new management team took a consumer
products company recognized as one of the 10 most innovative companies in America and drove
it out of business. This is not an exaggeration: The company closed down, people were out of
work, and a small town lost an important economic engine. In short order, the new management
team replaced a vibrant and dynamic corporate climate with an oppressive one that led to what
many employees described as an intolerable work experience. Here is a brief list of some of the
steps and practices the new management team took that ultimately led to the demise of this
innovative industry leader.
• Product design teams lost their freedom to choose their own directions because the
new management team exclusively set priority projects.
• Employees’ ideas became unwelcome. For example, in examining ways to reduce costs,
employees’ ideas were rejected in favor of simply sticking with existing cost-cutting
measures. And when a project team leader offered new ideas to improve a product
concept, an executive told him that his head must have been up his ass (yes, this crude
criticism was actually used and apparently was not unusual).
• Upper management showed little tolerance for failure, which led to an atmosphere of
fear and blame.
• The new management team installed a confusing organizational matrix in which
employees worked under different bosses, with often competing goals, leading to a
breakdown in communication and a resistance to sharing ideas.
Those individuals looking to exert their creativity in the workplace would be wise to find
organizations with environments that explicitly promote opportunities to create (and to remain
innovative, organizations would be wise to create such opportunities). As Amabile and Kramer
observed from the analysis of workers’ daily diaries,
People were more creative when they saw their organizations and its leaders in a positive light—
as collaborative, cooperative, open to new ideas, able to develop and evaluate new ideas fairly,
focused on an innovative vision, and willing to reward creative work. In other words, when
people saw that a new idea was treated as a precious commodity—even if it eventually turned
out to be infeasible—they were more likely to contribute suggestions.35
The need to find opportunities to create seems to be of utmost importance for those who are
more entrepreneurially minded. Stanislav Dobrev examined the career paths of more than 2,000
graduates of Stanford’s MBA program.36 The analysis showed a clear pattern among those who
founded their own organizations. Such entrepreneurs were likely to leave the organizations they
established when their role in these organizations transitioned from founder to manager, which
was the case as their organizations moved from the start-up to the growth phase. Dobrev
observed that for these entrepreneurs this transition represented a move away from the more
satisfying creative components of work they so dearly enjoyed. As organizations mature, and
certainly among well-established organizations, the formal structures—reporting relationships,
work manuals, procedural guidelines, specific job responsibilities, established procedures—
significantly reduce the opportunities for employees to engage in entrepreneurial behavior. Like
great creators, entrepreneurially minded individuals require the means, motive, and opportunity
to realize their innovative dreams. When they are able to exercise their creativity within an
organization, they are more likely to experience what Amabile and Kramer refer to as a positive
inner work life. However, when the opportunity to create is not there, such entrepreneurial
thinkers are likely to leave and establish their own opportunity to create.
Organizational structures can create a polarity or compressed conflict—two forces that coexist
yet pull in opposing directions. On the one hand, organizational structures promote efficiency
and thoroughness and create security. On the other, formal structures can limit opportunities to
create, to evolve, and to find better or different ways of carrying out work. Like the creative
personality, successful organizations must find ways to marry apparently contradictory forces—
structure and creativity. Creative employees, those with the means and motivation to add value
through their creativity, are essential to the ongoing success of organizations, but when
employees are not able to find opportunities to exercise their creative talents, they will become
frustrated and withdraw their creative talents. In a flat world, in which change and complexity
are on the rise, organizations that do not find a way to leverage the benefits of both structure and
creativity run the risk of stagnating and therefore are more likely to become extinct.
Thought Starter
Motive Means Opportunity
Learning Activity: Myths of Creativity: True/False Test
Answer true or false to the following statements; include an explanation that defends your answer.
1. Creativity applies to any college major.
2. If a person thinks of an idea, that act can be considered creative, even if the person does
not implement the idea.
3. Mental illness is a necessity for creativity.
4. Engaging in creativity is not a good use of company time.
Now that you can recognize the myths of creativity, explain the negative consequences of these myths (those in the
previous list and in the chapter).
Doing—Creating Your Own Mood
At the beginning of this chapter we referred to a letter attributed to Mozart. Although many
scholars now agree that this letter was a forgery, there was one aspect of the letter that was
accurate in terms of the creative process. Both neuroscience and research in organizations have
clearly and convincingly demonstrated that a good mood promotes creative thinking. When our
ideas are under threat, as when we are being self-critical or others are prematurely judging our
ideas, our creative output is likely to take a nosedive. The anterior cingulate cortex in our brain,
which facilitates the generation of original thoughts, is not activated when we believe we are
under attack or are anxious.37 As a result, we experience tunnel vision, alternatives do not present
themselves, and nonobvious answers remain totally elusive. Conversely, when the anterior
cingulate cortex is activated, a physiological sign that we are in a good mood, we are much more
likely to strike on a breakthrough. Amabile and Kramer’s research, described earlier, showed that
good mood led to higher employee creativity. To be specific, when employees were in a good
mood, there was a “50 percent increase in the odds of having a creative idea.”38 So one way to
insert the magic back into your creative process is to learn to put yourself in a good mood.
Andy VanGundy, an expert in organizational creativity, suggested that to be creative, individuals
should begin by creating their own internal climate for creativity.39 Why start with internal
climate? First, people are in control of their own attitudes and mindset. If the environment
provides opportunities for creativity and an individual does not possess the right mindset, then
such opportunities will go unfulfilled even when they are made available to that person. Second,
VanGundy argued that a positive internal climate could combat a negative external climate. A
strong internal climate for creativity can go a long way in helping an individual to be more
resilient in the face of a stifling environment. According to VanGundy, attitudes that create a
positive internal climate for creativity included the following:
• Persistence. Creativity produces change, and change is not always warmly embraced. In
the face of resistance, creative individuals press on. They do not give up in the face of
adversity.
• Openness to new ideas. Highly creative individuals seek out new ideas, for they
recognize that exposure to other people’s thinking stimulates their own creative
breakthroughs. They acknowledge that being closed off to others’ ideas diminishes their
own creativity.
• Independence. Creative thinkers are not easily influenced by others. They maintain a
strong sense of their own identity and therefore resist conformity pressures. They are
not bothered when their ideas, insights, and views differ from those of others.
• Tolerance for ambiguity. People with a positive internal climate for creativity see the
world in shades of gray. The opposite attitude is one in which complex situations are
oversimplified into a narrow range of categories or stereotypes or a superficial
understanding. Tolerance for ambiguity enables individuals to embrace unstructured
problems. A low tolerance for ambiguity can result in a sense of anxiousness, especially
as one faces a difficult task, a complex problem, or change.
VanGundy argued that when you embrace these attitudes, you are more likely to see problems in
a different way, to generate many novel ideas, and to be a more flexible thinker. Assess your
own internal climate for creativity. Ask yourself to what degree you embody the attitudes just
described. Self-awareness is crucial in developing a creative mindset.
Learning Activity: Conceptual Combination
Highly creative individuals combine seemingly unrelated concepts to generate new ideas. The following is a list of
seemingly unrelated objects and concepts. Combine two at a time to come up with a new concept or idea. Although
it may take a few minutes to warm up to this exercise, stick with it. Soon you will find that this simple practice of
combining two or more unrelated concepts or ideas is a quick route to original thinking.
• Water bottle, wave, mousetrap, tree, sleep, cook, dream, sunshine, cleanliness, money,
plunger, clown, iPad, remote, eyeglasses
• Example: Sleep and cook
• Idea: A new cookbook idea—recipes that cook in the perfect amount of time to take a
nap. Make the recipe. Throw it in the oven. Set a timer. Take a nap. Wake up and it’s
done!
Do any of your combinations respond to a need or present an opportunity? Are any marketable? What’s the benefit
of knowing how to combine ideas, concepts, and thoughts?
Being—Developing an Internal Locus of Control
You just received poor marks on a big exam, or maybe you just experienced something positive,
such as a promotion at work. Whether the situation is positive or negative, your view of the
factors that caused the outcome has a lot to do with your likeliness of engaging in creative
behavior at work. Do you believe you received low marks on the exam because you were ill
prepared, or was your poor performance due to a test that you believe was unfair? How about
that promotion at work? Did that come about because of your efforts, or do you attribute your
success to a boss who must have liked you?
There is a well-established psychological construct called locus of control that is useful in
helping us understand how people interpret situations like those just described. This concept was
originated by psychologist Julian B. Rotter and explains how different people attribute the
outcomes and events in their lives, such as success or failure, to forces within or outside of their
control.40 People who believe events are wholly within their control are said to have an internal
locus of control—called internals for short. Internals believe their actions, abilities, and hard
work are the primary force behind the realization of positive outcomes. In contrast, individuals
who associate success or failure with environmental factors that are impossible to control are
said to have an external locus of control—referred to as externals. Externals, for example, are
much more likely to attribute life situations to chance; fate; and powerful others such as bosses,
professors, and politicians. The student who sees a poor grade as the fault of the exam, or the
employee who believes a promotion was simply due to the good fortune of having a boss who
liked him or her, could be said to display an external locus of control.
Locus of control is a personality orientation, a way that someone characteristically views the
world along a continuum of internal to external orientation. As a continuum, it is believed people
will vary in terms of how strong their orientation is toward one end of this psychological
construct. With respect to creativity, perhaps the key link to locus of control relates to
individuals’ expectations about the future. Specifically, internals believe that future outcomes
will be a direct result of their actions, whereas externals are much more likely to believe the
future is largely determined by the surrounding environment.
In this chapter, we shared the means, motive, and opportunity model of creativity at work, and
with respect to the opportunity aspect of this model, we described how the work environment can
facilitate or undermine an individual’s creativity. To prevent individuals from playing victim to
their work circumstances, we highlighted VanGundy’s argument that an individual’s internal
climate can be useful in combating a poor external environment. To further this point, we
suggest that our readers explore their orientation toward control. Whereas locus of control may
underscore an important individual means that contributes to greater levels of creative output,
this personal asset may also serve an important role in countering situations that limit
the opportunity to behave in a creative manner. Indeed, research shows that those with internal
locus of control produce more creative outcomes in an unfavorable work environment than those
with an external locus of control.41 Furthermore, studies have shown a link between internal
locus of control and entrepreneurship. As Estay, Durrieu, and Akhter indicated in their review of
the current research, “Persons with a high level of perceived control (internals) have been
associated with entrepreneurial behavior and a preference for innovative strategies.”42 For those
who wish to influence others through their creativity, either as entrepreneurs or as intrapreneurs,
it would seem beneficial to cultivate a personal mindset with an internal locus of control. If you
find yourself giving too much of your creative power over to external forces, how might you
modify your own mindset to seize control rather than seeing yourself as a victim of
circumstance?
Thought Starter
Locus of Control
Learning Activity: Evaluate Your Creative Mindset
Extensive research has identified characteristics common among creative people.43 Check the traits you believe you
possess. Which characteristics do you not possess and wish to develop? What action steps might you take to develop
these qualities? Ask a few trusted friends or colleagues to do the same for you. Compare their responses to your
own. What did you learn by looking at others’ perceptions of you?
Thorough
Need alone time
Courageous
Ethical
High energy
Curious
Open-minded
Sense of humor
Risk taking
Resourceful
Flexible
Adaptable
Spontaneous
Precise
Forgiving
Assertive
Case Study: Hacking Creativity in Taiwan
For decades, the phrase Made in Taiwan represented the notion that the intellectual property—the creative ideas for
new products—had been imagined elsewhere yet manufactured in Taiwan because of export-oriented trade policies
and favorable labor costs. There are some in Taiwan who wish to shed this manufacturing-only label, and they are
instigating a shift from Made in Taiwan to Created in Taiwan in the process.
Indeed, large manufacturers have traditionally sought to increase production volume (making more stuff) to achieve
growth, yet it is believed they may also be well positioned to grow by shifting their focus toward value-added
activities such as design, brand development, and the integration of their well-established manufacturing prowess
with a layer of services companies.44
Large companies are not the only ones facilitating Taiwanese creativity. It is also being evidenced in small, local,
open-source community membership organizations focused on creativity and innovation called hackerspaces.
Taipei Hackerspace
One of the first hackerspaces in Taiwan, Taipei Hackerspace, was opened in 2012 in the capital city by a Hungarian-
born, Cambridge-educated physicist and software engineer named Gergely Imreh.
Anyone can join Taipei Hackerspace and, in so doing, gain access to a wide range of tools, knowledge sharing, and
human capital that may not necessarily be available to them otherwise. For example, electrical power, web servers
and high-speed Internet, fabrication equipment (e.g., laser cutters and 3-D printers), software, hardware, electrical
components, game consoles, and mobile devices may be available for participants to use as raw ingredients for their
imaginations.45
The hackerspace has a core group of members but is also open to the community for anyone interested in dropping
in, thinking up solutions to problems, and hacking together new inventions. Imreh started Taipei Hackerspace for
this very reason: “In addition to wanting it for myself, I thought it would be great if others had access to tools they
couldn’t afford, nor had the room to keep in a small apartment. Also, the ability to connect and engage with other
smart, creative people with similar interests was a big motivating factor for us.”46
The hackerspace serves as a center of gravity and a support network for anyone with an idea. This means that
someone who may be flirting on the edge of creative uncertainty is welcome to come in and give it a go. “Whether it
is a new talk you want to give, a project you want to launch, a software hack, a new mobile app, invent a new
musical instrument, or perhaps even start your own company, Taipei Hackerspace is a safe haven for this type of
thinking,” says Imreh.
“This works well in Taiwan because it is relatively easy to start. Sure, you need space and some donated tools and
supplies, etc., but there isn’t as much entrepreneurial pressure in Taiwan as there is in other places in the world such
as Silicon Valley and Shanghai. In those places, there is more pressure to immediately and singularly point your
creativity toward launching a tech start-up. In Taiwan, it’s okay to explore with less business pressure.” At the same
time, according to Imreh, creativity may face additional cultural barriers.
Challenges
In Taiwan, parents have a tremendous amount of influence on the educational and professional decisions their
children make. According to Imreh, it’s an interesting dynamic where the outcomes and results of creativity are
rewarded; however, the processes by which someone becomes skilled in creative industries are frowned upon. For
example, freelancing on creative projects (e.g., film, photography, web design) while figuring out what you really
want to do next is perceived as risky, certainly in comparison to growing up and becoming a lawyer.
This cultural emphasis on safety impacts the creative process in a significant way, says Imreh. “The culture does not
encourage confrontation and debate, which I believe is a healthy and important factor for creative expression.”
Funding
Sustainable funding is another challenge facing community hackerspaces such as the one in Taipei. Options include
obtaining not-for-profit status (which Imreh attempted and moved away from due to administrative complications),
fund-raising, or membership dues (the latter can be difficult to maintain because membership ebbs and flows; it also
requires a donations coordinator). Government funding is another option, but this puts a hackerspace in competition
with already-funded government-operated laboratories. Finally, corporate sponsorship of the space is another route
and is the model Imreh and his team have chosen. In this scenario, a corporation or group of corporations is solicited
to sponsor the space for an agreed-upon amount of time. “It’s not an ideal solution, but it’s a good enough solution
while we continue to explore sustainable funding opportunities,” says Imreh.
Conflict
When facilitating open programming to the community, many types of hackers and creative personalities are often
present in the space at any given time, and conflict can arise. For this, a community management strategy is needed.
Imreh acknowledges that they don’t have this solved 100% yet; however, he suggests the following three guiding
principles for those interested in launching a hackerspace:
• As a philosophical guideline, “Do excellent things, and be excellent to each other.”
• As an operating guideline, “Take it easy, trust people’s common sense, and if not, try to
talk sense into them.”
• And, finally, a guideline borrowed from a fellow hackerspace operating in Ireland:
“There’s only one rule to start: Don’t do anything that would force us to create a new
rule.”
Closing
Measuring success in a hackerspace can be challenging, especially because it is such an important factor when
reaching out to potential sponsors. Should the goal be to drive membership numbers? If so, how do you value and
evaluate active membership versus people who paid dues and didn’t actually create anything interesting that month
or year? How about the number of active projects in the space? Is there a difference between a successful project
and an unsuccessful one? Who measures? Who decides? How about the number of companies started? Again, how
are these companies evaluated? Employees hired? Revenue generated? Venture capital raised? How about number
of patents filed? Or perhaps “softer” metrics are more germane, such as community momentum and learning? There
are many angles to consider, but Imreh ranks one above all others: growth.
Specifically, he cites teamwork and the number of growth-oriented network connections made between people.
“People come together and hack away on something and make connections with each other in the community, and it
doesn’t matter as much whether or not that particular hack worked or not, because the next things they hack on
together might—and likely has a higher chance of doing so as a result of their previous effort. Taipei Hackerspace,
for us, is a place where people can be creative, and a place where people can challenge themselves and each other;
it’s a fast track to talent cultivation.”
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. How does the Taipei Hackerspace bring together the motive, means, and opportunity
for individuals to be creative?
2. In this chapter you were introduced to five of Ekvall’s dimensions of a creative work
climate. Describe how any or all of these dimensions come alive in the Taipei
Hackerspace.
Application Questions: Doing
1. From what you read about Gergely Imreh, how does he reflect the internal creative
climate described by creativity scholar Andy VanGundy?
2. If you were responsible for a hackerspace, how would you measure success?
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. If you were to launch your own hackerspace, what rules would you establish to
maximize its mission and success?
2. Do you think the role of hackerspaces will grow or diminish in the future? Why?
Chapter 4 The Practical Benefits of CreativityBecoming
an Innovation Asset
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Describe, in specific terms, why creativity and creative thinking are personally and
professionally valuable
• Explain the reasons why creativity and creative thinking are considered 21st-century
workplace skills
• Assess, through force field analysis, the sources of assistance and resistance to an
innovative idea
• Devise a habitual routine that facilitates greater levels of creativity
Knowing—Top Reasons for Studying and Developing Your
Creativity
Chapter 4 closes Part I of this book. In Chapter 1 we made a case that you were born to be
creative, suggesting that all humans with normally functioning brains have been hard-wired with
the thinking skills and attitudes to engage in creativity. Chapter 2 explored ways in which these
naturally occurring creativity skills diminish over time, specifically examining how educational
practices and societal pressures can rob individuals of their creativity. In the last chapter we dove
into some of the knowledge accumulated about the nature and nurture of creativity. So, we hope
by now you know that you were born creative, that over time it is likely that powerful forces
have constrained your creativity, and that you have a better sense of the true nature of creativity
(as opposed to some of the popular misconceptions). In this final chapter of Part I, we build on
this foundational information and explore the benefits of studying and developing your
creativity.
Creativity is a transdisciplinary area of study—it cuts across all areas of intellectual pursuit and
human endeavor. The ability to think creatively is beneficial, and necessary, in all jobs and in
many aspects of life. We explore what we consider to be the top benefits associated with
mastering your own creativity. Whereas there are many benefits to studying and developing
creativity and creative thinking, we focus on those most pertinent to individuals who wish to
position themselves as organizational innovators or entrepreneurs.
Reason #1. Sustains and Fuels Prosperity in the Innovation Era
Welcome to the age of innovation. It is inescapable; organizations and the economy are driven
more and more by innovation (defined as the successful introduction of new technologies, the
discovery of new applications for existing products and services, the creation of entirely new
markets, and the development of new organizational forms).1 As Felix Janszen, a professor in
management of technology, observes, “After the age of efficiency in the 1950s and 1960s,
quality in the 1970s and 1980s, and flexibility in the 1980s and 1990s, we now live in the age of
innovation.”2 If it feels like innovation has reached buzzword status, that’s because it has. We
examine some data points that highlight the widespread concern for innovation.
Just before the great recession, January 2008 to be exact, McKinsey & Company provided a
report on a worldwide survey of senior executives; results showed that more than 70% believed
innovation would be among the top three drivers for their companies’ growth through the year
2013.3 In 2010, after the global economic meltdown, McKinsey & Company carried out a similar
survey. Results indicated a strong recognition that innovation would continue to be a major
driver of growth. More than 84% of the more than 2,000 leaders surveyed indicated that
innovation was either “extremely” or “very important” to the growth of their organizations.4 As
with business leaders from around the world, those in the United States have a strong focus on
innovation as well. A Businessweek survey found that 54% of U.S. executives placed innovation
among their top three priorities, and nearly 90% ranked innovation in their top 10 organizational
priorities.5 Mission statements, those public expressions organizations create to communicate
their purpose, provide yet another strong indicator of the extent to which organizations have
embraced innovation. According to one report, approximately 88% of companies in the United
States include either the word innovation or creative in their mission statement.6 It would seem
that almost every organization wishes to be recognized as the most innovative in its industry.
Governmental leaders also tout the importance of innovation for a thriving economy. For
example, in his 2013 State of the Union address, President Obama stressed the importance of
innovation as a way to bring jobs back to America. He cited the need for innovation across many
sectors, including manufacturing, science, health care, and energy. In fact, he argued that
America needed to exceed the high levels of research and development seen during the space
race: “If we want to make the best products, we have to find the best ideas.”7 Why so much focus
on innovation? In the words of the 2008 McKinsey & Company global report,
As globalization tears down the geographical boundaries and market barriers that once kept
businesses from achieving their potential, a company’s ability to innovate—to tap the fresh
value-creating ideas of its employees and those of its partners, customers, and suppliers, and
other parties beyond its own boundaries—is anything but faddish. In fact, innovation has become
a core driver of growth, performance, and valuation.8
To remain competitive, organizations have no choice but to innovate. Here is a short but
powerful story of an organization that failed to engage in continuous innovation:
Motorola—heroic and innovative pioneer of the cell phone at first, then scorned failure when it
didn’t jump fast enough to digital phones, then reborn champion when it created the sleek
RAZR, then goat once again when it couldn’t produce a successor, and finally a casualty of
competition with its decision to unload its cell phone business completely. Motorola achieved
lots of great cell phone innovations—just not enough of them.9
Blockbuster, the onetime giant of video rentals, provides yet another example of a company that
went under mainly because it did not engage in continuous innovation. Blockbuster established
itself in the 1980s because of its innovative database and distribution system. Blockbuster was a
sensational success; in 2004 this company peaked with more than 60,000 employees and 9,000
stores. Only 6 years later Blockbuster, too wedded to its brick-and-mortar business model to see
new opportunities, filed for bankruptcy. The competition from companies that brought new
innovations to the video rental business, such as Netflix (i.e., video rental delivery that evolved
from shipping to streaming videos directly to the customer’s home) and Redbox (i.e., video
rental machines located at other companies’ stores), drove Blockbuster out of business. This
paradigm shift meant people no longer needed to go to a particular store to rent videos for in-
home use. Ironically, Blockbuster was so blinded by its own business paradigm that it passed on
the opportunity to purchase the 1-year-old Netflix for $50 million in 2000.10
These are tragic stories, at least as far as Motorola and Blockbuster are concerned, but does
innovation truly result in profitability and success? According to Janszen, “Innovation is the
golden route to building a growing and prosperous company,” but is there evidence for this
claim?11 A team of researchers tested whether innovation translated into bottom-line value for
organizations. When they compared the more than 300 firms in their study, Soo, Devinney,
Midgley, and Deering found that the most innovative firms enjoyed more than 30% greater
market share when compared to the least innovative companies.12 Apple provides a concrete
example of an organization’s return on innovation. Within 4 years of its introduction of the iPod,
Apple sold 42 million units after an initial investment of $10 million. Combining iPod sales with
purchases from Apple’s iTunes store produced over $7 billion in revenue from 2000 to
2004.13 Yet another example of the positive return yielded by innovative research can be found
in President Obama’s State of the Union speech cited earlier. According to Obama, every dollar
invested in mapping the human genome has yielded $140, a very impressive return rate of 140%.
Innovation provides other benefits to organizations beyond financial return. Successful
innovation can build confidence in an organization, leading to a willingness to take greater risks
and to experiment more in the future. Innovative organizations make themselves more attractive
to prospective employees interested in generating and pursuing creative ideas. When
organizations innovate, they are much more likely to set new industry standards and to enhance
their brands. Business consultants Andrew and Sirkin capture the many advantages of
innovation:
If a company does generate cash through innovation, it can create new ideas and products and
services and processes, and achieve organic growth for itself. In turn, it can stimulate growth in
the global economy and increase the quality of everyday life for its employees, customers, and
people around the world. Innovation can create new markets and help economies adapt to
changing environments—by developing whole new approaches to such pressing concerns as
energy, health care, education, and poverty.14
To be sure, there are many benefits to innovation; however, innovation does not happen simply
because an organization claims to be innovative in its mission statement or because innovation
can be found among its strategic priorities. There is a close relationship between creativity and
innovation. Creative thinking is necessary for innovation. When they examined the factors that
stimulated innovation, Soo et al. found that the most innovative firms in their study were the
most active in applying creativity to develop new knowledge. Specifically, these researchers
concluded that “creativity in problem-solving is the main driver of new knowledge creation and
innovation.”15
Reason #2. Necessary for Success in Today’s Workplace
Many organizations recognize that their ability to innovate depends largely on the creative
talents of their employees. Therefore, creative thinking and problem solving are widely
recognized and touted as some of the most desirable workplace skills. Employers are looking for
individuals with these skills, and government leaders see that such skills are needed to keep the
economy vibrant and healthy. Table 4.1 provides a sampling of seven government, business, and
education reports (there are many more reports that reflect the same sorts of skills) describing
crucial skills for success in today’s workplace.16 Every list includes one or more skills
specifically related to creativity (for ease of reference these skills appear in bold print). What is
interesting about these lists is that they show great consistency over time; from 1990 to 2016,
every expression of the skills necessary for success in the workplace includes creativity and
creativity-related skills.
The important role creativity plays in the workplace is no fad! As long as we find ourselves in an
age driven by innovation, skills related to creativity will remain among those deemed most
crucial for job readiness. The year 1991 represents a crucial transition point for the U.S.
economy. This was the first year that expenditures related to knowledge exceeded industrial
expenditures. Since that time, countries around the world have been investing more and more
into creating and managing knowledge versus manipulating material goods.
We believe it is reasonable to expect that creativity will continue to be a highly sought-after
workplace skill. Specifically, the Institute for the Future, working with a set of business experts,
used a forecasting methodology to predict skills necessary for success in the workplace in 2020.
The 10 skills identified in this report (see Table 4.1) featured three specific creativity skills—
novel and adaptive thinking (i.e., coming up with solutions beyond those that are rote or rule
based), design mindset (i.e., developing work processes that lead to desired outcomes), and sense
making (i.e., ability to derive deeper meaning from what is being observed). According to the
authors of this report, the combined effect of increased automation and global offshoring has
caused a bifurcation in the job market—middle-skill blue-collar and white-collar jobs are down,
and the opportunities for high-skill jobs (e.g., technical and management occupations) and low-
skill jobs (e.g., food service and personal care) are up. The curious commonality between jobs at
either end of this spectrum is that they both require an ability to apply imagination in responding
to unexpected and novel situations. As this report indicates, “Tasks as different as writing a
convincing legal argument, or creating a new dish out of set ingredients both require novel
thinking and adaptability.”17
Table 4.1 Skills Necessary for Success in the Workplace
Table 4.1 Skills Necessary for Success in the Workplace
Workplac
e
Basics (1
990)
Partnership
for 21st-
Century Skills
(2009)
Future
Work
Skills
2020 (201
1)
Characterist
ics for
Employee
Success,
Student
Results
(2012a)
Characterist
ics for
Employee
Success,
CEO Results
(2012b)
Bloomberg
Businesswe
ek (2015)
World
Econo
mic
Forum
(2016)
• The
foundatio
n—
knowing
how to
learn
•
Compete
• Learning
and
innovation
skills—
critical
thinking
and problem
solving,
communicati
• Sense
making
• Social
intelligenc
e
• Novel
and
•
Communicat
ive (79%)
•
Collaborativ
e (68%)
• Flexible (6
7%)
•
Communicat
ive (67%)
•
Collaborativ
e (75%)
• Flexible (6
1%)
•
Communica
tion
• Analytical
thinking
•
Collaborati
on
(in
order
of most
import
ance)
• Com
plex
proble
Table 4.1 Skills Necessary for Success in the Workplace
Workplac
e
Basics (1
990)
Partnership
for 21st-
Century Skills
(2009)
Future
Work
Skills
2020 (201
1)
Characterist
ics for
Employee
Success,
Student
Results
(2012a)
Characterist
ics for
Employee
Success,
CEO Results
(2012b)
Bloomberg
Businesswe
ek (2015)
World
Econo
mic
Forum
(2016)
nce—
listening
and oral
communi
cation
• Adapta
bility—
creative
thinking
and
problem
solving
• Personal
managem
ent—self-
esteem,
goal
setting
• Group
effectiven
ess—
interperso
nal skills,
negotiatio
ns,
teamwork
•
Influence
—
organizati
onal
effectiven
ess and
on and
collaboration,
creativity
and
innovation
• Digital
literacy
skills—
information,
media,
information
and
communicati
on technology
• Career and
life skills—
flexibility
and
adaptability,
social and
cross-cultural
interactions,
productivity
and
accountability
, leadership
and
responsibility
adaptive
thinking
• Cross-
cultural
competenc
y
•
Computati
onal
thinking
• New
media
literacy
•
Transdisci
plinarity
• Design
mindset
•
Cognitive
load
manageme
nt
• Virtual
collaborati
on
• Creative (
66%)
•
Analytical/q
uantitative
(49%)
• Opportuni
ty
seeking (45
%)
• Globally
oriented
(45%)
•
Technology
savvy (41%)
• Assertive
(28%)
• Disruptive
(11%)
• Creative (
61%)
•
Analytical/q
uantitative
(50%)
• Opportuni
ty
seeking (54
%)
• Globally
oriented
(41%)
•
Technology
savvy (41%)
• Assertive
(25%)
• Disruptive
(16%)
• Strategic
thinking
•
Leadership
• Creative
problem
solving
•
Motivation/
drive
• Adaptabil
ity
•
Quantitative
• Initiative/
risk taking
• Decision
making
• Industry-
related
work
experience
• Global
mindset
• Entrepre
neurship
m
solving
•
Critical
thinkin
g
• Creat
ivity
•
People
manag
ement
•
Coordi
nating
with
others
•
Emotio
nal
intellig
ence
• Judg
ment
and
decisio
n
makin
g
Table 4.1 Skills Necessary for Success in the Workplace
Workplac
e
Basics (1
990)
Partnership
for 21st-
Century Skills
(2009)
Future
Work
Skills
2020 (201
1)
Characterist
ics for
Employee
Success,
Student
Results
(2012a)
Characterist
ics for
Employee
Success,
CEO Results
(2012b)
Bloomberg
Businesswe
ek (2015)
World
Econo
mic
Forum
(2016)
leadershi
p •
Service
orientat
ion
•
Negoti
ation
• Cogn
itive
flexibil
ity
Table 4.1 shows the results of a 2012 global IBM survey of both students and CEOs. There is a
striking consistency between what students and CEOs see as the top personal characteristics for
success in the workplace; standing head and shoulders above all other characteristics were
communicative, collaborative, flexible, and creative. In describing the necessity of this skill set
in today’s workplace, the authors of the study noted that these four personal characteristics “help
the employees and leaders of tomorrow become ‘future-proof’—they will be able to
continuously adapt by acquiring skills and capabilities that may not exist today.”18
Thought Starter
Creativity in the Workplace
Creativity is a high-demand skill in established organizations, and it is a vital skill for those who
wish to create new business ventures. The very description of an entrepreneur is akin to that of
the creative person. For example, one study of entrepreneurs described them as opportunity
focused, open to change, innovative, flexible, unafraid of failure, resourceful in an environment
of constraints, fluent idea generators, curious, and intuitive.19 As with all successful creative
people, across a variety of fields, they focus on the identification of novel ideas that create value
for themselves and others. They are creative thinkers who envision new futures and creative
problem solvers who produce workable solutions to intractable problems. The entrepreneurial
process is imbued with creativity.20 Entrepreneurs allow their minds to freely explore new
opportunities, possess a risk-taking attitude that fortifies them as they launch new enterprises
based on their novel ideas, create a vision and plan for sustained growth, and remain persistent in
the face of setbacks.21 Finally, at the end of the day, entrepreneurial success would seem to
depend a great deal on one’s creative prowess.22 Not all creative people are entrepreneurs, but it
would certainly seem that all successful entrepreneurs are creative people.
Reason #3. Contributes to Effective Leadership
What it means to be an effective leader is largely determined by the context in which one leads.
In a world experiencing increased levels of change, traditional approaches to leadership no
longer work. IBM conducted a survey of more than 1,500 business leaders around the world;
these leaders reported that the business environment was more complex than they had ever seen
it, and they were confident that it would continue to become more and more complex.23 Where
their confidence waned was regarding their ability to lead in such quickly changing times. Given
this leadership challenge, most of these top leaders felt creativity was the most important
leadership quality going forward.
In times of change, leaders need to be flexible so they can adapt quickly to new situations.
Leaders must not only be equipped to respond productively to change but also be effective at
driving change. Management is an organizational practice that promotes the status quo.
Leadership, by contrast, is a practice that brings about change. In an era defined by innovation
and change, we need creative leaders effective at spotting new opportunities. Industry research
shows that among various qualities, such as years of experience, cultural intelligence, and
personality, creative leadership practices made the strongest contribution to driving
organizational innovation (i.e., challenging the status quo, creating a shared vision, fostering
intrinsic motivation).24
Whether you are an executive, a school principal, a director of a not-for-profit organization, an
owner of a start-up company, a shift manager at a restaurant, or someone who wants to bring
about community change, the common denominator among leaders at all levels, and in all
arenas, is the ability to facilitate the movement of a group toward the attainment of meaningful
goals. As leaders guide groups toward goal attainment, there undoubtedly will be challenges
along the way, and this will be especially true for those who lead their start-ups into uncharted
territory. Leaders, therefore, need to be effective problem solvers, and because many of the
problems they face do not have clear solutions, they need to be creative problem solvers. Indeed,
Michael Mumford of the University of Oklahoma has found clear evidence that the more
successful leaders are effective creative problem solvers.25
One of the authors of this book, Gerard Puccio, and his colleagues have argued that the 21st
century has ushered in a new kind of leadership—creative leadership.26 Creative leaders are
individuals who embrace their own and others’ creativity so they can inspire and guide teams,
organizations, communities, and even countries in new and productive directions. The Dalí
sketch on the next page illustrates a leader and followers who were unwilling to explore a new
direction, like the organizational examples of Kodak, Motorola, and Blockbuster. Unless you are
willing to use imagination and flexibility to redirect your destiny, eventual changes in the
environment are likely to disrupt your business model, thereby threatening the survival of your
organization. As creativity has become an essential skill in the workplace, so too have creative
thinking and creative problem solving become core leadership skills.
Reason #4. Improves Problem-Solving Skills
You face a problem anytime there is a gap between what you have and what you want. And you
need to use creative thinking to solve that problem when you do not have a solution in mind for
how you will close that gap. Problems differ in their nature. For example, a simple distinction is
to differentiate algorithmic from heuristic problems.27 There is a known method for solving an
algorithmic problem, and the application of this method typically leads to a single correct
solution. The field of mathematics provides classic examples of what we mean by algorithmic
problems, but our daily lives also provide useful examples of algorithmic problems. You wake
up in the morning, and there’s no milk for your cereal. Do you need to apply your imagination to
solve that problem? Probably not. The issue is whether you have time to get to the closest
grocery store and back before you have to set off on your day. Wi-Fi stops operating in your
home. What do you do? Brainstorm possible solutions? Probably not. Experience has taught you
that rebooting the router solves the problem 99 out of 100 times.
In contrast to solving these closed-ended and straightforward problems, sometimes you have no
predetermined response in mind or formula you can follow to produce that arguably correct
answer. These are referred to as heuristic problems. This is when you need to employ creative
thinking in your life. As J. P. Guilford, a pioneering scholar in the field of creativity, said, “To
live is to have problems, and to solve problems creatively is growth.”28 Perhaps your company
needs that breakthrough idea to survive. Maybe you just got laid off from the only company
you’ve ever worked for and now you need a new life plan. Or you need an alternative plan
because you’ve just discovered that you are missing a crucial ingredient for a meal and you don’t
have time to get to the store. Your team needs a new game plan as they prepare to compete
against an opponent with much greater talent. In all these examples, creative thinking is required
to discover or invent an imaginative solution—one that closes the gap between where you are
now and where you wish to be. Without creative thinking, you are forced to accept situations as
they are presented to you. Using imagination deliberately enables individuals to generate novel
and useful responses to problems.
Salvador Dalí, Tour cycliste de la mort (Death’s Cycling Tour), 1937 pen and ink on paper, image:
12 in × 8½ in
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
Everyone faces problems; it’s inescapable. Children give their parents plenty of practice at
problem solving. Artists and writers solve problems when they create. Scientists by nature are
problem solvers. And entrepreneurs endeavor to create commercially viable solutions to
consumers’ problems. Problem solving is a key aspect to successful relationships. And as we
argued earlier, creative problem solving is essential to effective leadership. Learning to be a
more creative thinker, and to use imagination on demand, enables people to be more effective in
all aspects of their lives.
Reason #5. Enhances Resilience, Coping Skills, and Psychological
Well-Being
An ability to solve problems creatively is closely connected to resilience, coping, and
psychological well-being. Improve your ability to solve problems creatively, and you make
yourself more powerful in the face of life’s ups and downs. Effective creative problem solving
builds resilience, without which people run the risk of not fulfilling their potential.
Psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, known for his work on the concept of flow, argues that
seeing alternatives improves coping skills. Csíkszentmihályi makes the case that people can
choose how to respond to stressful situations.29 Where one person might see himself or herself as
a victim of the circumstances, such as the 40-year-old who loses a well-paying job and becomes
a drunkard, another person could suffer the same fate but responds by undergoing retraining and
then successfully embarking on a new career. Csíkszentmihályi describes the latter case as an
example of transformational coping. We would argue that transformational coping goes up
considerably when individuals are able to engage in creative thinking. You are at the greatest risk
when you see no alternatives. Creative thinking is about seeing, and generating, many
possibilities, and the more alternatives available to you, the more likely you are to find a
productive way forward. When there are no, or limited, alternatives, the situation feels out of
control; creating many alternatives places you in control, thereby reducing stress and increasing
probability of success.
Creativity goes beyond being able to cope with stress; engaging in a creative lifestyle is likely to
contribute to a much more positive sense of well-being. Before positive psychology, there was
humanistic psychology, and many of the leaders in this field argued that creativity and self-
actualization were closely related. Carl Rogers, for example, believed that creative people are
able to realize their full potential; these are people able to expand, develop, and express their
fullest capacities.30 Self-actualized people are fully functioning, mentally healthy individuals
who have embraced a creative approach to life and employ this positive attitude to develop
themselves to their greatest capabilities. Psychology professor Gary Davis eloquently
summarizes the intersection of self-actualization and creativity: “Living creatively is developing
your talents, learning to use your abilities, and becoming what you are capable of
becoming.”31 Today the main aim of positive psychology is to help individuals find greater
fulfillment in their day-to-day lives by helping them to be more happy, adaptive, and creative.32
In a world that moves quickly, where stability and predictability are short-lived, creativity can go
a long way in helping you to be more resilient and adaptable when it comes to life’s inevitable
changes. Even more, some medical doctors now report that keeping your brain young, by
remaining curious and creative, promotes a longer life, more satisfying relationships, and greater
happiness and reduces the risk of dementia.33
Learning Activity: Top 10 Reasons for Studying Creativity
This chapter presents five reasons for studying and developing your creativity (see following list). Add your own
reasons (personal, professional, general), generating five more to bring the list to a robust set of 10.
1. Sustains and fuels prosperity in the innovation era
2. Necessary for success in today’s workplace
3. Contributes to effective leadership
4. Improves problem-solving skills
5. Enhances resilience, coping skills, and psychological well-being
What does this list tell you about the state of the world today, both in terms of professional and personal challenges?
What might be some future trends that will reinforce the importance of creativity?
Doing—Selling Creativity
The top five most prolific inventors of all time each hold more than 1,000 patents. Further down
that list, with 186 patents to his credit, is an inventor whose creative imagination helped to
transform the auto industry in the first half of the 20th century. Today his name is perhaps more
widely recognized for its association with cancer research, for he was one of the two
philanthropists who helped establish the Sloan Kettering Institute. Charles Kettering was
passionate about building cars consumers wanted, cars that were safer and more powerful,
offered greater comfort, and were more reliable. To a large degree, it was his drive and
inventiveness that enabled General Motors to surpass Ford as the number-one car manufacturer
in America.
As founder of Delco, and later as head of research at General Motors, Kettering was involved
with many inventions that revolutionized automobiles, such as the self-starter and unleaded
gasoline, but we highlight one of his lesser-known but nonetheless transformative innovations
(one we believe you will appreciate). When Kettering became head of research for General
Motors in the early 1920s, the first project he dedicated himself to was the painting process. At
that time, it took 37 days to paint a car. In those days the painting process was still very much
influenced by the old approaches used for stagecoaches and furniture—hand application of layer
upon layer that had to dry in between coats. This was a huge bottleneck in the manufacturing
process and made it impractical to produce cars in a range of colors—in the early days of the
auto industry, cars were mainly painted black because it was more economical to limit the
options to one color, and black paint dried the fastest. Kettering challenged the paint team to
speed up the process, and after close analysis, the team reported that they could reduce the time
from 37 to 30 days. Kettering was unimpressed and in frustration snapped, “An hour would be
more like it.”34
Shortly after this meeting, Kettering found himself window-shopping along Fifth Avenue in New
York City, where he noticed a pin tray finished in a beautiful lacquer he had never seen before.
He purchased the tray and then through some detective work located the producer of the lacquer
in a backyard in New Jersey, where he acquired a sample. Working with DuPont, Kettering was
able to homogenize the lacquer with paint so that it was thin enough to apply through a spraying
process. This new type of paint could be applied efficiently and dried quickly. Furthermore, it
was weather resistant and when dry had a glossy finish. Kettering now had his solution to the
cumbersome auto-painting process. He returned to General Motors and shared his solution with
the paint team, who warmly received it and quickly adopted it. Right? Wrong!
Recall that generating creative ideas often places one at odds with prevailing practices,
sometimes pitting one against the crowd. Selling a novel idea can be a difficult proposition even
when you are the boss, which was the case for Kettering, whose nickname, by the way, was
“Boss” Kettering. His idea of converting the painting process from the slow brush application to
the spray-on lacquer paint that dried quickly was met with great resistance. Kurt Lewin, a social
psychologist, indicates that any time change is introduced, forces will either support the
proposed change or resist it.35
Kettering, known for his persistence and his bent toward practical jokes, was not about to give up
on this creative idea and went to unusual lengths to woo his doubters. He took one of the most
vocal naysayers to lunch. During their meal they talked about paint, and Kettering rehashed the
merits of his proposed new painting process. The paint man remained unconvinced, and
Kettering kindly escorted him to the man’s car in the parking lot. When they reached his car, the
man looked confused and explained that it looked like his car but that his car wasn’t that color.
Kettering replied, “It is now!” During their lunch, Kettering had a team paint his guest’s car a
different color to prove the effectiveness of his creative idea. And Kettering was successful. This
practical joke was crucial in turning this doubter around, and soon after General Motors was
selling cars in different colors. With the economic boom of the roaring 1920s, demand for cars
increased; with the increased appetite for cars, consumers were growing tired of the only color
option on the road—black. The ability to personalize one’s car helped to undermine the sales of
the Model T and eventually pushed this car into extinction. In the competitive world of business,
one company’s innovation often leads to another’s demise.
Thought Starter
Selling Creativity
Kettering is an excellent example of someone who brought his creativity into the workplace and
drove innovation at General Motors. The moral of the story we just shared is that Kettering was a
successful innovator because he used his imagination to overcome resistance to his proposed
change. Happily, there is a tool you can use to think like Kettering. It’s called force field
analysis. Kurt Lewin developed this tool in which you capture the forces that support or oppose
your proposed change, whether that be a new product, service, policy, or procedure. In its
simplest form, you create two columns (see Figure 4.1). In the left column, you list the forces
that will support your change, and in the right column you list the sources you believe will
oppose your creative idea. Forces can be individuals, groups, facts, and reasons that will stand in
support of your idea or against it. After listing these forces, you can then assign a number to
gauge the strength of each force. For example, you might use a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high).
Once numbers are assigned, columns can be totaled to subjectively assess the relative strength of
the factors for and against your proposed change. This analysis can be used to determine whether
you go forward and, if so, how you might leverage forces that will support you and devise plans
to address those factors likely to stand in your way. Sometimes the most important place for
imagination in the creative process is in overcoming the forces that resist your new idea.
Therefore, when using force field analysis, we strongly advise you to not simply create lists of
the sources of assistance and resistance but to actively think about how to leverage the sources of
assistance and overcome the sources of resistance.
Figure 4.1 Force Field Analysis Worksheet
Learning Activity: Selling Creativity
You work for an advertising agency. You have been approached to create a public service announcement on the
value of creativity for society and business. Script a 30-second commercial for the Internet, radio, or television.
What was your major selling proposition relative to promoting the importance of creativity? How would you use this
proposition to pitch a course or workshop on creativity to an organization (your own if you are currently working)?
Being—Making Creativity a Habit
As we close the first part of this book, we wish to encourage you to explore ways in which you
might make creative thinking a habitual part of your life. Whether you work inside an
organization or are interested in your own start-up, the reality is that you become a greater
organizational asset, like Charles Kettering was for General Motors, when you enhance your
creative prowess. And creativity, like all other abilities, is improved through repetition and
practice.
Despite the popular misconceptions of great creators who receive great ideas in a lightning-bolt
flash of inspiration, the reality is that creativity is hard work. And great creators work hard at
their creativity. As Steve Jobs noted, the secret is that there is nothing separating you from other
great creators. It is simply a matter of finding your passion and practicing your creative
imagination—along with developing a vision, determination, and willingness to defy the crowd.
This is the recipe for creative success in both your professional and personal life.
Stephen King’s work has frightened millions of people. This imaginative writer has produced
more than 50 novels that have sold well over 300 million copies. Writing in the genres of horror,
suspense, supernatural fiction, and science fiction, King’s success depends on an active
imagination, and his longevity highlights a kind of creativity that has been sustained over time.
Stephen King, like other successful creators, does not leave his imagination to chance. Instead
he, like other writers, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs, has created a daily work routine that
feeds his creativity. He writes every day of the year, generally at the same time and in the same
place. He produces at least 2,000 words each and every time—good, bad, brilliant, or
mediocre—2,000 words every single time. As King notes in his memoir, his work routine is a
signal to his mind that it is time to dream and to create.36
Mason Currey’s book Daily Rituals: How Artists Work reviews the habitual routines established
by 161 writers, artists, scientists, composers, entrepreneurs, and other creative types.37 Not
surprisingly, there is no single winning formula—there are early risers and late-night creators;
there are those who create in bed, whereas others need to be seated at a desk; some eat and drink,
yet others avoid food; some require a neat and organized work space, whereas others prefer to be
surrounded by clutter—but what seems to be consistent is the regularity of these creators’
routines. And some found that their creativity did not flow until they discovered their own
creativity rhythm. As a young writer, Henry Miller would work from midnight until dawn, but he
soon realized that he was really a morning person. When he switched his writing time so that he
worked between breakfast and lunch, his creative productivity soared.
Of course, there is no common work routine among great creators; they vary, and thus you will
need to find your own habits that will serve as cues to create and innovate. You may not be a
writer, but the same creative practice is equally applicable to you. Like Stephen King, you might
wish to dedicate some time every day—and if not every day, at least on a regular basis—to allow
yourself to deliberately dream about opportunities, modified practices, challenges that might be
overcome, or new operations. In other words, just as you may set aside time for physical
exercise, use this creative time to exercise your imagination. This practice will truly make you an
innovative organizational asset.
To some it may seem contradictory for the authors of a creativity book to recommend
establishing a routine to be more creative. But behavioral psychologists have shown us that
humans can be conditioned to respond in predictable ways, so why not use operant conditioning
to stimulate creativity? What is important is that you find, through experimentation, the kind of
routine or habits that enable you to think more creatively. Does the buzz of a coffee shop help
you to think, or do you need utter quiet? Perhaps background music stimulates your creative
thoughts. Do you find that creative ideas come to you more readily when you work under bright
lights or in a room that is dimly lit? Do you require frequent breaks, or do you prefer long
periods of sustained focus? The goal is to find what works for you and then repeat that practice
when you need to facilitate your own creative thinking. By doing so you will put yourself into a
mood to create.
Learning Activity: Creativity Ritual
Identify someone you consider to be a creative success and interview that person to see what rituals he or she has
adopted. Consider questions like these: Identify the steps in your creative process. Can you list the attributes that
make you a creative person? Where are you when you are most creative? What kinds of creative behaviors do you
demonstrate on a daily basis? What conditions have the biggest impact on your creativity? What are you doing when
you are most creative? What are the sources for your most creative ideas? Use this interview to identify rituals that
you might add to your own routine, and begin to introduce these rituals into your daily life.
Case Study: Keen IO: A Learning-First Organization
When Kyle Wild was 11 years old, he decided that he didn’t believe in God—a problematic insight for a young man
in the middle of a Catholic school education in a part of the United States commonly referred to as the Bible Belt. At
13, he submitted a paper on Pascal’s Wager, adopting a critical stance on what he was being taught at school and
fueling a strong desire to find an alternative school.
This conflict between what the learner was seeking and what the institution was professing led Wild to drop out and
enroll in the Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA). Unlike the Catholic school model, the IMSA approach
embraced the following beliefs that resonated with Kyle:
• All people have equal intrinsic worth.
• All people have choices and are responsible for their actions.
• Belonging to a community requires commitment to the common good.
• Diverse perspectives enrich understanding and inspire discovery and creativity.
• Honesty, trust, and respect are vital for any relationship to thrive.
• Learning never ends.
• Meaning is constructed by the learner.
• No one’s path in life is predetermined. The ability to discern and create connections is
the essence of understanding.
• We are all stewards of our planet.38
These academic guiding principles not only attracted Kyle Wild, but they were also attractive to a group of young
men and women who would go on to become his best friends and future start-up cofounders. During high school and
in college, this group would go on to start many projects, including failed companies, a think tank, and even a
Burning Man camp(!)—most of which didn’t work out the way they’d imagined.
After college Wild took a job at Google. He describes the experience as being told to turn a wrench exactly the same
way, 100 times per week. In response, he devised a method to achieve this wrench-turning quota before the end of
the day on Monday evening! With Tuesday through Friday available to him, he began to experiment on his own;
however, he was singled out for this unconventional strategy and reprimanded for appearing lazy. “I understand why
you would want to organize yourself that way if you were a manufacturing company, but if you’re a software
company, why would you want that?” asks Wild.39
The experience was profound enough for Kyle to leave the Internet search giant. In hindsight, it was a fortuitous
decision, for he would reconvene with his friends from high school and go on to cofound Keen IO, a fast-growing
data analytics company.
With 3,000 paying enterprise customers, approximately 50,000 software developers using their platform, and more
than 50 employees, and flush with a recent infusion of Series B venture capital ($14.7 million raised in June 2016),
Keen IO is poised for continued growth.40 Their success, however, presents a challenge: how to grow and also
maintain the identity and values that helped the company thrive in the first place?
In response, the Keen IO team has evolved into a “deliberately developmental organization.”41
The Nature of a Deliberately Developmental Organization
A deliberately developmental organization (DDO) is one that strives to weave the personal growth of employees
into the nature of the work itself. It’s a layer of effort and planning and investment in people, with the goal being not
just the growth and development of the business but also of the people within it. The argument, according to
advocates of DDO theory, is that companies can become more profitable if personal development is treated as a core
operating principle of the business.42
For Keen IO, this commitment to self-development is evidenced in their prioritization of concepts such as emotional
well-being, continuous learning, honesty, empathy, and personal agency. According to CEO Kyle Wild, “We invest
in these areas believing that all other types of performance will catch up; introspection is the number one value
around here, and if I see week over week performance growth, I’m willing to ignore short term results.”43
The company website is further evidence of this transparent, people-first approach to organizational design. The
Team tab at the Keen IO site, for example, reveals a rotating layout of employee profiles (versus a static,
hierarchical pyramid with CEO and executive team always on top), and site visitors are offered links to employee
Twitter handles, LinkedIn profiles, and top five Gallup StrengthsFinder44 values.45
To support Keen IO in the execution of this nontraditional, deliberately developmental personnel strategy, the
company turns to its VP of People, Lisa Nielsen. Nielsen, an organizational psychologist with graduate degrees in
organizational development and psychology, is tasked with the design and implementation of programs to help
guide people toward embracing challenges, inviting and internalizing feedback, and relentlessly pursuing
opportunities for mastery.
Specifically, at Keen IO, Socratic coaching programs challenge employees to look inward and engage in self-
stretching. In addition, Keen IO employs a full-time feedback coach and charges other team members to support
employees with peer-to-peer coaching. The goal is for employees to spend at least 1 hour every other week
identifying opportunities for growth and then, through conversation, surface their own strategies and tactics relative
to their most significant growth opportunities.
Furthermore, the Keen IO team invests time and energy into nontraditional workplace programs such as yoga,
meditation training, emotional regulation, nonviolent communication strategies, emotional intelligence, and
mindfulness and has even begun developing external-facing workshops.
The public Keen IO learning labs not only support employee development, but in opening them up to friends,
investors, customers, and the community at large, the team is strategically sharing their appetite for growth and
learning with key stakeholder groups, while simultaneously boosting their profile and ability to attract technology
talent in a hypercompetitive marketplace.
In addition to talent attraction, there are practical business benefits to being deliberately developmental and learning
to self-regulate one’s own mood, argues Wild. Emotional awareness plays a huge role in the hiring at Keen IO, and
the teams pay close attention to fear and aggression because of how effectively they can kill creativity before new
ideas have had a chance to be explored.
Furthermore, Wild considers these programs to be important because of the physical symptoms that manifest in the
brain and body when someone feels or experiences an intellectual threat. For example, “If investors push back on a
business decision we’ve made, because of deliberate practice, I can self-monitor, catch it, ‘breathe,’ and then create
space for solutions to present themselves later.” Also, Wild believes this skill of self-monitoring has helped him
become more effective at evaluating new ideas. Where the temptation may exist to criticize a new idea immediately,
says Wild, “I’ve learned to wait five minutes and consider the idea from multiple perspectives before turning a
critical lens to it.”46
Organizing to Be a DDO
Keen IO is a Montessori-style company, says Wild, and it was designed this way so that it could be capable of
systematic serendipity: “If you overplan and overoperationalize everything, then no positive surprises can happen.
And at the same time, it’s also important to strike a balance, because we’ve learned that you need to insert controls
when you get up to 25+ employees.”
For Wild, there is a constant interplay between what he thinks of as “creative thinking” versus “optimization
thinking.” At any given moment, the Keen IO team is determining how much to invest
in evolution versus revolution. “We must determine whether we are crawling toward a local maximum versus
missing out on an entirely new mountain peak to climb.” This balance is important, says Wild. “You can’t invest too
much in creativity, or else you’d never eat!”47
Closing
Kyle Wild’s early educational experiences not only fostered the important friendships that would develop into future
business partnerships, but those experiences also helped him think about the ways in which environments and
organizational design influence creativity and problem solving—lessons that would be invaluable to him in his
career and life.
“If I had to design an engine to punish kids and destroy their creativity, I’d make sure there was a timing bell and
seats that were only allowed to face forward; I’d enhance conformity wherever I could, and I’d make sure that
students were all willing to turn the wrench the same way.” By contrast, the experience at the Illinois Math and
Science Academy reflected more of a Montessori-style educational philosophy: “We sat in circles and the pace was
driven by the top performers in the class, versus the pace being set by the slowest in the class; everything was built
on collaborative problem solving.”48 These positive and negative experiences allowed Wild and his team to evolve
their ideas and company into a fast-growing DDO that unleashes the creativity of all employees.
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. In what ways is Keen IO designed to promote creativity? How would you predict that
this organizational design promotes greater levels of organizational innovation?
2. How do creativity and creative thinking play a role in Kyle Wild’s leadership style?
Application Questions: Doing
1. In your opinion, how does Keen IO deliberately make creativity a habit?
2. Emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of your own emotions, to facilitate your
emotions in a way that does not allow them to undermine success, and to be able to
read others’ emotions. Given this description of emotional intelligence, in what ways do
you see Keen IO generally, and Kyle Wild specifically, display high emotional
intelligence? Emotional intelligence is covered in a number of chapters, most
notably Chapter 10. After reading that chapter you might wish to return to this case to
identify ways in which emotional intelligence is exemplified here.
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. If you were a member of a start-up company, how would you convince others to adopt
the deliberately developmental organizational strategies seen in the Keen IO case?
Part II DoingProven Practices for 21st-Century
Innovators
Chapter 5 ThinkHow to Improve Your Fundamental
Capacity to Think in Creative Ways
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Describe the role judgment plays in the creative process and the consequence this has
on organizational creativity
• Summarize the four fundamental steps of the universal creative process—creative
problem solving and design thinking mash-up
• Discuss how creative behavior results from the interplay among knowledge,
imagination, and evaluation, combined with a playful attitude
• Develop a more creative mindset by adopting the principles of divergent thinking
• Generate a broader range of alternatives through the application of divergent thinking
Knowing—Understanding the Creative Mind
A Story About Managing Judgment
We start Chapter 5 with a short story, a story gleaned from Buddhist teachings.1 Two monks
were returning to their monastery. One of the monks was older and much more practiced in Zen
philosophy, the other his younger pupil. Due to the heavy rain that had fallen earlier that day, the
streets were filled with deep puddles. As they walked along, they came upon a young woman
standing on the side of the street. From the forlorn expression on her face, it was obvious that she
was greatly concerned about crossing the street for fear of soaking her new dress. Upon
witnessing this dilemma, the older monk approached the young woman and, with her permission,
carried her across the street, placing her safely on the other side.
The younger monk was aghast, for he had been taught that monks were not supposed to touch
women. This obvious indiscretion so plagued his mind he was unable to meditate that evening
and had great difficulty sleeping. The next morning he confronted his master by saying, “You
know that monks are not allowed to touch women, yet yesterday you carried that young woman
across the street.” The older monk smiled and replied, “I dropped her on the other side, but you
are still carrying her.”
In this chapter we explore the basic thinking involved in the creative process, that is, the
foundational thinking necessary to leverage your creative mind. Of particular importance is the
way in which we manage our judgment. To be sure, judgment and evaluation play an important
role in the creative process, but when misapplied, judgment and evaluation place blinders
on creative thinking. In the opening story, the older monk was able to set aside his judgment and
as a result recognized an opportunity to assist the young woman. In contrast, the younger monk,
unable to suspend his judgment, not only missed an opportunity but became overly preoccupied
with the situation. When you hold too tightly to a thought or idea, it becomes difficult to
entertain other thoughts and ideas. Learning to manage your judgment opens your mind to new
possibilities.
You might think that the lessons from this story do not apply to organizations, but organizations
are merely a collection of people who may or may not be adept at spotting and leveraging new
opportunities. In the business world, this could make the difference between continuous growth
and survival versus stagnation and death. This inability to spot new opportunities can easily be
witnessed in a few classic examples, and in both cases these ideas originated from the brains
inside of the company. Xerox, a U.S.-based company founded in 1906, was a pioneer in the
duplication and document management business. As a company with a penchant for innovation,
Xerox initially developed and demonstrated computers that featured a graphical user interface in
the 1970s. Reports have it that the then board of directors did not see the value in such
technology and ordered Xerox engineers to share these inventions with Apple technicians. The
upstart computer company hired away some of the Xerox employees, refined the technology, and
went on to feature the mouse-driven graphical user interface in one of the first successful
personal computers—the Apple Macintosh.2
An innovative pioneer in the photography industry, Kodak filed for bankruptcy in January 2012.
This former longtime industry leader found itself in financial ruin as a consequence of its very
slow transition from film photography to digital photography. The irony in this story is that one
of Kodak’s very own engineering teams, led by Steve Sasson, is credited with building the first
working digital camera in 1975.3 Unfortunately, due to the long development cycle for this new
idea, in conjunction with Kodak’s existing business models based on film photography, this once
highly innovative company was initially skeptical of this opportunity and then was exceedingly
slow in joining the digital world. In 1976 Kodak possessed 90% of film sales in the United States
and 85% of camera sales. It has been reported that Kodak’s market dominance led to an
unimaginative and complacent corporate culture.4
Like the young monk in the story, Xerox and Kodak both overlooked the opportunity in front of
them. Both companies were unable to relax their judgment, which had become fixated on the
past and current business practices. According to Collins and Porras, authors of Built to Last:
Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, those organizations that are best able to stand the test
of time are those that do not get wedded to ideas and actions embedded in their strategic
plans.5 Instead, strategic plans are approached much more flexibly, just like the older monk who
was able to deviate from the prescribed teachings of his faith. When opportunities come along,
successful organizations are able to manage their judgment to adapt to emerging situations.
Thought Starter
Judgment
Creative Thinking and the Creative Process
An open and flexible mind is better prepared to receive creative opportunities when they present
themselves; however, individuals do not have to wait passively for creativity to arrive. Rather, it
is possible to coax creativity along. Creativity does not need to be left up to chance; instead,
people can be taught to create ideas and resolve challenges in a way that leads to new
opportunities. That is to say, creative thinking is a trainable skill. Solid empirical evidence
demonstrates that educational and training programs can significantly enhance individuals’
creativity.6 It is definitely possible to learn to be a better creative thinker. In the chapters in Part
I of this book we referred several times to a specific set of creative-thinking skills called
divergent thinking. As a reminder, divergent thinking is the ability to generate many diverse and
original thoughts; the degree to which you can engage in divergent thinking is a strong predictor
of the level of creative behavior you are likely to achieve. Earlier we noted that longitudinal
research with nearly 300,000 school-age children highlighted the fact that the ability to engage in
divergent thinking rises until about sixth grade and then drops sharply, never to regain its former
level.7 We would argue that if divergent thinking can be drummed out of us, the inverse is also
true, that divergent thinking can be improved through training and education.
Creativity training programs have proved effective at not only increasing divergent-thinking
skills but also improving problem-solving skills, creative performance, and creative attitude. A
rigorous selection and analysis of 70 scientific studies of creativity programs shows that
creativity training is effective.8 Let’s examine these outcomes more closely. Regarding divergent
thinking, creativity training has been shown to significantly increase such skills as fluency
(ability to generate many responses), originality (ability to generate novel responses), flexibility
(ability to generate a diverse range of responses), and elaboration (ability to expound on a
concept or response). Furthermore, creativity training programs have demonstrated a positive
effect on improving individuals’ ability to produce original solutions to complex problems.
Creativity programs have been shown to significantly improve overall creative performance, that
is, the ability to generate creative products. Finally, creativity training has been shown to
enhance creative attitudes and behaviors, such as modifying how people react to novel ideas.
Creativity training does not favor any particular type of learner, for the authors of this meta-
analysis of creativity programs concluded that
creativity training contributed to divergent thinking, problem solving, performance, and attitudes
and behavior for younger and older students and working adults, and for high achieving and
more “run of the mill” students. . . . Taken as a whole, these observations lead to a relatively
unambiguous conclusion. Creativity training works.9
This research team also evaluated key factors contributing to the effectiveness of the most
successful creativity training programs. Here the researchers found that programs based on
cognitive models, that is, a focus on teaching ways of thinking, were by far the most effective.
Programs based on cognitive models explicitly focus on teaching creative-thinking principles
and skills that make up the creative process and then engage individuals in learning deliberate
strategies that allow creativity to happen on demand. Specifically, this research team’s analysis
pointed to creative problem solving as the most successful creative process for the purposes of
creativity training (one of the main models taught at the International Center for Studies in
Creativity at Buffalo State).
In its most basic form, creative problem solving includes four steps. To begin, the mind must
first clarify the nature of the problem to be resolved. Once the problem is identified and
understood, then the mind can generate ideas to address the problem. These ideas represent
tentative solutions, and in the next stage of thinking, the mind develops these initial concepts into
workable solutions. In the final step of the creative process, the mind must work out the plan for
moving the proposed solution into reality. At this point, the mind must identify the action steps
necessary to launch the new creative solution and, to ensure success, must monitor and adjust as
needed to guide the fragile fresh concept through to its full realization. For shorthand we refer to
these four steps as Clarify, Ideate, Develop, and Implement.10 Although there is a natural
progression through these steps, the mind is able to jump back and forth among them.
These four areas of the creative process are universal; all human minds use these forms of
thinking. As noted in Chapter 1, the ability to apply imagination to solve problems gave humans
a competitive edge; you evolved to think creatively. No matter your level of intelligence, your
gender, or your nationality, because of evolution, you came into the world wired to innovate.
And the creative process is universal in that it cuts across all areas of human endeavor. The same
thinking process is equally valuable in business, art, science, human service, music, technology,
and more.
To this universal creative process we wish to add concepts associated with design thinking. Over
the last several decades, design thinking, a deliberate creative process specifically focused on
generating products and services with the consumer in mind, has attained great popularity in
organizations and business schools.11 The strength of design thinking is its clear focus on
creating solutions that are human centered—making something new that is driven by the person
or people for whom the solution is intended. This human-centered approach is central to design
thinking; it’s not about engineers creating solutions for other engineers but is focused on creating
solutions that really work for the user. As Steve Jobs said, “Design is not just what it looks like
and feels like. Design is how it works.”12 Not surprisingly, as a deliberate creative process, the
stages associated with design thinking closely parallel the universal steps of the creative process
outlined earlier (i.e., Clarify, Ideate, Develop, and Implement). Boiling it down to its simplest
form, design thinking can be outlined in the following way: first, empathize with users by
understanding their needs and issues; second, define the specific opportunities and challenges
that emerge through an understanding of users; third, generate solutions that respond to these
opportunities and challenges; and fourth, create prototypes of the best solutions and refine them
by soliciting feedback from user groups.
To best promote the creative-thinking skills of our readers, we have created a mash-up of the
creative process. That is, we took the best of the cognitive models proven to enhance creative
thinking (i.e., Clarify, Ideate, Develop, Implement) and married this to some of the most
powerful features of design thinking (i.e., Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype). Our creative
process mash-up merges the strengths of these two powerful models—creative problem solving’s
flexible application to a wide range of organizational challenges with design thinking’s focus on
the development of new product concepts and services. Through this mash-up, our goal is to help
you maximize your creative-thinking skills in a way that positions you as an innovative asset to
your organization, either as an intrapreneur or entrepreneur. This mash-up is presented in Figure
5.1.
For our purposes, the four steps of the creative process mash-up are Understand, Ideate,
Experiment, and Implement. In the first step, the goal is to closely observe a situation to define
the most important opportunities and challenges to be addressed. In the second step, Ideate, the
insights gained from this understanding are used to visualize and generate a range of creative
ideas. These creative ideas must be refined into great solutions. The purpose of the third step,
Experiment, is to develop the best ideas and to validate their appropriateness. For innovation to
occur, creative ideas must be put into action. The final step, Implement, is aimed at getting buy-
in for the proposed solution and making this proposed change stick.
With the goal of helping you to enhance your creative prowess, we use this creative process
mash-up as a framework to explore and develop some specific creative-thinking skills. In the
next four chapters, we use this model to explore and practice two skills associated with each step.
For Understand, we examine the power of observation and how it influences the ability to define
interesting problems (see Chapter 6). With Ideate, we discuss the role of visualization, the ability
to see ideas in the mind’s eye, and ways to generate a wide range of ideas (see Chapter 7). In the
Experiment step, we discuss ways to develop good ideas into great solutions and then how to
validate them (see Chapter 8). Finally, with Implement, we examine approaches for gaining buy-
in for a novel solution and then how to manage the change that naturally occurs when a new
solution is adopted (see Chapter 9). To be clear, we could explore many other creativity skills,
but we feel that highlighting a few crucial skills is likely to maximize learning and application.
And both our knowledge and experience tell us these combined eight skills are absolutely
fundamental to creativity. Therefore, we are confident that the information (the knowing) and
practices (the doing) we present relative to these eight skill areas will do much to enhance your
natural creative-thinking skills (the being).
Figure 5.1 Creative Process Mash-up
Developing the Mindset for Improved Imagination
The International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State (the State University of New
York) has been studying and teaching creativity for 50 years. One of the founding faculty
members and a pioneer in the field of creativity education, Dr. Ruth Noller, devised an elegant
description of creative behavior.13 As a mathematician, she saw creativity as a formula that can
be summarized as follows: C = fa (K, I, E). In this formula, the degree to which an individual will
achieve creative outcomes (C) is a direct function of three factors: (1) the amount of knowledge
(K) the individual possesses regarding the task, situation, or problem; (2) the extent to which the
individual is able to apply imagination (I) to generate novel approaches; and (3) the level of
effective critical evaluation (E) the individual can apply to select and develop the most promising
creative idea in light of the situation.
This formula has stood the test of time and provides an excellent framework for thinking about
how to nurture higher levels of creative behavior. To begin, as many models and theories hold,
the foundation to most creative breakthroughs is a sufficient level of knowledge and expertise. If
you are going to contribute creative breakthroughs, for example, in business, physics, art, music,
cuisine, computer technology, or literature, it is necessary to possess some basic knowledge
relative to that domain. Knowledge alone, however, is insufficient to cause a creative insight. To
the contrary, knowledge can sometimes get in the way of creative thinking, and thus, imagination
is necessary to ensure you are not trapped by your knowledge—the belief that what you now
know represents the full range of what is possible. Imagination, the ability to see new
possibilities, has always been the springboard to the creation of new knowledge. Finally,
imaginative possibilities need to be refined and made real through good critical thinking.
Thought Starter
Creativity Formula
Noller’s definition reflects the thinking process that some believe led to the creative explosion in
human civilization that we described in Chapter 1. In Noller’s formula, knowledge serves as the
input into the creative process, and at a broad level the creative process is represented as the
balance between imagination and evaluation. Recall that some experts believe that the ability of
humans to shift and direct their thinking among defocused thought, imagination, and focused
thought (evaluation) contributed to the creative explosion. However, whereas the physiological
components, the ability to engage in defocused and focused thinking, were in place
approximately 100,000 years ago, it wasn’t until Homo sapiens learned to suspend judgment—
what Carruthers called pretense—that the creative explosion occurred. Returning to Noller’s
definition, note the small a at the beginning of her formula. According to Noller, it is this
small a that makes all the difference, that is, whether someone fully uses his or her knowledge,
imagination, or evaluation. This part of the formula refers to attitude. For Homo sapiens to truly
take advantage of their creative thinking, they had to adopt a more open-minded attitude toward
possibilities. It is one thing to be able to think of imaginative possibilities and quite another to
have the right attitude that allows your mind to entertain and play with such possibilities.
Remember that the two monks in the story at the beginning of this chapter both had the physical
capability of carrying the young woman across the street, but it was the older monk who was
able to suspend his judgment and come to her aid.
A crucial component of the creative attitude is an ability to manage judgment, especially the
ability to postpone judgment in order to see new and interesting possibilities. For your own
creative explosion to occur, you too must learn how to unleash your creative thinking by
properly managing your judgment. In the Doing section of this chapter, we describe four
principles that, when employed by an individual, have been proven to enhance creative thinking.
Learning Activity: Draw Your Process
Think back to a time when you solved a problem creatively. Once identified, sketch the process you went through to
resolve this situation. Use images and icons to make your creative process visible. Upon completion, review your
work to identify links between the creative process mash-up presented in this chapter and your own experience.
Additionally, examine your drawing for connections to Noller’s formula for creativity. In the Experiment step of the
process we describe the importance of taking time to explore an idea and improve it. Tools such as sketching can be
helpful (more elaboration on this point is found in Chapter 8). What insights do you get for improving your own
creative process by looking at your sketch?
Doing—Training the Creative Mind
Improving Imagination by Applying Principles for Divergent Thinking
As discussed, creative thinking balances both imagination and evaluation. Just as some physical
abilities are useful across a range of athletic endeavors, such as strength, speed, and agility,
imagination and evaluation make positive contributions to each of the four fundamental steps of
the creative process. And like physical abilities, thinking skills can be learned and applied,
resulting in improved imagination and evaluation. Just as you can learn to be physically flexible,
as depicted in the Dalí sketch titled Hysterical Arch, so too can you learn to be a flexible and
creative thinker. Practice the principles and strategies in this book, and through this mental
exercise you can become a more flexible and creative thinker.
In this chapter we indicated that divergent thinking was a skill shown to be directly and
positively impacted by training. Divergent thinking fuels imagination as it allows the mind to
actively search for novel alternatives. Research into creativity training has highlighted a set of
principles that when learned and internalized significantly enhance one’s ability to engage in
divergent thinking. Next we briefly describe four principles, two of which focus on cognitive
strategies for improving divergent thinking and two reflecting attitudes that support divergent
thinking. Learn to follow these principles, and you will immediately improve your capacity to
engage in divergent thinking and, as a consequence, your ability to generate creative
breakthroughs on demand. We begin with the two principles that help to set the right attitude for
creative thinking, and then we describe two principles designed to guide good thinking.
Salvador Dalí, L’Arc Hysterique (Hysterical Arch), 1937 ink on paper, image: 22 in × 30 in.
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
Defer Judgment: The Key Attitude to Open the Creative Mind
We began this chapter with a story about two monks. The older one was able to suspend his
beliefs in order to assist a stranded young woman. But the younger monk’s judgment was so
fixed he not only missed the opportunity to help but also became so preoccupied with the older
monk’s behavior that he was unable to meditate or sleep that evening. This story highlights the
key principle to divergent thinking: The extent to which a person is open to new possibilities is
directly impacted by a willingness to temporarily withhold evaluation. Judgment focuses the
mind. When an individual begins to employ judgment, the range of thought narrows mainly to
the item under consideration, and consequently, it becomes difficult to perceive other
possibilities. Fixation, then, results in stagnation.
When seeking new possibilities, premature evaluation and the application of judgment block the
imagination. This has been demonstrated by research.14 In one of the earliest investigations into
creativity training, two groups of students were compared in their ability to generate ideas. In
one case, students were presented with a problem and told to follow the defer judgment
principle; that is, they were taught to withhold their judgment and to record all ideas that came to
mind. The second group of students was presented with the same problem; however, they were
instructed to generate only good ideas. In other words, the researchers prompted these students to
apply judgment as they were simultaneously generating ideas. When the ideas generated by
students under the two different sets of instructions were compared, the group that withheld
judgment was found to have produced nearly twice as many good solutions for the problem.
Why does this happen? When an individual is able to let go of judgment, the mind is encouraged
to defocus. The benefit of a defocused mind is that the brain is able to freely search through
memory for answers and is likely to be much more open to new stimuli and unique combinations
of thought. Gabora and Kaufman, in their description of the evolution of the human brain,
provide an eloquent reflection on the neurological mechanisms at play when evaluation is
suspended: “When the individual is fixated or stuck, and progress is not forthcoming, defocusing
attention enables the individual to enter a more divergent mode of thought, and working memory
expands to include peripherally related elements of the situation.”15
Whereas the defer judgment principle reflects a creative attitude, it seems to have a physiological
basis in terms of brain function. When the mind is defocused, activation within the brain’s neural
net is flat, meaning that thought is more diffuse, intuitive, and associative. In contrast, when
humans engage in evaluation, the shape of the activation function is spiky, reflecting analytical
thought. Gabora and Kaufman observe that the defocused brain “is conducive to divergent
thought; it enables obscure (but potentially relevant) aspects of the situation to come into play.”16
When you come upon a situation that requires imagination, don’t leave a breakthrough up to
chance. Instead, use your ability to reflect on your own thinking, a skill called metacognition, to
direct your mind in such a way as to relax your judgment. Allow your mind to explore all options
and alternatives in an unfettered manner. Do not judge your own or others’ thinking while
simultaneously searching for imaginative ideas and solutions. Instead, apply evaluation only
after you have exhausted the search for possibilities.
Seek Novelty: An Attitude to Ensure Original Thinking
The defer judgment principle opens up the mind, but this does not ensure that imaginative
options will be generated. To further bolster a creative mindset, we encourage individuals to
intentionally seek out novelty. Creative breakthroughs are both novel and valuable. Whereas the
defer judgment principle is designed to create a friendly forum in which individuals entertain all
possibilities, it does not necessarily facilitate new thinking. By following the principle of seek
novelty you are intentionally generating and examining options that are original. Recall that you
engage in divergent thinking when there is a need for imagination; to ensure original thinking,
we encourage you to include ideas that at first glance may even seem outlandish.
The well-known design firm IDEO follows these same principles when engaging clients in
divergent thinking.17 (By the way, the person who originated these principles was Alex Osborn,
developer of brainstorming.18) While working with Air New Zealand to reinvent their customer
service experience for long-haul flights, IDEO encouraged the client team to seek novel
possibilities. This led to the generation of such outlandish ideas as harnesses that hold people
upright while flying, installing hammocks on flights, and using bunk beds. Such wild concepts
ensured a forum in which all options were considered, which led to another outlandish idea, or at
least one that seemed crazy at first. The idea was a seat that would allow passengers to lie flat in
economy class. At first this might seem ridiculous because such seats in first class take up much
more room, thus reducing capacity. However, experimentation with the idea led to a workable
concept called the Skycouch. The design features a heavily padded section that swings up like a
footrest, enabling a couple to lie down together. The Skycouch has been installed in Air New
Zealand’s international flights, and the company has won industry awards for this new concept.
The defer judgment principle opens the door for possibilities, but by seeking novelty you usher
original ideas through the door. The brain is like a muscle; if you want more imaginative
responses to problems at work and to life’s persistent challenges, practice seeking novelty.
Go for Quantity: A Universal Cognitive Strategy
Whereas the first two principles are aimed at forming a creative mindset, the next two principles
describe cognitive strategies that feed divergent thinking. The go-for-quantity strategy is
straightforward; perhaps the best way to have breakthrough ideas and thoughts is to have lots of
ideas and thoughts. We refer to this as a universal cognitive strategy because it turns out that no
matter the field of creative endeavor, those who produce and play with more ideas tend to
generate more creative breakthroughs. Steve Jobs, Dean Kamen, Thomas Edison, Pablo Picasso,
Ernest Hemingway, Maya Angelou, the Beatles, and other eminent creators didn’t simply
produce a small number of ideas that eventually became breakthroughs. Rather, great creators
tend to generate and examine many ideas, of which a small percentage achieve the status of
creative breakthrough. Alex Osborn, originator of these divergent-thinking principles, said it well
when he argued that a quantity of ideas tends to breed quality. Think about it—quantity allows
you to leverage probability. When you face a challenge, isn’t it better to have an array of options
instead of just one option? The more options you create for yourself, the more likely you are to
find an answer that will work.
James Dyson, inventor and entrepreneur, is a living example of the go-for-quantity principle. For
example, he created 5,127 prototypes before striking on his first successful bagless vacuum
cleaner. In a recent interview, he was asked to provide advice to those interested in innovation
and invention. One of the major points he offered was to try many ideas and to fail often. As
Dyson observed, “Failures are interesting . . . if you welcome them and try to understand them
and watch them. I think that’s the most important thing, . . . actually building and watching your
own prototype fail. That’s what gives you the idea of how to improve or change it.”19
The rule of quantity leading to quality works for not only individual success but for
organizations as well. According to the research they conducted into companies that have stood
the test of time (defined as 100-plus years), Collins and Porras found that the most successful
organizations “try a lot of stuff, and keep what works.”20 The go-for-quantity principle means
that from many options some will emerge as successful breakthroughs, and as a consequence
many options will emerge as failures. Think of it in these terms: Just as experimenting with
many variations is fundamental to biological evolution, experimentation with many alternatives
is vital to the creative process. As Collins and Porras concluded about successful companies,
It might be far more satisfactory to look at well-adapted visionary companies not primarily as the
result of brilliant foresight and strategic planning, but largely as a consequence of a basic
process—namely, try a lot of experiments, seize opportunities, keep those that work well
(consistent with the core ideology), and fix and discard those that don’t.21
Companies are not living things; they do not generate and experiment with new ideas. Rather, it
is the people within organizations who generate and experiment with new possibilities.
Therefore, to enhance your success and to make yourself an even more attractive asset for your
organization, we encourage you to practice the principle of go for quantity. For those mainly
interested in entrepreneurial ventures, the go-for-quantity principle will help you generate many
start-up ideas, as well as provide you with the mental horsepower to more skillfully respond to
the abundant challenges associated with starting a new enterprise.
Thought Starter
Go for Quantity
By training your brain to generate lots of options, you will immediately improve the number of
creative breakthroughs you generate both at work and in your personal life.
Make Connections: The Cognitive Ability to Form New Combinations
Creative breakthroughs rarely emerge from a vacuum. They are not gifts from some mysterious
muse. Instead, most new ideas evolve from past ideas or emerge from the combination of
previous ideas. As Albert Einstein once said, “The secret to creativity is to hide your sources.”
And research into creativity training has shown that one of the most successful cognitive
strategies is conceptual combination, which is the ability to link two or more concepts into a new
idea.22
For instance, Julie Corbett received her first iPhone in 2007, and she was greatly inspired—not
by the phone, but by its packaging. It came nestled in a biodegradable smooth fiber tray. Despite
the lack of a design background, Corbett, who worked in investment management, began toying
with ideas for new kinds of packaging. Corbett synthesized a number of past ideas into a new
form of environmentally friendly packaging that could be used to replace plastic bottles. The
exterior of her bottles are made from old cardboard boxes and newspaper, and the interior,
inspired by the milk bags she used growing up in Montreal, Canada, is made from thin plastic.
The shell provides a sturdy exterior, and the thin plastic interior holds the liquid. In 2008 Corbett
filed a patent for this design and started a company called Ecologic Brands. This design uses
70% less plastic than conventional bottles, and it can be broken up for recycling. Ecologic has
sold more than 2 million bottles and is building a new factory that is expected to turn out 9
million bottles per year.23
Julie Corbett’s story is not unusual. Her creative breakthrough was sparked by another idea. In
fact, she found a way to synthesize two ideas into one new idea—the iPhone packaging and milk
bags led to an eco-friendly bottle. Great creators recognize that others’ ideas are a springboard
for new thinking. Picasso borrowed and built on many art forms. Hemingway said he got his
ideas not only from other writers but from musicians and artists as well. And as we noted earlier
in this chapter, Steve Jobs, the poster child for technical innovation, borrowed the idea of the
graphical user interface to develop the mouse-driven personal computer from a visit to Xerox.
One of the best ways to stoke your creativity is to use others’ ideas as catalysts to your own
thinking. Scan your environment, look for analogous situations, and borrow ideas from fields
outside of your own. Be alert to the insights you can gain into your own challenges by paying
attention to the stimuli in your surroundings. As screenwriter Wilson Mizner once said, “When
you take stuff from one writer it’s plagiarism, but when you take from many writers it’s called
research.”24
Learning Activity: Exercising Your Creative Mind
Pull out your smartphone and set the timer for 5 minutes. On your computer, tablet, or notebook, capture all the
good ideas you can think of for alternative uses for a brick. When the timer goes off, stop. Now try it again. This
time, review the principles of divergent thinking to be sure you understand these guidelines. Once again, set your
timer. Keeping these guidelines in mind, now generate all the alternative uses you can think of for a wire coat
hanger. After the timer goes off, compare your two lists. How are they different? Which set has more creative
responses? How did the guidelines help you to be more divergent in your thinking? What might you work on to
improve your capacity for divergent thinking?
Being—Internalizing the Divergent Thinking Principles
Creativity is an ability. And like all abilities, the best way to improve it is to practice, practice,
practice. You now have four principles, two attitudinal and two cognitive, that you need to
practice in order to make them second nature. Try the following activities to help you internalize
the four divergent-thinking principles. When someone looks like a natural in some activity, it is
generally because that person has engaged in many hours of deliberate practice. You can
transform your ability to engage in creative thinking by committing to practice these two
cognitive abilities and two attitudes. Once they are internalized, you will carry the power of
creative thinking wherever you go, applying your imagination in such a way as to render yourself
an invaluable organizational asset. As the title of this chapter notes, we believe these skills are
fundamental to creative thinking. And as research shows, divergent thinking is a very strong
predictor (stronger than IQ) of adult creative achievement, problem-solving performance, and
effective leadership. As such, we conclude this section not with a single learning activity but
with one for each divergent-thinking principle. Practice fosters mastery, and the goal of these
activities is to help you open your mind and to think more flexibly, fluently, and originally.
Learning Activities: Mastering Divergent Thinking
Defer Judgment
For many, this is the hardest principle to internalize. Far too often, the natural reaction to our own and others’
thinking is to immediately criticize. Begin by practicing self-awareness; notice your reaction to your own and
others’ thinking. Do you tend to move quickly to criticism? If so, practice suspending your judgment. For assistance,
you can use a tool learned earlier in this book, shifting from Yes-But thinking to Yes-And. When presented with a
new idea, avoid the tendency to put it down, and instead begin by saying “Yes, and . . .” Then complete this
statement starter by inserting a thought that helps to build the idea up rather than tear it down. The next time you
encounter a challenge, begin generating initial solutions by withholding your judgment. Whether alone or with
others, first make a list of possible solutions, then go back and evaluate the options generated by selecting those that
seem to hold the greatest promise. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the defer judgment principle is to master the
ability to suspend judgment of yourself. Learning to do so will unshackle your thinking, reduce anxiety and self-
doubt, and clearly indicate that this principle has been internalized.
Seek Novelty
Make it a goal to try at least three new things over the next several days. These can be small adjustments to your
routine or completely new activities. Some examples might include finding a new restaurant (perhaps a cuisine that
you have never tried), watching a film from a genre that is new to you, speaking with a stranger, visiting a museum
or gallery, reading a magazine that is new to you, taking in an event that you’ve always wanted to try, or
experimenting with a new sport or recreational activity. When you have completed the assignment, ask yourself
what new insights, learning, or feelings resulted from your experiment with novelty. These can be insights about
yourself or the world. Perhaps you might capture these thoughts in a journal. Continue to challenge yourself to try
out new activities in your life.
Go for Quantity
Make a list of your personal and professional strengths. Count the number of strengths you identified and draw a
line below the last strength. Now add to this original list by generating at least twice the number of strengths found
in your original list. For example, if your original list had a total of nine strengths, now add at least 18 more
strengths for a grand total of 27. Use the two attitudes of defer judgment and seek novelty to add to the original list.
Do not scrutinize each and every item as it comes to mind; instead, simply add it to your list, focusing on hitting
your target number without evaluating the items you add to the new list. As you go, be sure to seek novel strengths,
items you feel are unique to you. When you are satisfied with your list, go back and identify the strengths that really
capture you. If you had to highlight your strengths to someone else, what would you share with that person? If the
principle of go for quantity worked for you, we suspect that there will be some core strengths that came up in the
extended list. Had you not continued to diverge, you might have overlooked these important personal qualities. Next
time you have a challenge or an assignment that requires some new thinking, employ the same strategy. Generate
your initial list of ideas, then generate a second list, going for twice the quantity and remembering to use the
attitudes of deferring judgment and seeking novelty to assist your divergence.
Make Connections
Identify a current challenge you face in your life. Sit down with a magazine, looking through the headlines of the
articles, the photographs, and the advertisements. Make a list of ideas that come to mind as you review the content
of the magazine. Pose the following question to yourself: What new ideas do I get for solving my challenge by
looking at the articles, photos, and advertisements in this magazine? Employ the principles of defer judgment and go
for quantity to help you amass a long list of connections. Go completely through the magazine from front cover to
back cover. When you are done, go over your list to see if there are any ideas that hold promise; if so, select some to
pursue. In your life, continue to feed your ability to make new connections by learning about new subjects, attending
courses outside your area of expertise, visiting new places, interacting with a wide range of people, and being
trapped by specialization. The more diverse the range of ideas and thoughts you feed your mind, the more likely you
are to create interesting new combinations.
With more practice, the more you will be able to internalize the skills of divergent thinking, foundational to an
innovative and entrepreneurial mindset. If you have a résumé that includes skills, how might you describe these
skills in your résumé?
Case Study: Dr. Dominic D’Agostino: Navy Seals, Seizures, and Starving
Cancer
Introduction
A great deal of fanfare is often attributed to the birth of a new idea—the celebrated aha or eureka moment. It’s
important to remember that creativity is as much a process as it is a singular moment or event. Yes, the
creative process can be designed and facilitated, deliberately, with the intention to solve a specific problem in a
short amount of time (e.g., a half-day or full-day workshop). It may also unfold over time by individuals (and
organizations). The following case involving Dr. Dominic D’Agostino and his research lab at the University of
South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, is a compelling example of the latter.25
Dominic D’Agostino has a gift. He has developed an ability to be more committed to things than you and me. He
doesn’t own a television, choosing instead to spend his evenings reading research papers and studying the newest
ideas in his field. In addition to staying abreast of the latest research, he is also an accomplished scuba diver, and he
has logged hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of hours of dive time. He’s an athlete too. In 2010, D’Agostino set the
record for most weight squat lifted in 24 hours—crushing the previous record with hours to spare!26
This ability to both be maniacally focused while also being open to new ideas from his parallel interests would play
an important role in a series of breakthroughs that have gone on to save lives and influence the cutting edge of
multiple fields of medical and high-performance human physiology research.
Background
Navy Seal divers have a bubbles problem. It stems from a tool they use called an oxygen rebreather. The rebreather
is important because it allows divers to go to depth without releasing bubbles (thereby eliminating noise and
removing a visual signal of their presence).
The rebreather itself works fine, but a potentially deadly side effect may occur because its usage results in increased
oxygenation levels in the diver’s blood. This, plus the high-pressure environments experienced by divers as they go
deeper and deeper, puts them at an increased risk of a seizure. These seizures come without warning and are
untreatable with medication. For a Navy Seal, this represents a life-or-death scenario.
D’Agostino, an avid diver, had recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship (after earning his PhD in neuroscience
and physiology) and needed to establish a research lab in his first full-time faculty research position at the
University of South Florida. His initial goal: Tackle the Navy Seal rebreather/seizure problem, and to support this
investigation he was awarded a research grant from the Office of Naval Research. The grant focused on two
questions: Why do these mysterious, untreatable seizures occur? And how might they be prevented?
This research had unique observation and measurement needs. In order to simulate the functioning of a human brain
in an undersea environment, D’Agostino had to build a high-powered microscope inside of a hyperbaric oxygen
chamber. Once the chamber was built and calibrated, D’Agostino began studying cell behavior in these high-
pressure and high-oxygen environments and realized that neurons in the brain were becoming overstimulated when
oxygenation levels and pressure were increased—and that these factors were producing a decrease in brain energy
metabolism and perhaps triggering the seizure potential.
These insights led him back to the library (recall that he owns no television and spends his evenings immersed in
scientific literature), where D’Agostino discovered that these seizures were similar to those experienced by epilepsy
patients.
For D’Agostino, a new path had presented itself: If the seizures facing the Navy Seal divers were similar to drug-
resistant, epileptic seizures, perhaps some of the tools and strategies developed to address those epileptic seizures
might be useful for the divers? This idea led him down an entirely new path—food.
The Ketogenic Diet
D’Agostino discovered that there was a diet-based strategy for mitigating the impact of medication-resistant,
epileptic seizures. This diet—known as the ketogenic diet—consists almost entirely of fats and proteins, compared
to a traditional Western diet high in carbohydrates and low in fats.
Investigating this food-based strategy, D’Agostino learned that the ketogenic diet was not only effective at reducing
seizure rates for epileptics, but it had also been used to treat other types of neurological disorders too. He also
learned that the human brain is like a hybrid engine in that it uses glucose (sugar) as the primary fuel, but during
periods of limited glucose availability (e.g., fasting, starvation, extreme exercise), the body will enlist the liver to
convert fatty acids into ketone bodies, which then serve as an alternative fuel source for the brain.
Figure 5.2 Contrasting Diets
We are hard-wired for this back-up plan, says D’Agostino, because we didn’t always have access to three
carbohydrate-based meals per day. It makes sense that the brain would have evolved a mechanism to tap into this
secondary fuel; after all, grocery stores and refrigeration are both modern-day luxuries, only available to us during
the most recent sliver of human history.
Armed with this new insight, D’Agostino returned to the oxygen rebreather bubbles problem and postulated that
Navy Seal divers could consume ketone supplements before diving, thereby tricking their brains into switching from
one fuel source to another (from glucose to ketones), and that this metabolic strategy could be an effective tool to
reduce the instances of underwater seizures. He was right.
Cancer
During the course of tackling the seizure problem, D’Agostino also learned that a specific kind of cell needs glucose
more than the rest: cancerous ones. In fact, they can’t live without it. “Cancer cells are a little bit like damaged
hybrid engines,” says D’Agostino. “They lack the ability to transition to an alternative fuel source.” Furthermore, he
adds, “We can say that sugar addiction is their Achilles heel.”27
This insight presented a new opportunity for Dominic and his team. They wondered why such little attention was
being paid to nutrition as a mechanism for exploiting this profound weakness of cancer cells.
Diving back into the research literature, D’Agostino discovered that precedent for this approach had already been
established via the work of a man named Otto Warburg, who, in 1931, was awarded the Nobel Prize for developing
a very important concept: that cancer cells are damaged cells, that these damaged cells require high uptake of sugar
(glucose) in order to multiply, and that they can live in low- and no-oxygen environments.28 In doing so, Warburg
hypothesized that cancer is a metabolic problem and that you might be able to kill it if you removed sugar from the
equation.
Energized by the pioneering work of Warburg, D’Agostino took to the Internet and discovered that a researcher at
Boston College, Dr. Thomas Seyfried, had dedicated his career to extending the thinking of Warburg into the current
era of cancer research.29
With a new thought partner and a new mission to tackle cancer, D’Agostino and his team began investigating the
unique behaviors of cancer cells and their addiction to sugar. Thanks to Warburg and Seyfried, they already knew
that cancer cells were glucose dependent and that they were capable of living and thriving in low-oxygen
environments.
Equipped with his DIY microscope inside of a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, he wondered if that formula could be
reversed. His research team subjected these glucose-dependent cancer cells to a high-pressure, high-oxygenation
environment within his microscopy chamber and discovered a shocking result. Referred to as blebbing, the cell
membranes of cancer cells starting to bubble and some even began exploding! Even more exciting, the team
observed that the same levels of oxygen that were causing the cancer cells to self-destruct were nontoxic for the
healthy, normal cells around them. “Because we built the tool, we were in a position to make breakthrough
observations with the tool,” D’Agostino said. The academic journal Neuroscience agreed and published their
groundbreaking results.30
“These observations inspired us to test the combination of the ketogenic diet and hyperbaric oxygen treatment in a
mouse-model of metastatic cancer,” reported D’Agostino. It worked. Mice with an aggressive form of metastatic
cancer were treated with the ketogenic diet and high-oxygen environments, and the results, according to
D’Agostino, “demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of a new, nontoxic approach to cancer management.”
D’Agostino believes that nontoxic strategies (such as diet and oxygenation treatment) can be effective at managing
cancer—especially for patients with difficult-to-treat brain and metastatic cancers (the ones that move rapidly in the
body, jumping from organ to organ) that do not respond well to existing approaches of chemotherapy and radiation.
Closing
The notion that creativity is as much a process as it is an event is summed up by D’Agostino: “What started out as a
Navy Seal project and then led to a promising mitigation strategy for oxygen seizures in the form of ketone
supplements, ultimately led us down a path to this unexpected discovery. We now know that oxygen can kill cancer
cells and that ketones can a) reduce cancer cell proliferation and b) cause cancer cells to die in a petri dish.”31
International Center for Studies in Creativity (Buffalo State) instructor Michael Fox often reminds students that
good research will generate more questions than answers, and this rings true for D’Agostino and his lab mates. For
these pioneering researchers, new questions are always on the horizon, and cancer is just one of the medical
nightmares upon which they’ve set their sights. In the near future they intend to expand their research program from
the neuroscience of seizures and cancer to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease),
wound treatment, glucose transporter deficiency syndrome, and other promising areas of treatment opportunity.32
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. Reflecting on the case study featuring Dr. D’Agostino, what factors do you think helped
him and his team to unlock such breakthrough ideas? What helped them see what no
one else could see? Identify and describe the advantages of their approach. Can you list
and describe any potential disadvantages?
2. There are many scientists and researchers attempting to tackle the same health-related
challenges as Dr. D’Agostino and his colleagues. Why do you think they have been so
successful in a such a short time period relative to their peers?
Application Questions: Doing
1. Consider the chapter and the creative process mash-up model presented. On a sheet of
paper, map the evolution of Dr. D’Agostino’s work to the process stages identified in the
chapter. Where can you imagine the researchers tapping into their problem-solving
skills of understanding (observation and problem definition), ideation (visualization and
idea generation), experimentation (solution development and validation), and
implementation (getting buy-in and driving change)? Draw connections between the
efforts undertaken by the researchers and the creative process stages.
2. Reflecting on the chapter, recall the formula for creativity presented by Dr. Ruth B.
Noller, C = fa (K, I, E), where creativity is the result of the interaction among knowledge,
imagination, and evaluation—all driven by attitude. Can you make connections between
the creative process Dr. D’Agostino went through and the key categories of creativity
identified by Noller? Identify as many connections as you can and describe their role or
significance.
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. Recall the introduction of the case study, which describes D’Agostino’s level of
commitment and dedication to his craft. Not only did he read about the ketogenic diet
and begin to apply it in his research laboratory, he also subjected himself to it! Dr.
D’Agostino changed his personal diet and has been measuring the amount of ketone
bodies in his blood levels for almost a decade to ensure that he stays in ketosis (low
glucose, high fat). You may wonder what this has done to his body. Consider researching
his articles and videos online to observe the impact it has had on him. Hint: He once
starved himself (fasting) for 7 days and then executed 10 repetitions of a 500-pound
deadlift!
2. Dr. D’Agostino demonstrates an incredible work ethic inspired by the nature of problem
solving itself. There are grand challenges facing humanity, and considering this case
study, this chapter on the creative process, and the book thus far, what grand
challenges can you see yourself getting involved in? What might it take to catalyze your
imagination and work ethic in a similar manner to D’Agostino’s? What do you care
about so much, or love so intensely, that you would be willing to push yourself to the
boundaries of your comfort zone (and potentially beyond) in order to achieve
breakthrough success? What do you want, and what are you willing to give up for it?
Chapter 6 UnderstandThe Power of Observation and
the Importance of Problem Definition
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Describe ways to enhance creativity through mindfulness
• Explain how seeing a problem from many angles and points of view contributes to
finding breakthrough solutions
• Identify the subprocesses involved in making effective observations
• List four essential everyday tactics of mastering problem framing
• Contrast two fundamentally different ways to define a challenge
• Practice ways to enhance your own observational and problem-framing skills
Knowing—Seeing and Questioning What Others Miss
How often have you seen a great new idea, or an innovative business approach, and thought Now
why didn’t I think of that? You could have, and you can. The evidence shows that successful
entrepreneurs are serial opportunists in the way they observe seemingly routine situations, see
something out of the ordinary in them, ask probing questions, and then reframe problems in the
context of solutions waiting to happen. Luckily, this is a learned skill, not a unique talent, as you
will see in this chapter.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is a classic example of how the powerful synergy of these
two creative capacities—observation and problem definition—can lead to a business
breakthrough. In the early 1990s, Bezos, only 28, was senior vice president at the cutting-edge
trading firm D. E. Shaw & Co., where he had risen rapidly through the ranks.1 Like others, David
Shaw, the company’s founder, thought the Internet showed great promise, although he did not
yet understand the technology and its potential. At that time, the U.S. government discouraged
companies from using the Internet for commercial purposes, maintaining that the Internet was
insecure. To bypass security concerns, businesses required new customers to preregister their
credit card numbers on a form and fax or mail it in so they could be set up with an e-mail
account for future transactions. In effect, this registration process was simply an upgrade to a
telephone ordering system, which was still more competitive because few people had e-mail
service. To Shaw’s credit, he tagged Bezos with the responsibility of operationalizing the
Internet for his company’s commercial purposes.
After extensive research, Bezos uncovered an eye-opening fact: Internet usage was growing at
2,300% a year.2 Two further observations, along with an ability to reframe and redefine an
existing business problem, led to an entrepreneurial breakthrough. First, Bezos observed that
exponential growth is uncommon, hence, not a situation that many people are adept at
understanding. This insight propelled him to ask more in-depth and better questions about the
trend or, in other words, to think like an ethnographer, a social scientist who documents and
describes new cultural phenomena. Second, based on this singular and holistic understanding of
the situation, Bezos saw there was a good chance this intense growth rate was not an anomaly;
rather, it could become ubiquitous in the future as Internet service spread around the globe.
Applying the present observations to the future, Bezos realized that retailers and customers
needed a new retail service that would connect them seamlessly and securely with the products
in the purchasing transaction.
Next, when it came to defining the problem, Bezos knew that he could not frame it as an
abstraction, so he looked around for a business context that needed this new Internet sales
solution in a desperate way. He looked for the top 20 business products that could be sold on the
web. To his surprise, books made the top of his list. Although he had no experience with it, he
focused on the bookselling industry, which analysis revealed was large and fragmented, with no
one company dominating. Bezos investigated the root causes of this fragmentation, learning that
physical bookstores were costly to run. Moreover, book publishing and bookselling were highly
inefficient because publishers, suppliers, and retailers often worked at cross-purposes. For
example, 35% of the 460 million books shipped could be returned to the publisher for credit if
they remained unsold. By seeing the problem from many angles and points of view, Bezos was
able to question the assumptions of different stakeholders and argued that an online bookstore
could significantly reduce the problem of a high rate of return. Interestingly, despite all of
Bezos’s well-grounded observations and how he framed the online bookselling business, Shaw
rejected Bezos’s recommendation, perhaps unable to distinguish the problem as he presented it
from the one that Bezos more clearly understood. The rest is history.
Observation and Problem Defining: In Our DNA
In fact, this creative capacity to understand what is happening around us—based on meticulously
observing and ingeniously defining problems—is wired into our brains. Yet it can atrophy. A
look at two examples on the continent of Africa, one ancient and one modern, shows how we
must constantly recognize and continually develop our knowledge-building skills. These lessons
are important. For once we accept problems as a routine part of our environment, whether in
business or in life, we render them nearly impossible to solve. The popular phrase “it is what it
is” serves as a good example of an individual who is resigned to accept the problem as given
without considering more empowering views. Just because a problem is presented in a particular
manner does not mean you must accept it as such.
Homo habilis, an early predecessor to the modern human, lived approximately 2.4 to 1.4 million
years ago, as evidenced by bone fossils and purposefully constructed stone tools found in
Tanzania and Kenya. These tools included highly efficient and durable instruments to chop,
scrape, and pound in the context of everyday survival tasks. The stone flakes may appear
primitive next to our Black & Decker chain saws and power drills, but they were advanced for
their day. To produce such tools, Homo habilis employed both keen observation and astute
problem-defining abilities. First, they identified and located hard rock materials that would
satisfy the purpose of being fashioned into strong and effective stone tools. Second, they
examined the surface carefully to see where and how to strike it without shattering the rock.
Anyone who has ever admired a Native American arrowhead knows how difficult it must have
been to recognize inherent angles in the rock, then apply good hand-eye coordination to strike in
just the right place, in the proper direction and with the proper force. Finally, by understanding
the purpose for which the tool was needed, Homo habilis matched the right stone with the right
tool for the right task. This is no small feat of problem definition for a people surrounded by as
many predators as prey.3
Let’s fast-forward to today, however, and a modern creativity parable in the country of South
Africa. Here, in impoverished sections of Johannesburg, women and children walk for miles to
fetch safe drinking water. Traditionally, they carried heavy containers of water on their heads for
long periods of time, putting themselves at risk for disabling spinal cord and neck injuries. Yet
the practice has continued for centuries, almost unconsciously, evolving into what industrial
designer Jane Fulton Suri called a “thoughtless act.”4 Someone with empathy who was paying
attention to the human factors in this situation might see the people’s unstated needs associated
with this thoughtless act. In fact, Piet Hendrikse, the coinventor of the Q Drum, did just that.5 He
carefully observed the water carriers in action, thought about the task from a new perspective—
that of the carriers’ health—and listened to their concerns, like an ethnographer. Based on the
power of this observation, he and his brother were able to redefine the problem as not one of
carrying, but transporting, water. They then conceived of a cylindrical, durable, inexpensive
water container that can be pulled and rolled using a rope threaded through a donut hole in the
center of the drum (Figure 6.1). Not surprisingly, the women and children of Johannesburg
embraced the Q Drum as a labor- and health-saving tool. Since its invention almost two decades
ago, the Q Drum’s popularity has spread around the world, and the Hendrikse brothers have won
numerous awards and international praise for an invention in service to humanity.
As these examples show, the creative process is in our DNA. We face problems and try to solve
them every day. What, however, led Bezos, the Hendrikse brothers, and other serial opportunists
to see something important that we might have missed? What subprocesses are involved in
making a keen observation? By the same token, what kind of intellectual energy goes into
defining a problem creatively instead of routinely? How do we distinguish the real problem from
the perceived problem? In the next section, we take a closer look at what the evidence says about
observation and problem definition. For the serial opportunist, these are crucially important
skills.
Figure 6.1 Q Drum Water-Carrying System
The Power of Observation
“You can’t miss it.” If you have ever asked someone for directions to a new restaurant and heard
these familiar words, you know what a jinx they can be. Yet this should not come as a surprise.
Most of us have received little formal training in the art of keen observation. It’s no wonder the
other person’s directions often do not align with what we see—or think we see—when we are
driving in unfamiliar surroundings. In fact, unless we are trained social scientists or criminal
investigators, most of what we know about observation has probably been learned in an ad hoc
and haphazard fashion. For instance, in his book Seeing What Others Don’t: The Remarkable
Ways We Gain Insights, cognitive psychologist Gary Klein shares a story involving two police
officers on routine patrol, waiting behind a luxury car for a traffic light to turn green.6 One
officer observed the driver of the luxury car idly flicking his cigarette ashes onto the seat of the
car. The cop wondered: Why would the owner behave so carelessly inside a car he had paid an
arm and a leg for? You guessed it. By paying attention to the unusual behavior, the officer
correctly deduced that the car must have been stolen. To empower this kind of creative capacity,
we must train ourselves to employ three subprocesses: (1) see what others do not see, (2)
understand the situation at hand, and (3) think like an ethnographer.
See What Others Do Not See
Human beings are driven to make sense of their world.7 Research shows that if we see a new
situation, we may rely on clues from others we know and trust for an explanation. For example,
in one study, 1-year-old children were presented with an unfamiliar object, a type of box; all of
them looked to their moms first for a reaction.8 If the moms reacted in a positive way, the infants
felt it was safe to approach the box. If the moms reacted in fear or disgust, the infants froze. Even
as adults, we still look for visual clues to inform us of how to best respond to some new
situation. In contrast, if we observe a familiar situation, we may seize on a standard explanation
based on our prior experiences, and fail to look for new clues or information. This habit, too, is a
behavior learned early in life.
For more than two decades, Ellen J. Langer, a Harvard University professor of psychology, has
been researching this phenomenon of mindlessness versus mindful noticing to help people see
what others miss. The author of the pioneering book Mindfulness and, more
recently, Counterclockwise: Mindful Health and the Power of Possibility, Langer defines
mindfulness as a quality of constant and careful scanning for early signs of change, opportunity,
or trouble.9 Langer describes three ways to see what others miss: (1) create new categories for
processing experiences rather than limiting yourself to old ones; (2) invite, rather than deflect,
new information, even if it is contradictory; and (3) look at situations more than once from more
than one viewpoint before fully processing them. In today’s increasingly complex, “mindless”
world, Langer argues that the ability to see what others miss could positively impact those
around you, just as the Hendrikse brothers did with the creation of the Q Drum and Bezos with
the formation of Amazon (and an indication of the impact of Amazon can be seen in their
formidable growth: sales up $23 billion in 2015, representing 60% of total U.S. online sales
growth).10
Let’s put Langer’s advice into practice. Dalí was famous for his hidden images and double
meaning. Look at the sketch on the next page titled The Bather. At first glance what do you
notice? Now look again. What can you see when you take a different perspective? Compare your
observations to others’. Did you make any observations that they did not? Take your
observations and cluster them based on what they have in common. Were you able to see a
variety of categories?
Understand the Situation at Hand
We referenced Benjamin Franklin earlier; we return to him to illustrate how his strong desire to
understand a situation drove his creative prowess. Careful analysis of his letters shows that when
confronted with an unfamiliar subject, he possessed an insatiable desire to gain mastery of
it.11 Franklin’s scientific triumphs are legendary, such as the time, after steady contemplation of
a fire in his chimney, he wrote his brother to describe our modern meteorological understanding
of how hot and cold air work to fuel a violent storm. Yet few people know how his keen
observational skills played a critical role in his success as a politician and statesman. Instead of
involving himself in legislative debates, Franklin took the time to watch the triumphs and
humiliations of assemblymen. Highly disciplined in his approach to acquiring knowledge, he
discerned that he could be more influential behind the scenes than he could from the bully pulpit.
Salvador Dalí, The Bather, 1927 ink on paper, image: 9 1/2 in × 12 in.
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
Joe Navarro, author of Louder Than Words and an expert in nonverbal communication and body
language, says Franklin became the quintessential diplomat and entrepreneur because he was
able to immerse himself completely in another person’s situation and respond accordingly.12 For
example, when the fledgling America needed France during the Revolutionary War, Franklin
went to that country as our first ambassador and instantly adapted to the niceties and nuances of
French culture. “Franklin seeing necessity, reinvented himself for his new calling, and he
adjusted very well. He in essence became French, adopting dress, demeanor, hairstyle, and their
social ways. He even powdered his wigs,” writes Navarro in his blog “Spycatcher”
for Psychology Today.13 This great observer, then, “socially engineered” his political success—
and America’s victory in the war with French military help—by realizing what makes people
comfortable and engendering their trust. Franklin used what is commonly known today as
emotional intelligence to truly understand the situation at hand.
Fast-forward 200 years to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who approaches observation in the same
rigorous way. The more he uncovers, the more patterns he sees, the more salient his
understanding, and the more opportunities emerge. Hence, creative thinkers, from Franklin to
Bezos, not only see what others miss, they also do their homework and make sure they fully
understand the situation before they act.
Think Like an Ethnographer
Among those professionally trained in observation are ethnographers, or academics who study
culture as participant observers; this means they conduct research as insiders, not outsiders.
Popular ethnographies range from Margaret Mead’s classic Coming of Age in Samoa, published
in 1928, to Karen Ho’s provocative Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street, published in
2009. Regardless of the topic, a first-rate ethnography provides a model for seeing in a whole
new way and capturing an accurate baseline profile of an unfolding event or culture of concern in
our environment. As James P. Spradley explained in his book Participant Observation,
ethnographers make descriptive observations that involve first looking at a social situation as a
member of the group and then recording as much as possible of what they see.14 Importantly, an
ethnographer approaches an unfolding event without any particular question in mind.15
In the business world, Jane Fulton Suri, chief creative officer at IDEO, is a good example of an
entrepreneur who thinks like an ethnographer. IDEO counts among its award-winning designs
the first computer mouse for Apple. Fulton Suri is the author of Thoughtless Acts: Observations
on Intuitive Design, a fascinating guide to how she uses her background in psychology and
architecture to integrate social science strategies and skills to create “people-friendly products.”
Her observation method centers, always, on people and their everyday activities, from how a
mom looks for a place to hang her purse on a grocery cart while she situates a child to how you
might hold something between your teeth or under an arm when your hands are full. These acts,
which she refers to as “thoughtless,” involve workarounds that we create when the product we
are using is not designed to meet our current needs. “Empathetic observation,” embedding,
collaboration, and “experience proto-typing” are just a few of the techniques she uses. When
asked in an interview to describe the best kind of observer, she replied, “I find that curiosity,
open-mindedness, and imagination are important. It helps to be non-judgmental, able to move
easily from noticing detail to thinking about patterns and the big picture, perceptive about (their
own and other) people’s behavior, motivations, and personally genuinely interested in other
people’s points of reference.”16
Consider this. Why did it take car manufacturers so long to design hands-free access to a car
trunk, a fairly recent automobile function, when there is no doubt that workarounds have existed
for years if not decades? Perhaps managing to open a trunk or hatch when one’s arms are full fell
into the category of an unobserved thoughtless act. It might be argued that the technology for
hands-free access did not emerge until recently. That could be, yet there may have been low-tech
solutions or recognition of this thoughtless act might have sped up the development of the
solution. You are surrounded by such thoughtless acts, which represent opportunities for
innovative solutions and entrepreneurial endeavors.
Thought Starter
Thoughtless Acts
The Importance of Defining the Problem
It is one thing to keenly observe and then another to frame the identified difficulty in a way that
leads to a breakthrough. Again, as the pioneering educator John Dewey wrote, “A question well
put is half answered; i.e. a difficulty clearly apprehended is likely to suggest its own
solution.”17 If, however, a problem is not clearly defined or properly framed, an opportunity to
solve it is missed, or the proffered solution doesn’t work. Either outcome can prove embarrassing
or costly.
Accurate problem defining, then, points the way to a gap in knowledge. Properly done, this act of
definition creates a question or series of questions that triggers visualization, experimentation,
and implementation (discussed in the chapters that follow). As a result, creative thinkers reshape
our lives by successfully framing problems. And they do not shy away from the big ones.
Consider, for example, how Bill and Melinda Gates defined philanthropy as global citizenship,
how Oprah Winfrey defined television talk as cultural currency, how Sheryl Sandberg defined
feminism as “leaning in” to a career, or how Stephen R. Covey defined effectiveness as seven
habits anyone could learn. Unfortunately, for most of us, problem defining is often done
prematurely or haphazardly, which can lead to cart-before-the-horse solutions or an entirely new
set of problems.
The research is clear on the importance of taking the time to define and frame the problem.
Getzels and Csíkszentmihályi, for example, observed the process used by art students to produce
a still life sketch. They found that those students who spent more time examining the available
props before sketching, and who spent more time exploring a greater range of props, produced
artwork judged to be superior. Follow-up with the same set of research participants years later
also showed that those who exhibited the greatest attention to problem framing during the
original still life study later became the most successful professional artists.18 The value of
problem definition was further reinforced by a meta-analytic study of creativity training
programs. In perhaps the most thorough analysis of creativity training programs, a research team
from the University of Oklahoma found that among the core processes included in creativity
training, problem identification had the strongest overall contribution to divergent thinking,
problem solving, creative performance, and creative attitudes.19 In fact, training in problem
definition methods had an even greater positive effect on participants than did learning idea
generation procedures (though it was second, a distant second). The value of problem
identification and definition in the creative process should not come as a surprise. After all, how
you see the problem determines all of the thinking that comes later—how you frame the problem
determines how you solve the problem. And if you don’t recognize the problem at all, there is no
creative thinking at all—no creative breakthrough, no innovation, and no new entrepreneurial
success story.
Problem definition requires a high level of skill, acquired through knowledge and practice. In
the next section, we discuss three essential everyday tactics for mastering problem framing: (1)
question assumptions with a growth mindset, (2) have courage in your ideas (positive deviance),
and (3) employ jobs-to-be-done theory.
Question Assumptions With a Growth Mindset
The familiar expression “The fish will be the last to discover water” serves as a metaphor for
someone who does not challenge assumptions and maintains a fixed view of the world. For
decades, Carol S. Dweck, motivational psychology researcher at Stanford University, has studied
this phenomenon, which she calls a “fixed mindset” (i.e., a belief that intelligence and talent are
static qualities and that success results simply from talent, regardless of effort).20 It starts in
childhood, continues into adulthood, and causes people to move through life in performance
mode, rather than learning mode. “As soon as children become able to evaluate themselves,
some of them become afraid of challenges. They become afraid of not being smart. I have
studied thousands of people from preschoolers on, and it’s breathtaking how many reject an
opportunity to learn,” she writes in Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.21 In a follow-up
book, Dweck says that CEOs face this choice every day: whether to take the risks of a learning
curve or to create a static business environment where they perform perfectly all the time, or at
least the people around them tell them they do. She argues that this is the mistake Lee Iacocca
made at Chrysler, becoming a “nonlearner” and falling behind developments in the automobile
industry. If you have a growth mindset, she writes, “you believe you can develop yourself, then
you’re open to accurate information about your current abilities, even if it’s unflattering. What’s
more, if you’re oriented toward learning, as people with a growth mindset are, you need accurate
information about your current abilities in order to learn effectively.”22
A great example of an executive adopting a growth mindset is Michael Dell, founder of
computer company Dell. In a Harvard Business Review article, “The Innovator’s DNA,”
business professors Jeffrey Dyer, Hal Gregersen, and Clayton Christensen describe how the idea
of the Dell computer emerged through a process of questioning assumptions.23 Dell revealed that
he would take computers apart and question why some of the parts that cost $600, for instance,
sold for five to six times the cost. He had perceived the problem simply as a need to build
computers independently and then sell them. However, as he explored the problem, challenging
his own and the industry’s assumptions, he discovered that he could sell computers directly to
consumers, sidestepping the middleman and the markups.
This discovery not only shifted his view of the problem but ultimately led him to a growth
mindset of exploring exciting opportunities to establish a niche. So what is the key takeaway
from this example? Michael Dell learned not to assume the initial problem (how to sell
computers) would be the problem as he eventually understood it (how to produce a computer
closer to the sum of its parts).24
Have Courage in Your Ideas: Positive Deviance
Paul Torrance, one of the first educational psychologists in the field of creativity research,
outlines the problem-defining process as beginning with “becoming sensitive to problems,
deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements, disharmonies, and so on; [then] identifying
the difficulty.”25 But not everyone goes on to frame that difficulty as a problem worth solving, as
Torrance and his colleagues have learned in their groundbreaking studies on creativity in U.S.
schoolchildren. As described in Chapter 2, Torrance’s measure of creativity, the TTCT,26 has
been used for decades to document the gradual drop in creativity scores among American
schoolchildren, a situation that magazines like Newsweek labeled “the creativity crisis.”27 In his
1995 book Why Fly? A Philosophy of Creativity, Torrance describes why creative children and
creative teachers might stifle their creativity in a structured, bureaucratic school
system.28 Creative people are not as predictable as conformists (which makes administrators
uneasy), they respond to the best ideas (which may not be the ones the bosses espouse), and they
have an “independent spirit” (which may cause them to interpret supervision as
interference).29 “The most essential characteristic of the creative person is courage,” he posits in
a chapter on courage in Why Fly? “Whenever a person thinks of an original idea, he or she is
usually a minority of one, at least in the beginning.”30 Innovators and entrepreneurs add value by
seeing problems in a new way. As Rollo May indicated in his seminal book The Courage to
Create, “If you do not express your own original ideas, if you do not listen to your own being,
you will have betrayed yourself. Also you will have betrayed the community in failing to make
your contributions to the whole.”31 We should note that courage is not the same as being reckless
or foolhardy. Courage, as described by May, is commitment even in the face of doubt, one’s own
and others’.
Thought Starter
Courage to Create
When you understand what it takes to define a problem creatively, it is easy to see why creative
people are frequently engaged in what sociologists call positive deviance. First identified in
global health situations, this phenomenon occurs when the actions of a few people in difficult
situations achieve notably better outcomes.32 Typically, their actions are common sense and
prudent, as when a few poor families in a village boil water to purify it or feed children balanced
traditional diets in spite of scarcity. As Torrance said, it takes courage to go against the
prevailing patterns of neighbors or, in the business world, competitors. One example of a
company engaged in this kind of creative problem defining is Merck & Co. In 1978, Merck, one
of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, accidentally discovered a potential cure for
river blindness while producing an antiparasitic drug for animals. However, this discovery
presented the company with a dilemma.33 The drug would not make money if marketed to
developing countries, where consumers could not afford it. Further, no other pharmaceutical
company was manufacturing and distributing its drugs for developing countries at a financial
loss. But Merck’s corporate mission was “to discover, develop and provide innovative products
and services that save and improve lives around the world.”34 Reflecting on positive behaviors
that move away from the norm, Merck accepted the financial loss that would accompany
offering the drug for free, puzzling competitors and analysts but delighting global health
advocates.
Employ Jobs-to-Be-Done Theory
Finally, a third key way that creative people frame problems to innovate reflects a relatively new
theory called jobs to be done, as described by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott Cook, and Taddy
Hall in an online forum for the Harvard Business School. These authors explain, “The
marketer’s task is to understand the job the customer wants to get done, and design products and
brands that fill that need. [This means] designing products that do a job rather than fill a product
segment.”35 This theory is best illustrated by a situation most homeowners are familiar with.
Several decades ago, consumers who faced home repairs (and who doesn’t?) either had to hire an
expensive contractor to complete the work or purchase expensive equipment, designed for
contractors, and try to do it themselves. Black & Decker, however, spotted an opportunity to
offer a quick and affordable solution to this budding do-it-yourself (DIY) movement. Had Black
& Decker followed a pathway to serve the traditional expectations of the market sector, the
company would have produced tools with improved quality, but still as expensive, or more tools
for contractors. The jobs-to-be-done theory suggests that consumers want a product that does the
job but because they might not be able to conceive of what that product is, meeting their
expectations might not make their lives easier. Black & Decker realized that what homeowners
needed were not contractor-grade and -priced tools but tools that were good enough, affordable,
and scaled for DIY work. In properly framing the problem for the DIY consumer, Black &
Decker saw a solution that would substantially reduce the number of steps to get the job done.36
At this point in this chapter, you may be saying “I get it” when it comes to the processes of
observing and problem defining. Yet we all know that it’s one thing to intellectually understand
what you need to do to tap into your creative DNA and another thing entirely to put new
principles into effective action. Two simple but essential strategies apply here. First, adopt what
Dweck calls a growth mindset and practice these skills every chance you get.37 Second, find
good role models, both people close to you and famous people you read about in the news. The
first will coach you, and the second will inspire you.
Learning Activity: Watch Carol Dweck’s TED Talk
Search for and watch Carol Dweck’s TED talk titled “The Power of Believing That You Can Improve.” Answer the
following questions: What insights do we get from neuroscience about the growth mindset? How has your education
helped or hindered your growth mindset? What recommendations does Dweck give about ways to promote a growth
mindset?
Doing—Acting Like a Serial Opportunist
The first part of this chapter focused on what we know about good observation and problem
framing; in this section, we suggest ways you might enhance your own observational and
problem-framing skills.
Honing Observational Skills
Embedding is an easy “doing” strategy that forces you to stretch almost all your observational
skills in an attempt to understand another person’s point of view (POV). For example, your
organization, say a hospital, desires to be the best caretaker of patients. You are asked to
examine what might be done to improve patient care. You decide to begin with observation, but
from the perspective of a patient, not as an employee. What’s the advantage of embedding
yourself as a patient? If you do not literally lie on a hospital bed for hours with nothing else to
stare at but the ceiling, are not fitted with a back-exposed garment, do not eat hospital food, are
not wheeled on a bed past visitors and staff to another area of the hospital, are not made to stay
overnight in a room shared with a groaning patient in lots of pain, and are not accompanied to
the bathroom to prevent falling from weakness, then you’re missing vital points of view that can
help frame problems from many angles.38 We just mentioned the POV of a patient with one set
of demographics. But what about the POV of other patients, such as minorities, immigrants, the
elderly, or the terminally ill? What about the POV of a doctor, a nurse, family members, the
roommate behind the curtain that divides the room, children, the designer of the hospital room,
and the vendors? They, too, provide important angles, which could be addressed by taking a
team approach to participant observation.
Admittedly, what you observe can be overwhelming. To help you structure your observations
and draw a more complete picture, ethnographer Spradley provides nine major dimensions to
consider.39 Grab a notebook and a digital recorder (if you are at liberty to use one) and try to
cover as many of these as possible when making observations.
1. Space. Describe all the details of the place, such as purpose, customer type,
organization, floor plan, size, materials, objects, colors, light, temperature, mood, and
activities.
2. Actor. Describe all people who are engaged in the setting or event, who they are, how
they place themselves in the space, how they engage in the activities, the emotions they
exhibit, and the desired outcomes they seek.
3. Activity. Describe the regular actions, behaviors, or performances; whether the activities
include feelings; the desired outcomes; how activities vary; and interesting details.
4. Object. Describe the objects or artifacts present in the social setting; where they are
located; how they are used by actors, times, and conditions; and outcomes or feelings.
5. Act. Describe the single actions people do, perhaps spontaneously; performance details;
and any acts associated with them or perceived outcomes.
6. Event. Describe in detail all the important events you see; when they occur; and if they
include artifacts, evoke certain feelings, and achieve the desired outcome for people
involved.
7. Time. Describe the time periods (beginning and ending); what takes place in between
(draw a visual timeline of events); what significance you see in objects, interactions, and
how events occur; and any emotions triggered.
8. Goal. Describe the goal or what people are trying to accomplish, the ways goals involve
use of objects, how various goals affect the different actors, and your understanding of
the goals.
9. Feeling. Describe the feelings you see and how these feelings impact goals, actors,
events, and intended outcomes.
Honing Problem-Defining Skills
Now let’s take these nine dimensions and connect them to an event that inspired the development
of a new product. After many instances of watching moms or dads (actor) struggling (feeling) to
simultaneously carry (activity) multiple items (object), keep a child (actor) from wandering off
(act) through the airport (space), and reach a boarding lounge on time (event, goal, and time), a
flight attendant designed a small fold-up chair—the Ride On Carry On—that can be hooked onto
a carry-on bag. A child can now easily sit in the attached fold-down chair and enjoy the ride as
the parent rolls the luggage through the airport.40 In this example, the inventor had noticed how
her son would hitch a ride on the carry-on bag as she pulled it through the airport. Reframing the
problem, she had wondered, What if she could make an improvised seat that could then be
attached to her bag?
Another everyday strategy to practice framing involves harnessing the power of language. We
offer two easy language tactics for problem defining: (1) open-ended questioning and (2)
semantic switching. Language and thinking are intimately connected. How you phrase a problem
has a direct impact on how you think about that problem. The statement “I need a vacation”
simply expresses a desire, but it doesn’t solicit a response or action. Expressing the problem as “I
can’t afford a vacation” merely points out an obstacle and as such may not be very motivating. In
our experience, the most productive way to frame a problem, as in the language that is most
likely to stimulate creative thinking, starts with an open-ended invitational statement and
includes a specific challenge that requires action. For example, the question “How might I raise
the funds for a vacation?” focuses on a specific challenge—raising funds—and the invitation
“How might I . . .” encourages you to begin to seek solutions. Rather than problem statements,
we refer to these kinds of questions as challenge statements, for they are designed to get you to
begin thinking about how you might address an important issue. Besides “How might I/we . . . ,”
other useful statement starters include “How to . . . ,” “In what ways might I . . . ,” and “What
might be . . .” By the way, being flexible in your thinking and generating alternative challenge
statements, such as “In what ways might I devise an affordable vacation?” opens up different
solutions and thus ways to achieve your ultimate goal.
Once you learn to use good challenge statement language, you may find it valuable to play with
the words found in the challenge statement. The connotative meaning of words may prevent you
from seeing the real problem or from developing a breakthrough insight into the best way to
tackle the problem. This is where semantic switching may be useful. Beginning with an initial
statement of the challenge or opportunity, using the challenge statement language just described,
identify the key words and then replace them to see if semantic switching serves to clarify the
issue. For example, in the challenge statement “How might I reduce my concerns related to the
financial conditions of my counseling clinic?” the key words are reduce, concerns, and financial
conditions. On a piece of paper, draw three columns and place each word or phrase at the top of
a column. For each word or phrase, think of all the words that might be used to replace the key
words from the original challenge statement. Use a thesaurus to help you. Once completed, you
will have a menu of words to help you generate a divergent list of other challenge statements or
questions. More importantly, you now have words, with new meanings, that can potentially
change your view of the problem. By way of example, after creating alternative words for the
key elements of the challenge statement and changing the sequence, the original challenge
statement might be rephrased as “How might I lower my stress by consolidating the counseling
clinic’s expenses?”
Thought Starter
Semantic Switching
Learning Activity: Create an Empathy Map
Filtering and recording observations can be overwhelming, especially when you are not sure what is relevant. IDEO
uses a straightforward observation tool called empathy mapping.41 This tool helps the observer become more
mindful of how the customer or user is thinking and acting. Go into a retail shop and observe the checkout process,
from beginning to end. While observing, capture field notes and then later organize them into an empathy map as
described next (if you need more information on empathy mapping there is plenty on the Internet, but a good source
is www.copyblogger.com/empathy-maps):
1. Divide a dry-erase board, flip chart, or computer screen into four sections. Name the
upper left-hand quadrant Say, the lower left-hand quadrant Do, the upper right-hand
quadrant Think, and the lower right-hand quadrant Feel.
2. Record your observations of what people say and do on the left-hand side of the map.
Try to capture the most striking observations, rather than every small detail—what
seems most important or interesting?
3. After recording your observations, use the skill of inference to record what people are
likely thinking or feeling on the right side of the map. Make a note to pay attention to
body language, tone of voice, and use of vocabulary.
4. Synthesize. Look at the broader connections and themes of the empathy map.
Considering your observations, capture the users’ Pains (fears and frustrations)
and Gains (needs and wants).
Once completed, use the empathy map to identify ways to improve the checkout process. What surprised you? What
were you not aware of previously regarding the users’ experience? What value did you get from doing the empathy
map?
Being—Living Like a Serial Opportunist
You are constantly making observations and defining problems about the things present in your
surroundings. The key to capturing this creative potential is turning problem observing and
defining into a habit of mind. For example, let’s take the “exact change” person in the grocery
checkout line. To some impatient few, this person can be a real annoyance. If, however, an
observant entrepreneur saw this person as an opportunity to create a simple device for instantly
sorting change and making it accessible at the checkout counter, the line could move much
faster. Fulton Suri advocates paying attention to these perceptive interpretations, for they do
serve as a seedbed for framing problems and producing ideas. As she says, “Thoughtless acts
reveal how people behave in a world not perfectly tailored to their needs.”42 Whether you are
observing the person in front of you at the checkout line or the engineering attributes of an
object, you can train yourself to make observations in an ethnographic way—and intuit new and
exciting solutions in the process.
In the end, the key to becoming a serial opportunist, a person who continually sees, questions,
and pushes until he or she understands, is to incorporate these activities into your identity, into
the very fabric of who you are. It’s also important to have the courage to be creative, as we
described earlier and can see in the inspiring story of Yelitsa Jean-Charles. Yelitsa turned
internalized racism on its head for young black women by nudging them to see themselves in a
much different light, free from society’s harshly imposed beauty standards that typically steer
young girls away from their natural beauty.
Yelitsa is an artist, a social innovation fellow at Brown University, and as you will learn, the
founder and creative director of Healthy Roots, an organization that spawned a movement. Her
organization produces dolls designed to inform and empower young black women to fight
against colorism—a form of discrimination that treats people with lighter skin better than those
who have darker skin, which can lead to indelible consequences such as self-hatred and contempt
for one’s own race.43
The reason why some young black women are susceptible to colorism runs deep. Take for
instance the time Yelitsa flew down to Florida on vacation. Worried about too much sun
exposure, family members questioned why she was permitted to stay out so long at the risk of
letting the sun darken her skin. Many scholars link this way of thinking to the residual effects of
slavery in the United States where race was socially stratified; black is bad and white is
good.44 For example, relaxing hair so that it’s seen as “good hair” used to be a predominant way
to reduce social stratification.45 Good hair meant no kinks and was generally seen by the black
community as nicer looking. More unsettling, however, good hair had suggested that it closely
resembled the hair of a nonblack individual. Yet converting hair to look nonblack was and
continues to be no easy task. It has to be relaxed. And to relax the hair of a black woman requires
a powerful chemical called sodium hydroxide. As Chris Rock reported in his satirical
documentary, the chemical is so strong it can burn a woman’s hair off or, worse, her skin.46 Now
think about this. Children as young as 3 years old are exposed to these relaxers!
Yelitsa paid sharp attention to this phenomenon, questioned it, and with her restless indignation
pushed to understand it. And when she observed that toys shaped how children think, how they
behave, and how they see themselves, she decided to produce dolls to teach young black girls
about their heritage and the record of events associated with the African diaspora.47 Moreover,
the dolls are designed to inform children and mothers about the joy and beauty of natural hair.
Not one to limit herself, Yelitsa also produced the Healthy Roots’ Big Book of Hair to combat
the media’s influence. Healthy Roots’ Big Book of Hair stemmed from an observation that only
8% of books published for children highlighted a child of color. Her book now serves as a
manual to inform young women on how to care for their hair, while empowering them to
embrace cultural identity and natural beauty. Like a passionate coach, Yelitsa pushes the
argument that “when you’re ignored by the mainstream media, you have to become a problem
solver, and innovator.”48 It is these kinds of entrepreneurial activities that Yelitsa weaves into her
identity, into the very fabric of who she is now, and that has helped start a movement.
Learning Activity: Practicing the Growth Mindset
The growth mindset is all about acknowledging the power of yet. In other words, instead of saying “I can’t ski,” say
“I can’t ski . . . yet.” Identify a current struggle. Using the yet mindset, complete the statement “I can’t . . . yet.”
Make some notes about how this simple change in your own self-observations changes your attitude. Looking back
on your life, what activities and experiences, if any, might have been improved or different had you taken a growth
mindset?
Case Study: Innovation by Observation: NanoTouch Technology
Pioneer of the germ theory of disease and inventor of the pasteurization process, French microbiologist Dr. Louis
Pasteur famously argued that “chance favors the prepared mind.” In a similar spirit, it may be said that innovation
favors the observing mind, and an average, run-of-the-mill lunch meeting in 2011 between entrepreneurs Mark
Sisson and Dennis Hackemeyer lends credence to this idea.
Seated at their restaurant table, Sisson and Hackemeyer were preparing their stomachs and their minds for what
would become an important and lucrative aha moment. The two found themselves engaging in a discussion about
the latest research being done in the fields of materials science and nanotechnology when the pair noticed a man
approaching the front door of the restaurant and catching a sneeze in his hands. Instinctively, the inbound patron
outstretched those germ-laced hands, clutched the door handle, and entered the building.
Sisson and Hackemeyer commented to each other that they’d better not touch that handle on the way out! This
observation and half-joking comment then led to an extended visual scan of the restaurant scene. They noticed an
employee cleaning table after table with the same dirty rag and a mother cleaning her table and children’s toys with
her own antibacterial wipes.
These observations sat with the table mates, and they realized that the technologies they had just been discussing
could potentially be used to solve these restaurant cleaning problems—and perhaps other similar clean-surface
challenges. Soon thereafter, they assembled a team and set out to develop what is referred to as a self-cleaning
surface.49
Traditional approaches to cleaning a surface involve the application of disinfectant sprays or wipes. Sisson and
Hackemeyer set out to turn this traditional approach upside down. Their idea was to create a surface capable
of cleaning itself, continuously, with no additional effort or disinfectant. “It is not meant to clean your hand or clean
objects set in the surface. The surface itself is simply self-cleaning,” says Sisson.
Thanks to the help of titanium dioxide—a common ingredient found in toothpaste, milk, and sunscreen—and some
clever science and product design, the company’s NanoSeptic surface continually oxidizes organic material, germs,
bacteria, and dangerous pathogens, which are broken down into their basic molecular components and no longer
threating. “The goal of our NanoSeptic surface is to inhibit the transfer of microbes from one contact to the next, as
well as provide a safer surface to rest personal items,” explains Sisson. “Unlike sanitizers and disinfectants, which
provide a one-time cleaning, our surface kills microbes continuously, 24/7.”50
Not only was the big idea for the product inspired by skillful observation (the sneezed-upon hands in the restaurant),
but the company also leveraged its observation skills to explore opportunities to apply its new technology in the
world. On the lookout for market applications, the team sent researchers to explore the ways in which different
industries were currently tackling their cleaning challenges, and they witnessed opportunities in a wide range of
consumer and industry markets.
Consider the journey of a pair of shoes from the restroom floor of an airport bathroom to the front of the security
line. Shoes must be removed and placed in a bin. After scanning, the bins are emptied and returned to the front of
the line, without cleaning. The next person may put shoes in that bin, or it may be a backpack, phone, wallet, or
personal item of clothing. No matter what the item, a transfer of bacteria has taken place.
Another example—and one with a corresponding NanoTouch product in production—involves the germ transfer
between hands that touch a tissue box. More often than not, hands seeking a tissue box belong to someone who is
sick, and, for this market need, NanoTouch has developed a self-cleaning tissue box shell. Now, every touch of the
tissue box is self-cleaning.
The list goes on: mobile phone covers (think of all the dirty surfaces that your phone touches and how infrequently
you disinfect it!), door handles, cruise ships, and keyboards and technology accessories (some schools are now
offering self-cleaning computer mouse pads for students).
The goal is not to create a completely sterile world (an oversterilized environment can weaken immune system
resiliency), but sterile is a desirable quality in one critical area: hospital operating rooms.
Bacteria transfer in operating rooms can be a matter of life or death, and, in response to this market need,
NanoSeptic presents a compelling technological solution that can save lives. In 2015, the company sent 3,500 self-
cleaning surfaces to a hospital in Saudi Arabia to help prevent the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome.51
Closing
Already a growing business with more than 20 employees, a diverse line of products, and an evolving research and
development agenda, the company continues to innovate, using creative financing approaches (including a recent $2
million grant courtesy of the Tobacco Commission52) to grow the team, engage subject matter experts, and scale
product development and distribution from their Virginia-based offices. An entire line of NanoSeptic products has
already been developed and distributed to 29 countries, but the company also plans to invest time and capital to
conduct additional market research in the health care, education, facility management, commercial janitorial, and
food service industries. For founders Sisson and Hackemeyer, their mission remains clear: “A cleaner environment
in which we live, work, and play.”
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. Self-awareness of one’s comments can serve as a precursor to an idea. From Sisson and
Hackemeyer’s scan of the restaurant setting, identify the moment that nudged them to
extend their visual scan of the restaurant setting.
2. Knowledge plays an important role in producing creative breakthroughs. What
knowledge contributed to the aha moment?
3. What skills prompted Sisson and Hackemeyer to extend their scan?
Application Questions: Doing
1. Spradley identifies nine dimensions ethnographers use to structure their observation.
Applying these dimensions, what other observations could Sisson and Hackemeyer have
made?
2. Do you recall the section on honing problem-defining skills described in this chapter
(e.g., open-ended questioning and semantic switching)? What are some of the open-
ended questions Sisson and Hackemeyer could have asked to continue reframing the
problem involving sanitation?
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. Using what you learned from the Sisson and Hackemeyer case study, what might be
some products, services, or processes in your work or educational context that could be
improved?
2. How might you become an ethnographer to find ways to improve your creative
confidence in the workplace?
Chapter 7 IdeateWays to Visualize and Generate
Breakthrough Ideas
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Identify essential behaviors for visualizing new ideas
• Describe strategies for producing many alternative ideas
• Explain how play fuels imagination and an innovative mindset
• Use associative theory to discover how nature solves problems that parallel ones you
currently face
• Practice idea production using an idea system
Knowing—Ideating: The Mind’s Capacity to See the Future
Unlike other mammals, humans have the capacity to think deeply about the future, or to see in
the mind’s eye and envision alternative possibilities. If you have ever said to yourself, If only I
had seen around the corner on that one, you understand the importance of forward thinking.
Entrepreneurs, people who innovate on their own outside of a large organization, are well known
for this capacity. Intrapreneurs make equally important innovations by creating new business
ideas inside of an organization. Intrapreneurs do this because they possess an ability to view their
organization from the outside in, as well as the inside out, and are constantly on the lookout for
what is new, what others are doing, and what works in a dynamic, changing environment. As
Meg Wheatley, an American management consultant who studies organizational behavior, puts
it, “Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained
by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open
boundaries.”1
In Dalí’s sketch titled Head of Gala we see the ability to envision alternative possibilities in
action. Dalí not only creates alternative sketches but makes forced connections between
seemingly incongruent concepts, such as playing with shoes and hands in place of a traditional
hat. By making unusual connections, he was able to envision further alternatives.
Seeing into the future is an essential thinking skill that allows people to form new ideas—an
ability to use one’s imagination to see new possibilities. Paul Torrance, the aforementioned
pioneer in modern creativity research, promoted ideational thinking in the most hierarchical of
organizations, the U.S. military. A psychologist and psychiatric social worker, Torrance worked
for the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1957, in a Survival Research Field Unit at the Advanced
Survival School, Stead Air Base in Reno, Nevada. The air force hired Torrance, a noncombat
veteran of the U.S. Army, after observing that World War II bomber crews survived expulsion
from their airplanes (environments they knew well) but frequently died on the ground (in strange
and often hostile environments). Torrance’s job was to study survival psychology. Focusing on
jet aces from the Korean conflict, he underwent rigorous military exercises to experience the
conditions the crews encountered behind enemy lines. He found, for example, that an
individual’s acceptance of something as simple as survival food, such as pemmican, could
predict life or death. In his authorized biography, The Creativity Man, Torrance identified the
skills key to survival in extreme conditions: inventiveness, creativity, imagination, originality,
flexibility, decision making, and courage.2 As Torrance explained,
Salvador Dalí, Head of Gala (with elephant-swan apparition), 1937–38 pencil on paper, image: 9
3/4 in × 13 7/8 in.
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
Creative solutions to aircrew survival situations required imaginatively gifted recombination of
old elements (information about how the American Indians had lived off the land, how the early
explorers survived in the Arctic, how men had survived shipwreck, how airmen in World Wars I
and II had escaped and evaded, etc.) into a new configuration—what is required now. The
elements of a creative solution can be taught, but the creativity itself must be self-discovered and
self-disciplined.3
The capacity to visualize new ideas, through imagination, flexibility, and originality in thought,
not only enhances survival rates among downed airmen but also is equally important to the
success of entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. In today’s business world, Woody Norris is a classic
example of an ideator, or someone who combines discovery and discipline to create new
solutions to old problems. When he was young, Norris worked at a low-level university job so he
could take a wide variety of courses for free (although he never earned a degree). A naturally
curious person, he freely explored new technologies, including sound. In the early 1960s,
applying the principles of FM radio, Norris created a system that could detect and decode
movement beneath the skin as ultrasonic sound waves, which led to the modern sonogram. “I
enjoyed the process—looking at a problem and identifying a way to solve it,” he said in an
interview for Inventors Eye.4 Today he is an award-winning inventor and the owner of a variety
of patents, including one for a long-range acoustic device (LRAD). For decades, he explained,
inventors had wanted to be able to focus sound in the same way laser technology focuses light
but had been unable to because of an inability to overcome distortion. Norris saw a way to do so
by layering audible sound on top of ultrasound and making a smaller device that needed no
receiver. A handheld, nonlethal weapon, the LRAD emits loud, piercing sound in a targeted way
and has been used to disrupt attacks by bands of Somali pirates in the Middle East. “I am no
genius. I am just ‘smart enough.’ I still find wonder in the mundane. I like to question the
unknown and undone, and I never think that I can quit learning and tinkering,” Norris said.
“Sometimes it is better not to know something can’t be done, and then maybe you’ll find a way
to do it.”5
Visualize: Understanding the Behaviors That Lead to Seeing Ahead
To visualize new ideas, you must be able to engage in four essential behaviors that, if practiced
daily, lead to the development of possibilities. As you will read, these behaviors—staying
motivated through self-actualization, dreaming new possibilities, embodying ideation through
personality, and imagining an end state—are all based on established psychological theory.
These behaviors are drawn from major theoretical families that have been used to study the
creative person.6 This is not intended to be a comprehensive review of each theoretical family
but a glimpse into how these theories inform ideational skills.
Stay Motivated Through Self-Actualization
Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers suggested that the process of self-actualization, or the quest
for personal fulfillment and maximizing one’s potential, results in increased production of novel
ideas.7 A perception of fulfillment arises from exposure to personal and professional
development, meaningful relationships with coworkers and involvement in assignments that give
a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, and a sense of identity. Thus, when a person believes
that he or she is engaged in difference making, the individual feels inspired to do more of it. As
an outcome, fulfilled people are more likely to produce breakthrough thinking. In one study, for
example, employees working in two companies underscored the positive and noteworthy
relationship among organizational identification and feelings of vitality, sense of positive regard,
reciprocity, and self-esteem as elements that led to creativity in the workplace. These employees
took more risks in suggesting new ideas, producing more ways to do things, and experimenting
with alternative approaches.8 Typically, people who strive for self-actualization are not
threatened by ambiguity, volatility, complexity, or uncertainty. They embrace such challenges.
They are also inclined to be more spontaneous and natural, so they leave their egos at the
door.9 Motivated to overcome self-imposed constraints, they can ignore the background noise
that often gets in the way of creativity. When their personal fulfillment aligns with organizational
goals, they become idea-generating machines without even being aware of it.
Dream New Possibilities With Personal Exploration Approaches
Many individual-oriented approaches to creativity draw on Eastern ways of thinking. These
approaches emphasize the opening of consciousness as a means of tapping into a hidden pool of
brain resources and experiences. For example, studies have shown that meditation practices, such
as transcendental meditation (TM), can lead to significantly better scores on the Torrance Test of
Creative Thinking (TTCT) when compared to control group participants who did not practice
such mind-expanding methods.10 Results suggest that the TM-trained groups also showed
significant improvement in the generation of mental models useful in solving a problem.
Whereas formal training in TM would appear to have a positive effect on creativity, it is also
likely that you can capture new and intriguing connections when engaging in “soft” awareness
during those nonwork activities that often lead to an aha moment, such as exercising, driving, or
bathing. Take, for example, a study by a researcher who was able to boost creative flexibility (as
measured by the TTCT) by intentionally inducing hypnagogia, which is a restful state between
wakefulness and sleep.11 This finding points to the value of incubation (i.e., a complete
disconnection from the problem-solving effort) and breaks for play, daydreaming, and napping
as a means of producing a breakthrough idea.
Thought Starter
Hypnagogia
The first author of the book you’re reading now designed the complete outline for his TEDx talk
by engaging in such an incubational activity. Feeling frustrated while actively working on his
speech, he decided to take a nap. But before napping, he posed a challenge to himself to allow
his mind to continue to work on his speech. While in the drowsy state before falling asleep, the
author’s mind began to review some of the recent reading he had done on evolution, which was
soon followed by some new connections to creativity. Remaining relaxed, he gently explored
this connection and how it might become the main thesis to his TEDx speech.12 The speech
unfolded in his mind, and after about 10 minutes of this hypnagogic state, he got up and outlined
the entire talk. A review of many great creators’ biographies shows that they often build breaks
into their creative routines—taking walks, going swimming, completing crossword puzzles, and
such. By making these active, nonwork-related breaks part of their daily routines, it is likely that
they take advantage of incubation by preparing their minds to develop a soft awareness.13
Recent research into the inner workings of the brain supports what great creators have known for
centuries—an incubation break promotes increased mind wandering, leading to the formulation
of new neurological connections and greater creativity. A word of advice: Not just any old break
promotes mind wandering.14 Research shows that routine tasks, those that have low cognitive
demands such as doing the dishes, going for a jog, or making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,
as opposed to defusing a nuclear bomb or engaging in brain surgery, work best. The latter tasks
require in-depth concentration and cognitive engagement, thereby discouraging mind wandering.
Although mind wandering boosts creative thinking, it can be dangerous when diffusing bombs or
operating on a patient.
Embody Ideation Through Personality
One of the oldest areas of exploration into creativity has been the assessment of the personality
qualities associated with individuals who generate breakthrough ideas consistently. Such
research has produced a consistent list of characteristics possessed by highly creative individuals.
Here are some of the most often cited personal characteristics. Being honest with yourself, reflect
on the degree to which you possess each of these traits. Creative people are open to new
experiences (how often do you intentionally seek something new simply because it is unfamiliar
to you?); tolerate ambiguity (how comfortable are you when limited information or guidance is
available?); and take risks (to what degree do you pursue activities and ideas that make you
slightly uncomfortable?). Some might argue that these are trait-based qualities and therefore
innate—meaning you either have them or you don’t. We would counter this view by adopting the
growth mindset discussed in the previous chapter and noting that researchers have shown that
creative attitudes and behaviors can be developed through training and practice.
Whereas the previous personality characteristics are consistently associated with creative and
entrepreneurially-minded people, we would be painting a simplistic picture if we stopped with
this description. Creators, entrepreneurs, and innovators are complex people. As described
in Chapter 3, they often possess qualities that seem to be opposites. MacKinnon’s study of
famous architects showed that they were both unconventional and planful, original yet precise,
and spontaneous while also efficient.15 Embodying what appear to be contradictory personality
characteristics would seem to have several advantages. It promotes quick adaptability to new and
different situations. It also encourages the kind of thinking that sees shades of gray, rather than
simply forcing situations into black and white. By embodying opposites you can better develop
what Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto,
calls integrative thinking.16 With this kind of thinking you are able to seriously consider two
opposing ideas, seeing the merits in both and thus enabling you to create a synthesis, a blend, or
springboard into a newly formed alternative. This is a very different way of thinking from how
many managers are trained to make decisions, using critical thinking to carefully analyze the
pros and cons leading to the “obvious” best solution. Often the most innovative breakthrough
results from a combination of elements and ideas. Embracing seemingly contradictory
personality characteristics can go a long way in facilitating your own integrative thinking.
Imagine a Positive End State With Cognitive, Rational, and Semantic
Approaches
Cognitive, rational, and semantic approaches generally take the view that creativity is a logical
and understandable thought process; to make it explainable and productive requires the use of
words, semantics, and verbal representations.17 Within the cognitive set of theories is a specific
approach called associative thinking that maintains the key to creative thinking is an ability to
link or combine two or more thoughts, ideas, or elements. Indeed, it might be argued that all
creative ideas, solutions, and innovations are the result of new combinations and twists on old
ideas. David Kord Murray, a highly successful entrepreneur and former head of innovation for
the software company Intuit, argued that you can significantly improve your creative thinking by
learning to borrow ideas from a range of sources.18 As he suggests, “You can’t make something
out of nothing; you have to make it out of something else.” He goes on to provide a useful
metaphor: “Every chef knows the ingredients in your kitchen will determine the recipe and
dinner you serve your guests. Where you get these ingredients from, the places you shop,
determine the opinions you and others have of your new idea.”19 He encourages innovators and
entrepreneurs to actively borrow ideas from competitors, your observations, other people, and
remote fields. The further afield you go to borrow ideas, the more innovative the breakthrough is
likely to be.
Generate: Knowing How to Produce Many Alternative Ideas
Key to effective creative problem solving is to generate many alternative ideas, so that when
making a decision, you are not left to choose among too few options. Whereas this is a natural
skill for all humans, as we have argued in previous chapters, this innate ability atrophies over
time for many, and for various reasons, few individuals maximize this ability to the fullest. Over
time, various approaches have been developed with the goal of helping people regain and extend
their idea-generating prowess. Humans are born with the innate potential to swim; certain strokes
have been invented that capitalize on and improve our ability to swim. Just like you can learn
these strokes to maximize your swimming ability, so too can you learn approaches to maximize
your brain’s natural ability to generate ideas. We share four approaches that have been successful
in uplifting people’s natural idea-generating skills.
The Extended-Effort Principle
When it comes to ideation, or the act of producing ideas, research into the extended-effort
principle shows that a simple law of thirds can be applied to the ideas produced in the typical
idea-generating session in organizations today.20 That is, whether generating ideas alone or in a
group, the most creative ideas usually come after the initial set of ideas has been produced. In
fact, the most original ideas are typically found in the last third of the ideas produced. It is simply
the case that when we are faced with a challenge, the first third of the ideas that come to mind
are ideas that are already familiar to us or are safe. Unfortunately, because people are too busy,
are not well trained, or are under pressure to make a quick decision, they often stop their thinking
while in the first third of the ideas that might be produced. In other words, they cut short their
idea generation—never extending their imaginations in a way that generates the more original,
riskier, and breakthrough ideas. Moreover, the quantity of ideas is critical because, for most
businesses today, the road from ideation to product launch is much more of a marathon than a
sprint, as Jay Rao and Jim Watkinson describe in the blog Innovation at Work. “The reality is
that out beyond the world of software and virally driven adoption, innovators must travel a long
and difficult road before reaching even the beginning stage of success.”21 For example, Rovio,
the maker of the well-known game Angry Birds, took 8 years—and 51 different game releases—
to create a hit, which is now a multibillion-dollar media franchise. If you want to heighten the
creativity of the ideas you produce, and if you want to improve the probability of developing an
innovative breakthrough, one surefire way is to remember the rule of thirds and go beyond the
initial set of ideas you produce.
Hitting the first third will vary from individual to individual. A good rule to follow is to count
the initial set of ideas you produce in response to a challenge, that is, the initial blast of thoughts
you can generate until your thinking runs dry. That’s your first third. Now generate twice that
number. If your initial brain blast resulted in 12 ideas, challenge yourself to generate 24 more
ideas. Yes, it’s possible—that’s why it is called the extended-effort principle.
Divergent Thinking
If you are ever in a brainstorming session with a well-trained divergent thinker, you’ll observe
that this person’s idea-generation process is a disciplined and strategic approach. It’s guided by
four interdependent goals: (1) to refrain from early critique; (2) to strive for a large quantity of
ideas; (3) to allow “freewheeling,” or to nurture unusual, outside-the-box ideas; and (4) to search
for combinations or synergies as one idea builds on another. This approach is known in the
literature as divergent thinking, and these four principles are described in detail in Chapter 5. We
return here to divergent thinking, for it is an essential skill when it comes to idea generation. The
research is clear. Those who learn and apply these principles can profoundly improve their
capacity to engage in divergent thinking—the ability to generate many, varied, and original
options.
Lateral Thinking
A more philosophical approach to idea generation, lateral thinking, is a mindset employed to
deliberately stretch individuals’ perceptions of the problem. Lateral thinking is about shifting
one’s thoughts in a new direction, pursuing completely new avenues toward the solution,
whereas vertical thinking is about going deeper into existing approaches to the problem.
Conceptualized by Edward de Bono in the late 1960s, lateral thinking is as much about learning
to see the problem anew as it is about generating a large quantity of ideas.22 This type of thinking
is especially critical when a problem is recurring or intractable. The lateral thinker comes to the
problem intent on changing his or her own concepts, thoughts, and biases by viewing it in an
unconventional light.23 He or she does this with a two-step process: (1) provocation to dislodge
thinking from old patterns and (2) movement to lead thinking down a new path of discovery.
Metaphorically, the thinker tries to jump his or her train of thought off a logical, sequential track
and move in a new direction, down an unexplored track, just to see where it will go. He or she is
more prepared to change directions in search of new possibilities, hidden positive aspects, and
valuable circumstances. Some well-known lateral thinking methods include looking up random
words (i.e., provocation) in a dictionary or book to see what new insights and ideas each word
might suggest in terms of your challenge (i.e., movement). Another approach is to look at
randomly selected images (i.e., provocation) and ask yourself what new ideas each picture
suggests relative to the problem at hand (i.e., movement).
Learning Activity: Recognizing Moments of Incubation
Incubation is a natural part of the creative process. What are all the ways in which you provide yourself with
incubation breaks? Make a list. Another way to think of this is to identify where you are and what you are doing
when you get your best ideas. How does this relate to incubation? Great creators make incubation a habit. How
might you make this a habitual part of your daily routine?
Doing—Using Associative Thinking to Visualize Anew
If you think you are a visual person, take a minute to read the work of Alexandra Horowitz, and
think again. Horowitz is the author of the 2010 bestseller Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell,
and Know and 2014’s On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation.24 She teaches
psychology, animal behavior, and canine cognition at Barnard College, Columbia University. In
this most recent book, she takes readers through 11 urban walks in the company of various
experts, including doctors, architects, and even a toddler. “Poised half off the bottom step and
half onto the sidewalk, my son squatted—a young weight lifter’s pose, or the spring-loading of
an infant rocket,” she writes after a walk with her young son in an essay that will open the eyes
of any parent who has ever wondered what tiny tykes actually see.25 Horowitz not only shows us
anew how to see, she helps us understand the link between science and human perception.
Horowitz helps us to see that mindfulness and curiosity are intricately related. Paying attention is
one thing. To do something with your observations is another. To that end, we recommend
paying attention through all the senses.
A strategy shown to improve individuals’ ability to visualize new possibilities is to take
advantage of our minds’ natural tendency to make connections and associations between
concepts, even when those concepts seem unrelated. Associative theory proposes that highly
creative people access stored information and working memories from a variety of
sources.26 Idea production, therefore, draws on varied and rich life experiences, which create a
stored reserve of knowledge for constructing future interconnections. For example, one study
found that multicultural experiences were positively linked to problem-solving performance,
in particular, insight learning, remote association, and idea fluency.27 A neuroscience study
found that new and unexpected experiences in different realms could boost creativity.
Researchers subverted the laws of physics and then embedded these physics in a 3-D virtual
space familiar to the subjects. For example, as the subject approached a virtual table with a
suitcase on top, the suitcase got smaller as the subject got closer. Subjects exposed to this new
experience scored higher on tests of creativity than subjects assigned to the control groups, who
had not had the virtual reality experience.28 This research tells us that building up a catalog of
rich experiences serves as a springboard for future ideas. Want to be more creative? Attend
conferences outside your field, join interdisciplinary networks, shadow a manager from a
different department, or subscribe to magazines outside your professional niche.
Making connections comes naturally to us. You hear the word salt, and you might immediately
think pepper. You hear a song, and it brings back an old memory. You see a billboard, and you
suddenly remember something you need to do. Because our minds naturally free associate, you
can leverage this ability by making deliberate and facilitated associations. Free association is
unguided, natural, without purpose, and therefore unpredictable. Facilitated association, in
contrast, is formulating connections that are regulated by some desire, design, or intention. Great
creators do this all the time. Picasso borrowed ideas from African art as he formulated a new
movement called cubism. The black uniforms and shape of the helmet worn by Nazi Germany
SS soldiers were the inspiration for how George Lucas visualized Darth Vader. And his love of
the cowboy heroes in Western movies helped him to formulate the Han Solo character.
Many tools and creativity models are based on the concept of facilitated association; we focus on
one particularly useful approach that borrows ideas from nature. Nature has successfully solved
problems for millions of years and therefore provides humans with a ready supply of solutions
that can help solve our problems. For instance, in 1825 engineer Marc Brunel was tasked with
digging a tunnel under the River Thames. Tunneling work then was haphazard, slow, and
dangerous. Brunel reasoned that there had to be a better way and came up with a solution still
being adopted by engineers today. It was a small worm that inspired Brunel’s big idea. Brunel
observed that when a worm bores through timber, it ingests the wood on the front end and then
excretes a shell that lines the tunnel wall on the other end. This observation led Brunel to develop
a tunneling machine that worked in an analogous manner.29
Thought Starter
Inspiration From Nature
Countless other inventors, innovators, and great creators have used nature for inspiration. Why
not learn to deliberately facilitate associations by borrowing from nature to improve your own
ideational skills? Facilitating associations with nature to solve human problems is exactly the
premise behind an innovative new science called biomimicry. Janine Benyus helped to
popularize this creative methodology in her book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by
Nature.30 Whether it’s the cooling system of termites, the traffic flow of ants, or the water
distribution network of a leaf, nature’s processes offer today’s problem solvers insight into
designs and systems that have evolved successfully over millennia. For example, Speedo, the
company that developed sharkskin swimsuits, is now making sports news with its new Nemesis
Fins. The fins are inspired by those of the humpback whale; like the whale’s, Nemesis Fins
create more surface area for water to pass over for enhanced propulsion. There is even a special
website designed to make facilitated associations with nature easier. Simply go
to www.asknature.org, enter the problem you need to address, see nature’s solutions, and then
make your own new connections.
Learning Activity: Applying Biomimicry
Imagine you are a restaurateur who wants to attract more customers during off-season periods. To facilitate
deliberate associations with nature, go to www.asknature.org and look up ways in which animals attract mates. Use
the list of solutions found in nature to inspire ways in which you might attract more customers to your restaurant.
Apply divergent thinking and adopt a playful attitude to create the right mindset for finding possible solutions. Once
you have diverged on alternatives, select those you believe are most likely to solve the problem of attracting more
customers. In what ways did using the process of making associations help your ability to ideate (as opposed to
simply trying to generate ideas without borrowing ideas from nature)?
Being—Living Like an Idea Generator
People who live the life of idea generators constantly visualize new possibilities and generate
novel ideas. But how do they do it? To be sure, they employ the techniques previously
mentioned in this chapter, and they do so in a myriad of individual ways. Yet research shows that
they also have two important qualities in common: They have rich recreational or play lives, and
they possess the ability to improvise or think on their feet.
Consider, for example, the research of Stuart Brown, a medical doctor who has engaged in a
lifelong pursuit of the biological necessities of play. The author of the 2010 book Play: How It
Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, Brown looked at life
histories of 6,000 highly creative and successful people from all walks of life and saw a clear
pattern of an active recreational life.31 By contrast, when he studied the pathology of homicidal
males, he found that most had been effectively deprived of play as children and adults. “Play-
deprived adults are often rigid, humorless, inflexible and closed to trying out new options,”
Brown explains in the New York Times. “Playfulness enhances the capacity to innovate, adapt
and master changing circumstances. It is not just an escape. It can help us integrate and reconcile
difficult or contradictory circumstances. And, often, it can show us a way out of our problems.
There are numerous examples of difficult, deadlocked negotiations that were broken open by a
joke or humorous incident.”32 Play is beneficial not just because it offers the brain a respite from
work, adds Brown, who founded the Center for Childhood Creativity and the National Institute
for Play; play also “reshapes our rigid views of the world.”
In fact, Brown’s institute lists seven patterns of play on its website:
• Attunement play: laughing together, making faces at each other, staring contests
• Body play: leaping, wiggling, dancing, climbing, and other movements
• Object play: tinkering with an appliance, building a model, skipping rocks
• Social play: board and card games, team sports, tag
• Imaginative and pretend play: charades, role-playing just for fun, daydreaming
• Storytelling-narrative play: telling campfire tales, writing poems, keeping a journal
• Creative play: painting, sculpting, making up music, inventing for the fun of it33
The comedian Brian Regan is a master at transforming his observations into comical hyperbole,
which works as a kind of attunement play. In one of his comedy routines, for instance, Regan
mentions his experience calling United Parcel Service: “Ya, I have ten boxes; can you come pick
them up?” “We need the weight and the girth,” the representative replied. “Okay, I don’t know
what the weight is, and um, I don’t know what girth means. . . . So now what’s the procedure?”
“So this guy talks to me like I’m four years old.” “Well, do you have a bathroom scale?” “Uh,
ya, but if I put the box on the scale, it’s gonna cover up the NUMBERS!”34 Creating humor from
observations has several effects. One, it creates a positive mood, which has been shown to
support creativity. Two, comic hyperbole based on attunement with the environment can help
identify opportunities for product and customer service improvement.
In addition to play, the ability to improvise is a core creative competency for our times. With
wave after wave of disruptive products or technology, organizations must respond to competition
in the time it takes to answer a customer’s e-mail. Nimbleness is the new norm. But not all
members of the organization are ready to make a switch in their approach to doing business,
including leaders. In what is termed the marathon effect, leaders at the head of the pack see the
finish line but do not realize that the others who are running behind cannot see the horizon
because the traffic blocks the view.35 The more adept runners are the ones who learn faster how
to respond to what appears on the horizon, who can improvise on the spot and outwit their
competitors. From trailblazing comedians like Tina Fey to veteran actors like Alan Alda, who
now teaches improv to scientists at Stony Brook University, improv is hailed as good practice for
real-life problem solving.36 Things rarely go according to plan. So, in essence, improv
superimposes ambiguity, complexity, and psychological vulnerability on any situation. Tom
Yorton, the CEO of Second City Communications, explains that the idea of working without a
script, building on others’ ideas, creating something from nothing, and the crucial challenge of
balancing the needs of individuals and those of the group is a skill today’s leaders must attain to
react in the moment. As Yorton observed,
I come out of corporate ranks—not from the world of improv or theater. In fact, I often say that
I’m the most unfunny guy at Second City. But my experience—and in fact, my scars—are from
bumping up against the same organizational hurdles that improv is so effective at helping
companies get over—challenges that include connecting with customers, engaging employees
around change, moving into new markets, innovating new products and services and working
without a script.37
Looking for a fun way to work improv into your life? Try the Yes-And thinking described
in Chapter 2 with a friend, colleague, partner, spouse, or one of your children. Take turns, for
example, weaving a story together by having one person start with an improbable situation, with
the next person building on this by responding with “Yes, and” . . . followed up with a statement
that extends the story. Go back and forth practicing improvisational storytelling. Playing
charades or popular board games on the market, such as the Improv Comedy Game, is another
great way to practice the skill of improvisation in a deliberate manner.
Learning Activity: Your Play Inventory
The capacity to play is crucial to creativity and makes life richer. As Stuart Brown says in his book Play, “When we
stop playing, we start dying.”38 Brown gives himself at least 3 to 4 hours of play each day. Take some time to reflect
on the ways you engage in play and tryto incorporate play into your life. Further inspiration can be gained by
looking to others as models. Ask your friends or family about their play lives, or research the play lives of those you
admire. Name three ways in which you have seen, or experienced, play encouraged in the workplace. If you have
experienced play at work, what have you found to be the benefits (if you haven’t had this experience, what would
you imagine the benefits to be)?
Case Study: The Aha Behind Intezyne
Introduction
Great ideas are often an innovator’s retaliation to an intractable problem, and the story of Intezyne—a clinical-stage
biotechnology company—is one such example. The intractable problem that launched Intezyne into existence
involves the terrible side effects that accompany the ubiquitous cancer-fighting tactic: chemotherapy.
Millions of people around the world are diagnosed with cancer each year, and every individual receiving
chemotherapy treatment—the most commonly applied treatment for most tumor types—is vulnerable to a multitude
of vicious side effects brought on by the cancer-fighting drugs themselves. The problem is that the cancer-combating
drugs cannot effectively distinguish between cancerous cells and the healthy cells surrounding them. Side effects of
chemotherapy are varied but include immunosuppression (a drop in white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets),
gastrointestinal distress (nausea, vomiting, anorexia, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and constipation), fatigue, hair
loss, infertility, organ damage, and neurological effects such as intense pain and hypersensitivity to cold. At
minimum, it’s pretty rotten stuff, and at worst, these side effects can be deadly.39
Enter Intezyne’s patented IVECT approach to cancer therapeutics—a drug-delivery methodology poised to
revolutionize the way oncologists treat many types of cancer. Intezyne’s portfolio of oncology assets comprises
individual compounds that have either cellular or molecular targeting capability or have tumor-specific release
mechanisms.40 In a nutshell, this means that the medicine that goes in affects only the areas that need it. This is no
easy task, because the delivery vehicle must be nontoxic, biocompatible, nonimmunogenic, and biodegradable and
must remain undetected by the built-in defense mechanisms of the human immune system.
At the root of Intezyne’s innovative approach to cancer treatment are polymer micelles, which provide a means of
encapsulating and preserving the cancer-fighting drugs until they reach the tumor. Intezyne cofounder and chief
scientific officer Dr. Kevin Sill compares the polymer micelles to a koosh ball: “There’s a core with stringy arms
coming out,” he says. “The drug goes inside that core. The koosh ball strands are the polymer chains.”
The problem facing Intezyne was that synthetic polymer delivery systems—which have been around since the
1970s—faced some primary challenges: (1) achieving stability of the micelle after being introduced into the body
(previous attempts by researchers became diluted in water and/or blood) and (2) the micelles’ general inability to
target specific tissue (in this case, tumors). Prior to Sill’s discovery, upon interacting with blood proteins and
phospholipids, micelles would dissolve and fall apart—and once the micelle had broken down, the delivery vehicle
and the toxic drugs would seep throughout the body. “We had to figure out how to keep that from happening,” Sill
says.41
Backstory: Designing a Nano-Scale Trojan Horse
Friends in graduate school, Kevin Sill and Habib Skaff (Intezyne cofounder and chief executive officer) were
studying polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts. On a return trip by train from the American
Chemical Society fall meeting in New York City, Habib leaned over to Kevin and said, “Forget this academic stuff,
I’m going to start a company; you should come with me.” Moments later, Sill had agreed to join him. The decision
to create a biosciences start-up company wasn’t something whimsically undertaken by the pair, however. As a
graduate student, Skaff had been working on projects at Kodak and witnessed mass layoffs of 25,000 employees in a
single day. This experience pushed him away from comparable opportunities at other popular landing spots for
chemistry grads such as Royal Dutch Shell, DuPont, and the Dow Chemical Company. In addition, Skaff and Sill
had discussed at length the challenges of working inside academia—the relentless pursuit of laboratory funding
through grants, perpetual pressure to publish in peer-reviewed journals, and the sometimes complicated balance
between doing great science and the politics of promotion and career advancement. Their decision was a calculated
one, one that would change their lives forever.
With a verbal agreement in place to launch a new venture, Sill and Skaff began discussing how they could use their
skills in polymer chemistry to make an impact and to better others’ lives. They began by listing 15 technology areas
they could venture into, such as quantum dot informatics for asset identification and security tracking applications,
wastewater treatment, the design and development of artificial blood, synthetic cell design, and drug delivery
vehicles. From there, they applied criteria to their list to help narrow their options. Their evaluation criteria included
feasibility (Do we think it can be done?), time to market (How long do we think it will take?), skill-set relevance (Is
this something we feel skilled enough to tackle?), financial upside (Is there a significant market opportunity for a
solution to this problem?), and altruistic motivation (Are we going to feel good about dedicating our time and
energy to this?).
After scoring and discussing their options, a top choice emerged: Skaff and Sill would set out to solve the micelle
instability problem of oncology drug delivery. “We honed in on oncology as a good use for that, given the reduced
toxicity and delivering more of the drug to the site where it’s needed,” Skaff says. “That’s really the Holy Grail,”
says Sill, “to be able to treat cancer without the vicious side effects.”
Success did not find them overnight, however. They had been attending academic and industry conferences and
learning everything they could from experts working in the field of polymer assembly, and by listening between the
lines, they discovered that a reversible stabilizer for drug delivery applications had been eluding scientists in the
field. Because of immersing themselves in the frontiers of their domain, Sill and Skaff had learned what needed to
be done and identified what needed to be invented.
Next they engaged in an exhaustive review of the literature, probing history for lessons learned. Armed with their
laptops and supported by the Google search engine, for 6 months, they hunted; nights and weekends, they sifted
through thousands of pages of chemistry research. Sill estimates their consumption at hundreds of, or perhaps even
thousands of, research articles. When they weren’t working independently, they’d get together to discuss what
they’d found, and they developed a habit of collaboratively sketching out molecule designs inspired by their reading.
The work was grinding, and it finally paid off when, one night, they were rewarded with that often elusive flash of
genius, the instance of insight often referred to as an aha, eureka, or lightbulb moment.
The breakthrough emerged from an unlikely source: Sill had stumbled upon an article published in 1938 in
the Journal of the American Chemical Society that described a chemical reaction used for, of all things, zinc throat
lozenges. Cough drops!
That article and the chemical reaction contained within were just what he was looking for. Sill was able to match the
chemical reaction describing the dissolving cough drop in the article to his understanding of the dissolving polymer
micelle problem that had been plaguing drug-delivery researchers.
This insight set the stage for the development of Intezyne’s IVECT method, which stabilizes the polymer micelle as
it travels through the body until it is exposed to acid, the trigger that breaks it apart, releasing the drug. A pH of 5.5
to 6.5 is the “sweet spot” for triggering the release, which also happens to be the pH range of a tumor. Eureka! For
the breakthrough, Sill was awarded the Young Innovator of the Year award by R&D magazine in 2009.42
As a result of Dr. Sill’s aha moment, Intezyne has raised millions of dollars of investment capital, hired and inspired
the minds of many aspiring researchers, and with a bit of luck, they will continue to evolve the development of
targeted cancer therapeutics for people around the world.
Closing
The story of Intezyne is a classic example of two highly driven, persistent scientist-entrepreneur hybrids and their
journey through the creative problem-solving process. They took six critical actions:
1. Invested years of their time and energy in learning their craft (polymer chemistry)
2. Analyzed their career options and decided that entrepreneurship was the right path
forward for their personal and professional aspirations
3. Generated a list of opportunity areas where they could apply their skills, then applied
success criteria to their list of options to zoom in on a promising direction
4. Identified and targeted an important gap in the polymer chemistry technology
landscape (the micelle instability problem) that, if addressed, could impact quality of life
and health outcomes for millions of people
5. Demonstrated grit, persistence, and resilience throughout their 6-month literature
search for insight into how to solve their intractable chemistry problem
6. Practiced visualizing molecule designs by sketching out their concepts and discussing the
images and models
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. From the description of Sill and Skaff’s journey, can you identify the crucial factors that
led to their breakthrough insight?
2. Knowledge plays an important role in producing creative breakthroughs. In what ways
did knowledge promote or inhibit creative thinking in this case?
Application Questions: Doing
1. In reviewing the six critical actions undertaken by Sill and Skaff outlined in the
conclusion of the case study, are you able to consider the actions through the lens of
the dynamic balance between divergent and convergent thinking? Are you able to
notice specific examples of each? If so, which ones?
2. Do you recall the process mash-up presented in Chapter 5? The four stages in this
universal creative process are Understand (Observe & Define), Ideate (Visualize &
Generate), Experiment (Develop & Validate), and Implement (Get Buy-in & Drive
Change). Did you notice any examples of Sill and Skaff demonstrating or engaging in any
of these stages? If so, which ones?
3. What did you learn about the aha moment from this case that you can apply in your
own life?
4. Think about a tough problem you are facing in your own life. Do any of the theories,
strategies, and tactics in this case help you get closer to generating a breakthrough
solution? If you were to spend some time thinking about solving your challenge, where
might you start, and in what direction(s) might you take your problem-solving process?
Thinking Ahead: Being
When Dr. Sill was an undergraduate student, he took 9 months off from school to work in a research lab in a co-op
setting. He believes the hands-on application helped him to identify his passion, as opposed to merely chasing what
he was already proficient in. What steps have you taken to help align your skills with your passion? Are you
currently working on a project that helps you feel like you’re “shaking hands with tomorrow”? If not, what types of
projects or activities might you get involved in to move closer to this goal?
Chapter 8 ExperimentStrategies to Develop and
Validate the Best Solutions
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Identify what creative scientists and entrepreneurs have in common when developing
good ideas into great solutions
• Describe a system for vetting and validating the best ideas
• Discuss the benefits of prototyping, and other approaches, for developing robust
solutions
• Appraise the value of failing fast
• Apply a set of key questions for soliciting feedback from stakeholders to improve an
idea
Knowing—Developing and Validating Through
Experimentation
It is no secret that developing good ideas is a process of continual experimentation—test, fail,
learn, and retain the best. Anyone who has ever watched a dog show or simply admired how a
pet Labrador chases and retrieves a Frisbee understands instinctively how far these animals have
come from wolves and how nature evolves through experimentation. Charles Darwin first
documented evolutionary development in 1859 after observing unique yet strangely familiar
species of life on the volcanic Galápagos Islands off the western coast of South
America.1 Whereas evolution in nature balances two primary functions, generation of novel
variations and testing these variations to see which is most adaptable, humans can, and do, adopt
a similar process when developing novel ideas into workable solutions. In fact, humans use a
similar process to speed up evolution; it’s called selective breeding. Where nature helped our
friendly Frisbee-catching Labrador to develop its physical and dispositional characteristics,
humans have intervened to selectively breed dogs to produce more than 150 breeds. DNA testing
now shows that dogs evolved from wolves about 130,000 years ago; this process of developing
into the uniquely distinct breeds we have today occurred only over the last 150 years.2 Just as
humans can deliberately speed up evolution through breeding, so too can we speed up innovation
by deliberately breeding our ideas through experimentation—quickly testing and learning from
success and failure.
J. K. Rowling, who took 7 years to write the first Harry Potter book, can identify with purposeful
tinkering in both life and work. In 2008, upon receiving an honorary degree from Harvard
University, she offered words of wisdom on this topic to new graduates. In a now-famous
speech, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” she recalled how
years earlier, rebounding from divorce, poverty, and single motherhood, she found the courage to
see what others might call a counterfactual view of reality—herself as a novelist. “That period of
my life was a dark one. . . . So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure
meant a stripping away of the inessential . . . I was set free, because my greatest fear had been
realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old
typewriter and a big idea.” Rowling concedes that others do not have to fail on the scale that she
did to appreciate her point. But, she added,
It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might
as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default. . . . Failure taught me things
about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and
more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends. . . . The knowledge that
you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in
your ability to survive. . . . Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won.3
From J. K. Rowling we see that a willingness to fail is essential to adopting an experimenting
mindset.
Many of today’s entrepreneurs demonstrate a penchant for purposeful tinkering in their attempts
to discern and develop the best ideas. Consider Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx, who
revolutionized the modern undergarment business with technologically advanced, skinlike
underwear that trims pounds and years off the wearer. In 2012, Blakely was named
to Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, and she also made
the Forbes 2012 list of the world’s wealthiest people, including its youngest self-made
billionaire.4
At home in her Atlanta, Georgia, apartment, Blakely experimented with different designs for
what she began to call “shapewear” but suffered the rebuff of male hosiery makers until one
manufacturer discovered that his two daughters liked her ideas. With his help, Blakely developed
several prototypes, and wore them, as did her friends and family members, before settling on her
first product line. From the creation of the company name to writing her own product patent, she
researched, tested, and tinkered. She even modeled the product—slipping into the bathroom to
trim down with Spanx under her slim white pants—in a sales pitch to Neiman Marcus. After
landing on the cover of Forbes, Blakely told the magazine’s readers that her belief in the value of
her own product carried her through early years of experimentation. “I did not have the most
experience in the industry or the most money,” she said. “But I cared the most.”5
Key to Blakely’s success is an intuitive understanding of mental models and how to shift her
customers from the idea of buying underwear to desiring shapewear. The concept of models—
that both guide and inhibit our thinking—dates back to the early 20th century and Jean Piaget, a
well-known European psychologist and early researcher into cognitive science. As Piaget played
with his own children, he studied how they and other children learned. Based on keen
observation and experiments, Piaget believed that a child progressively detaches herself (steps
back and reflects) to construct models that help her to master and control the environment she is
exploring. He stated, “The more the child progresses in adaptation, the more play is reintegrated
into general intelligence, and the conscious symbol [i.e., a shape or a letter] is replaced by
constructions and creative imagination.”6 These observations served as the basis for the
development of a popular learning theory known as constructivism, which conceptualizes a
person’s acquisition of new knowledge; he or she is basically constructing and testing a
hypothesis.
Thought Starter
Testing and Failing
More recently, Seymour Papert, a brilliant mathematician, educator, and computer scientist
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studied under Piaget and advanced his theory of
constructivism. As described in Papert’s seminal 1993 book Mindstorms: Children, Computers,
and Powerful Ideas, learning must allow people to make connections and develop their own
mental models.7 Learning cannot be static and facilitated through lecture or explanation, but,
rather, learning happens through personal engagement. In a classic set of studies, Papert created
lovable robots, for instance, a turtle that moved in response to commands based on calculations
made by children learning the principle of a geometric angle. “The goal of children’s first
experiences in the Turtle learning environment is not to learn formal rules but to develop insights
into the way they move about in space,” he writes in Mindstorms. “This method tries to establish
a firm connection between personal activity and the creation of formal knowledge.”8 Further, he
states:
The understanding of learning must be genetic. It must refer to the genesis of knowledge. What
an individual can learn, and how he learns it, depends on what models he has available. This
raises, recursively, the question of how he learned these models. Thus the “laws of learning”
must be about how intellectual structures grow out of one another and about how, in the process,
they acquire both logical and emotional form.9
What creative scientists and entrepreneurs share is a willingness to acquire new mental models
that give good ideas a chance to incubate or develop and to devise a system for vetting and
validating the best ideas. In the sections that follow, you will learn the key strategies and tactics
for employing these essential creative behaviors, how to practice them to develop your skills, and
what living the creative life as an idea developer and validator might look like. As you move
through life and work, you will begin to see new opportunities to incorporate these practices into
your own habits as well as notice other people who use them as second nature.
Development: Refining Ideas Through Play, Sketching, and
Prototyping
For Helene Cahen, the word prototype is a verb. It’s also an adjective. Never mind that, lexically,
it’s a noun. People who know her do not see this semantic conversion as strange but as forward
thinking. Cahen is an innovation consultant with the firm Strategic Insights. A facilitator, trainer,
and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, she specializes
in guiding her clients toward user-centered innovation with design thinking. She is convinced
that you and I, nondesigners, can also use highly effective mindsets and processes employed by
designers. Three mindsets—being human centered, engaging in visual thinking, and adopting a
prototype attitude—make the biggest difference. “The mindset of being human-centered with a
focus on empathy has impacted the way I work on projects,” she says. “I now start with an
observation and/or interview phase first. When facilitating creative projects, I suggest that the
participants learn more about the product or service in an experiential way in addition to the
traditional secondary research, talk to customers or users and observe people.” Second, she
encourages people to overcome any hang-ups they might have about their artistic abilities and to
engage in more visual thinking. “I had to overcome my personal belief that since I cannot draw
any better than a five year old, I should not use visuals to communicate with others, or even
when I was thinking for myself,” she admits.10
In the past few years I have been challenging myself to use visuals and drawings in my
presentations, to use Mind Mapping for taking notes or organizing my thoughts, and to
encourage people to draw in my training or facilitation sessions. I found out that drawing is a
powerful problem-solving tool and it has helped me find solutions that I had in my mind but was
not able to put in words.11
Third, the adoption of a “prototyping attitude” makes it natural to ask questions like, How can I
create a small version of the solution to test it quickly and cheaply? “A prototyping attitude
means that when I am facilitating a group and we are developing solutions, we start making fast
prototypes (by fast I mean done in 10 minutes) which help tremendously with narrowing down
options, getting group buy-in and equally important, selling to management.”12
Cahen’s thinking is supported by recent neuroscience research using a functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, which shows more brain activity when we read a sensory
term, a descriptive metaphor, or an emotional exchange than when we read about simple objects
or abstract concepts. Anatomically, then, we know that our mind maps are shaped by our
connectedness—physical and emotional—to people and our environment.13 But how does that
knowledge translate across an entire business or organization? Perhaps more easily than we
think, argues Peter Senge, author of the classic 1990 book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and
Practice of the Learning Organization.14 Mental models help make sense of things, but by no
stretch of the imagination are they always correct. In fact, having only one mental model fixes
you to see and then interpret things in narrow and dated ways. Senge, a leading systems scientist
and senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, says the good news for organizations
is that their mental models are socially constructed by all the members. This social
reconstruction means organizations have the potential to continuously update their mental
models to adapt to the times, if individuals, especially creative leaders, understand their own
potential to expand models and if companies approach learning in a systems-like way. As Senge
and colleagues explain,
Through learning we reperceive the world and our relationship to it. . . . This then, is the basic
meaning of a “learning organization”—an organization that is continuously expanding its
capacity to create its future. “Survival learning” or what is more often called “adaptive learning”
is important—indeed it is necessary. But for a learning organization, “adaptive learning” must be
joined by “generative learning,” learning that enhances our capacity to create.15
What the research and experts’ experience shows, then, is that three strategies are essential to
generative learning and idea development: (1) serious play, (2) sketching, and (3) prototyping.
Serious Play to Engage More of Your Brain
Recent research shows that even when you are resting, or tuning out the external environment,
your brain engages its “default network.” In this default state, it continues to process existing
internalized knowledge, incubating, reflecting on, and experimenting with ideas.16 In a 2013
synthesis of takeaways from brain research for the Harvard Business Review (HBR), Adam
Waytz and Malia Mason highlight the importance of serious play, which many companies now
recognize as a source of innovation. “Having unfocused free time is an important (and
underutilized) factor in breakthrough innovations. That notion obviously calls to mind the ‘20%
time’ policy at Google, under which the company’s engineers get a day a week to work on
whatever they want,” they write.17
Thought Starter
Serious Play
Few companies understand the seriousness of play like Pixar Animation Studios, the award-
winning movie start-up housed in a glass atrium in Emeryville, California. Here, creativity is not
just desirable, it’s the actual product, says Josh Cooley, Pixar story artist.18 Cooley describes the
process of making a movie for a company that encourages its employees to take classes in yoga,
sculpture, musical instruments, and other creative pursuits that engage their default networks.
This type of serious play ensures that ample amounts of incubation, reflection, and
experimentation go into each and every movie, reports Cooley, who has worked on movies
like The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, and Up. Typically, his creative day calls for hand-
drawing several drafts of a storyboard, presenting it to a team of other story artists, listening and
debating, then allowing for further expansion of the group’s ideas in subsequent iterations.
“Storyboarding is story [reboarding],” explains the artist, who went through 81,772 storyboards
for Ratatouille alone, a typical number of revisions for a Pixar film.19 Back at HBR, Waytz and
Mason concede that not all companies can or will institute creative free-time programs, which
they may find hard to assess. However, they recommend that people who want to be more
creative embrace total detachment from their work environment on a regular basis. Often only
with serious play can you engage your default network, assimilate the ideas of another person,
envision a different time and place, and free-associate without interruption.
Finally, no one is more serious about play than Dale Dougherty. If the name is not familiar to
you, how about the national, now international, maker movement? Mr. Dougherty is credited
with starting this movement in 2006. If you are not familiar with the maker movement, it grew
out of the DIY movement and has resulted in the development of makerspaces in libraries and
other public venues. Makerspaces allow patrons the opportunity to play with technology and
tools. People are encouraged to play, invent, and experiment with ideas; they can work alone,
collaborate with others, or receive expert advice. The intent is to encourage adults to engage in
hands-on play, to develop their own ideas into tangible products. And now this movement
endeavors to influence educational practices by encouraging schools to participate in
makerspaces. The maker movement and makerspaces bring together both play and prototyping
into a powerful innovation laboratory. Mr. Dougherty’s description of makers closely parallels
how we have described innovators and entrepreneurs. He observed, “Makers are likely to see
themselves as outsiders, like some artists and writers, who do not follow the traditional paths.
They create their own paths, which is what innovative and creative people do.”20
Sketching to Explore Reinterpretations of Your Idea
Sketching aids in formulating new or half-baked ideas into great ones in a variety of ways. First,
it serves as a prerequisite to prototyping by teasing ideas out of your head and into a more
concrete form. Second, sketching overrides the distracting attention you may give to details.
Thus, by drawing out ideas quickly, sketching better positions you to see what might work and
explore ideas. Third, sketching helps you see something you thought you knew well in a new
light. For example, one researcher from a design school in the Netherlands found that sketching
has a positive influence on reinterpretation, which helps to create new insights when studying an
old problem.21 Each sketch in a series produced an understanding of a new representation.
Sketches can also produce a second important product; they reveal scenarios that point to a
potentially negative result. Time and money saved can make the difference between success and
failure in today’s business world.
Prototyping to Jump-Start Innovation
Without prototypes, you can’t test for possibilities. Without the ability to test, it is difficult to
experiment and begin to develop new mental models. This explains why prototyping is essential
to jump-starting innovation, argues designer Todd Zaki Warfel, who helped popularized the
creative practice in 2009 with his book Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide.22 A hands-on
treatment, the book offers tutorials for prototyping with paper, slides, software, and other media;
discusses the pros and cons of the tools; and walks readers through the usability testing process,
which the author says can boost idea approval into the 90% consensus range. With missionary
zeal, Warfel extols the multiple benefits of prototyping: (1) it produces much-needed variation;
(2) it expands mental models to help make sense of uncertainty and ambiguity; (3) it offers
something that you—and your customers—can see, touch, and try; (4) it allows you to fail early,
learn cheaply, and rework an idea quickly; and (5) it reduces the chances for
misinterpretation.23 When ideas are only described in words, readers may glean different
understandings. However, when ideas are transformed to visible, tactile models, requests for
clarification and rework are reduced. Whether it’s an origami mock-up or a life-size 3-D print, a
prototype helps you to own an idea and to quickly recognize its strengths and weaknesses.
Validation: How to Refine and Select the Best Options
So far we have introduced to you the benefits of idea development and techniques for
experimenting with and testing ideas. But how do you refine and select the best? By what criteria
do you evaluate ideas when in search of breakthrough concepts? The very
word breakthrough suggests that the novelty of the idea defies prediction, hence, critique. But
novelty is one thing and usefulness is another. What is needed, therefore, is a type of thinking
that permits you to evaluate ideas in a way that transforms an idea into something more tangible
and of value to the users.24 To move into the validation phase, four key activities must be
employed: (1) design thinking, (2) idea refinement, (3) product comparison, and (4) solution
assessment.
Design Thinking to See More Critically
Few people have shaken up the field of innovation—and the perennial discussion of product
quality—like Eric Ries, an entrepreneur and author of the New York Times bestseller The Lean
Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful
Businesses.25 Since 2010, Ries has been entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School
and an IDEO fellow. But his start in business was less than auspicious. After failing, or perhaps
even flopping, at two early start-ups, including one in college, he went on to succeed
spectacularly with the avatar-creation website IMVU. There he began to employ design thinking,
or a brand of innovation based on the idea of creating “minimum viable product,” with the aim of
improving the product through continuous customer feedback. As Tim Brown, the popular CEO
and president of IDEO, defines it, “[Innovation is] powered by a thorough understanding,
through direct observation, of what people want and need in their lives and what they like or
dislike about the way particular products are made, packaged, marketed, sold, and
supported.”26 For Ries, it was not necessary to start with the perfect product, nor was it wise to
fast-track a shoddy product. His goal was to put the best prototype in front of critical users as
soon as possible to learn as much as he could from their feedback before creating the next
iteration. Today, Ries gives conferences preparing entrepreneurs for the quick and chaotic pace
of iterative product launches and testing, stressing that the payoff is worth the early failure and
experimentation.
Idea Refinement to Edit and Polish
Three critical cognitive functions—forecasting, appraising, and revising—relate to the evaluation
of creative ideas, based on modern creativity research.27 Forecasting triggers the process of idea
evaluation. It calls for imagining your idea in its future state. You try to envision, and then
predict, the idea’s consequences and reactions from those who will be impacted by your idea.
From these rehearsals, you gain insights that aid in appraising your idea. Appraisal involves
assessing the consequences and the reactions of others against assumed performance metrics;
from this process, you then decide to advance the idea or to stop it. The third function is revising
your undeveloped idea to meet new expectations. At this point, you must generate new thinking
to recast and expand the original idea to improve its chances of survival.28 Many of Dalí’s
sketches reflected raw and untested ideas. The accompanying sketch, by contrast, shows a highly
detailed and complex image.
Salvador Dalí, Pi-mesonic Angel, 1957–58 ink and wash on paper, image: 15 3/8 in × 11 1/2
in.
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
Comparing Products to Evaluate Creativity
In the practical world, what really excites innovators is a creative outcome that meets customer
needs and has a useful social purpose.29 To that end, scholars have created and tested a set of
criteria to critically compare and assess the creativity of products, known as the Creative Product
Semantic Scale (CPSS).30 The CPSS criteria include novelty, depicted by originality (i.e.,
uniqueness), and surprise (i.e., acceptance and appreciation). These product qualities allow an
innovator or entrepreneur to determine the degree to which the proposed idea is truly distinctive
and unique. The next set of criteria is called resolution, namely logical (i.e., adherence to
established standards), useful (i.e., clear and practical applications), valuable (i.e., meets
intended needs), and understandable (i.e., ease of use). These criteria help the innovator or
entrepreneur get into the mind of the end user and determine how easy it will be for him or her to
adopt the proposed product or service. The final set is called style, which includes organic (i.e.,
elements form a complete whole), well-crafted (i.e., attention to detail), and elegant (i.e.,
elements are refined). Often those who design a new product or service sometimes underestimate
the importance of style. If you are familiar with Apple products then you know the competitive
advantage that style can achieve. Before launching a new idea, these criteria can be applied to
refine and reshape what appears to be a good idea into a great creative breakthrough.
Assessing Solutions to Predict Creative Value
Other scholars have forwarded another set of criteria to identify functional creativity that
specifically targets engineered artifacts or manufactured goods.31 They, too, have created and
scientifically tested a set of criteria to appraise the creativity in products: the Creative Solution
Diagnosis Scale (CSDS). The four CSDS criteria of functional creativity are relevance and
effectiveness (knowledge of existing facts and principles), novelty (problematization, existing
knowledge, and new knowledge), elegance (both external and internal elegance), and genesis
(forward looking). Both sets of criteria linked to the CPSS and the CSDS serve as important
discussion points for team members exploring ways to test and refine breakthrough concepts.
You could, of course, create your own rubric for your own industry, but the value of using a
proven metric is that your evaluations have greater reliability and validity.
Learning Activity: Mind Mapping the Chapter
We reviewed a lot of information in the Knowing section of this chapter. To organize, sketch, and visualize this
material, we encourage you to use a tool mentioned in this chapter—mind mapping. Mind mapping is a method for
concretizing information and thoughts in a visual way. A mind map is a diagram that shows relationships between
the whole and its parts. Follow these steps to use mind mapping:
1. Start in the center of a blank horizontal page.
2. Draw an image in the center of the page that represents the main concept.
3. Identify, draw, and label the main branches connected to the central idea (use different
colors for different branches).
4. Drill deeper by extending main branches into second, third, or more levels.
It is recommended that simple images, single words, and multiple colors be used throughout the mind map. For
examples of mind maps, we recommend a quick Internet trip. A useful site is www.tonybuzan.com/about/mind-
mapping. What themes did you spot in your mind map that give you a sense for how ideas are transformed into great
solutions? Which approach to validating ideas did you like the most? Why? How might you take the approach that
you liked the least and turn it into a more amenable approach? In what ways was it helpful to sketch and visualize
this section of the chapter?
Doing—Acting Like an Idea Developer
Honing Your Idea Development Skills
One of the fastest ways to develop ideas constantly is to adopt the mindset of a rapid prototyper.
Once you have tested your assumptions on a few partners and close friends, you are in a position
to construct and test prototypes with another level of stakeholders, which will, in turn, lead to
more ideas that are sorted and converted into a new prototype. Rapid prototyping is designed to
communicate a proposal in the most efficient method to further explore, test, and refine
it.32 Prototypes can take the form of flowcharts, storyboards, metaphorical prototypes (e.g., a
poster with images), interactive building blocks, “junk” material prototypes, overhead film sheets
to layer concepts, or role-plays. For example, partners at IDEO created a prototypical mobile
“minibar” for a health care client demonstrating how hospital patients and their family members
could eat when desired. The minibar could be reordered and stocked daily. While they were
testing this idea, they discovered that the prototype would impact ordering, fulfilling, and
maintaining the minibar. These discoveries led to other issues, namely that the minibar would
impact patient room design, the admissions process, and food service design. Collectively, these
tests identified all the elements in a unified meal experience for the patients and their families,
something that product designers would have been unable to imagine on their own.33 As your
stakeholders examine your idea, be prepared to ask questions such as, What are your thoughts?
What is your preference? What is your take on it? How do you feel right now? Does this matter
to you? What could help you in this instance? You may even convert naysayers to fans in this
process.34
In addition, for the inventor, rapid prototyping can have the positive effect of quieting doubts,
your own and those of others. Think of the times you have allowed the negative chatter in your
head to get in the way of further exploring your ideas. All it takes is that one comment from a
key stakeholder, and fear and doubt creep in. Only this time, you can decide to proactively
generate counterfactuals on a variety of ways your idea can fail. Because the prototypes are
presented as drafts and are positioned to include the feedback of others, you are less likely to
incur premature and unfavorable decisions. Thus, rapid prototyping permits a low-risk manner of
quickly exploring alternative uses of and directions for ideas, prior to committing any resources
to the most attractive ones.35 We have one word of caution, though. Although prototyping can
greatly aid in the improvement of an idea, it can also contribute to a fixed view of your idea if
you do not have enough ideas or move quickly enough.36 To avoid stereotyping, work ahead to
prototype versions of several ideas. By doing so, you’ll receive feedback on several prototypes in
parallel, which enhances learning and fosters more opportunistic exploration. In fact, one recent
study indicated that participants who prototyped in parallel produced higher-quality ideas (as
judged by raters) and more diverse work and had greater confidence in their ability to complete
the task than participants who approached prototyping in a serial manner.37
Honing Your Idea Validation Skills
Embracing mistakes is not easy. Most of us have been extensively trained to rely on evidence
and numbers, yet instinctively we know that sometimes we reach a point where data ends and
determination begins. Designer and architect Best said it best: “True innovation requires the
adoption of a belief system that sometimes must prevail in the face of other data metrics.”38 Too
much reliance on data paralyzes us. This is why we must view mistakes as a creative art form.
Even if an idea is tested, and not validated, much is learned from the prototyping process. As
creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson has argued, “If you are not prepared to be wrong you will
never come up with anything original.”39 For one, prototypes, even those with mistakes, permit
you to speed up feedback and failure. Both serve as markers to find another pathway. Two,
prototypes help you let go of an idea so that you can move on to the task of constructing another
prototype that incorporates your learning and ultimately will likely lead to something original.40
In addition to mastering the art of making mistakes, it is necessary to remember the scientist
inside of you. Your idea contains hypotheses that must be proven or disproven. Fortunately,
according to Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie, authors of the book Designing for Growth: A
Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers, a set of four tests allows us to examine hypotheses in
almost all industries.41 The value test determines whether users will embrace your idea with
votes or money (at an acceptable price). If you believe your idea has appeal, then move on to the
next two tests that focus on the viability of the new idea. The execution test decides if you can
create and make the idea deliverable (at an acceptable cost). The scale test helps to determine
whether the idea or service can be produced in a manner that meets demand. The final test,
defensibility, gauges whether competitors could easily copy your ideas. Here is where
knowledge about intellectual property becomes crucially important.
Above and beyond these basic tests, you will probably want to design product-specific tests to
determine the strategic outcomes you seek and how they fit the organization’s strategy.
Remember, stakeholders are more inclined to support ideas if they perceive them to shorten their
to-do lists and not add to them. To that end, we suggest you first test your idea with trusted allies
and friends. With each wave of feedback, continue improving your idea. Importantly, some
feedback will confirm what you already know about the assumptions of your idea. This category
of information includes facts and should not be muddled with beliefs. A second category of
feedback makes obvious what you do not know because its nature is uncertain; in such cases, all
you can do is predict. The remaining category of feedback includes what you don’t know but
could find out if you made the attempts to get it.42 To enhance your feedback, your trusted circle
of friends should be introduced to criteria as measured by the CSDS, whose criteria can serve as
discussion starters.43
Learning Activity: Prototyping a Start-up
In Chapter 1 you were asked to imagine that 5 years into the future you are the head of a thriving start-up (see the
learning activity in the Doing section). Use prototyping to visualize and validate your start-up idea. To make your
start-up idea concrete, we suggest using a prototyping method that is visual; either draw the concept or build a
model of it. Once created, this tangible representation of your start-up concept can be used to evaluate its strengths
and limitations. What did you learn from prototyping that will help you improve your start-up idea?
Being—Living Like an Idea Developer
Sir Ken Robinson asserts, “We’re all born with immense, natural, creative abilities. Children
demonstrate them all. We all feel them. But we feel they slip away from us as we get older. And
I think it’s vitally important for personal and every other kind of reason that we focus on them
and try to develop them.”44 Based on the way children learn through exploration, Uribe and
Cabra developed an elegant and playful model of creative behavior that can help us understand
how tinkering plays an important role in our lives. Using a child’s tricycle as a metaphor, Uribe
and Cabra call their model TRYCycle.45 As depicted in Figure 8.1, each wheel of the bike
signals an attribute of creative behavior that promotes an attitude of exploration (i.e., trying
things out), which is why the word TRY (tri→try) is modified. These behaviors
are experimentation (a recursive and applied approach to exploration), reflection (which shifts
weight from a focus on results to a focus on sense making), and incubation (which shifts weight
from conscious work to unconscious work). Attitude, curiosity, and play inspire the rider to hop
on, pedal, steer, and power the bike. The pedals stand for a child’s attitude as demonstrated
through energetic pedaling. They metaphorically represent adventure, risk taking, passion, and
openness to experience. The handlebar characterizes curiosity. Children scan the horizon for
things that pique their interest. As they move the handlebar toward the one that most captures
their imagination, the handlebar represents a focused attention to surroundings. The seat stands
for play, which shifts weight from “perilous” risk taking that comes from experimentation to a
more secure risk taking. It is precisely why play involves a suspension of self-consciousness so
that the child can engage in a purposeless activity that provides joy.46
Thought Starter
TRYCycle
Though not explicitly denoted in the metaphor, the fender represents a shield that protects the
rider from emotional setbacks—those that stem from idea rejection, for example. As such, the
fender symbolizes the ability to bounce back from defeat; this relates to Dweck’s growth
mindset, introduced in Chapter 6.47 When we consider J. K. Rowling’s act of overcoming
personal failure to reinvent herself, Eric Ries’s determined pitch to investors to start his third
company, or Josh Cooley’s patient work, hand-drawing the 80,000th storyboard for Ratatouille,
we see people who have not forgotten how to ride a tricycle, people who remember the endless
options of childhood and people who trust the process of experimentation. Ask anyone what they
do when they are creating, and many responses include, “I try experimenting with an idea, and
then I think about what happened, and then I try again. I let it go. I try it again.” All the
permutations of that initial idea are sparked by curiosity. They describe a personal process that
includes trial and error, which continues until curiosity has been quenched. After that, they go on
to the next thing that sparks their inquisitiveness. As T. S. Eliot wrote, “We shall not cease from
exploration. And the end of all of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the
place for the first time.”48 Learning to develop and validate creative ideas are essential skills for
creativity and the great experiment called life.
Figure 8.1 TRYCycle Model
Learning Activity: Applying the TRYCycle Model
In Chapter 2 the learning activity in the Being section asked you to engage in a new activity or experience. We
asked you to do this without any coaching or preparation. The TRYCycle model can be used to develop a spirit of
exploration and therefore guide you to get the most out of new experiences. Identify something that you’ve always
wanted to do but have not done. Use the TRYCycle framework to plan for embarking on this new adventure.
Considering the behaviors outlined in this model, write up a plan for how you might successfully pursue this dream.
Then pause to reflect: How did this model help you to get set up for success?
Case Study: From Student, to Student-preneur, to Millionaire: The Story
of Check I’m Here
Introduction
Reuben Pressman wanted to be more involved on campus. An undergraduate entrepreneurship major, he decided
that helping his on-campus student government with marketing support might be a good way to spend his extra time.
After all, he’d get to meet lots of new people and learn about the interesting student organizations and events on
campus. It was a decision that would shape his future and eventually make him a millionaire.
Helping student organizations raise awareness of their events and drive attendance is no easy task; according to
Pressman, students are often busy with conflicting class schedules (ever try to organize calendars for a team
project?), event space can be limited on campus, there are lots of rules to follow that few people understand, and the
student leaders of each organization who technically should understand those rules—the elected leadership team of
each organization—tend to rotate out every year as the seniors graduate and the positions are backfilled by juniors
and underclassmen facing a steep learning curve.
Pressman successfully ran for student government office and transitioned from marketing director to vice president.
In this newfound role his influence within student government grew as he began attending higher-level meetings
with campus administrators and leaders. Now privy to conversations about challenges facing the institution,
Pressman realized that student event management wasn’t just a student government problem but that the entire
university faced a similar challenge when attempting to capture student engagement data. After all, handwritten
sign-in sheets at events were the preferred tool of the day.
Additionally, the school struggled when attempting to figure out how to use the sparse and inconsistent data they did
have access to. These data are important to consider when making decisions about which programs are the most
impactful on the student community (and should therefore be eligible to receive funding in the next budget cycle).
Pressman realized that this was a meaningful and recurring problem: “Feeling these problems firsthand made me
passionate about improving the situation,” says Pressman, “and it was during that time that I realized that the
overarching problem of data capture and decision support was actually an opportunity in disguise.”49
From an early age, Pressman had been interested in technology and how it could be used to solve problems, and now
he’d realized that his university was facing what he’d determined was nothing more than a student data challenge.
He decided it was time to explore the ways in which technology might be applied to solve this problem.
First, he would assess whether other schools faced similar issues. If they did, it would demonstrate support for a
larger market opportunity than just his own university. It turns out there was a larger market opportunity: Student
engagement data were being directly identified by other institutions as a key driver of one of their most important
institutional metrics, student retention. Importantly, Pressman also learned that these schools were yet to obtain (or
build) sufficient tools to achieve their retention goals.
This insight led Pressman to ask what factors impacted student retention. And how much of a pain point is
this really for schools? In search of an answer, Pressman set out to interview other student government leaders at
similar (and dissimilar) institutions whom he had networked with through student government meetings and
conferences. His hunch was correct; institutions across the entire state of Florida were experiencing the same
problem: How to capture and leverage data to inform student engagement programming decisions and to help retain
more students?
Pressman knew he was on to something: “We had an advantage in that we had already felt the pain points they were
experiencing, but we also kept an open mind because we knew we didn’t experience them at the level that others did
on a daily basis. Once we had validated the problems with other student leaders at other institutions, it became about
problem solving for us. Entrepreneurship is all about problem solving. It’s not just having an idea. Coming at it from
an angle of solving a problem creates a much bigger advantage for a start-up; it’s about presenting a solution for
your customer—something they really need, something that creates value for them.”50
With three letters of purchase intent in hand, Pressman recalls, each stating something to the effect of, “Dear Mr.
Pressman, if you build a solution to this problem that we have, we will buy it from you,” he entered his start-up
concept into a university-sponsored business pitch competition and tied for first place.
From there, Pressman pooled his prize money with some local angel investment funding and began recruiting a team
of people to help him build a data capture and campus engagement solution for schools. “Our minimum viable
product was designed to simply collect information and analyze it,” he said. “We were inspired by Square’s card
reader technology—which we realized they didn’t actually build themselves—so we built our solution on top of
similar third-party technology and focused on creating value by making sure that our solution was the easiest to use
for students and administrators.”
With his solution, schools would get free student ID card readers that let students and administrators swipe student
IDs to collect information on things such as engagement and event attendance. With a philosophy of simple and
accessible, Pressman and Check I’m Here went on to land contracts with 10 institutions in the state of Florida and
then shifted their focus toward developing a nationwide sales model.51
Entering a growth stage, Check I’m Here was presented with an interesting problem: Clients were excited to sign up
and begin using the platform (and, most importantly, to pay!), however, they began asking for an increasingly wide
range of specialized support features to be added to the product to solve school-specific integration and optimization
problems. From a technology development perspective, this presented the Check I’m Here team with a dilemma:
Which features should get priority? Should they focus on serving the requests of their largest accounts? Or maybe
focus on problems they felt were more universal across a larger number of smaller schools? Perhaps they should
dedicate resources to supporting third-party platform integration or maybe develop their own application program
interface (API)?
“From the start, we had already ideated hundreds of features we thought might be cool and useful, but we also knew
it was critical to focus on the foundations of the core problems we were trying to solve for our clients. Doing so
allowed us to only build the most basic features that we needed so that we could then use that early customer
feedback to iterate our product and prioritize the building of additional, follow-on elements.”52
Often attributed to Henry Ford, the following quotation inspired Pressman to think critically about customer
feedback: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” According to Pressman,
“We use customer feedback to learn about the problems that they feel, but then we largely ignore their feedback
when it comes to designing solutions that we could build. For us, it just makes more sense to do our own ideation
and convergence to build what we think needs to be built to tackle the customer challenges they’ve described to us.
We’ll listen to their problems all day, but when it comes to solutions building, we want to do that ourselves.”
“For us, it comes down to trying things and testing and investing meaningful time and energy into validating our
ideas; an idea alone isn’t worth anything. As a start-up, we need to know that what we are building is going to be a
solution for our clients. Does it provide value to our customers? That’s the difference between good ideas and great
ideas; it’s often a case-by-case basis, but it’s definitely something that you and your customers are agreeing upon
when you are exchanging money.”
In reflecting on the process of starting his company, building and growing a team, and what it takes to create new
ideas and bring them to life in the world, Pressman believes, “I think it ultimately comes down to determination and
ambition: Simply, how much do you want it? It’s the ability to singularly focus, to put everything you can into
whatever you’re doing. The people who will be the most focused because they want to do it intrinsically, they are
the ones who succeed.”53
Company Trajectory
Stage Date
Problem framing and opportunity recognition (imagining student ID card
reader solution) Fall 2010
Pressman wins start-up pitch competition December 2011
Early product development (customer interviews and solution prototyping) July 2012
Launch of public beta product May 2014
Capital raise from local angel investors; small team of sales and marketing
onboard May 2014
Current snapshot 68 institutions, 22 states, 13
employees
Stage Date
Stretch goal 200 institutions by January 2017
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. A minimal viable product contains just enough attributes to aid in gathering information
about the product and its further development. Create an ultimate guide to building a
minimal viable product. What tips would you include?
2. How do you interpret and explain how Reuben Pressman was able to validate his
business idea?
Application Questions: Doing
1. Think of a time you successfully tested a solution. Identify the steps you completed to
make this happen. What content from this chapter might enhance the process steps you
identified? How is your system similar to the system Pressman applied?
2. Criteria are standards that are used to evaluate ideas. What criteria did you use to
determine which school would be the best for your formal education? What did the
school say or do that influenced you?
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. Reuben Pressman’s success was attributed to his mindset. As you reflect on this case
study, what mindset contributed to Pressman’s success? How is that similar and
dissimilar to yours? How is that similar to the mindsets described in the chapter? How
might you find ways to further develop the mindset in the areas that do not come
naturally to you?
2. Consider your next brainstorming meeting. Be deliberate about taking ideas that are
vocalized or documented and then take it a step further by creating a sketch and a
prototype of the sketch. Once completed, solicit feedback from others using the
prototype as a discussion starter. Where are the opportunities you can do this?
Chapter 9 ImplementGaining Buy-In and Driving
Change
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Recognize the value of presenting ideas in different ways to open minds
• Explain how finding common ground contributes to gaining buy-in
• Name eight steps to lead change
• Examine methods for managing influence
• Appraise the degree to which you actively permit learning anxiety to resist change
Knowing—Everyone Is in the Business of Sales
There is a common saying today—everyone sells. Yet most of us do not see ourselves as
“selling,” being skilled in sales or remotely able to close a big deal. How, then, does one singer
convince eight governments from among the world’s 11 largest national economies to cancel the
debt of the 52 poorest countries ($350 billion) and increase aid to them by $50 billion?
Especially when the stakeholders initially think he is acting in self-interest or, worse, conning
them? That was the challenge faced by Bono, the front man for rock band U2, when he
persuaded U.S. president George W. Bush, U.S. Treasury secretaries Paul O’Neill and Lawrence
Summers, and Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien to do just that. Bono’s foray into public
policy and philanthropy showed that he was not only a brilliant musician but also a laser-like
spotter of opportunities, an empathetic workaholic, a diffuser of tension, and an implementer of
big ideas, as Michka Assayas writes in an astute analysis of the musician’s creative leadership.1
Conservative politicians have a traditional distrust of rock stars and entertainers, but Bono
recruited them to the cause by doing two things extremely well: getting buy-in and driving
change. As you will see in this chapter, these two processes are essential steps in implementing
any creative idea. If you fail to attend to them, good ideas, especially big ones, never have a
chance. When it came to getting buy-in, Bono excelled at managing influence by understanding
that the rock star’s point of view would not carry the day. Instead, he had to learn to see things
from a different perspective, that of the politician and economist, spending large chunks of time
with them and getting to know their concerns and perspectives.2 Economists, poverty specialists,
World Bank leaders, politicians, and a chairperson of the Federal Reserve, to name a few,
became Bono’s tutors. When it came to driving change, Bono’s understanding of both the urgent
famine problem and the long-term economics of poverty transformed a one-time aid effort into
aid plus debt relief for future generations. Intuitively, he followed many of the essential steps
outlined by Harvard Business School professor John P. Kotter in his groundbreaking 1996
book Leading Change.3 For example, in the face of naysayers, Bono began with a sense of
urgency and formed a powerful coalition to guide the Live Aid effort, with the goal of continuing
it in some form.
To top it off, Bono captured the feeling of global giving in a dramatic act that music lovers the
world over—and one young woman in particular—will never forget.4 While U2 was singing in
front of 72,000 London Live Aid fans and 2 billion television viewers, Bono purposefully
dropped his microphone. Heading to a lower tier of the stage to dance with someone there, Bono
saw a young woman, among other people, getting squashed by the crowd. He signaled to the
ushers to lift her onto the platform, and fans erupted in cheers as he slow-danced with her—their
physical embrace a symbol of the bond he wanted to make with the whole audience. Bono, who
garnered Time’s Person of the Year award in 2005 along with Bill and Melinda Gates, was not
done influencing and driving change after that one concert.5 Today, he is cofounder of DATA
(Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), an organization that fights global poverty and HIV, including the
ONE Make Poverty History campaign. “Music,” he has famously said, “can change the world
because it can change people.”
Perspective Taking Replaces Sales Bluster
In the new world of influence, perspective-changing skills trump old-fashioned bluster, writes
Daniel Pink in his provocative 2012 book To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving
Others.6 Outdated, Pink recently told Forbes, is
the idea that selling is about some slippery character in a plaid sportcoat trying to stick you with
a crappy used car. But if we recognize that all forms of work—whether you’re pitching ideas in a
meeting or asking your boss for a raise—are a form of sales in a broader sense, we can get past
this outdated stereotype. What’s more, success in this realm now depends much, much less on
tricks and hoodwinkery than on some fundamentally human capabilities.7
Pink, who holds a law degree and worked as a political speechwriter, is now a best-selling author
and leading business thinker. He brings the latest social science research to the book To Sell Is
Human, and his argument for perspective taking holds important lessons for everyone in the
business of persuasion. Whether you are a salesperson on a monthly quota or a parent with a
rebellious teenager, Pink recommends first reducing your position of power to increase your
perspective. He suggests this because research shows an inverse relationship between power and
accurate perspective taking, which is why Bono gained insight when he sought out politicians
and economists, as well as Ethiopian villagers, to tutor him. Importantly, says Pink, perspective
taking is a cognitive, not emotional, skill. That is, one should focus on understanding the other
person’s interests, not the person’s emotions. In addition, the more your posture and vocabulary
mimic theirs, the more accurately you will take their perspective.
Although Pink offers many strategies of persuasion, depending on particular situations, here are
a few of his favorites, as told to Forbes.8 First, spend more time on finding hidden problems than
solving existing ones, because these new discoveries can create powerful change in today’s
complex and fast-moving world. Second, maintain your personal “buoyancy” to ensure that you
can quickly learn and recover from failures (explained as temporary setbacks caused by external,
unique, or one-time conditions). In contrast, if you habitually see mistakes as something
personal, pervasive, or permanent, you become less buoyant, eroding your influence potential.
Third, when the facts are on your side, questions are more persuasive than statements. Questions
prompt active responses, whereas statements prime passive responses. In short, the simple words,
“Why not give it a try?” might be more powerful than “It’s a no-brainer.”
Thought Starter
Creative Buoyancy
Influence Management: The Fine Art of Getting Buy-In
Anyone who has ever tried to change someone’s thinking about an idea realizes what the
common expression “a closed mind” means. We form mental models in childhood, and they
become more difficult to change as we mature. However, one way to open minds to change,
according to the well-respected developmental psychologist Howard Gardner, is to present an
idea in different forms, such as new linguistic, numerical, metaphorical, and graphic ways that an
audience finds familiar.9 For example, Bono used this persuasive rhetorical strategy with a
common biblical reference to get buy-in from leading conservative Christian senator Jesse
Helms. Initially Bono began his pitch with an impressive array of facts and figures. But as Bono
noticed Helms drifting, he intuitively switched his pitch to stress Jesus’s commitment to the sick
and the poor, suggesting that AIDS could be the 21st-century equivalent of the leprosy
referenced in the New Testament.10 It was a cathartic moment for the senator; afterward, Bono
had no trouble recruiting the senator’s support in the global fight against AIDS.
By understanding other people’s values and recasting their own ideas in mutually compatible
ways, creative leaders can find common ground and gain influence. This strategy, however, calls
for gathering evidence from important players, which means knowing and systematically
employing proven methods of research and analysis. These methods do not have to be
complicated or expensive; rather, they include widely accepted standards, such as force field
analysis, stakeholder analysis, the new ABCs of sales pitching, and social proof theory, wisely
applied. Taken together, these approaches will help you create a formidable tool kit for managing
influence.
1. Start With Force Field Analysis
When facing a decision about change, one common, seemingly analytical, approach is to weigh
the pros and cons. But as most of us know, this approach can lead to erroneous conclusions if
items are not accurately weighted in terms of value and consequence. With force field analysis, a
tool described in Chapter 4, it is easy to conduct this analysis with rigor and make good decisions
while persuading others to do the same. In the 1940s, respected social psychologist Kurt Lewin,
founder of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at MIT, developed this classic analytical
tool, which offers a quantitative way of identifying and assessing factors both helping change
and hindering change. “Force Field Analysis . . . helps you make a decision by analyzing the
forces for and against a change, and it helps you communicate the reasoning behind your
decision,” wrote James Manktelow and Amy Carlson of the popular website Mind Tools, which
offers an easy tutorial in the technique.11 “You can use it for two purposes: to decide whether to
go ahead with the change; and to increase your chances of success, by strengthening the forces
supporting change and weakening those against it,” writes leadership coach Jim Dezieck.
Additionally, this type of analysis helps you identify and lower barriers between a person’s status
and the goal or desired change. “This lowers the total energy needed to achieve change and
thereby makes change easier,” notes Dezieck.12
2. Add Stakeholder Analysis
The higher you climb in your career, the more people you affect and the more interaction you
have with higher-ups or clients with influence over your projects. These people can be fans or
enemies of your next big idea. But they are not a monolithic group; rather, each holds different
positions and interests as they relate to you and your success. “Stakeholder management is
critical to the success of every project in every organization I have ever worked with. By
engaging the right people in the right way in your project, you can make a big difference to its
success . . . and to your career,” advises career coach Rachel Thompson.13 The sketch of the lion
is a tribute Dalí made to a private collector and design consultant, Stephan Lion, who provided
instrumental support to the artist during the 1940s and 1950s. It is said that Dalí conveyed his
regard for this patron through this sketch, perhaps expressing his appreciation to this important
stakeholder. How might you express your appreciation to those stakeholders in your life?
Salvador Dalí, Lion, 1956 ink and wash on paper, image: 15 3/8 × 11 1/2 in.
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
University of Southern California business professors Mason and Mitroff introduced a tool
useful in systematically identifying, analyzing, and planning actions relative to key
stakeholders.14 Essentially, this tool has you begin by generating a list of key stakeholders
followed by an assessment of each stakeholder’s position on the change you wish to propose
(scale of evaluation is strongly opposed, moderately opposed, neutral, moderately supportive,
strongly supportive). Using the same scale, you determine what level of support would be useful
to increase the probability of implementing your new idea. Action steps are then generated to
move the stakeholder from the current position to the desired position. This activity not only
allows you to plan to use stakeholder opinions to shape the project (both in concept and
positioning), it also helps ensure more resources, support, and eventual buy-in. It allows you to
spot and prepare for opposition in advance. For example, the analysis concludes with a
stakeholder map that gives you a solid understanding of the most important players; you can then
anticipate their responses using a second tool for stakeholder planning. Useful descriptions of the
stakeholder analysis can be found in Puccio and colleagues’ book on creative leadership and in
the Mind Tools site identified earlier.15 Figure 9.1 displays a typical stakeholder analysis
worksheet.
3. Learn the New ABCs of Sales Pitching
Social science research into “pitch archetypes” shows it is time to rethink the ABCs of how we
propose or market a new idea with a revised focus on being “Attuned, Buoyant, and Clear,”
writes Daniel Pink.16 In an interview with the Harvard Business Review about his book To Sell is
Human, Pink reminds us that “every email is a pitch. . . . And what [the research] shows, very
much, is that, when you pitch, effective pitches don’t convert [the other person] in the pitch.
What I do, essentially, is, I invite you to participate and co-create it.”17 For example, in
describing the social science behind this, Pink turns to Carnegie Mellon researchers’
investigation into a kind of everyday pitch, an e-mail subject line, to find out what makes it
effective.
Figure 9.1 Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet
They sat with people looking over their shoulder as people opened their email. And these people
narrated why they were making decisions about opening email and so forth. . . . And what they
found—actually, pretty clear results. There are two categories of subject lines that tend to get
opened the most, namely subject lines that appeal to utility and subject lines that appeal to
curiosity. When people have a lighter email load, curiosity is effective. When they have a heavy
email load, you’ve got to go with utility.18
In his book (and in videos on his website at www.danpink.com/resources), Pink offers six simple
pitches and examples, based on the best argument, or ammunition, and the situation at
hand.19 His first is the “one-word pitch,” as immortalized in the movie The Graduate, when the
aimless college student played by Dustin Hoffman is advised to consider a future in plastics. A
more current example, says Pink, is MasterCard’s one-liner: Priceless. Second, he suggests “the
question pitch,” such as Ronald Reagan’s famous line, “Are you better off than you were four
years ago?” The third is a “rhyming pitch,” which may not sound cerebral but can stick
nonetheless. Pink’s example, “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” was famously said by
Johnnie Cochran in the O. J. Simpson murder trial. His fourth favorite is what Pink calls “the
subject line pitch,” which calls for improving e-mail messages to appeal to usefulness or
curiosity. For example, he recommends the template “4 tips to improve (e.g., golf, test scores,
client sales) today.” Fifth, he suggests tightening up “the Twitter pitch” to 120 characters (20
characters short of the maximum) so others can easily retweet it. Sixth, he recommends “the
Pixar pitch” and rules from story artist Emma Coats, especially Rule #4, which is to create a
compelling narrative of your story.20
4. Employ Social Proof Theory
Finally, the newest research on “social proof”—or the opinions of other customers—shows that
it speaks much louder than the voice of the producer or the company. This is especially true with
online content, which gives most consumers today instant access to reader reviews, surveys,
comments, and blogs. For example, 70% of consumers report reading product reviews before
buying, and these product reviews are “12x more trusted than product descriptions from
manufacturers,” according to Ed Hallen in a recent article in the online magazine Fast
Company.21 Other examples of social proof include (1) expert social proof, (2) celebrity social
proof, (3) user social proof, (4) wisdom of the crowds social proof, and (5) wisdom of your
friends social proof. Hence, whereas social proof may not be new, the Internet and social media
have made it ubiquitous in marketing. Hallen suggests that a couple of quick ways to put this
psychology to work right away are to add customer testimonials to websites and stress
follower/subscriber numbers in blogs. He adds that it is helpful to “find experts who are
interested in what you’re doing, build relationships and work together to find ways that they can
help promote you.”22
Drive Change: Bridging and Managing Four Critical Aspects
Tradition is comfortable, stable, and predictable, especially when it’s tied to your identity. If
what you’re doing is not broken, then why mess with it? Well, the next time you hear someone
say, “We’ve always done it this way,” remind them of the attendant truism: If you always do
what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got. In today’s fast-moving,
technologically driven, and competitive business world, “what you’ve always got” may no
longer be a viable service or product. To innovators, then, new ideas suggest the change needed
to keep pace with the larger environment, hence, to survive. But to others, these same ideas
suggest a destruction of familiar ways of doing things. To a large degree, the concerns that
preoccupy the latter group stem from learning anxiety, and they underscore why some people
resist change. To successfully drive change, you will need to understand this type of anxiety and
to bridge and manage aspects of transformation in at least four important ways: (1) help
individuals replace learning anxiety with survivor’s anxiety, (2) take a step-by-step approach to
creative destruction and reinvention, (3) cultivate a learning/helping organization that transcends
culture, and (4) understand how collective creativity permeates the innovation process.
1. Replace Learning Anxiety With Survivor’s Anxiety
Learning anxiety, studies show, comprises a combination of fears, such as fear of temporary
incompetence, fear of punishment for incompetence, fear of loss of personal identity, and fear of
loss of group membership,23 or what some experts call the “Death Valley” of change.24 When
people go through transitions, it is not uncommon for them to experience a sense of risk and, as a
result, relapse to what is familiar and comfortable. If these fears are not addressed, then
defensive responses typically follow. Such responses may include confusion, immediate
criticism of the proposed changes, denial, malicious compliance, subtle sabotage, easy
agreement, silence, and deflection.25 This topic receives little attention in organizations. It is
messy and time consuming to address the psychological bases of learning anxiety. It is much
easier to “shake it off” and get on with the matters of business at hand that you are paid to do.
But until survival anxiety (i.e., the acceptance of an imminent threat brought on by a sense of
urgency) supersedes learning anxiety, your ideas will likely be dead on arrival.
2. Take a Step-by-Step Approach to Creative Destruction and Reinvention
Few people understand organizational change and its structure and processes better than retired
Harvard Business School professor John P. Kotter, author of the definitive 1996 book Leading
Change.26 When he launched his book, Kotter wrote in the Harvard Business Review that it grew
out of watching more than 100 companies, large and small, try to reinvent themselves to compete
on the world stage. “These [change] efforts have gone under many banners: total quality
management, reengineering, rightsizing, restructuring, cultural change, and turnaround.”
Whereas a few had succeeded and others had failed, most fell “somewhere in between, with a
distinct tilt toward the lower end of the scale,” he wrote. Kotter drew two general lessons from
his observation and analysis. First, in successful cases, “the change process goes through a series
of phases that, in total, usually require a considerable length of time. Skipping steps creates only
the illusion of speed and never produces a satisfying result.”27 Second, Kotter observed that
because few people have experience in renewing organizations through change, even the most
capable people will make missteps that can undermine successful momentum.
Managing change is a delicate process. To assist change leaders, Kotter outlined eight critical
success factors that remain staples in the leader’s tool kit today. These factors are to (1) establish
urgency for change (from examination of crises, potential crises, or major opportunities); (2)
form a leading coalition (with enough power to implement the change plan and the ability to
work as a team); (3) create a vision of the new ideal (that serves as a motivational goal and keeps
everyone headed in the right direction); (4) communicate that vision (using every means possible
to convey the new future and the strategies and behaviors necessary for getting there); (5) free
others to act (by getting rid of obstacles that undercut the vision), encouraging risk taking and
nontraditional ideas, activities, and action; (6) create short-term wins (by establishing visible
performance improvements and recognizing and rewarding those involved in meeting them); (7)
consolidate improvements/produce more change (by using victories to continue to transform
organizational elements that don’t support the vision, hiring change agents, and announcing new
projects); and (8) institutionalize new approaches (by telling the story of the new behaviors and
corporate success and developing leadership teams and succession plans to support the vision).
3. Cultivate a Learning/Helping Organization That Transcends Culture
The topic of corporate culture has preoccupied leadership for nearly two decades, since Edgar H.
Schein, known as the father of organizational psychology, began writing about who we are in
organizations, why we resist change, and how we learn in a series of provocative books, such as
the essential Organizational Culture and Leadership,28 The Corporate Culture Survival
Guide,29 and his latest, Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling.30 Recently,
in an interview with Forbes, Schein advised that corporate culture is not as important in today’s
fluid organizations and international workforce as “macro cultures” and “micro
cultures.”31 Macro cultures are evidenced by nations and nationalities, including the many
international employees and clients with whom we interact with daily. Micro cultures surface
between occupations and disciplines in organizations, causing problems in the operating room,
for example, or in the design studio.
Schein says he is often called in as a consultant to help companies change cultures, when that is
not really possible or practical. The more pressing questions are, What problem are we trying to
solve? How are our multicultural teams learning from and helping each other as they try to solve
it? Says Schein, “To help leaders deal with multi-cultural teams two things need to happen—
leaders have to become much more humble and learn how to seek help, because the subordinates
under them will be much more knowledgeable than they.” Second, he adds, leaders will have to
become “culturally literate” by understanding the frames of different occupations and
nationalities and creating “cultural islands” where people can drop their nativist guards and
speak directly about what is hampering them without fear of repercussion. He concludes, “If
leaders can’t create those kinds of cultural islands, they won’t be able to create teams that can
actually work.”32
4. Understand How Collective Creativity Permeates the Innovation Process
If you are getting the feeling that creativity is everyone’s job, you are right. But this may be news
to some people in your organization. In the old days, innovation was viewed as two distinct
stages, discovery and implementation, and “responsibility for creativity [was] partitioned into
separate departments,” explains leading creativity scholar Tudor Rickards.33 The award-winning
Rickards, who has written extensively on innovation and creativity, is based at the University of
Manchester (England), Alliance Manchester Business School, where he is professor of creativity
and organizational change. Today, he argues, innovation involves new social procedures that
thrive on creativity through all phases of discovery and learning. Hence, we are all innovators.
This recasting of the role of creativity, he writes, has two important implications. First,
organizations do not have to stop and retool to begin innovating. They can inventory and reflect
on their proven behaviors in creativity and innovation, deepen understanding, sharpen focus, and
build on these collective skills. Second, they can dismiss the old social-engineering model and
replace it with a creativity-constructs-meaning model, wherein everyday brainstorming,
experimentation, and risk taking lead to learning and, importantly, innovation. In his
blog, Leaders We Deserve, Rickards asserts that the primary challenge of creative leadership
today is facing ambiguities—in the marketplace, the workplace, and the research and design
process.34
Learning Activity: Examining Bono’s Strategy of Persuasion
Revisit the story of Bono’s success in selling the idea of canceling debt of the 52 poorest countries and at the same
time increasing aid to them by $50 billion. Using the knowledge you were introduced to in this section, explain how
Bono was able to overcome the resistance to this idea. What lessons can you extract from your assessment of Bono’s
approach that might be useful to you in the future?
Doing—Acting Like an Influencer and Change Agent
Honing Your Pitch Skills
If you have ever tried to explain a new idea to a client, a coworker, or even a new acquaintance,
and taken your listener through a litany of technology code and business platitudes, you realize at
least one thing about pitching. Even if you know a great deal about the market and have spent
months nurturing and shaping your ideas, you may be all over the place when talking about what
you do or hope to do. That’s where Jason Shen comes in. Shen is a marketing manager at
Percolate and previously cofounded Ridejoy. He’s like a pitching coach for professional baseball
players, only he trains entrepreneurs to transform weak and dry pitches into something
unexpected that seals the deal. Shen says most people still rely on the standard pitch, or the
problem-solution story, which is a serviceable standby when you’re out of other ideas. But in his
popular blog, he encourages readers to think much more creatively about telling the story of their
companies and has identified 11 start-up “pitch archetypes.” Because every business is unique,
the pitches don’t sound scripted. They sound like good stories, and they can help you effectively
lead the discussion and frame your points. However, Shen does offer an important qualification:
“These pitches are not magic. Nothing works unless you do.”35
Following are Shen’s 11 pitches, which can apply to any kind of start-up, whether you are
launching a business or just trying to sell an idea for a new product or service inside your
existing company.36 Practice different ones until you find the one or two that work best for you,
your style, your situation, and the audience receiving the pitch. If you lack confidence in pitching
now, you will be surprised at how good you will get with a little storytelling practice.
• Archetype 1: “Traction,” or the rapid-growth “everyone has started to use this new
product” pitch, which works perfectly as long as you have the data to back up the story.
• Archetype 2: “X for Y,” or the comparison with a proven model/service/product for a
growing new customer segment/market/platform, as evidenced by the saying “brown is
the new black.”
• Archetype 3: “Personal Story,” or the anecdote about how the company’s creators were
trying to solve a personal or business problem (that many others also wrestle with) and
invented this product/service with mass appeal.
• Archetype 4: “Pivot/Offshoot,” or the discovery of a new idea that comes out of work on
another, related or unrelated, project and shows your investor how you can see
customer needs and new ideas from the ground up.
• Archetype 5: “Evolution Next,” or showing the evolution of a successful idea in the
marketplace and predicting the next trend and phase in development so investors want
to position themselves for future upsides.
• Archetype 6: “Painting the Future,” or the ability to imagine a new future, such as the
paperless office, like a time traveler, complete with pictures of how your
service/product will be used.
• Archetype 7: “Service at Scale,” or a service, such as accounting or recruiting, that is
often outsourced to small shops but can be transformed into one scalable product with
software or some other technology.
• Archetype 8: “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If?,” or a novel idea (like Twitter in 2006) that did not
exist because the technology or know-how was not there but now can be developed
due to some recent innovation that you have access to.
• Archetype 9: “Insane Tech,” or a new set of breakthrough technologies that topples the
traditional way, transforms the operational landscape (making something 30 times
faster/bigger/smaller), and opens up entirely new possibilities.
• Archetype 10: “The Dream Team,” or the opportunity to work with a rare group, like Dr.
D’Agostino created in his lab (see Chapter 5 case), assembled for this market to build
this product/service because no other outfit has the right mix of people, connections,
and resources to make it work.
• Archetype 11: “Consumerfication of Enterprise,” or a product or service that used to be
expensive/slow/complicated that you make affordable/fast/easy, opening up a whole
new market, like Weebly, the easy-to-use website builder.
Thought Starter
Creative Pitching
Honing Your Change Skills
As we saw previously in this chapter, especially with Tudor Rickards’s research, making one
area of a company, such as the R&D division, responsible for generating innovation is simply a
huge mistake.37 This view is narrow-minded and risky because competitors who instill a true
culture of innovation are advancing with better ways to do things in every unit of the
organization. As the Chicago-based consulting group Doblin asserts, “Creating new products is
only one way to innovate, and on its own, it provides the lowest return on investment and the
least competitive advantage . . . companies that integrate multiple types of innovation will
develop offerings that are more difficult to copy and that generate higher returns.” To that end,
Doblin has identified ten types of organizational innovation (see Table 9.1) that, once made a set
of best practices, allow creative thinkers anywhere in the company to identify new opportunities
and develop “defensible innovations.”38
Table 9.1 Doblin’s Ten Types of Innovation®
Table 9.1 Doblin’s Ten Types of Innovation®
1. PROFIT MODEL: How you make money
2. NETWORK: How you connect with others to
create value
3. STRUCTURE: How you organize and align
your talent and assets
4. PROCESS: How you use signature or superior
methods to do your work
5. PRODUCT PERFORMANCE: How you
develop distinguishing features and functionality
6. PRODUCT SYSTEM: How you create
complementary products and services
7. SERVICE: How you support and
amplify the value of your offerings
8. CHANNEL: How you deliver your
offerings to customers and users
9. BRAND: How you represent your
offerings and business
10. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT: How
you foster compelling interactions
Source: Larry Keeley, Ryan Pikkel, Brian Quinn, and Helen Walters, Ten Types of Innovation: The Discipline of Building
Breakthroughs (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2013). www.doblin.com/tentypes
In addition to understanding the breadth of your innovation potential, it’s important to practice
scanning, in both a keen and constant fashion. Pay attention to organizational paradoxes and
dilemmas (e.g., efficiency versus effectiveness). Challenge yourself to find an alternative
response that does not compromise. Go for a “yes-and” idea, not an “either/or.” Keep a journal
that captures challenges as mentioned in trade journals, newspapers, social media, and
conferences. Take time to log ideas in response to these challenges. Remember that this will not
be easy. In many cases, what blocks success is an environment defined by volatility, uncertainty,
complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA).39 As Edgar Schein recommends, training multicultural
teams to deal with VUCA problems will bring to the table the creative potential of everyone
involved.
In the process of implementation, your ideas will face hurdles. So, first and foremost, let go of
your need to have it come out perfect. Handle any rejections with calm, reflection, and a sense of
humor. In short, be buoyant, as author Dan Pink calls it. To get started, try one of Pink’s
exercises for building buoyancy, the Rejection Generator Project, as he describes in his
newsletter. “Just choose your favored style of repudiation, type in your email, and in minutes
you’ll receive a dream-destroyer in your inbox,” Pink writes, only half-jokingly.40 Additionally,
become a staunch listener, and make adjustments according to feedback. Embody tolerance for
ambiguity, or risk getting stuck in the quicksand of inertia.
Learning Activity: Force Field Analysis on Your Start-up
In Chapter 2 you identified a start-up idea, and in Chapter 8 you were asked to test the viability of this idea by
creating a prototype. We now wish you to think about how you will sell this start-up idea. Use force field analysis,
described both in this chapter and Chapter 4, to examine the factors that will either support or resist your start-up
concept. Replicate the Force Field Analysis worksheet presented in Table 4.1 in Chapter 4. Looking at the forces for
and against this idea, how might you pitch this start-up idea in a way that will improve the likelihood of success?
Take the perspective of one of your key stakeholders and complete the force field analysis again, but from that
stakeholder’s perspective. What new insights did this provide or reinforce?
Being—Influencing and Leading Change
Two decades ago, The Executive published an article on how to become an influential manager
with these sage words, “Managers who choose rational ideas based on the needs of the target,
wrap them with a blanket of humor or anecdotes, and cast them in the language of the person to
be influenced, are much more likely to see their influence objective achieved.”41 Fast-forward to
today, and you will see that today’s writers and scholars offer similar advice when it comes to
persuading others. In her popular TED Talk, Nancy Duarte presents an approach to making a
convincing connection with your audience so that they are moved to a purposeful action—
resonance.42 Howard Gardner, in his book Changing Minds, asserts the significance of taking a
rational approach to change minds—reason.43 Dan Pink, in To Sell Is Human, persuades us of
the importance of understanding stakeholder perspective and being able to detach germane
pieces of information from noise or distraction—attunement.44 In The Art of Woo, the authors
identify the honoring and managing of relationships as paramount—credibility.45 Great
influencers aren’t born; instead, what enables them to maximize their influence is reflective and
adaptive persistence.
Consider one of the most celebrated groups of creative people today—MacArthur Fellows, 21
people who are chosen each year for their track record in innovation and their potential for future
contributions. MacArthur Fellows receive a $625,000 stipend paid over 5 years as a type of
incubator capital for continuing to explore their best ideas. “Those who think creativity is dying
should examine the life’s work of these extraordinary innovators who work in diverse fields and
in different ways to improve our lives and better our world,” said Cecilia Conrad, vice president
of the MacArthur Fellows Program, when she announced the 2014 genius awards. “Together,
they expand our view of what is possible, and they inspire us to apply our own talents and
imagination.”46
Whether MacArthur fellows are tackling social issues like secure and affordable housing or
redefining paradigms in art, the labor movement, or documentary filmmaking, they all have one
thing in common: They understand how to model the creative way by championing solutions for
themselves and others. Key to living this kind of life is “contextual thinking,” as described in
Puccio, Mance, and Murdock’s Creative Leadership: Skills That Drive Change.47 Contextual
thinking results from taking an intentional environmental scan and factoring it into your thinking
and decision making to create responsive products and services. According to Puccio and
colleagues, “Contextual thinking enables you to notice what is happening around you. . . . It is
not to have a good solution; being able to implement it depends on whether the timing is right,
the resources are available, and if those around you are supportive.”48 Without contextual
thinking, you can make serious miscalculations, as we have seen in the history of business
failures, from the introduction of the ill-fated Ford Edsel to the more recent dot-com boom and
bust. In the end, the ultimate result of learning how to be the influencer and change agent in your
own life is your own satisfaction. As MacArthur fellow Pamela O. Long, an independent
historian, said recently in an interview for the History News Network about how she found her
own creative path, “Think outside the box. Everyone is different and in a different situation, so
everyone’s solution will be different. The important thing is, if you have found something you
love to do, be flexible in figuring out the best way for you to do it.”49
Thought Starter
Contextual Thinking
Learning Activity: Honing Your Selling Skills
As Pink suggests in To Sell Is Human, selling takes many forms, from negotiating a salary to bargaining with our
loved ones. We constantly use our persuasive powers and thus have ample opportunity to refine them. When the
need for buy-in arises (in any context, personal or professional) practice honing your skills, perhaps structuring a
pitch around one of the many archetypes provided in this chapter. Use one or more of Pink’s strategies, such as
perspective taking. With this in mind, how would you approach this situation? Try it out, then write about it in your
journal.
Case Study: ChappellRoberts: Creative Ideas
Introduction
When it comes to implementing new ideas successfully, gaining buy-in from others to drive change may be one of
the most challenging tasks facing an innovator. The ability to be persuasive, to wield influence over those whose
opinions or involvement can help make your creative idea happen (or, alternatively, die on the vine), and to see
situations from perspectives other than your own are all tools an innovator can use to increase the likelihood of
driving productive change in an organization.
Getting buy-in involves influencing a buyer. Driving change involves speaking from a place of power. In the case of
a start-up company or a new creative idea being pushed by an intrapreneur, these might mean leveraging expert
opinions and evaluations or developing deeper authority on the subject at hand. For Tampa, Florida– based
advertising agency ChappellRoberts, it’s a little bit of both.
In 1978, two friends, Colleen Chappell and Deanne Roberts, founded the full-service creative agency,
ChappellRoberts, with the aim of standing out within the industry. Today, the award-winning agency thrives in the
city’s eclectic Ybor City neighborhood and works with clients including Fortune 100 brands; telecommunications
firms; health care leaders; and professional baseball, football, and hockey teams. Graphic designers, copywriters,
managers, marketers, and account executives all support this endeavor and embody their company tag line: “We
create change.”
None more so than ChappellRoberts founder and CEO Colleen Chappell, whose more than 25 years of industry
experience has helped to establish the executive as a standout in the field of advertising. An award-winning expert in
brand development, and marketing and advertising strategy, Chappell knows what works and what doesn’t. She also
knows how to get buy-in and how to drive change in partnership with her clients.
Before bringing on a new client, ChappellRoberts employs a custom-built “brand discovery” process. This allows
the team to fully evaluate the client relationship potential and gain insight into the perspective of the company and
its customers.
As part of this process, Chappell explains, the agency lets clients in crowded industries like health care “get the
expected out of their system” when it comes to campaigns or branding, “and then we say, let’s throw that all away
now!”
Encouraging clients to share (and then dismiss!) their prior conceptualizations of their advertising and marketing
strategies may sound risky, but at the same time, it allows space for ChappellRoberts to then introduce a novel,
dynamic solution or strategy that can help the client drive future change. How?
Process
Earlier in this chapter, we discussed the notion that we are all salespeople—to sell is human. Sales comes down to
persuasion, as author Daniel Pink noted in Forbes.50 Persuasion, Pink suggests, comes down to a combination of
finding hidden problems (which can be catalysts for quick-moving change), developing a thick skin to recover from
setbacks, and choosing questions instead of statements when the facts are in your favor.
At ChappellRoberts, the persuasion process unfolds in a similar fashion: First, the “brand discovery” process, which
allows the agency’s team to tackle the deeper, hidden problems that Pink suggests can drive change; second, a brief
that contains several ideas or strategies, minimizing potential setbacks; and finally, an open approach to the question
of “What is the right answer?”
To truly understand the perspective of the client or the client’s customers, there can be no right answer, Chappell
says. “The agency shies away from pinpointing: ‘This is the one concept, the one idea, the one answer.’ We do a
spectrum. There’s always more than one answer.”
In fact, Chappell is quick to quote award-winning National Geographic photographer turned motivational speaker
DeWitt Jones: “His philosophy is that there’s more than one ‘right’ answer. He shows you visually, through moving
camera angles so that the sun or shadows shift and a new perspective is revealed, creating multiple right answers.”51
Subjectivity is a filter that all of us share, Chappell says, but the agency works to keep clients focused on the
strategy contained within collaborative briefs. With that extra layer of transparency, too, ChappellRoberts
distinguishes itself among creative agencies: After creating and refining the brief in-house, they share it with the
client, who can add another layer of perspective.
Perspective taking, or truly seeing client needs and perspectives, can go a long way toward helping a client feel
comfortable making the shift from tried-and-true traditions to a new, reimagined creative idea or product.
What does perspective taking mean for ChappellRoberts? Going beyond the client to the client’s customer: “If I can
put myself in the mindset, in the shoes of who they’re selling to, then I’m giving them an advantage,” Chappell says.
As Kotter, author of Leading Change, noted in the Harvard Business Review, leading change is one of the most
difficult tasks creative people face in the implementation of a new idea.52 Because change requires both time and a
series of steps, it cannot be moved along to meet a deadline. ChappellRoberts approaches change through, above all,
a thorough and immersive approach that stacks smarts and strategy above showy pitches. Because Chappell is a
chief marketing officer, big agencies pitch to her regularly. Flashy approaches and dramatics didn’t appeal to her;
smart approaches did. Turns out, most ChappellRoberts clients agree: “Every client likes a smart approach. If you
can show them that this approach is smart, it goes far more than big dramatic pitches.”
Building a smart creative brief, Chappell says, is the heart of the creative process for the agency and the foundation
of the strategy upon which new ideas are built. Through the process of building a creative brief, ideas are refined,
readjusted, and developed in a formal process. Like creating a great soup, Chappell explains, adding ingredients in
stages and letting herbs—or ideas—simmer for a while will help draw more flavors out of the dish.
This collaborative process results in more strategic ideas through multiple iterations of editing and brainstorming,
Chappell says. “You’ve got to embrace the process—don’t fight it. Ultimately what you come up with is far more
strategic and profound.”
When it comes down to the client taste test, of course, things become less a matter of perspective and more a matter
of subjective taste. But knowing what tools to use to discern which strategy or platform is right for the time, and the
tone, can go a long way toward implementing creative change.
Chappell cautions agencies against potentially overreaching. Know what you’re good at, and know what a good
client match is, she says. The key to success for Chappell: “Being very clear about what our model is. We’re about
full-service integration. We need to strategically work with you for this to be a success.”
Acting like an influencer will achieve the dual role of getting buy-in and successfully leading change to implement
your ideas. But another way to influence change is to recognize when a relationship with a client is draining
resources or is in some other way working against the values of your company.
Parting ways with an ill-matched client can be embraced as an opportunity to hone your change-driving skills. At
one point, Chappell fired the firm’s largest client with no backup, because a continued relationship “was more of a
compromise to what we stood for as an organization and as people than it was worth the money.”
The ChappellRoberts team bounced back through a focus on securing new business, developing a deeper
understanding of their existing clients, and honing an understanding of modern technology and industry trends. Even
so, they’re not immune to hearing no. Walking away from clients who aren’t the right fit for your company or
ending unsatisfactory business relationships can help shape your perspective of hearing no from another client into a
question of how you can meet that client’s needs.
Chappell recounts a piece of early advice she received when in business sales: “If you’re not hearing no, you’re not
working.” But rather than giving in to rejection, she says, “I immediately change my mindset to ‘Now I’m closer to
the next yes.’”
Conclusion
Getting buy-in and leading change are persistent challenges that fly in the face of innovators and entrepreneurs. For
Colleen Chappell and the ChappellRoberts team, there are proven ways to help influence creative change: Earning
and wielding influence, using creative persuasion methods, and deliberately taking on the perspective of others are
all ways to gain buy-in, lead change, and drive business for the firm.
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. Kotter outlined eight critical success factors to manage change. Which steps closely
relate to those applied by the ChappellRoberts team?
2. How does the ChappellRoberts team approach to influencing others resemble that of
Bono’s process?
3. In what ways does Chappell overcome resistance to change?
Application Questions: Doing
1. Think of a time when you faced a criticism of your idea. Which tactics in this case would
have helped you to rebound from that criticism?
2. Imagine a scenario where you can introduce a smart creative brief. What would your
brief look like? Speculate on what kind of feedback you might receive to improve the
smart creative brief.
3. What did you learn about the buy-in process from this case that you can apply in your
professional life?
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. What daily habits can you identify to empathize with those whom you associate?
Imagine you were offering advice to someone you know based on the pain points you
discovered as they related to annoyances and problems to be solved at work. How
might you shape your advice by connecting with these pain points?
2. It is easy to fall back to your initial responses to harsh criticism. What are the ways to
prevent yourself from unraveling in the face of harsh criticism?
Part III BeingWays to Sustain Yourself as a 21st-
Century Innovator
Chapter 10 The Emotionally Intelligent Leader
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Recognize research that makes the case for emotional intelligence
• Explain how emotional intelligence contributes to effective leadership
• Apply methods and strategies that enhance awareness of emotions, both one’s own and
others’
• Describe the blocks that get in the way of self-creative leadership
• Appraise the degree to which you actively work to regulate the type of thinking that
hinders creativity
Knowing—Emotional Intelligence Is Not a Soft Skill
A Story About Managing Emotions
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by emotions? Did you notice how you were unable to do your
best thinking in these moments? Have you ever regretted one of these moments? We start this
chapter with a short story, one drawn from Indian animal fables.1 A long time ago, there lived a
priest’s assistant and his wife. They had a young son who, due to their busy work schedules, was
alone much of the time. The assistant thought extensively about his son and the time he spent
alone. He wondered how to protect and give his son company during the times both parents
worked. A pet, he thought, would help with both matters. The following day, he purchased a
mongoose from the market. As time passed, the mongoose grew into a wonderful pet. The
priest’s assistant and his wife considered the mongoose another member of the family. But
despite their enjoyment of the pet, the wife at times feared they were putting their son in harm’s
way. After all, it was just an animal!
One day, she needed to leave her home to retrieve water from a pond nearby. With some
trepidation, she left the child with the mongoose. While she was away, a king cobra entered the
home. Sensing the danger to the child, the mongoose leaped into action and fought the cobra to
its death. As the mongoose would typically do, it ran to the door upon the return of the child’s
mother. But on this day, she entered her home in horror. The mongoose’s mouth was painted
with blood. It had to be her son’s blood, she concluded. She picked up a heavy box and slammed
it on the mongoose, killing it. In a frenzied state, she began to look for her son, only to find him
sleeping soundly. To her surprise, next to her son’s bed were the remains of the dead cobra. The
shock was immediate; she realized that the mongoose had saved a life, whereas she had taken
one. The mother was filled with sadness and repentance at her hasty action. Many lessons can be
extracted from this old fable; we believe this story serves as a good example of how runaway
emotions can undermine good decision making. The story’s lesson is important, because if we do
not learn to manage these biologically driven processes—our emotions—they may derail our
success and our ability to meet important goals.
This chapter, therefore, explores the topic of emotional intelligence2 (EI)—which is defined as
the ability to manage oneself and one’s relationships with others3—and its relationship to
professional success. For example, what do leaders do to regulate the emotions that stand in the
way of their creativity, and what do they do to nurture the creativity of those whom they lead?
To be precise, in this chapter we examine how EI is important for organizational success. We
further show why this topic matters today. Emotional unintelligence, as we dub it
here, can generate a lifetime of blocks to creativity. As you discovered in the opening story, the
priest’s assistant’s wife allowed herself to become emotionally hijacked. Had she instead paused
for a moment to check on her son, she would have avoided years of remorse. Too often leaders
make damaging decisions based on unchecked emotions. They hold too tightly to an emotion,
which in turn blocks their ability to formulate productive thinking. Learning to manage your
emotions opens the mind to more possibilities.
Some readers may think this fable is too exaggerated to fit an organizational context. We would
counter this view by suggesting that “emotional hijacking,” that is, when one’s thinking is
overwhelmed by emotions in a manner that serves to undermine effective decisions and progress
toward meaningful goals, is a regular occurrence in organizations. Take, for instance, the well-
publicized firing of Steve Jobs from Apple Computer. John Sculley, former president of Pepsi-
Cola, was brought in as a senior executive at Apple, where his management approach clashed
with the undisciplined leadership style displayed by Jobs. Apple’s board sided with Sculley and
voted for Jobs’s removal. Then CEO John Sculley, whom the board had hired to oversee Jobs
and grow the company, was tasked with stripping Jobs of his responsibilities.4 It was not just
Sculley who allowed his emotions to get the best of him. The board also struggled with Jobs’s
appearance and unusual lifestyle. As one of the board members commented many years later, he
had found Jobs and his Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak to be very unappealing people. “Jobs
came into the office, as he does now, dressed in Levi’s, but at that time that wasn’t quite the
thing to do. And I believe he had a goatee and a mustache and long hair—and he had just come
back from six months in India with a guru, learning about life. I’m not sure, but it may have been
a while since he had a bath,” he said.5 Sculley later recounted his unsuccessful attempt to turn
Apple around. Regretfully, he wished he had reached out to Jobs for help. But because Jobs had
stopped talking to him, Sculley had felt awkward. Like the mongoose in the story, Jobs was
initially seen as a threat. Rather than check the veracity of the threat (perhaps examining the
downsides of removing Jobs), the board decided quickly and erroneously to fire him. Like the
mother in the mongoose story, Sculley and the board could have checked their assumptions and
then found another alternative to calm their worries. Both the fable and the business example
show how strong emotions can overwhelm people’s ability to see alternative possibilities. In
the next section, we review some of the research that makes the case for emotional intelligence.
Research Support of Emotional Intelligence
Here’s an interesting fact. A 2005 study that examined why new hires failed revealed that four
out of five factors were not related to technical competence. The results of this study showed the
following:
• 26% of new hires failed at their job because of issues related to coachability (the ability
to accept and implement feedback from bosses).
• 23% lacked the emotional intelligence to understand and manage their own emotions.
• 17% were devoid of the motivation needed to achieve their potential and excel on the
job.
• 15% lacked the temperament and attitude for the job.6
Another study specifically related to job performance showed a relationship between EI and
greater increases in merit pay, whereas lower company rankings were associated with
organizations whose workers had received lower scores on an EI measure.7 Additionally,
emotionally intelligent employees, those who possessed higher levels of interpersonal facilitation
(i.e., relating to others in a way that improves or sustains productive collaboration) and stress
tolerance also received better peer and supervisor evaluations. In another study involving sales
agents for a national insurance company, results suggested that those who had less self-
confidence, resourcefulness, and empathy sold insurance policies with an average premium of
$54,000. On the other hand, agents with higher measures of these attributes sold policies worth
$114,000.8 A study conducted by the top-ranked global provider of executive education offers
yet more support for the value of EI. Specifically, the Center for Creative Leadership discovered
that executives who lacked emotional competencies had higher rates of professional derailment
(e.g., in areas such as difficulty in managing change, trouble working well in a team, and poor
interpersonal skills).9 Leaders who easily detect and comprehend the emotions of others are in a
better position to gain their acceptance because individuals who feel understood are more likely
to support their leader.
Elsewhere, leading organizational researchers Zhou and George have argued that leaders high in
emotional intelligence are more likely to draw creative ideas out of their
followers.10 Specifically, they believe that emotionally intelligent leaders are much more likely
to support the thinking strategies, like those described in Chapters 5 through 9, necessary for
employees to produce innovative outcomes. For example, Zhou and George argue that
emotionally intelligent leaders are more sensitive to employees’ dissatisfaction and can channel
such frustration toward the identification of problems that need to be resolved and new
opportunities that might be seized.
There is no shortage of studies that highlight the positive impact of emotional intelligence on
work-related performance. The challenge, then, is to change the belief among many leaders that
soft skills (such as EI) undermine their ability to engage in effective leadership. For example,
some leaders mistakenly believe that showing compassion diminishes their ability to analyze
data or hold people accountable for poor performance. Ironically, it is the avoidance of EI
behaviors that compound and, in some cases, grow problems. Remember that EI does not
suggest replacing thinking skills with affective skills but balancing the two. So, we provided a
definition of EI. We made the argument for EI through case studies supported by empirical
evidence. But what exactly are the abilities that drive emotional intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence Abilities
Adele Lynn, author of The EQ Difference: A Powerful Plan for Putting Emotional Intelligence to
Work, breaks down EI into five sequential components (i.e., skills that must be mastered in turn).
They are self-awareness and control, empathy, social expertness, personal influence, and mastery
of purpose/vision.11 The five components are described next.
Self-Awareness and Control
Individuals with high EI have a good sense of self. They are keenly aware of and understand
their strengths and areas of development. They are aware of their preferences, feelings, values,
interests, and triggers that lead to emotional hijacks. But self-awareness is not enough. The
emotionally intelligent person also acts on the information drawn from self-awareness by
controlling himself or herself in a manner that supports relating to others so that mutual goals are
maximized.
In an extensive research study involving interviews with dozens of business school deans and
executives, the results were unambiguous that leadership development programs often do very
little to develop introspection and self-awareness. Instead, much more focus is given to logic and
general knowledge (e.g., IQ) and analytical decision making.12 One of the interviewees asserted
that leaders cannot effectively understand others if they do not take the time to understand
themselves. To belabor the point inferred by these deans and executives, introspection is crucial
to leadership development.
Self-doubt can get in the way of healthy introspection—truly embracing one’s talents, skills, and
character. Low self-confidence and poor self-esteem feed a negative and incomplete awareness
of the self and can lead to misinterpretation of others and an inability to form healthy
relationships. Therefore, the foundation to high EI starts with a healthy sense of self. David
Walton, a leading behavioral science consultant, provides four simple and practical tips to
improve self-esteem: (1) stop comparing yourself to other people; (2) don’t put yourself down;
(3) get in the habit of saying and thinking positive things about yourself; and (4) don’t deflect,
accept compliments.13
Empathy
Individuals with high EI are able to understand the perspectives of other people. They have a
way of making others feel that they have been understood and validated. We need to be clear
here. By empathy, we suggest that the listener understand without necessarily agreeing with what
has been shared. Like self-awareness, empathy is an internal skill that first must occur inside an
individual seeking to make social interactions more effective. In the book Rethinking the MBA:
Business Education at a Crossroads, empathy is identified as a skill that is neglected but
crucially important for managing and leading.14
Social Expertness
This aspect of EI is the ability to construct a strong and healthy social bond with others. The
relationship is genuine and communicates caring, concern, and disagreement in healthy ways.
This ability is an external skill because it involves interaction with others. Let’s take a look at an
example to stress the importance of social expertness. Robert Nardelli and James McNerney,
both executives, had each worked for General Electric (GE). Talented and with very successful
track records, both worked within the Jack Welch system. Both left GE to take on CEO
positions, Nardelli at Home Depot and McNerney at Boeing. Contemplate how these two
executives made their debuts as CEOs. Based on insider reports, Nardelli came across as
pompous; in one meeting he stood up and scolded his staff, “You guys don’t know how to run
a f*****g business.” On the opposite end of the spectrum, McNerney dedicated his first few
months on the job chatting with employees so that he could learn as much as possible about the
Boeing units. There was no yelling or public humiliation. In fact, McNerney pushed for
teamwork and shared the credit with the former Boeing CEO.15 As one executive shared,
McNerney was adored at Boeing. Meanwhile, Nardelli ultimately was forced out of Home
Depot. His data-driven, confrontational management approach got on the nerves of many
experienced executives. Although he had impressive numbers, Nardelli’s temper, ego, and
controlling leadership approach led to his downfall.16 We would suggest that Nardelli’s inability
to create healthy social bonds led to his undoing.
Personal Influence
Highly emotionally intelligent people are able to lead and inspire themselves and other people,
too. And once you are able to build healthy bonds with others, then you are in a much better
position to accomplish goals. In Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads, Datar
and colleagues report that executives identify the ability to influence others as a key professional
performance challenge.17 They assert that MBA students need to learn ways to persuade others
when faced with resistance. It is not uncommon for students, when faced with dissenting points
of view, to struggle. However, at the moment of truth, effective leaders must be able to
communicate their ideas in a powerful way, across the organization or up the chain of command.
Mastery of Purpose/Vision
This aspect of EI is the ability to sustain an authentic life that is true to the values you espouse.
Maintaining effectiveness in this area requires you to have a clear understanding of your life’s
purpose. Furthermore, you have to be willing to go after your life’s purpose and to take action
within an organizational context so that your life’s purpose is aligned with that of the
organization.
A poignant example of this skill is found in the Powell doctrine. The doctrine was named after
General Colin Powell in the lead-up to the 2003 American invasion of Iraq; it outlines a list of
questions, and five tenets, that should be answered satisfactorily before engaging in war.18 For
example, two questions ask, “Do we have a clear attainable objective?” and “Is there a plausible
exit strategy, to avoid endless entanglement?” Virtually every Powell doctrine tenet was violated.
There was no clear vision of an exit strategy, and the objective was not clear either. The pressure
to conform politically led influential stakeholders to support the decision to go to war, despite
intense reservations and, in some cases, against their will. Mastery of purpose creates a clear
picture of the hope and desire for a future state. The end in mind is so strong that you can taste
and feel it, as if every attribute of the dream had already come to life. Yet for some, imagining a
future state is difficult. There are those who do not create a strong sense of purpose or vision for
themselves, for they wish to avoid the feeling of being let down should the vision not manifest.
In short, too much management of expectations limits the vision. Under these psychological
conditions, consider that the head (cognition) leads the heart (feelings), instead of the other way
around. Dreams, hence, must lead the formation and articulation of a vision. Not convinced? Let
us present a leadership example.
Thought Starter
Emotional ntelligence
Transformational Leadership
Herb Kelleher is the quintessential transformational leader. Let’s examine more closely the
profound influence he had on his employees, whom he thought of as his family. Kelleher is
retired, but his legendary status as Southwest Airlines’ founder and CEO lives on through
folklore and its corporate culture. Southwest Airlines was one of the few airlines, if not the only
one, to make a profit during difficult economic times. Kelleher humbly credits his people. But
Southwest employees are quick to reply that it was Kelleher’s tenets on how to run a business
that contributed to Southwest’s extraordinary success.
• He focused on building a lasting relationship with his customers. He pressed for a
positive customer experience. To that end, Southwest would screen—and still does—for
flight attendants who could make customers laugh during flights. From rap-singing
preflight safety instructions to cracking jokes, nothing was too absurd.
• He stressed simplicity. For example, Southwest Airlines flew one type of aircraft, namely
the 737. With one aircraft type, they reduced the costs related to training and
maintenance.
• This next tenet is directly related to transformational leadership through the lens of EI.
Kelleher was truly committed to his people. At the time of his tenure, Kelleher could be
seen loading bags onto airplanes on hot summer days. Kelleher did not use words such
as caring, trusting, or liking to describe how he felt about Southwest employees. No! He
used the word love. In fact, Southwest’s New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol is LUV.
They paint hearts on all their airplanes. They brand themselves as a company that loves
its people and its customers.
It is no wonder that Kelleher was voted at the time as the most admired CEO and that Southwest
has shown one of the most formidable financial and service results in the entire airline
industry.19 We would suggest that Southwest, due to Kelleher’s high EI, exhibits a positive
culture and as a consequence is a profitable company.
Blocks and Barriers to Creative Thinking
In an earlier chapter we noted that creativity can be thought of as one’s ability to overcome self-
imposed constraints.20 This conception of creativity aligns well with our discussion of EI,
especially in that self-awareness serves as a foundation to EI. With this in mind, we build on our
EI discussion by reviewing ways in which people block their own creative thinking through
mental and emotional barriers. Self-creative leadership is the ability to be self-aware of
intrapersonal blocks and then to do something to overcome them. For example, the notion that
your organization is too bureaucratic, or too conservative in the ideas it promotes, or highly
political, or that you have no influence, runs counter to your empowerment. What EI factors may
be lurking in your self-doubt? In fact, when you ignore these voices, you set yourself up for a
potential emotional hijacking. If you think these forces are true, then you enable them. Instead,
we suggest that you attempt to disable them by confronting your self-imposed constraints and
engaging them with new habitual thoughts and thought patterns that approach problem solving in
open and appreciative ways. Put in simple terms: Create new habits by shifting your frames of
mind into more productive ones—ones that sideline your fears and open new possibilities.
Consider Salvador Dalí’s famous portrait titled Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea
Which at Twenty Meters Becomes the Portrait of Abraham Lincoln–Homage to Rothko. When
you can on your own, pull up this multilayered and complex painting (see the link in the
footnote).* What do you see? Do you see the artist’s wife, model, and muse Gala standing with
her back to you? Perhaps the sun glows for you in a way that presents an ascending, Christ-like
image from above? Or, perhaps if you squint a bit, the bust of President Abraham Lincoln
becomes clear—the sun now representing the exit wound of a bullet? This surrealist masterwork
was inspired by an article in Scientific American magazine that described the minimum number
of pixels a brain would require to “see” (or frame) a human face. The artist, Salvador Dalí, took
the answer (believed at the time to be 121) as a challenge and produced this masterpiece in
response. It’s a compelling example of duality in nature, of our ability to represent parallel
realities in our minds and of the immense power of framing. Digging deeper into the concept,
one might argue that what you see has a great deal to do with how you are looking; in the world
of creative problem solving, choosing to see through productive frames is a particularly
compelling strategy.
* Martinez-Conde (2014, June 17). Dalí masterpieces inspired by Scientific American. Retrieved
December 20, 2016, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/illusion-chasers/dali-
masterpieces-inspired-by-scientific-american/
The previous example illustrates the important role played by perception when it comes to
solving challenges creatively, but an important question still remains: Are all matters of
creativity driven primarily by perception alone, or do we need to be aware of other roadblocks
and barriers that sometimes get in the way? The short answer is, it depends. If we are talking
about your own personal, individual-level creativity, then the answer mostly has to do with you
and the way your mind perceives problems and opportunities. If we are considering team-level
creativity, then communication, collaboration, management practices, and technology also have
important roles to play. And if we zoom out even farther and consider the creativity of entire
organizations, then policies (and politics), procedures, diversity, culture, leadership, and macro
technological and economic systems are relevant, too.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves; after all, this book is about you, and the development of
your personal creative-thinking abilities and your ability to drive creative change. As we’ve
expressed in previous chapters, it is our belief that creativity is a human trait (everyone has it,
including you!), and at the same time, this chapter intends to demonstrate that there is perhaps no
greater enemy to your own creativity than the constraints put on your imagination by your own
mind. In the words of French philosopher Paul Valéry, “Everything that is masks for us
something that might be.” In other words, you are both the wellspring of your creative genius
and also its biggest impediment, and you will need self-awareness to overcome the self-imposed
barriers to your own creativity. In the same way that the Surrealist painting by Salvador Dalí
highlights examples of self-imposed perceptual blocks to creativity, the rest of this chapter
showcases further examples of blocks and barriers to your creativity. Additional issues of
perception (beyond framing) that affect your personal creativity are also explored, as well as
approaches to overcoming blocks and barriers to creativity that occur when you are collaborating
with others inside organizations.
Fear: The Silent Killer
Palliative care is a form of medical therapy that focuses on symptom management as opposed to
curing illness. It’s often intended to help patients maintain an acceptable degree of quality of life
as they approach the end of their lives. As a palliative care nurse, Bronnie Ware spent a great
deal of time in close quarters with individuals preparing for the end. In her popular
blog Inspiration and Chai, a post titled “Top 5 Regrets of the Dying” resonated with a global
audience of readers, so she developed it into a book, recently published. The top regret of the
dying, she reports, is “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others
expected of me.”21 These powerful words are striking in similarity to the charge of creativity
research pioneer Dr. Ellis Paul Torrance’s popular 1983 Manifesto for Children: “Learn to free
yourself from the expectations of others and walk away from the games they impose on you.
Free yourself to play your own game.”22
One must wonder, however, if researchers know it, and the dying are openly communicating it,
then why aren’t we, the living, listening and acting upon the advice? Why do we continue
subjecting ourselves to the games of others? Why aren’t we manifesting lives more truly aligned
with our creative selves? What’s stopping us from overcoming these self-imposed constraints?
The answer may have to do with an ancient yet useful and hard-wired ingredient of the human
experience—fear.
Fear is essential for life—without it we’d be walking into oncoming traffic, consuming rotten
foods, and befriending poisonous critters. Throughout time, the story has been the same; fear the
“right” things, and you just might live long enough to pass on your genes. Rinse. Repeat.
The problem is, most of the threats humans have evolved to fear are no longer relevant to our
daily lives. Consider the following question: Should your brain really be flooding your body with
fear-response chemicals because of a passive-aggressive e-mail from a colleague? In fact, we
rarely find ourselves having to evade or fight off predators, yet the same fear programming that
has helped us persist and evolve into modern-day humans has not yet had an opportunity to
evolve into something more suited for the complexities of a 21st-century life. Evolution is an
extremely incremental process, and it takes time—a long time. As a result, fear and its
conceptual cousin, anxiety, linger on as constant and significant contributors to our human
experience.
It’s important to distinguish between these two closely related concepts, fear and anxiety, for
they are often misused interchangeably. One way researchers attempt to separate them is by
focusing on the timeline of each.23 For example, fear takes on a more immediate quality in the
sense that your body is almost instantaneously reacting on a biological level to an immediate
threat (think saber-toothed tiger bearing down on you!). It is a chain reaction in the brain that
starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemical compounds—the net effect
being that the body speeds up, heart rate and blood pressure increase, pupils dilate to take in as
much light as possible, and veins constrict and send blood to major muscle groups as you prepare
to either do battle in the moment or flee to live on and fight another day. This is commonly
referred to as the fight-or-flight response. It just happens. In everyday terms, it’s automatic; in
medical terms, it’s autonomic.24
Anxiety, on the other hand, is more predictive and unfolds over time. Consider, for example,
your mind and body reacting to the idea of a saber-toothed tiger coming for you some time in the
future; this is the persistent psychological and emotional result of worrying about whether you
will one day be a big cat’s fleshy delight.
So what? Why should you care that some leftover biological and psychological processes remain
active inside your brain and body? Well, it’s important to consider the role these processes play
because they may be doing nothing less than actively shaping your entire day-to-day reality! If
that weren’t reason enough, fear and anxiety can also have the devastating effect of paralyzing
your capability to think and be creative. Fear and anxiety about future “failure” and “being
wrong” stop us from attempting things that might end up becoming game-changing, never-done-
before successes! Indeed, new ideas have a high bounce rate, meaning they often pan out in
unexpected ways. This may be especially true or likely if the idea is really out there, but the
important factor to consider is that fear and anxiety are effectively stealing your opportunity to
find out for yourself.
Regina Dugan understands this well. In her popular TED Talk, she claims, “We cannot both fear
failure and make amazing new things.”25 Her words come from a place of great experience on
the matter. Prior to transitioning into her current role at Google, Dugan served as the first female
director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). During her tenure she
oversaw many high-risk projects, including the development of an experimental hypersonic test
vehicle considered the fastest maneuvering aircraft ever created—a vehicle capable of making a
cross-continental flight from New York to California in the almost incomprehensible time of 11
minutes and 30 seconds. The experimental craft has flown twice, yet “we must fly again,” says
Dugan, “because amazing, never-been-done-before things require that you fly. You can’t learn to
fly at Mach 20 unless you fly.”26 Dugan’s comments are a powerful endorsement for a learning-
by-doing approach to innovation, suggesting that there may be no substitute for fearless
experimentation when seeking breakthrough ideas. Accordingly, it should come as no surprise
that her latest endeavors at Google embrace a similar appetite for risk and reward: electronic
tattoos and ingestible passwords powered by stomach acid! Her managerial-flavored remarks on
her new mission are quite telling: The team will be a “small, lean, and agile group that is
unafraid of failure,” and it will “celebrate impatience.”27 Celebrate impatience, indeed; team
members will only work for Dugan for a maximum of 2 years so that they must feel a sense of
urgency in their work—an idea borrowed from DARPA, where employees wear their future
resignation dates on their name badges. Dugan is not alone in suggesting that we must be willing
to overcome our inner fears to create breakthroughs.
Academic researchers have found similar results, determining that fear of failure keeps us from
engaging in risk taking28 and that creativity and risk are indeed conceptual bedfellows.29 That is,
creative ideas, as they are unproven, are always accompanied by some degree of risk.
It may be tempting to point the finger at other people and other organizations and suggest that
creativity and innovation aren’t happening for them because they are too scared to experiment
with new ideas; they are stuck in habits and patterns and old ways of doing things; they are afraid
to fail. In response, we challenge you to consider the seminal question posed by Dugan in her
TED presentation: “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
Thought Starter
Fear of Creativity
This question is important because it challenges us to consider the intoxicating parameters of our
comfort zone—the safe spaces within which the vast majority of our life experiences unfold. To
answer it faithfully is to venture inward, to stand toe-to-toe and do battle with our excuses for not
tackling bigger and more important challenges with our lives. Again, consider: What would you
attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? Another useful risk-mitigating question might be:
What would you do if you believed no one cared if you failed?
In reflecting upon your answer(s) to the admittedly provocative question just posed, you might
begin to wonder, What exactly is risk, and how does it affect me? It turns out that risk comes in
several varieties. Consider the following categories:
1. Financial risk: of losing economic value
2. Social risk: of losing one’s position in the social hierarchy
3. Emotional risk: of exposing oneself to uncomfortable and/or extreme emotional states
4. Physical risk: of enduring bodily harm
5. Intellectual risk: of coming up on the losing end of a debate
As you were reading through the bulleted list, you may have begun to consider your own
appetite for each of the various forms of risk. Are you a daredevil when it comes to adventure
sports? Did you borrow the maximum amount of interest-free student loan money to invest in the
stock market while you were still in college? Do you often find yourself engaged in heated or
contentious dialogue within online forums or in-person debates? Do you comfortably extend
yourself emotionally in relationships with friends and others close to you?
Everyone has a different level of comfort with each of the various types of risk; think of it as a
unique-to-you “risk profile.” Regarding creativity, this is important because each type of risk
plays a meaningful role in moderating (either stifling or supporting) your creative thinking,
behavior, and expression.
Indeed, your unique risk profile and your hard-wired biological mechanisms of anxiety and fear
play a critical role in shaping your ability to be creative and to do creative work. If you are too
anxious and/or afraid to bring the products of your imagination to life because you are unwilling
to risk experiencing the feelings associated with not being successful (especially in the
beginning), or you are uncomfortable investing time and resources into your creative work (and
creative play!), then you are likely setting yourself up for a creativity-limited life, while
simultaneously handicapping your potential for future learning and development within your
field or industry. The question remains: What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
And, perhaps even more importantly, What’s stopping you from doing something about it?
The emotionally unintelligent blocks and barriers to creativity come in all shapes and sizes, and
they vary greatly depending on the level of analysis being considered (e.g., individual, team,
organization). This Knowing section was designed to help you get to know thy enemy, and
reading it is a good start toward being able to overcome these blocks on demand. Moving
forward, the next section of this chapter describes some approaches to Doing just that.
Learning Activity: Linking Emotional Intelligence to Transformational
Leadership
List five ways in which Herb Kelleher demonstrated emotional intelligence as a transformational leader at
Southwest Airlines. To add to your knowledge, we strongly recommend conducting further research on Herb
Kelleher.
Doing—Tools and Strategies for Overcoming Creative
Blocks
There is a popular image, that some would call a meme, of a horse tied to a blue plastic chair that
has been widely circulated through cyberspace. If you haven’t seen this photograph, then use
your mind’s eye to imagine a powerful horse tied to a flimsy plastic chair. What’s the point?
Why would such a powerful beast remain connected to, indeed anchored by, such a small object?
Surely a creature of such strength and power could outmuscle the relatively lightweight and
insignificant chair. Yet, oddly enough, it doesn’t. The horse remains in place, accepting its
immobilizing circumstances and telling itself (somehow) that it cannot break free. This isn’t just
an equestrian issue, however; as we’ve discussed throughout this book, human beings are highly
susceptible to self-imposed constraints on their imagination as well. Given our dependence on
language-based communication, we may be especially vulnerable to the creativity-killing
concept known as negative self-talk. Negative self-talk is the inward, private-to-you conversation
that unfolds in your mind. Put simply, it’s the voice of doubt, and when it comes to creativity,
it’s especially important to consider the role of negative self-talk because of how truly crippling
it can be. Interestingly, understanding the power of negative self-talk may also provide an
opportunity for going on creative offense, for it leads us to the following question: If negative
self-talk can kill creativity, can affirmative (positive) self-talk help to enable possibilities and
bring creativity to life?
We think so. For example, let’s unpack the oft-paraphrased statement attributed to celebrated
inventor Thomas Edison describing the lengthy trial-and-error process leading up to the
invention of the lightbulb: “I have not failed; I’ve just found 10,000 ways that did not work.” Did
you notice the affirmative (positive-first) spin? This technique sets a creative tone, invites further
participation toward the task at hand, and, contrary to devaluing all the other attempts that didn’t
work out (by calling them failures), Edison’s statement instead celebrates the discovery of all the
outcomes—independent of whether they produced a working lightbulb. This is a fundamentally
different way of recasting the old phrase “trial and error” into something more positive—trial
and learn. Another clever example of reframing is captured by the newly coined word nearling.
The illuminating notion that the words we choose to use might be impacting our ability to be on
creative offense isn’t just the relic of a late-19th-century inventor. Creativity educator Edward de
Bono has explicitly suggested that the English language itself might be a barrier to creativity, for
he believes it is missing a very important word. Specifically, de Bono argues that the English
language does not contain a word to describe a “fully justified venture which did not succeed for
reasons we could not predict and over which we had no control.”30 Instead, argues de Bono, our
default approach is to describe all attempts that don’t result in “success”—including all the early
experimental versions that helped Edison inch ever closer to the final breakthrough design of a
working lightbulb—as “failures.” To overcome the limitation of language, a new word has been
invented and is being used in Europe—nearling. Nearling refers to a new attempt or idea that
was undertaken with the best of intentions but as of yet has not produced the right result. The
word connotes being nearly there and learning something from the experience. Rather than
calling it a mistake or failure, consider using the word nearling.31 Ignoring this advice and
continuing to blanket your self-talk with the “failure” label may not hurt you directly, but it also
won’t help you should you ever find yourself tied to a plastic chair (metaphorically, we hope).
Upon interviewing founders of 200 successful ventures, Stanford Graduate School of Business
lecturer Amy Wilkinson discovered an insight she calls “the Creator’s Code,” described in her
recent book by the same name. She observes that founders of successful companies tend to “fail
wisely,” that is, they choose to wear their earlier misfires as badges of honor while they commit
to learning throughout the process and strengthening their future chances of success. Wilkinson
suggests that the goal should be to reflect on your individual risk profile to determine what you
are and are not comfortable with—and to just know that if creativity and innovation are the goal,
then the answer can’t be zero!32 Successful entrepreneurs in Wilkinson’s research understand the
intimate connection between failure and learning.
Thought Starter
Failing Wisely
Embracing and Internalizing the Terror of the New
What do Thomas Edison and Elon Musk have in common? For starters, they share an
omnipresent belief that they will be able to bring their ideas to life regardless of roadblocks and
setbacks. David Kelley, cofounder of the globally celebrated product development and industrial
design firm IDEO and cofounder of the world-famous d.school at Stanford (officially known as
the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design)—a unique academic structure that supports students from
business, engineering, medicine, law, and other diverse disciplines to develop the requisite “thick
skin” for bringing new ideas and prototypes to life—has recently developed a term to describe
this belief: creative confidence. Inspired by a recent, life-altering cancer diagnosis, Kelley
organized the lessons learned during his lifetime of experience in industry and academia to
coauthor a book by the same name. The goal of the book and accompanying movement is to help
as many people as possible reach a place of creative confidence in their lives—to overcome the
negative self-talk that crushes creativity before it has a chance to emerge.33
If there is one thing Kelley knows, it’s “no’s.” Having spent his entire career designing countless
prototypes for client-sponsored creative products and services, he understands the immense
importance of skillfully and productively interpreting negative feedback on a new idea. It’s
worth mentioning that it’s an important skill for everyone to develop, not just designers. For
example, if you are unable or unwilling to keep going in the face of “no,” then you will have a
very difficult time bringing any creative ideas into the world around you. One technique for
overcoming a “no” is to actually dig into it further—to learn more about the objections and
concerns being expressed by the naysayers and to get comfortable reframing the “no” into a “not
yet,” “not under the current circumstances,” or “not without feature x, y, or z.” In effect, the
doubters and critics are transformed into your teachers and product advisors who can help you
redesign for improvement and product-market fit. Finally, consider the no-riddled path of some
extraordinarily successful companies that are wildly popular with consumers and are currently
reshaping their industries (e.g., Zappos, Airbnb).
In this section, we’ve reiterated the importance of practicing your creativity fundamentals to
strengthen your emotional intelligence, while also introducing some new approaches that
describe what it means to be Doing creative offense. If your goal is to untie yourself from the
mental plastic chairs in your life, then overcoming the negative self-talk of doubt, reframing the
word failure, regaining your creative confidence in the face of judgment (and particularly the
word no), failing wisely, getting started before you’re ready, embracing the terror of doing
something new, and teaming up with other like-minded innovators in safe spaces for
entrepreneurial experimentation are now all tools you have in your tool kit. Perhaps Amazon
founder Jeff Bezos said it best during a media interview following a very public and high-profile
technical failure that occurred within one of his portfolio companies, Blue Origin. Instead of
explaining the technical details of the fiery explosion in the sky, or speaking about the setback in
financial terms or business jargon, Bezos calmly looked at the interviewer and replied, “Step by
step, ferociously.”34
Learning Activity: Listening for Emotions
Recruit a partner for this activity. Sit back to back and ask your partner to speak for 3 minutes about any topic he or
she wishes. Listen to your partner without interrupting and write down the emotions you hear. What deeper
emotional insights can you glean from your partner’s words and tone of voice? How did not being able to respond
affect your ability to listen? Afterward, share your insights with your partner. Were they correct?
Being—Actively Learning From Failure
If it hasn’t happened already, somewhere along the line someone is going to tell you that if you
want to get a job, you’re going to need to create a résumé. The problem is that a résumé doesn’t
actually “get” you anything—except for maybe a foot in the door of a potential employer. At
least this was something that one of your authors discovered when he worked as an administrator
in the College of Business before becoming a professor.
Specifically, his role was to connect students seeking employment opportunities with local
companies who wanted to hire them. The primary communication tool exchanged between them
was—you guessed it!—a résumé. What he learned during this experience was that (a)
undergraduate students often lack sufficient professional experience to effectively showcase all
their hard-earned skills, abilities, and wisdom and (b) that résumés tend to artificially emphasize
the purely positive things that have happened during what is often a very limited professional
scope of activity (to mention nothing of the very serious issue of embellishment). Because of
these factors, a résumé represents a very limited opportunity for candidates to differentiate
themselves from others seeking the same position. To make matters worse, it’s also of limited
utility for employers because it doesn’t actually help them identify the best candidates for the
positions available.
For the author, this led to a realization that a student could do better with a little creativity. In
addition to the cover letter and traditional résumé, students could also present a complementary,
job-specific failure résumé (alternatively, you could call it a nearling résumé). Instead of a
traditional résumé—one that touts all the accomplishments and credentials a person has
achieved—a failure résumé showcases experiences that didn’t go to plan. Even more
importantly, it showcases what someone has learned from the process, while also going on to
demonstrate how the person applied that unique, valuable, and perhaps painful learning as he or
she has moved on to larger and more challenging projects.
A failure résumé is especially powerful if you can demonstrate specific examples of how you’ve
leveraged the key learning from your failures by successfully applying them to future
challenges—specifically ones like the challenges you’ll encounter within the defined duties and
responsibilities of the position you are applying for. To recap, consider the benefits of presenting
a failure résumé.
1. Differentiation. You stand out from all other candidates who didn’t invest the time,
effort, and creativity to submit a unique product to assist the employer in making an
informed decision.
2. Humility. You demonstrate that you are a thoughtful and reflective learner with
confidence in your ability to take on challenges and learn from your mistakes.
3. Experience. You prove that you already have experience learning and growing in the
specific skill and knowledge areas that the position you’re competing for requires.
4. Hustle. In a world where you are competing for opportunities against global talent,
there’s no reason you shouldn’t be doing everything possible to get your application to
the top of the stack; this also helps an employer get excited about the prospect of you
bringing the same level of energy and ingenuity to their organizational challenges and
opportunities.
How do you create a failure résumé? Well, that’s really up to you; this is a creative exercise,
after all! Images, text, charts, and graphs all seem like fair game. Perhaps it is worth considering
the experience from the recruiter’s or hiring manager’s perspective, in which case you might
want to create something that he or she will be familiar and/or comfortable reviewing. Regarding
themes, you might include coverage of professional, academic, and perhaps personal/relational
experience; again, the goal is to match your experiences to the specific skills, responsibilities,
and maybe even keywords advertised in the position description. To structure your failure
résumé message, consider the following approach.
• Step 1. Recount the critical incident of what happened.
• Step 2. Describe your key learning and/or takeaways from the process.
• Step 3. Demonstrate how you applied your newfound learning in another situation.
Richard Branson got started selling Christmas trees and publishing a student newsletter. Mark
Cuban sold garbage bags and taught disco dancing lessons. Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon
Adelson sold newspapers and operated vending machines. In addition to their humble business
beginnings, each of these astronomically successful individuals has also started and/or invested
in a variety of projects and companies that have failed. But this book isn’t about industry giants
like Branson, Cuban, and Adelson; no, this book has always been about you, and we hope this
chapter in particular has really turned your attention inward. After all, what could possibly be
more personal (and you-focused) than exploring strategies for embracing the principles of
emotional intelligence and understanding the implications of facing your inner fear(s) and
anxiety when trying something new? As much as we’d like to make it easier for you, we know
better. In the words of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, “If there is no struggle, there is no
progress.” We just hope that your creative struggles, from here on out, occur firmly within your
learning zone. In the timeless and ever-potent observation of American author Anaïs Nin, “Life
shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage,” and we therefore encourage you onward to
make glorious, learning-filled mistakes and to do so with great creative courage—understanding
that it won’t be easy. You might recall earlier references to Regina Dugan and her work with
DARPA and Google. Her words ring true on the creative battle within:
Now I want to say, this is not easy. It’s hard to hold onto this feeling, really hard. I guess in some
way, I sort of believe it’s supposed to be hard. Doubt and fear always creep in. We think
someone else, someone smarter than us, someone more capable, someone with more resources
will solve that problem. But there isn’t anyone else; there’s just you. And if we’re lucky, in that
moment, someone steps into that doubt and fear, takes a hand and says, “Let me help you
believe.”35
If you aren’t ready to create something new in this exact moment, then maybe it’s a great time to
grab someone else’s hand and help them believe.
Learning Activity: Create a Failure or Nearling Résumé
Following the description provided in the Being section, prepare your own failure résumé. When it’s completed, ask
yourself, What was the best and worst thing that happened? What am I now aware of? What do I understand better
about myself? What did I learn? What can I take from this and apply in the future?
Case Study: Airbnb
Introduction
Barriers to creativity and innovation present themselves in many ways, from the intrapersonal fear (and anxiety) of
failure experienced by individuals to the managerial and organizational frameworks that impede or hinder creative
thinking and behavior in organizations. For Airbnb, the blocks to creativity in the pivotal early years as a start-up
company just kept on coming. In fact, the very idea of paying to sleep in a stranger’s home once caused potential
Airbnb investors to literally laugh out loud during a pitch meeting.36 So, perhaps understandably, the team behind
the (now extraordinarily successful and rapidly growing) international social lodging company was on the verge of
packing up and walking away. But when the going got tough, the team behind Airbnb got creative.
It may have been tempting to move on, to go and get “real jobs,” but the team didn’t; instead, they applied for entry
into an exclusive start-up program, Y Combinator (YC). YC is an intensive 12-week start-up accelerator that offers
access to resources and asks the tough questions to help founders think through the inherent challenges and
opportunities within their business models.
The opportunity to participate in YC didn’t just fall into the team’s lap, however, and neither did the first round of
funding from Sequoia Capital that eventually placed Airbnb permanently in the field of “disruptive technology” that
has hotels and city officials alike feeling uneasy about taxes, regulations, and the future of lodging.37 In fact, Airbnb
only exists today because the team refused to succumb to blocks and barriers early on.
Backstory
In 2008, two former college friends who were sharing an apartment in San Francisco launched Airbnb. The
inspiration? There was a design conference in town, and cofounders Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky had heard that
some visitors might have trouble booking rooms.
The new idea was so simple that it was first referred to as AirBedandBreakfast because the friends didn’t even have
a spare bed to offer, just a few air mattresses. Within 24 hours, they’d coded a bare-bones website, sent the link
around to a few blogger friends, and then waited. That first week, they made $900.
Months after launching the website and bringing on Gebbia’s former roommate Nathan Blecharczyk, though,
Airbnb was stagnant. They tanked at South by Southwest in 2008, only booking five rooms from an available 60
listed near Austin’s annual festival. Undeterred by the “failure” at SXSW, the team tried again: This time, they
scoured craigslist and booked listings in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. There they achieved
some media success, with mentions on CNN, and in the Washington Post and the New York Times, but the
momentum didn’t last. Again, postevent bookings slowed down. Roadblocks were forming. The team wasn’t
making much money, and they couldn’t get big entrepreneurs to invest in their yet-to-be-proven model.
Furthermore, they were taking on debt and being laughed out of conference rooms.
Creative confidence is the kind of attitude that kept Thomas Edison, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos looking forward,
despite setbacks, roadblocks, and hearing the word no repeatedly. It’s also the driver behind small ideas that can lead
to life-altering change. In the case of Airbnb, one such revolution unfolded in the form of breakfast cereal.
Cereal Entrepreneurship
Post-DNC, prospects were grim. The team wasn’t getting press anymore, revenues were low, and debt was growing.
Rather than fold, however, the team reevaluated the core idea behind Airbnb—bed and breakfast—and discovered
an opportunity to strike up new media interest during the heated election year of 2008. Overnight, they “became
cereal entrepreneurs,” Gebbia says. The creative solution to getting back in the public eye: custom Obama-O’s and
Cap’n McCain cereal boxes, which they sent to reporters in a bid for publicity. In addition, they sold 800 boxes at
$40 a pop, raising approximately $30,000 dollars to help them stay afloat. But by November, postelection, the allure
had worn off. The team was almost ready to quit when an old friend encouraged them to apply for the YC program.
It was the creativity Airbnb showed in the face of limited resources that helped them pass from struggling start-up to
profitable business. YC cofounder Paul Graham stated, “We didn’t love the idea of renting spare rooms to strangers,
it seemed odd, but as soon as we saw the cereal boxes, we knew that we were going to work with them.”38
YC has helped launch companies like Dropbox, Disqus, Reddit, and many more, but simply getting into the program
does not guarantee success.39 And in the 12 weeks of the YC program, Graham advised the Airbnb team to gain
fresh perspective by talking to customers in New York City, a place where the company had more traction than most
(a form of positive deviance).
What did they discover? For the most part bad photography. Through this deliberate analysis of their listings and
booking data, Gebbia realized the biggest barrier Airbnb was facing was low-quality camera phone photos of the
spaces for rent.40 A stint in the city, meeting with renters, and personally photographing available spaces with
rented, high-end photo equipment was the creative answer to a logical solution for Airbnb. Ultimately, the team
would discover that people did want to use the site—they just wanted to clearly see what they would be renting!
Of course, achieving popularity like Airbnb’s didn’t mean that the barriers stopped presenting themselves. If
anything, they became more complex. The team had successfully figured out a business model that worked for most
customers, but other, newer roadblocks were forming. In 2014, San Francisco and New York City passed laws
prohibiting short-term rentals in certain buildings or homes.41 The company faced a large fine in Barcelona in July
2014.
However, in other cities around the globe, such as Amsterdam, Airbnb is being welcomed. On their end, the
company has remained active but has taken hotel and city complaints seriously, even going so far as to collect hotel
tax in cities like San Francisco and Portland, Oregon.42 By working with local and state governments to find
solutions that allow the company to operate freely, Airbnb is both shifting the narrative of the known model and
seeking to address future constraints.
Closing
Airbnb floundered, flourished, floundered again, and is now flourishing at a mind-boggling scale. Each time they
gained traction with their disruptive idea, a barrier requiring creative thinking and execution attempted to get in the
way. And even as an international empire today, they continue to face obstacles.
But beyond all the roadblocks and barriers, the core idea of Airbnb is a brilliant, successful solution to a pain point
many individuals have experienced. It offers a simple answer to the near-universal problem of finding affordable
rooms in expensive cities, with the additional benefits of meeting new people and maximizing unused space. Gebbia
and Chesky’s idea leveraged technology (web and mobile applications) to challenge an existing model (the hotel and
vacation industries), and they pursued their vision with creative abandon.
From the early days of Airbnb’s initial struggles, to YC in 2009, to the current day, the company has steadily grown
to boast over 800,000 listings in 33,000 cities and 192 countries and is currently valued at approximately $10 billion.
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. Compare and contrast the qualities and characteristics of the existing hotel-based model
for lodging to the new, distributed, social model used by Airbnb. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of each?
2. How does the Airbnb start-up story demonstrate the principles of problem finding, idea
generation, solution experimentation, and strategy execution?
3. Describe the role of grit, persistence, and determination in the case.
Application Questions: Doing
1. Design challenge: Review one of the creative blocks (and tactics used to overcome)
experienced by the Airbnb team and then visually map it through the four-stage model
presented in Chapter 5.
2. Put yourself in the shoes of a city council member. Instead of blocking Airbnb, what
creative ideas might you come up with to overcome your blocks as a council member to
leverage the capability that Airbnb might bring to your community? Embrace the
principles of divergent thinking to generate as many ideas as possible.
Thinking Ahead: Being
1. If you were the CEO of Airbnb, where would you take the company next? What new
strategies for products and services might you recommend? What new markets might
you venture into? Be sure to explain your answer(s).
2. What are the outstanding questions facing the company, site users (renters and hosts),
and the countries and communities in which Airbnb operates?
3. Recall a time when you were challenged by a creative block or barrier. What helped you
to overcome the situation? How did you use your creative-thinking capabilities? Did grit
and perseverance play a role? Describe the process by which you overcame your
challenge.
Chapter 11 Sustaining Your CreativityLearning to Defy
and Transform the Crowd
Learning Goals
After reading this chapter, you will be able to do the following:
• Explain the investment theory of creativity
• Appraise ways in which creative power is given away
• Predict the key stakeholders and assess their level of support for a proposed idea or
creative change
• Envision a desired future and construct a descriptive story that outlines a path toward
this future state
Knowing—Investment Theory of Creativity
A Story About a Sandwich That Revolutionized an Industry
Herb Peterson happened to like eggs Benedict—a buttered half of an English muffin topped with
ham (or bacon) and a poached egg, all smothered in Hollandaise sauce. Mr. Peterson was a food
scientist who co-owned a number of McDonald’s franchises in California.1 This was the late
1960s, and fortunately for McDonald’s, a happy collision among these variables led to a massive
business opportunity. Backtracking just a bit, two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald,
founded McDonald’s in 1940. In 1955 Ray Kroc facilitated the opening of the first franchised
McDonald’s restaurant. Soon thereafter, Kroc, an aggressive businessman, purchased the equity
rights from the McDonald brothers and led the development of a global corporation that today
employs over 1 million people worldwide.
Most readers are too young to recall that from the founding of this fast-food restaurant until the
early 1970s, McDonald’s served only lunches and dinners. That all changed, however, thanks to
Herb Peterson’s creativity and willingness to defy his own corporation, where there was strong
resistance on the part of many franchise owners to open their doors before the standard 11:00
a.m. start. Unbeknownst to the McDonald’s corporation, Mr. Peterson began to experiment with
breakfast dishes. Mr. Peterson, in keeping with McDonald’s focus on food you eat with your
hands, tested a number of versions of an eggs Benedict–type breakfast sandwich. The original
Egg McMuffin featured an egg cooked in a Teflon ring, yolk broken, with grilled ham and a slice
of cheese. And it was served as an open-faced sandwich.
Of course the McDonald’s corporation saw the positive reaction Herb Peterson’s chain of
restaurants was creating with the new breakfast item, and of course, they immediately saw a
business opportunity. Right? Wrong! Instead, the corporate office reprimanded Mr. Peterson for
violating the terms of the franchise agreement. He was even threatened with a number of
penalties. Mr. Peterson persisted, however, and managed to introduce the Egg McMuffin to Ray
Kroc during a visit to his Santa Barbara franchise. Mr. Peterson and his assistant Donald Greadel
famously invited Ray Kroc to their restaurant without giving away the details of the idea they
wished to share with him. That was probably wise, because Ray Kroc admitted in his
autobiography that he was initially skeptical of the breakfast sandwich idea; however, when he
tasted Peterson’s creation, he immediately saw the potential.2 It took some years to scale up
production, and in 1972 the first corporate-approved Egg McMuffin was served.
This little sandwich, inspired by eggs Benedict, launched a new business opportunity that was
reported in 2014 to account for 25% of McDonald’s sales and generates billions of dollars
annually.3 One might conclude that this is history and the end of the story, but when McDonald’s
faced overall slumping sales in the middle of 2015, the corporation looked to breakfast to turn
things around. With national surveys showing that most Americans eat and drink 1.4 times each
morning, the McDonald’s corporation targeted breakfast as a strategic business opportunity4—as
have many other fast-food chains, even the likes of Taco Bell. McDonald’s focused on boosting
sales with their McCafé, earlier hours, the introduction of new breakfast items such as pastries,
and all-day breakfast. And the plan worked; in the last quarter of 2015, the breakfast strategy
proved to significantly increase sales. Just think: This all started with a simple idea, the Egg
McMuffin, and the creativity of one man, Herb Peterson.
Sternberg and Lubart’s Investment Theory of Creativity
We shared the story of Herb Peterson and his invention of the Egg McMuffin to illustrate a
particular theory of creativity. This theory holds that creating is like investing. Sternberg and
Lubart argue that like the fundamentals of investing, buy low and sell high, creativity operates in
much the same manner.5 When investing, the potential for the greatest gains generally comes
when you find a stock that is undervalued and has great potential for growth. However, investing
in such financial instruments is risky. The same can be said of creative ideas. As Sternberg and
Lubart put it, “Buying low means actively pursuing ideas that are unknown or out of favor but
that have growth potential. Selling high involves moving on to new projects when an idea or
product becomes valued and yields a significant return.”6 And as with investing, buying into
novel ideas with unproven usefulness or value is a risky venture. Yet this is exactly what creative
people—both innovators and entrepreneurs—do. They defy conformity pressures and invest their
efforts, energy, and sometimes their financial resources into developing original concepts with
perceived promise but unproven widespread value or acceptance. Whereas Dalí learned to master
traditional modes of artistic expression, he decided to break away, to defy the crowd and adopt a
different and not fully embraced form of artistic expression—surrealism (reflected in one of
Dalí’s most iconic images, the melting face of a clock, and in the image of the exploding melting
face of a watch found on the next page). As Sternberg and Lubart argue,
Metaphorically the creative person “buys low” by rejecting currently popular, conventional ideas
that others are readily buying into, instead coming up with and championing fresh ideas. He or
she then “sells high” when the idea “purchased” for a “low price” achieves societal value, as
others finally recognize its worth and jump on the bandwagon.7
Less creative individuals, because they do not want to stand apart from the crowd, are likely to
stick with the tried and true—ideas with proven value. Of course, such ideas have their
advantages. They are safe. They are efficient. When mastered, they demonstrate competence.
And, of course, there is a downside. When individuals make a habit of buying into accepted
practices and ideas, they do not stand out. They melt into the crowd and therefore do not
distinguish themselves. If you want to be average when it comes to creativity and achievement,
the surest way forward is to adopt the same thinking and practices as everyone else. If you want
to be a successful entrepreneur or organizational innovator, then it becomes imperative for you to
break away from established practices adopted by the majority.
Salvador Dalí, Soft Watch Exploding, 1954 ink and pencil on paper, image: 5 in × 6 3/4 in.
© Salvador Dalí, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2017
© Salvador Dalí Museum, Inc.
Recall our earlier conversation about the conformity pressures so prevalent in our society. Over
time, it is likely that you have been so conditioned by your surroundings that you may not even
be aware of the tendency to simply follow the crowd. Again, this is not to say that conformity is
completely bad or unproductive. The reality is that people and organizations require both
creativity and conformity, and the fact is there is a symbiotic relationship between the two.
Creativity generates new and unproven ideas, whereas conformity then assures that those ideas
perceived to be most valuable are adopted by the crowd. Creative people and organizations
generate, develop, and sell breakthrough concepts. People who are effectively creative take
advantage of society’s conformity to disseminate their breakthrough ideas. The question most
pertinent to you is the degree to which you are prepared to defy the crowd to distinguish yourself
as a creative person, to serve as an organizational innovator or an entrepreneur who is a catalyst
for change.
Thought Starter
Defy the Crowd
Many organizations now recognize that to survive and thrive they need members who are able to
bring their creative imagination to bear within the organizational setting. Moreover, many
members of society believe creativity is necessary for a healthy economy. This does not mean
being creative is easy. Whereas organizations, and society in general, say they value creativity,
there remain conformity pressures that can make it difficult for creative ideas, and creative
people, to be accepted. To help you improve the probability that you can successfully defy the
crowd and sell your creative ideas, we turn to Sternberg and Lubart, who provide a list of
components of successful creative individuals. The framework outlined by these scholars
highlights some of the critical points raised in this book. Therefore, we use their model to
highlight some of the most important factors for you to internalize so that you might take your
creativity to another level. We encourage you to use this summary to analyze the extent to which
you are in the best possible position to tap into and sustain your creativity.
Intelligence
According to Sternberg and Lubart, intelligence and its role in supporting creativity can be
thought of in three ways. The first is synthetic intelligence. This component of intelligence has to
do with effectiveness in information processing. Synthetic intelligence can be related to the
observational and problem-defining skills we discussed in Chapter 6, as well as the ideational
skills described in Chapter 7. Someone high in synthetic intelligence looks at information in new
ways, recombines old ideas in new formats, discovers interesting problems and opportunities,
produces unique ideas, and can easily change directions. Next is analytic intelligence. This form
of intelligence enables you to be skillful at the all-important solution development and validation
stage of the creative process (see the skills described in Chapter 8). Where synthetic intelligence
spots interesting problems and generates original responses to these problems, analytical
intelligence allows you to select which possibilities will yield the greatest results. Highly creative
people use their analytic intelligence to know which ideas are worth investing their time, talent,
energy, and resources. Analytic intelligence distinguishes the crackpot inventors from the
innovative inventors who recognize which ideas can be transformed into value propositions. The
third kind of intelligence is practical intelligence. This is the ability to sell your novel ideas,
exactly the kinds of skills presented in Chapter 9, to get others to recognize their value and, as a
consequence, to buy into such original concepts. Also, practical intelligence enables a person to
know what feedback to heed for further developing his or her novel and unproven concept.
Highly creative people know what feedback to ignore and what feedback holds the key to
improving the original concept.
Knowledge
Most theories and models of creativity hold that to produce creative work in some field or
domain, one must understand the body of knowledge in that area. Knowledge is necessary for
creativity; it is the foundation that guides the production of ideas. No matter the field, whether it
is music, art, business, technology, science, or psychology, you need an awareness of the basic
content to produce new work. And some research shows that the more technical the field is, the
longer it takes for someone to produce creative work.8 For example, the peak creative period for
scientists comes later than it does for writers. Some have argued that this occurs because more
technical fields require a longer period to amass a sufficient understanding to then make original
contributions. However, knowledge is not sufficient. To create new knowledge, you must not fall
victim to what you know, to assume that your knowledge is truth. Certainty kills creativity.
Knowledge must be thought of as permeable and temporary, not as an absolute.
Thinking Styles
Intelligence refers to ability; in contrast, thinking styles can be characterized as a mindset for
creativity. You might possess the ability to imagine and generate novel ideas, but do you also
have the right attitude to leverage this ability? You might possess the speed and power to be
successful at ultimate fighting, but do you hold the fearless mindset necessary to enter the cage?
You may be flexible and athletic enough to do a front flip, but do you have the courage to do this
on a narrow balance beam? Thinking styles are about how you think, not how well you think.
When it comes to creativity, do you possess the kind of mindset that will allow you to defy the
crowd?
Personality
Some of the earliest work in the field of creativity has clearly and consistently highlighted
personality traits that improve an individual’s chance of demonstrating creative behavior. Some
of the most important traits are a willingness to take risks, the courage to stand up for one’s
beliefs, and a good sense of humor. In the world of financial investing, one of the crucial
questions financial planners assess with respect to their clients is their tolerance for risk. As
noted earlier in this chapter, the safer investments, those that are less risky, generally have
modest returns. Opportunities for larger gains are more likely to occur with those investments
that present higher levels of risk. It is the same with creative ideas. Buying into ideas that are
already well established and proven entails no risk and generates modest return—you now own
what everyone else owns. To generate and embrace something new, which provides great
opportunity for differentiation and growth, requires a personality comfortable with taking risks.
Beyond risk taking it is also helpful to be comfortable in taking a stand, demonstrating absolute
commitment to the new idea. This trait leads to persistence and a dogged determination to
overcome obstacles that stand in the way of success. Finally, study after study of the creative
personality highlights the importance of humor. A good sense of humor allows for a playful
attitude, which can go a long way in reducing the stress and self-doubt that might come along
with the pressures associated with selling a creative idea. Individuals who pursue creative ideas
are likely to experience failure. When you are skillful at generating and experimenting with
original concepts, you will quickly realize that an important part of the process is failure—the
idea looked good on paper, but in reality, it fell short of the desired impact and value. A good
sense of humor helps one to rebound faster from such setbacks.
Motivation
Highly creative people are driven, possessing a high degree of energy. There is a stereotype
about creative people being fanciful dreamers. The reality is that people who bring creative ideas
to fruition are driven to achieve their goals. Motivation can come from extrinsic and intrinsic
sources. Extrinsic sources include a desire to achieve some level of notoriety, acknowledgment,
and reward. Intrinsic sources relate to internal rewards such as self-expression, satisfaction, and
personal challenge. Both are important, but as Sternberg and Lubart say so well, “Creative
people are almost always doing something they love. Likewise, distinctive work will rarely come
from someone who hates the task at hand.”9
Environmental Context
The final quality necessary for creativity to occur does not relate to an individual resource but to
the environment in which the individual finds himself or herself. It is possible for an individual
to possess the five qualities described earlier and yet not produce creative work. In such cases,
this is almost always due to the situation. The classroom environment, for example, can squash
student creativity, and an employee’s ability to contribute creative ideas at work often depends
on the atmosphere found in the workplace. If your creativity is important to you, be sure to find
the kind of environment that will nurture, not undermine, your creative potential. And if you
cannot find the right environment, then take control (as best you can) of the situation to create
your own environment.
Learning Activity: Investment Theory Exercise
Summarize in your own words Sternberg and Lubart’s investment theory of creativity. Next, find an example of a
successful creative project, either through research or perhaps something personally familiar to you, and describe
how the investment theory applies to that example. In what ways does this example validate this theory? Identify an
idea that you “bought low” in your organization or in life. How did this work out? In what ways were you
successful, or not, in getting others to see the value of this novel idea?
Doing—Addressing Resistance to Change
When you create, you introduce change. Your new ideas either replace old ideas or push others
to go in a new direction (and often both). Creative ideas can be disruptive and therefore are not
always welcomed with open arms. Given the built-in conformity bias in human nature, it is
important to recognize that responses to your creativity may range from mildly unsettling to
outright hostility in the face of a perceived threat. In hindsight, it is easy to spot a creative idea,
that is, once its value is fully understood and accepted. Some 40 years later, the Egg McMuffin
looks like a no-brainer idea; however, that’s from the vantage point of seeing a thriving breakfast
business at McDonald’s. In retrospect, it is easy to look back with surprise, and perhaps even a
bit of arrogance, at McDonald’s resistance to this winning business proposition—recall that the
corporation rebuked the inventor of the Egg McMuffin. At the time, the McDonald’s business
model was based on serving handheld meals at lunch and dinner; thus the notion of a breakfast
sandwich was novel and disruptive. To be a successful innovator or entrepreneur begins with the
ability to identify and develop unique ideas, but ultimate success depends on your ability to get
others to buy into and embrace the value of your new proposition.
So how did Herb Peterson overcome resistance to the idea of a breakfast sandwich? Mr.
Peterson’s success came about as a result of selling his idea to a critical stakeholder, Ray Kroc,
the man who launched the corporation. With respect to change, we define a stakeholder as
anyone who is impacted by a proposed action or can influence the successful adoption of a
creative idea. When proposing a creative idea in a social context, it can be extremely helpful to
be aware of the stakeholders in that situation and to consider specific strategies for how you will
win such individuals over. If you are going to get a crowd to adopt your thinking, you will want
to target specific individuals within the crowd who, once convinced of the merits of your idea,
will assist in getting others to adopt the new idea. You were briefly introduced to stakeholder
analysis in Chapter 9; because buy-in is central to the success of innovators and entrepreneurs,
we revisit this tool with greater detail.
To identify stakeholders, consider the following questions:
• Who has an interest in the proposed action?
• Who is most likely to be affected by the idea?
• Whose resistance would undermine success?
• Which individuals and groups have a clear role in this situation?
• Whose buy-in is necessary for success?
• Who is in a strong position to sway others’ opinions of this idea?
Once you have identified the stakeholders in the situation, next you need to consider the nature
of the various stakeholders’ views regarding your proposed change. Some may be supportive of
your idea, whereas others may stand in opposition to your proposed action. It is helpful to
specifically identify the perceived level of support for any stakeholder you consider to be crucial
to your success. Do not take for granted those you believe are in your corner. Instead, be
deliberate about confirming their support and actively enlist them as advocates for the proposed
action. This will help build positive momentum. For those stakeholders who are likely to oppose
your idea, generate strategies aimed at moving their opinion from negative to positive (or at least
neutral). Also, a useful strategy is to consider how supportive stakeholders might be leveraged to
convert those opposed to your idea. Supportive stakeholders who have credibility and influence
can help sway the naysayers.
Falling in love with your own creative ideas is natural. It is important to be committed to ideas
you believe have great potential. However, it is foolhardy to naively believe that everyone else
will hold the same enthusiasm for your thinking. Learning to enlist key stakeholders often means
the difference between the successful adoption of your ideas or their early demise. And
sometimes the most important creative thinking applied to a successful innovation isn’t the
creativity required to create the original idea but instead the imagination employed to sell the
innovation to others. It is one thing to defy the crowd yet quite another to get the crowd to come
over to your way of thinking.
Learning Activity: Conducting Stakeholder Analysis
Identify an idea, plan, or activity you need to successfully carry out in the next 60 to 90 days. Using the questions in
the previous bullet points, make a list of all the stakeholders and then select the most important ones. Create a table
with four columns (or simply replicate the Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet found in Figure 9.1). In the first column,
list the most important stakeholders. In the next column, identify the current level of support associated with each
stakeholder. In the third column, identify the level of support you will need in the future from each stakeholder to be
successful. Assess the gap between where each stakeholder’s support is currently and where you need it to be. In the
final column, list the action steps you can take to move the stakeholder to where you need him or her. Think
creatively about these action steps. If the stakeholder is strongly supportive already, then think about action steps
you can take to get this stakeholder to influence others. Once the table is completed, review all action steps listed in
the fourth column and create an action plan (i.e., organize action steps you wish to take in chronological order). In
what ways is this tool valuable before launching an idea?
Being—Becoming a 21st-Century Innovator
Creativity, though influenced by many factors, emanates from the individual. Organizations are
not creative; it is the individuals inside those organizations who create. New innovations and
entrepreneurial enterprises do not launch themselves; the breakthroughs to such endeavors are
born in the creative minds of a few who decide to defy the crowd. With this in mind, we wish to
close this personal journey by focusing on you, for it is the individual who is the catalyst to all
creative acts. Our goal here is to help you sustain your momentum on this journey. To assist you,
we close this book by presenting a set of ways in which individuals give up their creative
power.10 To go on a journey, especially one that is long and arduous, one must be in the best
possible shape at the outset. Furthermore, you must take care of yourself all along the way.
Fortify yourself against these common personal limitations, and you will do much to retain and
strengthen your creativity.
Limiting Your Options
One of the most debilitating ways to undermine your creative power is to confine yourself to a
limited number of options. As you increase your options, you simultaneously increase your
probability of success. If there are no options, there is no hope. One option pins all hope on only
one way forward; it is either succeed or fail. Two options provide at least a fallback position but
force decisions into either-or scenarios. When you create multiple options, whether they are
solutions to a problem or alternative paths toward achieving a goal, you are in the strongest
position possible. To drive this point home, consider an example. Imagine you are sitting across
a table from someone with whom you are negotiating, perhaps trying to land a job or buying a
car. Imagine the person across from you represents your only option. How much power do you
possess in this situation? Now imagine that you have an alternative option, another job offer or
another car dealer with whom you are working. By having alternatives, you increase the
probability of achieving your goal. This is exactly what great creators, innovators, and
entrepreneurs do to achieve success. Over his lifetime, Picasso produced more than 20,000
works. James Dyson tested more than a thousand prototypes before finding the solution for the
bagless vacuum cleaner. Steve Jobs achieved success in multiple industries—computer
technology, film animation, mobile phones, and music. Thomas Edison held over 1,000 patents.
Not all your ideas will be creative breakthroughs, but the more ideas, alternatives, and options
you create, the more likely you will be to achieve what you desire.
Resting on Success
Building on the previous point, one way in which we limit our options is through success. The
risk in having a successful innovative idea is the fact that it is easy to become wedded to that
idea or a particular way of thinking—unwilling to continuously grow and experiment with new
possibilities. As Sternberg and Lubart noted, “As an individual acquires a more and more
valuable portfolio of creative accomplishments, he or she faces the same danger as does a mature
company—that he or she may not be able to muster the resources to deal with a rapidly changing
world.”11 Nokia is a fine example of an organization that was innovative but suffered from its
own success. Although primarily known as a pioneer in the mobile phone industry, at one time
Nokia was (and still is) a rubber boot manufacturer (well before it entered the mobile phone
market). Nokia was the first to introduce the smartphone but was unable to keep up with the
competition—who introduced phones with more elegant interfaces (most notably the iPhone).
Nokia saw its market share drop from 51% to 27% and its profits decrease by 40% in 2010
alone.12 Just as Nokia went from a paragon of innovation to an after thought in the mobile phone
marketplace, so too can individuals suffer from the seduction of success. Like a smart investor
knows when to sell and move on to the next idea, a smart innovator or entrepreneur recognizes
that innovation and creative thinking must be continuous. In the rapidly moving 21st century it
does not take long for others, competitors especially, to catch on and to catch up. Curiously,
Nokia is now trying to resurrect itself by leading the way in wearable smart technology. You
guessed it . . . they have introduced smart boots (e.g., calorie tracking, GPS navigation, gamified
orienteering). So Nokia has gone from boots, to mobile phones, and back to boots.13 Time will
tell whether this innovation will be a success. Regardless, Nokia is resurrecting its innovate
mindset, which in the long term bodes well for the company. To continuously evolve, and avoid
extinction, you too need to continuously generate novel variations as an innovator and
entrepreneur.
Expecting Guarantees
It is one thing to have the skill to generate many alternatives and quite another to have the
mindset to pursue those ideas. Another way people give up their creative power is expecting
guarantees before pursuing a goal, direction, activity, or idea. In such cases, individuals decide to
move forward only when they feel a sense of assurance that their efforts will yield a particular
outcome. Innovative and entrepreneurial ideas, because they are new, rarely come with
guaranteed returns. If you want a guaranteed return, simply follow the ideas and pursuits that are
well established. However, be prepared to accept meager to modest returns, because everyone
has already bought into these ideas (and prepare yourself to be surpassed by others who are
generating and proving the value of new ideas, which will dramatically and drastically reduce the
value of established and soon to be out-of-date practices). Expecting guarantees stops innovation
before it can get started. If the pioneers of aviation, the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtis, for
example, had expected guarantees, airplanes and commercial flight would have never gotten off
the ground. One of the benefits of not limiting your options is the fact that you spread risk across
options. Only a small number of Thomas Edison’s inventions resulted in viable businesses, but,
fortunately, his creative mind led to the formulation of many options that yielded a few highly
successful ventures.
Letting Other People’s Approval Be More Important Than Your Own
Teresa Amabile of the Harvard Business School has led a fascinating program of research
exploring the conditions that undermine intrinsic motivation and, consequently, creativity. She
discovered that when people believe they are being observed or evaluated, their ability to
produce creative results drops significantly. They become preoccupied with the observers and
therefore invest less creative effort into their work. By seeking or becoming preoccupied with
others’ approval, you give away your creative power. The risk here is that another person’s
approval may become more important than producing an idea that is pleasing and rewarding to
you. An innovation study among architectural firms lends support to this argument. It was found
that when architects did not strictly constrain themselves to the brief provided by the client, they
were significantly more likely to receive industry awards for their creative designs.14 Naturally,
evaluation and feedback are valuable components of the creative process. The lesson here,
especially at the beginning of a creative initiative, is not to limit your dreams and aspirations by
becoming overly concerned about the expectations and perceptions of others.
Not Being Clear About What You Want
Karp, upon whose work we base our ideas about these self-imposed constraints, says that any
change initiative must start with a clear view of what you want. Innovators and entrepreneurs are
change leaders; when successful, their ideas enable organizations and industries to change and
grow. As Karp so effectively argues, “Until you give yourself full permission to want what you
want, and to want all of it, there is little likelihood that you’ll give yourself permission to get
it.”15 It is not enough to want, you must be clear about what you want. By clear we mean that
you possess a vivid image of that which you wish to create or the desired future you want to
bring into reality. Vague and idle dreams do not compel action. Robert Fritz, a filmmaker,
author, and entrepreneur, provides an elegant description of the power of a clear vision.16 When
you have a clear vision of a desired future, it creates tension—that is, tension between your
current reality and the desired future you have in mind. The productive way to relieve this
tension is to make choices and pursue strategies that move you toward your vision. Without a
clear vision, there is no compelling force that facilitates enlightened decision making and action.
And it is important that the vision be clear. Vague aspirations do little to promote action.
Wanting to successfully run a marathon is more forceful than a general desire to get into shape.
As Steve Jobs said, “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you
don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”17
We present these self-limiting behaviors to help you sustain your creative power. By describing
each, we hope you have become more aware of how you might be undermining your creativity at
its source—you. To get you started on the next step in your journey, we build on the last point,
possessing a clear vision, and guide you through a creativity tool that will enable you to envision
and tell your own future story.
Learning Activity: Create Your Story
To close the book, we will have you create an image of a desired future and then a plan to get there. To do so, we
will have you use a tool called storyboarding. On a piece of paper, create two rows of three large boxes each, like a
cartoon strip. In the last box, lower right, draw an image of your desired future (label this box “My Vision”). What
do you want to be doing 3 to 5 years from now? What’s your dream? Don’t worry about artistic ability; stick figures
and symbols are fine. Attempt to be very clear, adding as much detail as possible. What are you doing? Who is with
you? What’s your impact? Now go to the first box, upper left, and label this “Current Reality.” In this box create an
image of your current reality relative to your vision. Where are you now? Once completed, you will have four empty
boxes in between your current reality and your vision. In these boxes draw, in chronological order, four milestones
you will need to achieve to realize your vision. This is your story—now go make it happen!
Case Study: Repeatable Magic: Sergio Fajardo and the Transformation of
Medellín, Colombia
Introduction
At a time when many citizens in Medellín, Colombia, were living under an umbrella of fear, crime, and narco
trafficking–inspired violence, a creative, courageous, and discontented mathematics professor decided that writing
opinion pieces for a newspaper asserting how things “should be” was not the most effective approach to bringing
about transformational change. Rather, he took a leave of absence from his position at the University of the Andes to
organize and facilitate a series of conversations between a growing group of socially committed, politically
disenfranchised, action-oriented citizens who recognized that it was politicians who made the most crucial decisions
in society. Indeed, the group had had vastly different backgrounds and perspectives, but in common, they knew that
the only way to have their collective voice heard was to get themselves into elected office somehow.
A connector of people, Sergio Fajardo positioned himself to lead these conversations with engaged citizens from a
wide range of backgrounds including business, education, and nongovernmental organizations. They would come to
serve as a brain trust that would inform and energize a soon-to-unfold campaign for elected office.18 From 15 to 30
to 50 to almost 200 members before the election, participants met to diagnose, analyze, and explore problems and
opportunities facing the city.
Next, the group decided that Sergio Fajardo should be the name on the top of the ticket, and, soon thereafter, Fajardo
began walking the city of Medellín from end to end, engaging his fellow citizens in discussion and debate about the
importance of education and to ask for their vote to become their mayor. With zero political experience to his name,
Fajardo rallied his closest friends and colleagues to create an entirely new, independent political party, a party that
would go on to win the mayorship of Medellín (January 2004–December 2007) and propel Fajardo to become the
governor of Antioquia (January 2012–December 2015)—and he just might become the next president of Colombia.
You may recall from the chapter Sternberg and Lubart’s investment theory of creativity whereby a creative person
metaphorically “buys low,” by rejecting ideas and behaviors currently popular and accepted in society, and instead
chooses to come up with and champion his or her own, fresh ideas that run counter to the status quo, even in the face
of great obstacles. The investment cycle is then completed when he or she “sells high” once the creative ideas have
been “purchased” or embraced by others over time, at a creative premium. For Sergio Fajardo, buying low and
selling high has been a way of life.
Home to 6.6 million people, the Antioquia region of Colombia and its capital city Medellín represent a bustling
economy and a thriving incubator of people and ideas. But it wasn’t always this way. In fact, Medellín was once
known as the most violent city in the world, struggling with tragically high per capita homicide rates,19 a struggling
economy, and an international reputation as the cocaine capital of the world.20
The son of a prominent architect, Sergio Fajardo could have followed in his father’s footsteps and inherited the
family business. Instead, he fell in love with mathematics and decided to invest in his own education, a future that
would diverge greatly from his familial roots.
With great discipline and work ethic, Fajardo earned the opportunity to attend graduate school at the Universidad de
los Andes–Bogotá, but he did not stop there. During his studies, he decided to travel to the United States in 1978 to
attend English-intensive summer courses at the University of Buffalo, no small task for a native Spanish speaker.
Fajardo’s work ethic remained on display as he continued onward to complete his PhD at the University of
Wisconsin–Madison. His fearlessness to learn new things was not limited to the academic arena, however. For
example, after decades of conflict between the Colombian government and armed militia groups and narco-
trafficking guerrillas, Fajardo was invited to attend a series of conflict resolution workshops in Medellín. These
dialogues were facilitated by Roger Fisher and were known as the Commission for Facilitating Peace. Fisher was
invited to facilitate these dialogues due to an international reputation he had established as an expert in conflict
resolution through the Harvard Negotiation Project and also because of the strong reputation of his coauthored book
(with William Ury) on the topic of negotiation, Getting to Yes.21
Fajardo was initially suspicious of the idea of a foreign facilitator—an American—who he thought might be at a
disadvantage when trying to understand the dynamics, history, and culture of the conflict, someone who would come
in and propose a very American, 10-easy-steps-to-peace approach to navigating the deadly and materially
destructive forces in play.
What happened next though perhaps defines Fajardo as a creative person and leader. Instead of allowing his
presumptions about Fisher and the inherent challenges facing a foreign facilitator who dared enter a complex and
contentious situation, Fajardo instead possessed the openness and courage to invite new thinking into his own
thought process, and by acquiring new information, he would eventually change his own mind. Instead of allowing
doubt to shape his workshop experience, he acquired a copy of Fisher’s book and dedicated the time and energy to
studying it before the workshop began! This way he would be prepared to not only understand the principled
negotiation method Fisher would use to facilitate the workshop, but in so doing, he could also create even more
value for the group as a note taker and translator for others. It paid off. Fajardo became a de facto leader in those
important peace dialogues. Looking back, Fajardo indicated, “Roger Fisher helped me learn a lot; he helped me
learn how to listen.”22
Urban Design, Park Libraries, and a Power Company
Sitting across the table from leaders of Colombia’s powerful public utilities company, Empresas Públicas de
Medellín (EPM), the newly elected mayor listened intently as company planners, designers, and engineers presented
a compelling vision to celebrate their 50th anniversary: the redevelopment of a highway and waterfront park that
would run through an upper-middle-class neighborhood in the city. The team presented a detailed description of the
aesthetic beauty that would be created with the project and lobbied for their months of hard work to proceed
forward, as planned. Fajardo listened and took notes. He waited until the presentation ended, and, at that moment, he
paused. He knew he would have one chance—that very moment—to ask a critical question and to then follow up on
that question in a way that only a creative and courageous leader could. To the leaders and design team, Fajardo
asked, “How much do you think this will cost?” About 60 million dollars, they replied, at which point Fajardo
followed up and said, “60 million dollars? Are you sure?” They said, yes, they were sure. Fajardo replied, “Okay,
with that money we are going to build schools in Medellín.” The result: EPM changed its mind and instead of
spending the $60 million on the park design, worked with Fajardo to redirect those resources to organize a
competition for local architectural firms to imagine and construct parques bibliotecas (park libraries) and schools.
Since then, a network of stunning parques bibliotecas has been constructed around Medellín, and citizens of the
“most humble” circumstances now have architecturally stunning centers of learning to identify with. They can say,
“I live near X library,” and that orientation to a place has become a point of pride and a physical representation and
recognition of the value of learning and education.23
The Power of Understanding Stakeholder Perspectives
Sergio Fajardo has always been a reader. He speaks fondly of the bookshelves in his childhood home, recalls
doodling in the margins of his book collection, keeps a wooden school chair from his youth in his gubernatorial
office, and, in addition to the local and regional media, he reads the New York Times daily. Reading widely and
being able to tap into broad perspectives on a wide range of issues has not only helped him to gain insights into
stakeholder positions during key negotiations, but it has also forced him to develop tools to organize and make sense
of this vast body of information. For example, inspired by his architect father, Fajardo began sketching out meetings
and visualizing conversations. Not only has this habit allowed Fajardo to organize and manage the information that
comes across his desk (and mind) on any given day, but it also led to an interesting revelation when he began using
Twitter to help him communicate the sometimes complex affairs of governance to the people of Colombia (and the
world).
Tweets, as you may be aware, are short messages deliberately constrained to 140 characters. Feeling limited,
Fajardo developed a habit of sketching notes and images he wants to share, taking pictures of them, and then
tweeting images of those handwritten notes (thereby overcoming the 140-character limit and also adding a
personalized touch to his communications, which has resonated with his followers and helped him authentically
connect with his constituents). As a result, followers on Twitter have gotten to know the voice of his Twitter
account, and this approach has helped him to simplify (without trivializing) the important information he must share.
Organizing information to better understand diverse stakeholder perspectives has not only been helpful for Sergio
Fajardo to communicate from one to many (via Twitter), but it has also been influential in critical negotiations and
policies that have directly impacted the lives of Colombians. For example, in 2003, 868 paramilitary narco
traffickers signed an agreement with the Colombian government to demobilize and to reintegrate back into society.
Soon thereafter, Fajardo won the mayoral election of Medellín and would be expected to manage their reintegration
process. A hotly contested issue, debate raged within communities, and, with no precedent to follow, Fajardo and his
team faced the prospect of having to create an entirely new plan. That is, they had to develop a program to not only
support the hundreds of individuals who had committed serious crimes so that they could be transitioned into
leading healthy, productive, law-abiding lives, but also to understand and consider the broader perspectives of
community members and organizations who would become their new neighbors.24
“From day zero, we said we are going to work with you transparently. We were learning and devising new
alternatives; these guys come in and everyone knows they were former criminals; then someone says, ‘How come
my kid doesn’t have anything to do, and this guy, who was a criminal, has all these subsidies?’ And we said, she’s
right. So we created a new program for people who had never been part of the conflict to take advantage of some of
the same programs and offerings we were allowing for the former criminals.”25
“We were solving things by understanding,” says Fajardo. “We always acted transparently, and that’s what gives us
power. We were open. We worked with everyone. We have to design everything on the move. We have the power
of ingenuity.”
Sustaining Power and Influence
From student, to teacher, to mayor, to governor, to Colombian presidential hopeful, Sergio Fajardo has been able to
not only sustain but also grow his considerable influence as a creative change maker. One of the tools Fajardo has
used to help achieve this extraordinary trajectory has been to develop himself into an exceptional communicator
(recall his handwritten, personalized, and visualized tweets). Furthermore, Fajardo employs no speech writers; he
prepares everything himself in the same way he used to prepare his lectures as a professor. Just as he used to get to
know his students so that he could personalize their lecture experiences, Fajardo explains that he always tries to get
a feel for a local place and the key issues facing citizens before developing a unique presentation or a speech for that
audience. Specifically, he does this by connecting with the people there, being present with how the place looks and
feels with all his senses, and understanding what the people are feeling. This, and not speech writers, informs what
he will say.
“Remember me?” says a man on the street to Fajardo. As a political figure and leader who travels his country and
the world, Fajardo meets many people, and remembering them all is not a realistic possibility. However, when
someone approaches him in the streets he does not tell him, “No, I do not remember you. I’m sorry, I meet so many
people.” Instead, he says, “Tell me about the time that we met, of what we spoke about, and why it was memorable
for you.” He cites an example of a man who suggests that education could be the platform upon which he runs for
mayor of Medellín. Fajardo smiles, thinking about the possibility that when that man is at home with his family at
night and hears messages of “Medellín, la mas educada” (Medellín, the most educated) on the television, radio, and
Internet, he says to his family, “See Fajardo and that education plan? I told him to do that. That was my idea.”
Another communication technique had potentially saved Fajardo’s life. Although he downplays the risk of holding
office during earlier days of violent times in Colombia, he suggests that he does not feel fear, because he “never
talks about a person”; instead of naming names, he has trained himself to describe, for example, what it means to be
corrupt and to express to a community that “we cannot allow people who do these things to rule us.” Instead of
naming names and calling out murderers and criminals individually, he depersonalizes the conversations, creates
distance from the actors themselves, and shifts the focus of the conversation toward the bigger ideas as opposed to
the individuals involved.
Another way Fajardo sustains and grows influence is to celebrate examples of success achieved by others. For
example, when he travels he speaks of a young boy who attends a public school in a small town that used to be
notorious for its narco traffickers. Instead of discussing drugs, however, Fajardo speaks of this town and the young
boy who lives there because the boy has won the Antioquian Knowledge Olympics and has earned the highest
grades in the entire province of Antioquia!
Fajardo has also helped to celebrate others through a collaboration with his wife, Dr. Lucrecia Ramirez-Restrepo, a
psychiatrist and professor at the University of Antioquia, Medellín. Together, and in response to high rates of
anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders in young Colombian women (17.7% affliction rate vs. 5% in Spain and
10.2% in the United States in 2003), Fajardo and his wife have reimagined the traditional role of beauty pageants
and have instead replaced them with Most Talented Women’s conferences. In addition, they have also helped young
women reimagine their role in Colombian society through the creation and support of the Anorexia-Bulimia
Prevention Network, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Network, Sexual Violence Prevention Network, and Medellín’s
Women of Academic Excellence Network.
Fajardo tells these stories and shares these examples to help others see themselves as being on a growth trajectory, to
help people feel their potential future and to be excited to the point of motivation to take action toward that future
and to seek out opportunity for themselves.
Closing
Homicide rates in Medellín in 2015 were the lowest in 40 years, GDP is booming, and the World Economic Forum
in 2015 recognized the transformation of Medellín as one of the Top Ten Urban Innovations in the world. With
these achievements to stand on, Dr. Sergio Fajardo, Medellín, and the region of Antioquia echo together the sounds
of hope, not fear. Together they demonstrate what’s possible when people work together to buy low and sell high,
and as a result, their communities move forward, emboldened with the powerful messages of “the most beautiful for
the most humble” and “the most educated.”
Discussion Questions: Knowing
1. Sergio Fajardo’s oft-heard quote, “The most beautiful for the most humble,” suggests
the restoration of personal dignity in regions that were riddled with fear and crime.
Applying your understanding of investment theory, what would you surmise were the
popular ideas and behaviors Fajardo rejected to address the crime in Medellín? What
were the great obstacles he had to face to buy low? What compelled him to buy low?
What aspects of the environment helped and hindered the ideas he put forth?
Application Questions: Doing
1. Do you recall the stakeholder questions listed in this chapter? Identify the stakeholders
that Sergio Fajardo had to consider to bring about change, and answer the questions
below:
o Who had an interest in his proposed action?
o Whose resistance would undermine success?
o Which individuals and groups had a clear role in this situation?
o Whose buy-in was necessary for success?
o Who was in a strong position to sway others’ opinions of this idea?
2. Think of an idea that did not agree with your understanding of the world. (In Fajardo’s
case, it was initially an American, 10-easy-steps-to-peace approach to navigating the
deadly and materially destructive forces in play.) Putting at bay any judgments about
this idea, what aspects do you consider to be advantages? How might you reframe your
concerns so that you are compelled to consider this idea?
3. Graphic recording involves profound listening at various sensory levels. When faced
with complexity, Fajardo sketches to organize and manage the information that comes
across his desk (and mind) in any given day. Moreover, sketches help him to
communicate the sometimes complex affairs of governance to the people of Colombia.
What would a sketch of this case study look like to you? How does this compare to a
sketch completed by a classmate?
Thinking Ahead: Being
Sergio Fajardo had no experience in politics. Virtually an unknown, he ran against seasoned politicians. Driven by
his belief that transformational change was needed, he decided to make a difference. Taking Fajardo as an
inspirational example, consider the following questions.
1. What are your beliefs that can position you as a creative asset in your organization or
future organization?
2. What might be some creative-thinking habits that will help you to preserve these
beliefs?
3. To fully embrace your creative power, review and make a list of all the concepts, tools,
principles, and content from this book that you found particularly intriguing or useful.
4. Considering your responses to the first three items, create a personal manifesto or
guiding statement that will always be there to support you through the challenges
associated with organizational complexity, uncertainty, volatility, and ambiguity.
5. Using your thoughts and reactions to the previous items, revisit the vision you created
for yourself in the final learning activity in this chapter—your storyboard. In what ways
might you strengthen this story and personal vision by reflecting on these insights? Feel
free to further refine the storyboard you created for the Being learning activity.
Notes
Introduction
1. Bob Dylan becomes founding patron of the University of Auckland’s Creative Thinking
Research Project. Retrieved January 24, 2015, from www.creativethinkingproject.org/bob-
dylan-creative-laureate.
2. Ibid.
3. Dyson, J. (2009, October). James Dyson on encouraging creativity [Video]. Wall Street
Journal. Retrieved February 13, 2016, from www.wsj.com/video/james-dyson-on-encouraging-
creativity/7E45B9C0–2689–40BF-9191–740442FF6A42.html.
4. Franken, R. (1994). Human motivation (3rd ed.). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.
5. World Economic Forum. (2016, January). The future of jobs: Employment, skills and
workforce strategy for the fourth industrial revolution. Retrieved February 12, 2016,
from www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs.
6. Infosys. (2016). Amplifying human potential: Education and skills for the fourth industrial
revolution. Retrieved February 14, 2016, from www.experienceinfosys.com/humanpotential.
7. Datar, S. M., Garvin, D. A., & Cullen, P. G. (2010). Rethinking the MBA: Business education
at a crossroads (p. 9). Boston: Harvard Business School.
8. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Standard 9: Curriculum content
is appropriate to general expectations for the degree program type and learning goals. Retrieved
January 25, 2015, from www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/standards/2013-business/learning-and-
teaching/standard9.aspx.
9. Fillis, I., & Rentschler, R. (2010). The role of creativity in entrepreneurship. Journal of
Enterprising Culture, 18, 49–81.
Chapter 1
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Science, 9, 250–257.
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Oxford, UK: Oneworld.
4. Palmer, D. (2010). Origins: Human evolution revealed. London: Mitchell Beazley.
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creativity (pp. 226–250). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
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& R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp. 279–300). Cambridge, UK:
Cambridge University Press.
8. Pringle, H. (2013). The origins of creativity. Scientific American, 303(3), 5–11.
9. Mithen, S. J. (1996). The prehistory of the mind: A search for the origins of art, religion, and
science. London: Thames and Hudson.
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11. Gau, J., & Segaller, S. (1996). Triumph of the nerds: The rise of accidental
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3. Mithen, S. (1996). The prehistory of the mind: The cognitive origins of art and science. New
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22. Ibid., p. 11.
23. Dyer, J. H., Gregersen, H. B., & Christensen, C. M. (2009). The innovator’s DNA. Harvard
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25. Torrance, E. P. (1965). Scientific views of creativity and factors affecting its
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26. Ibid.
27. Bronson, P., & Merryman, A. (2010, July 10). The creativity crisis. Newsweek.
28. Torrance, E. P. (1995). Why fly? A philosophy of creativity. Norwood, NJ: Greenwood.
29. Ibid., p. 13.
30. Ibid., p. 119.
31. May, R. (1975). The courage to create. New York: Norton. p. 13.
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of positive deviance. British Medical Journal, 329(7475), 1177.
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37. Dweck, Mindset.
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48. Ibid.
49. Sisson, M. (2015). Self-cleaning services [Video file]. ISSA. Retrieved November 18, 2016,
from www.issa.com/video#275.
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5. Ibid.
6. Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Firestien, R. L. (1982). Handbook of creative learning.
Williamsville, NY: Center for Creative Learning.
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19. Ibid., p. 67.
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8. Ibid., p. 58.
9. Ibid., p. xix.
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11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Paul, A. M. (2012, March 17). Your brain on fiction. New York Times. Retrieved November
29, 2016, from www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-
on-fiction.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
14. Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization.
New York: Currency.
15. Ibid., p. 15.
16. Waytz, A., & Mason, M. (2013). Your brain at work: What a new approach to neuroscience
can teach us about management. Harvard Business Review, 91(7–8), 102–111.
17. Ibid., p. 105.
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19. Ibid.
20. Dougherty, D. (2015, August 18). The maker mindset. Retrieved November 29, 2016,
from https://llk.media.mit.edu/courses/readings/maker-mindset .
21. Van der Lugt, L. (2002). Functions of sketching in design idea generation meetings. In E.
Edmonds, L. Candy, T. Kavanagh, & T. Hewett (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th conference on
creativity & cognition (pp. 72–79). Loughborough, UK: ACM Press.
22. Warfel, T. Z. (2009). Prototyping: A practitioner’s guide. New York: Rosenfeld Media.
23. Ibid.
24. Puccio, G. J., & Cabra, J. F. (2011). Idea generation and idea evaluation: Cognitive skills and
deliberate practice. In M. D. Mumford (Ed.), Handbook for organizational creativity (pp. 187–
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25. Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to
create radically successful businesses. New York: Random House.
26. Brown, T. (2008). Design thinking. Harvard Business Review, 86(6), 84–92.
27. Mumford, M. D. (2001). Something old, something new: Revisiting Guilford’s conception of
creative problem solving. Creativity Research Journal, 13(3), 267–276.
28. Puccio & Cabra, Idea generation and idea evaluation.
29. Cropley, D. H., Kaufman, J. C., & Cropley, A. J. (2011). Measuring creativity for innovation
management. Journal of Technology, Management, and Innovation, 6(3), 13–29.
30. O’Quin, K., & Besemer, S. P. (2006). Using the Creative Product Semantic Scale as a metric
for results-oriented business. Creativity and Innovation Management, 15, 34–44.
31. Cropley, Kaufman, & Cropley, Measuring creativity for innovation management.
32. Liedtka, J., & Ogilvie, T. (2011). Designing for growth: A design thinking tool kit for
managers. New York: Columbia Business School.
33. Coughlan, P., & Prokopoff, I. (2006, Winter). Managing change by design. Rotman
Magazine, 20–23.
34. Moule, J. (2012). Killer UX design. Melbourne, Australia: SitePoint.
35. Coughlan & Prokopoff, Managing change by design.
36. Dow, S. P., Glassco, A., Kass, J., Schwartz, M., Schwartz, D. L., & Klemmer, S. R. (2010).
Parallel prototyping leads to better design results, more divergence, and increased self-
efficacy. ACM Transactions on Computer Human Interaction, 17(4), Article 18.
37. Ibid.
38. Best, P. (2010). Branding and design innovation leadership: What’s next? In T. Lockwood
(Ed.), Design thinking: Integrating innovation, customer experience, and brand value (pp. 145–
155). New York: Allworth Press. p. 153.
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40. Rodriguez, D., & Jacoby, R. (2007, Spring). Embracing risk to learn, grow and
innovate. Rotman Magazine, 55–58.
41. Liedtka & Ogilvie, Designing for growth.
42. Ibid.
43. Cropley, Kaufman, & Cropley, Measuring creativity for innovation management.
44. Merlini, L. (2013, June 20). Sir Ken Robinson on finding your passion. Retrieved November
29, 2016, from http://blog.explo.org/education/sir-ken-robinson-finding-your-passion.
45. Cabra, J. F., & Uribe, D. (2013). Creative behavior. In E. Carayannis, I. Dubina, N. Seel, D.
F. J. Campbell, & D. Uzunidis (Eds.), Springer encyclopedia on creativity, invention, innovation,
and entrepreneurship (pp. 267–271). New York: Springer. See also Uribe, D., & Cabra, J. F.
(2014). TRYCycle: Creative behavior. Santiago, Chile: IdeMax.
46. Brown, S. L. (2009). Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates
the soul. New York: Penguin.
47. Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
48. Eliot, T. S. (1979). Four quartets. London: Faber. p. 240. (Original work published 1943)
49. R. Pressman, personal communication, April 18, 2016.
50. Ibid.
51. Check I’m Here. Retrieved November 29, 2016, from www.checkimhere.com.
52. Pressman, personal communication, April 18, 2016.
53. Ibid.
Chapter 9
1. Assayas, M. (2006). Bono in conversation with Michka Assayas. New York: Penguin.
2. Ibid.
3. Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading change. Boston: Harvard Business Press.
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8. Ibid.
9. Gardner, H. (2004). Changing minds: The art and science of changing our own and other
people’s minds. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
10. Shell, G. R., & Moussa, M. (2007). The art of woo: Using strategic persuasion to sell your
ideas. New York: Penguin.
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change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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18. Ibid.
19. Dan Pink’s website presents a one-stop shop for all resources related to the
author: www.danpink.com/resources.
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24. Elrod, P. D., II, & Tippett, D. D. (2002). The “death valley” of change. Journal of
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25. Ibid.
26. Kotter, Leading change.
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Review, 73(2), 59–67. p. 59.
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36. Ibid.
37. Rickards, Management of innovation.
38. Keeley, L., Walters, H., Pikkel, R., & Quinn, B. (2013). Ten types of innovation: The
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7. Ibid., p. 3.
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25. Fajardo, personal communication, July 13, 2015.
Index
• AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), xiv–xv
• Abraham Lincoln (Grahame-Smith), 53
• Ackoff, R. L., 29
• Adaptive learning, 143
• Affirmative self-talk, 187–188
• Airbnb, 192–195
• Air New Zealand, 95
• Akhter, M., 63
• Algorithmic problems, 74
• Amabile, Teresa, 53–54, 57–59, 60, 205–206
• Amazon, 105–106, 110
• Ambiguity, 60, 125, 167
• Analogical thinking, 53
• Analytic intelligence, 199
• Andrew, J. P., 69–70
• Anterior cingulate cortex, 60
• Anxiety, 30, 184–187
• Apple
o firing Jobs, 177–178
o first computer mouse for, 111
o Macintosh computers, 87
o revenue of, 69
o See also Jobs, Steve
• Appraisal of ideas, 146–147
• Approval of others, 206
• Architects, 127, 206
• “Art of attending” program, 41
• The Art of Woo (Shell and Moussa), 168
• Arts, 48–49
• Assayas, Michka, 156
• Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), xiv–xv
• Associative thinking, xv, 130–132
• Australopithecus afarensis, 3
• Barrett, L., 27
• Barriers to creative thinking, 182–187, 192–193
• Basic knowledge, 52, 91, 199–200
• Benefits of creativity study/development
o growth in entrepreneurial competencies, xv
o improved skills and well-being, 73–75
o Keen IO case study, 81–84
o leadership effectiveness, 72–73
o list of, 76
o prosperity tied to innovation, 67–70
o workplace improvements, 70–72, 71 (table)
• Benyus, Janine, 131–132
• Best, P., 149
• Bezos, Jeff, 105–106, 110, 189
• “Big C” creativity, 11–12, 14
• Biomimicry (Benyus), 131–132
• Bizannes, Elias, 17, 18
• Black & Decker, 114–115
• Blakely, Sara, 140
• Blockbuster, 69
• Bloomberg Businessweek, 34, 71 (table)
• Bono, 156–157, 158, 165
• Bookselling business, 106
• Borrow strategy, 97, 128
o See also Connections
• Brain anatomy, 46, 60
• Brain defocusing, 94
• Brain research on play, 143–144
• Brain size comparisons, 3, 3 (figure)
• Brainstorming, 95
• Brown, Stuart, 132–133, 134
• Brown, Tim, 145
• Brunel, Marc, 131
• Buddhist story, 86–87, 93
• Built to Last (Collins and Porras), 87
• Buoyancy, 158, 167
• Business schools, xiv–xv, xvi
• Buy-in, 156–157, 158–162, 170–172
o See also Implement step of creative process
• “Buy low and sell high” theory. See Investment theory of creativity
• Cabra, John F., 150–151, 151 (figure)
• Cahen, Helene, 141–142
• Cancer research, 102–103, 135–138
• Carlson, Amy, 159
• Carruthers, P., 6–7, 22, 92
• Case studies
o Airbnb, 192–195
o ChappellRoberts, 170–173
o Check I’m Here, 152–155
o hackerspaces, 63–66
o Intezyne, 135–138
o Keen IO, 81–84
o Medellín, Colombia, 207–213
o NanoTouch Technology, 120–122
o Navy Seals, 100–104, 101 (figure)
o physician of the future, 40–44
o StartupBus, 17–20
• Center for Creative Leadership, 178
• CEO opinions, 71 (table)
• Cereal box idea, 193–194
• Challenge statements, 117–118
• Change
o constancy of, 9
o creative individuals driving, 156–157, 162–164
o honing skills for, 166–167
o importance of novelty, 9–10
o pace of, xiv, 32
o perfect storm of, 31–34
o resistance to, 77, 201–203
o success factors for managing, 163
• Changing Minds (Gardner), 168
• ChappellRoberts case study, 170–173
• Check I’m Here case study, 152–155
• Chemotherapy treatment, 135–138
• Chesky, Brian, 193–195
• Chicken story, 21–22, 25
• Children
o creative thinking diminishing in, 23–24 (figure), 25, 67, 88
o education affecting creativity of, 27–28
o imagination of, 6–7
o pretend play, 6–7, 22
• Christensen, Clayton, 113, 114
• Clarification step of the creative process, 48
• Climate. See Environment for creativity; Internal climate for creativity
• Closing the Innovation Gap (Estrin), 28
• Coaching programs, 82–83
• Coats, Emma, 161
• Cognitive fluidity, 5–6
• Cognitive strategies
o associative thinking, 127–128
o connections, 5–6, 96–97, 99, 127–128, 130–132
o go-for-quantity strategy, 95–96, 99
o mash-up with design thinking, 90
o See also Divergent thinking
• Cokely, E. T., 30–31
• Collaboration, 26
• Collective creativity, 164, 166–167
• College athletes example, 36–39, 37 (figure)
• Collins, J. C., 87, 96
• Colorism, 119–120
• Colvin, Geoff, 29, 31, 34
• Comfort zone, 29–30, 29 (figure), 34, 39, 186
• Coming of Age in Samoa (Mead), 110–111
• Communication techniques, 211
• Complexity, 125, 167
• Computerization of jobs, 32
• Conflict in organizations, 59
• Conformity, 26–27, 198–199
• Connections, 5–6, 96–97, 99, 127–128, 130–132
• Conrad, Cecilia, 169
• Consciousness, opening of, 125–126
• Constructivism, 141
• Contextual thinking, 169
• Contradictions, 51–52, 127
• Control, locus of, 61–63
• Convergent thinking, 5
• Cook, Scott, 114
• Cooley, Josh, 143
• Coping skills, 75
• Corbett, Julie, 97
• The Corporate Culture Survival Guide (Schein), 163–164
• Counterclockwise (Langer), 109
• Courage, 113–114, 119–120, 200
• Courage to Create (May), 114
• CPSS (Creative Product Semantic Scale), 146–147
• Creative confidence, 189, 193
• Creative explosion in modern humans, 4–6, 91–92
• Creative Leadership (Puccio, Mance, and Murdock), 169
• Creative process mash-up, 90–91, 90 (figure)
o See also Experiment step of creative process; Ideate step of creative process;
Implement step of creative process; Understand step of creative process
• Creative Product Semantic Scale (CPSS), 146–147
• Creative Solution Diagnosis Scale (CSDS), 147
• Creative-thinking skills, 52–53
• Creativity
o barriers to, 182–187, 192–193
o diminishing over time, 23–24 (figure), 25, 67, 88
o everyday nature of, 10–14
o habits of, 35
o misconceptions about, 45–49
o originality, 23, 25
o practice and, 12–13, 15, 30–31, 34
o salary increases dependent on, 33
o steps of process, 48
o success and, xiii–xv, 79
o talent compared to, 49
o teachability of, xv–xvi
o 3 Ps of, 12–13, 55
o See also Benefits of creativity study/development; Crime model of creativity;
Experiment step of creative process; Ideate step of creative process; Implement
step of creative process; Novelty; Power of creativity; Understand step of creative
process
• The Creativity Man, 124
• Creator’s Code, 188
• Crime model of creativity
o about, 49–50
o means, 50–53
o motivation, 53–55
o opportunity, 55–59
• Critical thinking, 38–39
• CSDS (Creative Solution Diagnosis Scale), 147
• Csíkszentmihályi, M., 51, 75, 112
• Cullen, P. G., xiv, xvi, 180
• Cultural emphasis on safety, 64
• Curiosity, 51, 54, 75, 151
o See also Play
• Currey, Mason, 79–80
• Curtis, Glenn, 205
• D’Agostino, Dominic, 100–104, 101 (figure)
• Daily diaries, 57–58
• Daily Rituals (Currey), 79–80
• Dalí, Salvador, xv–xvi
o The Bather, 109, 110
o Death’s Cycling Tour, 73, 74
o Freudian Portrait of a Bureaucrat, 5
o Gala Contemplating the Mediterranean Sea . . ., 182–183
o Head of Gala, 123, 124
o Lion, 159
o Pi-mesonic Angel, 146
o Soft Watch Exploding, 197, 198
• Damon, William, 28
• DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), 185, 192
• Darwin, Charles, 8–10, 22, 53, 139
o See also Evolution
• DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), 157
• Datar, S. M., xiv, xvi, 180
• da Vinci, Leonardo, 15
• Davis, Gary, 75
• DDO (deliberately developmental organization), 82–83
• The Death and Life of the Great American School System (Ravitch), 28
• Debate, 57
• de Bono, Edward, 129, 188
• Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa (DATA), 157
• Deering, A., 69, 70
• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), 185, 192
• Defocused thinking, 46, 91–92, 94
• Deliberately developmental organization (DDO), 82–83
• Dell, Michael, 113
• Designing for Growth (Liedtka and Ogilvie), 149
• Design thinking, 89–90, 145–146
• Destruction and reinvention, 163
• Devinney, T., 69, 70
• Dewey, John, 48, 111
• Dezieck, Jim, 159
• Divergent thinking
o about, 5, 6–7, 23–24 (figure), 23–25, 52, 88
o connections and links, 96–97, 99
o go-for-quantity strategy, 95–96, 99
o improving imagination with, 92–93
o judgment, managing and deferring, 86–87, 92, 98
o novelty seeking, 94–95, 98–99
o strategic approach to, 129
• Dixon, Jenny, xiii
• DNA, creativity in our, 106–107
• Doblin consulting group, 166–167, 167 (table)
• Dobrev, Stanislav, 58–59
• Dog breeding, 139
• Do-it-yourself (DIY) movement, 115
• Domain-specific thinking, 5–6
• Domestication of chickens, 22
• Dougherty, Dale, 144
• Douglass, Frederick, 192
• Duarte, Nancy, 168
• Dugan, Regina, 185, 186, 192
• Dunbar, R., 27
• Durrieu, F., 63
• Dweck, Carol, 112–113, 115
• Dyer, Jeffrey, 113
• Dylan, Bob, xiii–xiv
• Dyson, James, xiii–xiv, 95–96, 204
• Early human species, 2–4
• Eastern thinking, 125–126
• Ecologic Brands, 97
• Edison, Thomas, 188–189, 204, 205
• Education, 27–28, 38–39, 40–44
• Egg McMuffins, 196–197, 202
• EI. See Emotional intelligence (EI)
• Einstein, Albert, 96
• Ekvall, Göran, 56–57
• Elaboration, 23
• Eliot, T. S., 151
• Email pitches, 160–161
• Embedding strategy, 115–116
• Eminent creativity, 11–12
• Emotional intelligence (EI)
o abilities, 179–181
o affirmative self-talk, 187–188
o Airbnb case study, 192–195
o barriers to creative thinking, 182–183
o creative confidence, 188–189
o definitions, 177
o fear, 183–187, 192–193
o learning from failure, 190–192
o observers’ using, 110
o research support of, 178–179
o transformational leadership, 181–182
• Empathy, 180
• Empathy maps, 118
• Employment. See Workplace issues
• Enculturation, 25–27
• Energy levels, 51
• Entrepreneurship
o creative thinking connected to, xiii–xiv, xv
o defined, 72
o importance of failure to, 145–146
o locus of control and, 63
o serial opportunists, 105
o visualization and, 123–125
o willingness to acquire new mental models, 140–141
o See also specific entrepreneurs
• Environment for creativity, 56–59, 167, 201
• Epileptic seizures, 101–103
• Ericsson, K. A., 30–31
• Estay, C., 63
• Estrin, Judy, 28
• Ethnographers, 106, 110–111, 116
• Evaluation of ideas, 146–147
o See also Judgment
• Everyday creativity, 10–14
• Everyday pitches, 161
• Evolution
o anxiety and, 184
o creative explosion in modern humans, 4–6
o early species, 2–4, 106–107
o human intervention in, 139
o insight into creativity from, 8–10
o sexual selection and, 7–8
o wiring humans to be creative, 31–32, 106
o See also Darwin, Charles
• Experiment step of creative process
o about, 48, 90, 90 (figure)
o breeding ideas through, 139
o Check I’m Here case study, 152–155
o developing ideas, 148–149, 150–151
o failure and, 139–140
o idea valuation skills, 149
o mental models, 140–143
o prototypes, 141–142, 144–145, 146
o serious play, 143–144
o sketching, 144
o tricycle metaphor, 150–151, 151 (figure)
o validation, 145–147
• Extended-effort principle, 128–129
• Extrinsic motivation, 53, 54, 201
• Facilitated association, 131
• Failure
o buoyancy and, 158
o creative mistakes, 149
o entrepreneurship requiring, 145–146
o fear of, 185–187
o fringe benefits of, 139–140
o nearling as alternate view of failing, 188, 190–191, 192
o tolerance for, 58
• Failure résumés, 190–191, 192
• Fajardo, Sergio, 207–213
• Fear, 183–187, 192–193
• Feedback, 31, 149, 189, 199
• The Fifth Discipline (Senge), 142–143
• Financial returns, 69
• Fisher, Roger, 208–209
• Fixed mindset, 112–113
• Flaked tools, 4
• Flexibility, 23, 93
• Flow, 75
• Fluency, 23–25, 24 (figure), 25
• FMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) machines, 142
• Focused thinking, 13, 28, 46, 91–92
• Force field analysis, 77–78, 78 (figure), 158–159, 168
• Forecasting process, 146
• Fox, Michael, 103
• Franken, R., xiv
• Franklin, Benjamin, 12, 13, 109–110
• Free association, 131
• Freedom, 56–57, 58
• Fritz, Robert, 206
• Fun, creativity as, 47
o See also Humor; Play
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines, 142
• Future Work Skills 2020, 71 (table)
• Gabora, Liane, 5, 94
• Gardner, Howard, 12, 158, 168
• Garvin, D. A., xiv, xvi, 180
• Gebbia, Joe, 193–195
• General Motors, 76–77
• Generative learning, 143
• George, J. M., 178–179
• Getting to Yes (Fisher and Ury), 208–209
• Getzels, J. W., 112
• The Global Achievement Gap (Wagner), 33
• Globalization, 68
• Go-for-quantity strategy, 95–96, 99
• Google, 53, 185, 192
• Graham, Paul, 194
• Grahame-Smith, Seth, 53
• Gregersen, Hal, 113
• Growth mindset, 112–113, 115, 120, 127
• Guaranteed return, 205
• Guilford, J. P., 74
• Habit, creativity as, 35, 79–80
• Hackemeyer, Dennis, 120–122
• Hackerspaces, 63–66
• Hall, Taddy, 114
• Hallen, Ed, 161–162
• Hand ax, 4
• Harvard Business School, xiv, xvi
• Healthy Roots, 119–120
• Helms, Jesse, 158
• Hemingway, Ernest, 35, 97
• Hemispheres of the brain, 46
• Hendrikse, Piet, 107
• Heuristic problems, 74
• High energy level, 51
• Hiring managers, 33
• Ho, Karen, 110–111
• Hoad, Michael, 40–41, 43
• Hockney, David, 17
• Homo ergaster, 4
• Homo habilis, 4, 106–107
• Homo sapiens, 4–5, 92
• Horowitz, Alexandra, 130
• Human-centered mindset, 142
• Human development zones, 29–30, 29 (figure)
• Humble Inquiry (Schein), 163–164
• Humor, 133, 200
• Hypnagogia, 126
• Hypothesis testing, 149
• Iacocca, Lee, 113
• IBM, 72–73
• Idea journal, 14–17
• Idea refinement, 146
• Idea support, 57, 58
• Ideate step of creative process
o about, 47–48, 90, 90 (figure)
o associative thinking, 130–132
o forward thinking, 123–125
o idea generation, 47–48, 61, 128–130
o improvisation, 133–134
o Intezyne case study, 135–138
o play and, 132–133, 134
o vision/visualization, 123–128, 206
• Idea time, 57
• IDEO, 95, 111, 118, 145, 148
• Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA), 81, 83
• Imagination, 48–49, 91–92
• Imitation, 27
o See also Conformity; Connections
• Implement step of creative process
o about, 48, 90 (figure), 91
o Bono’s challenge, 156–157
o buy-in, 158–162
o case study, 170–173
o change skills, 166–167
o leadership influencing change, 168–169
o pitch skills, 165–166
o selling skills, 169
• Improvisation, 133–134
• Imreh, Gergely, 63–66
• IMSA (Illinois Math and Science Academy), 81, 83
• In-and-out note taking, 15–17
• Incubation break, 126, 150
• Independence, 60
• Indian animal fable, 176–177
• Innovation, 164, 166–167, 167 (table)
o See also Creativity; Novelty
• Innovation at Work blog, 128–129
• Innovation era, xiv–xv, 67–70
• Inside of a Dog (Horowitz), 130
• Inspiration and Chai blog, 184
• Institute for the Future, 70–72, 71 (table)
• Intrinsic motivation, 201, 205–206
• Integrative thinking, 127
• Intellectual property, 63–66
• Intelligence, 199
• Internal climate for creativity, 60–61
• Internal locus of control, 61–63
• International Center for Studies in Creativity at Buffalo State, 89, 91, 103
• Intezyne, 135–138
• Intrapreneurs, 123–125
• Intrinsic motivation, 53, 54, 55
• Introspection, 179–180
• Intuit, 127–128
• Investment theory of creativity, 197–198, 201, 208
• iPad, 47
• Isaacson, Walter, 51–52
• Janszen, Felix, 68, 69
• Jean-Charles, Yelitsa, 119–120
• Jefferson Health, 40–44
• Job performance, 178
• Jobs, Steve
o Apple’s firing of, 177–178
o background, 27–28
o borrowing ideas of others, 97
o on creativity, 79
o on design, 89
o expanding comfort zone, 30
o intrinsic motivation of, 54, 55
o multiple successes of, 204
o personality of, 50–52
o on success, 6
o on vision, 206
o See also Apple
• Jobs-to-be-done theory, 114–115
• Jones, DeWitt, 171
• Jordan, Michael, 30
• Journals, 14–17, 99, 167
• Judgment
o deferring, 93–94, 111
o managing, 86–87, 92
• Karp, H. B., 206
• Kaufman, S. C., 94
• Keen IO, 81–84
• Kelleher, Herb, 181–182, 187
• Kelley, David, 189
• Ketogenic diet, 101–103, 101 (figure)
• Kettering, Charles, 76–77
• Kim, Kyun Hee, 22–25, 23–24 (figure)
• King, Stephen, 79
• Klasko, Stephen, 40–43
• Klein, Gary, 108
• Knowledge, 47–48, 52, 91, 199–200
• Kodak, 87
• Kotter, John P., 157, 171
• Kramer, S., 57–59, 60
• Kroc, Ray, 196–197
• Langer, Ellen J., 109
• Language, 117–118, 188
• Lateral thinking, 129–130
• Leadership
o Center for Creative Leadership, 178
o creativity as crucial to, 72–73, 74, 164, 166–167
o influencing change, 168–169
o introspection and, 179–180
• Leaders We Deserve blog, 164
• Leading Change (Kotter), 157, 163, 171
• The Lean Startup (Ries), 145–146
• Learning anxiety, 162
• Learning zone, 29–30, 29 (figure), 34
• Left hemisphere of the brain, 46
• Lewin, Kurt, 77–78, 78 (figure), 159
• Liedtka, Jeanne, 149
• Lincoln, Abraham, 53
• Links. See Connections
• Lion, Stephan, 159
• Liquidated (Ho), 110–111
• “Little c” creativity, 11–12, 14
• Locus of control, 61–63
• Long, Pamela O., 169
• Long-range acoustic device (LRAD), 124–125
• Louder Than Words (Navarro), 110
• Love, 182
• LRAD (long-range acoustic device), 124–125
• Lubart, T. I., 197–201, 204, 208
• “Lucy,” 3
• Lycett, J., 27
• MacArthur Fellows, 168–169
• MacKinnon, D. W., 51, 127
• “Mad genius” stereotype, 49
• “Magical” creative process, 45–46
• Maker movement, 144
• Mance, M., 169
• Manifesto for Children (Torrance), 184
• Manktelow, James, 159
• Marathon effect, 133–134
• Martin, Roger, 127
• Maslow, Abraham, 125
• Mason, Malia, 143–144, 159
• Mason, R. O., 159
• Mating success, 7–8
• May, Rollo, 114
• McCluskey, Andy, 14
• McDonald’s restaurants, 196–197, 202
• McKinsey and Company, 68
• McNerney, James, 180
• Mead, Margaret, 110–111
• Means to create, 50–53
• Medellín, Colombia, case study, 207–213
• Medical education case study, 40–44
• Mental illness and creativity, 49
• Mentors, 31, 42
• Merck & Co., 114
• Metacognition, 94
• Mice metaphor, 53–54
• Midgley, D., 69, 70
• Military research, 123–124
• Miller, Henry, 80
• Mindfulness, 130
• Mindfulness (Langer), 109
• Mindlessness, 109
• Mind maps, 147
• Mindset, 112–113, 115, 120, 127, 142, 200
• Mindset (Dweck), 113
• Mindstorms (Papert), 141
• Mind Tools website, 159
• Minibar prototype for health care client, 148
• Misconceptions about creativity, 45–49
• Mistakes, 149, 158
o See also Failure
• Mithen, Steven, 5–6
• Mitroff, I. L., 159
• Mizner, Wilson, 97
• Models, 140–141
• Model TRYCycle, 150–151, 151 (figure)
• Montessori-style philosophy, 83
• Mood for creativity, 59–61
• Morriss-Kay, G. M., 4, 8
• Motivation to create, xiv, 53–55, 201, 205–206
• Motorola, 69
• Movement to new discoveries, 129–130
• Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 11–12, 45–46, 48, 59–60
• Mumford, Michael, 73
• Murdock, M. C., 169
• Murray, David Kord, 127–128
• Musk, Elon, 188–189
• Myths of creativity, 59
• NanoTouch Technology, 120–122
• Nardelli, Robert, 180
• Narratives, 161
• Nature as inspiration, 131
• Navarro, Joe, 110
• Navy Seals case study, 100–104, 101 (figure)
• Nearling, 188
• Nearling résumés, 190–191, 192
• Neff, Mitch, 18
• Negative feedback, 189
• Negative self-talk, 187
• Nemesis Fins, 132
• Netflix, 69
• New hires, causes for failures, 178
• Nielsen, Lisa, 82
• Nin, Anaïs, 192
• Nokia, 204–205
• Noller, Ruth, 91–92
• Norris, Woody, 124–125
• “No’s,” 189, 193
• Novelty, 9–10, 94–95, 98–99, 146
o See also Creativity; Innovation
• Obama, Barack, 68, 69
• Observation, 90, 108–111, 115–116, 118
o See also Understand step of creative process
• OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark), 14
• Oncology, 135–138
• One-word pitch, 161
• On Looking (Horowitz), 130
• Open-ended questions, 117
• Open-mindedness, 51, 60
• Opportunity to create, 55–59
o See also Locus of control
• Options, creation of, 204
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), 14
• Organizational Culture and Leadership (Schein), 163–164
• Organizational psychology, 163–164
• Organizational structure, 59
• Originality, 23, 25
• Osborn, Alex, 95
• Painting process for cars, 76–77
• Palliative care, 183–184
• Palmer, Douglas, 3
• Panic zone, 29 (figure), 30, 34
• Papert, Seymour, 141
• Parallel prototypes, 148–149
• Participant Observation (Spradley), 111
• Partnership for 21st-Century Skills, 71 (table)
• Passion, 13, 55
• Pasteur, Louis, 120
• Perception, 183
• Perfect storm, 31–34
• Persistence, 60
• Personal characteristics for success, 70–72, 71 (table)
• Personal fulfillment, 125
• Personal influence, 180–181
• Personality traits of creative people, 50–52, 62, 126–127, 200
• Perspective taking, 157–158, 171–172
• Persuasion, 170–171
• Peterson, Herb, 196–197, 202
• Physician of the future case study, 40–44
• Picasso, 97, 204
• Pink, Daniel, 157, 160, 167, 168, 169, 170–171
• Pitch archetypes, 160–161, 165–166
• Pixar Animation Studios, 143
• Pixar pitch, 161
• Play
o breaks for, 126
o commitment to playfulness, 19, 51
o experiments and, 143–144
o idea generation and, 132–133, 134
o journals as exercise in imagination, 55
o patterns of, 133
o personality and, 200
o pretend play, 6–7, 13, 15, 22
o See also Curiosity
• Play (Brown), 132–133
• Point of view (POV), 115–116
• Polymer micelles, 135–138
• Porras, J. I., 87, 96
• Positive deviance, 113–114
• POV (point of view), 115–116
• Powell, Colin, 181
• Power of creativity
o Dylan and Dyson recognizing, xiii–xiv
o Job’s motivation fueling, 54
o persuasion and, 157
o practice and, 98
o retaining, 204–206, 211
o See also Entrepreneurship
• Practical intelligence, 199
• Practice, 12–13, 15, 30–31, 34
• Premature closure, resistance to, 24 (figure), 25
• Pressman, Reuben, 152–155
• Pretend play, 6–7, 13, 15, 22
• Pretense, 92
• Prietula, M. J., 30–31
• Problem definition, 111–115, 117–118
• Problem-solving process, 7–8, 33, 52, 73–74, 88–89
• Prototypes, 10, 141–142, 144–145, 146, 148–149, 150
• Prototyping (Warfel), 144–145
• Provocation, 129–130
• Psychological climate, 56–58
• Puccio, Gerard J., 27, 56–57, 73, 126, 160, 169
• Purpose, 55, 181
• Q Drum, 107, 108 (figure)
• Quantity of ideas, 128–129
• Question pitch, 161
• Ramirez-Restrepo, Lucrecia, 211–212
• Rao, Jay, 128–129
• Rational approaches, 127–128
• Ravitch, Diane, 28
• Rebreather/seizure problem, 100–103
• Recreation. See Play
• Redbox, 69
• Reflection, 16, 38–39, 57, 150
• Regan, Brian, 133
• Rejection Generator Project, 167
• Research in creativity, 35
o See also Benefits of creativity study/development
• Resilience, 75
• Resistance to change, 77, 201–203
• Résumés, 190–191
• Rethinking the MBA (Datar, Garvin, & Cullen), xiv, 180
• Revision, 146
• Rewards, 54
• Rhyming pitch, 161
• Rickards, Tudor, 38, 164, 166
• Ride On Carry On chair, 117
• Ries, Eric, 145–146
• Right hemisphere of the brain, 46
• Risk taking, 50–51, 57, 186, 200
• Rituals, 79–80
• Robinson, Sir Ken, 149, 150
• Rogers, Carl, 75, 125
• Ross-Munro, Greg, 19
• Rothenberg, Albert, 49
• Rotter, Julian B., 61–62
• Routines, work, 79–80
• Rowling, J. K., 54–55, 139–140
• Runco, Mark, 28
• Sales, 156–157, 160–161, 169, 202–203
o See also Implement step of creative process
• Schein, Edgar H., 163–164
• Schizotypy, 49
• Second City Communications, 134
• Seeing What Others Don’t (Klein), 108
• Selective breeding, 139
• Self-actualization, 75
• Self-awareness, 61, 98, 179–180, 182–183
• Self-cleaning surfaces, 121–122
• Self-control, 179–180
• Self-imposed constraints, 29, 182, 183, 185, 187, 204–206
• Self-stretching, 82–83
• Self-talk, 187–188
• Semantic approaches, 127–128
• Semantic switching, 117–118
• Senge, Peter, 142–143
• Serial opportunists, 105
• Sexual selection, 7–8
• Seyfried, Thomas, 102–103
• Shen, Jason, 165
• Sill, Kevin, 135, 136–138
• Sirkin, H. L., 69–70
• Sisson, Mark, 120–122
• Sixth grade drop in creativity, 23–24 (figure), 25
• Skaff, Habib, 136–138
• Sketching, 144, 210
• Skycouch, 95
• Smart creative briefs, 171–172
• Social bonds, 180
• Socialization process, 25–27, 29, 38–39
• Social proof, 161–162
• Soo, C., 69, 70
• Spanx, 140
• Speedo, 132
• Spradley, James P., 111, 116
• Stakeholders, 149, 159–160, 160 (figure), 202–203, 209–210
• Stanford’s MBA program, 58–59
• Startup activity, 150
• StartupBus, 17–20
• Star Wars, 53
• State of flow, 55
• Sternberg, R. J., 197–201, 204, 208
• Stone flakes, 107
• Storyboards, 143, 148, 151, 207, 213
• Stress, 60, 75
• Structure in organizations, 59
• Student engagement data, 152–155
• Student opinions, 70–72, 71 (table)
• Style set, 146–147
• Subject line pitch, 161
• Success, xiii–xiv, 204–205, 211–212
• Suri, Jane Fulton, 107, 111
• Surrealism. See Dalí, Salvador
• Survival learning, 143
• Survival psychology, 124
• Survivor’s anxiety, 162
• Sustainability of creativity
o components of successful creative individuals, 199–201
o investment theory, 197–198, 201
o McDonald’s example, 196–197
o Medellín, Colombia, case study, 207–213
• Sustainable funding, 64–65
• Synthetic intelligence, 199
• Taipei Hackerspace, 63–66
• Talbot, Reg, 47, 50
• Talent, 30–31, 49
• Talent Is Overrated (Colvin), 29
• Teachers, 31
• TEDx talks, 27, 126
• Thinking in creative ways
o cognitive models, 90
o creative process mash-up, 90–91, 90 (figure)
o defocusing, 91–92, 94
o design thinking, 89–90, 145–146
o go-for-quantity strategy, 95–96
o judgment, managing and deferring, 86–87, 92
o Navy Seals case study, 100–104, 101 (figure)
o Noller’s formula, 91–92
o novelty seeking, 94–95
o practice for, 98–99
o See also Connections; Divergent thinking
• Thinking styles, 200
• Thomas Jefferson University, 40–43
• Thompson, Rachel, 159
• Thoughtless Acts (Suri), 111
• 3 Ps of creativity, 12–13, 55
• TM (transcendental meditation), 126
• Tools of primitive humans, 107
• Torrance, Ellis Paul, 113–114, 123–124, 184
• Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), 22–25, 23–24 (figure), 113–114, 126
• To Sell Is Human (Pink), 157, 160, 168, 169
• Tough Choices or Tough Times (National Center on Education and the Economy), 33
• Tour cycliste de la mort (Death’s Cycling Tour), 73, 74
• Training in creativity, 93, 112
o See also Benefits of creativity study/development
• Transcendental meditation (TM), 126
• Transdisciplinary study, 67
• Transformational coping, 75
• Transformational leadership, 181–182
• Tricycle as metaphor, 150–151, 151 (figure)
• TTCT (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking), 22–25, 23–24 (figure), 113–114, 126
• Tunnels, digging, 131
• Twitter, 161, 210
• Uncertainty, 125, 167
• Understand step of creative process
o about, 48, 90, 90 (figure)
o Amazon example, 105–106
o humans as intrinsically creative beings, 107–108, 108 (figure)
o NanoTouch Technology case study, 120–122
o power of observation, 90, 108–111, 116, 118
o problem definition, 111–115
• Universality of creative process, 89
• University of Auckland’s Creative Thinking Project, xiii
• University of Oklahoma, 112
• Uribe, Diego, 150–151, 151 (figure)
• Ury, William, 208–209
• Valéry, Paul, 183
• Validation, 145–147
o See also Experiment step of creative process
• VanGundy, Andy, 60–61
• Vergara, E., 29
• Vision/visualization, 123–128, 206
• Visual thinking mindset, 142
• Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), 167
• Wagner, Tony, 33, 55
• Walton, David, 179–180
• Warburg, Otto, 102
• Ware, Bonnie, 184
• Warfel, Todd Zaki, 144–145
• Water carrier problem, 107, 108 (figure)
• Watkinson, Jim, 128–129
• Waytz, Adam, 143–144
• Weapons of early humans, 3–4
• Well-being (psychological), 75
• Wheatley, Meg, 123
• Why Fly (Torrance), 114
• Wild, Kyle, 81–84
• Wilkinson, Amy, 188
• Workplace Basics, 71 (table)
• Workplace issues, 33, 70–72, 71 (table), 79–80, 178, 190–191
• World Economic Forum, xiv, 71 (table)
• Wright brothers, 205
• Xerox, 87, 97
• Y Combinator (YC), 193–195
• Yes-And thinking, 35–39, 37 (figure), 98, 134, 167
• Yes-But thinking, 35–36, 38–39
• Yorton, Tom, 134
• Zhou, J., 178–179
• Zuckerberg, Mark, 53
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