Creativity Management ? Finding Your Voice

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.

There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.

There are distinct processes that enhance problem identification and idea generation and, similarly, distinct processes that enhance idea selection, development and commercialisation. Whilst there is no sure fire route to commercial success, these processes improve the probability that good ideas will be generated and selected and that investment in developing and commercialising those ideas will not be wasted.

Finding your Voice

Finding your Voice is related to stripping away the psychological blocks that prevent the real self from emerging. Often we are not even aware who this real self is. Practical methods for finding the voice include:

a) An environment of psychological safety and freedom. Where the individual is free to express without critical evaluation; where the individual is accepted as having worth and that worth not being based on producing.

b) Engaging in the task. Through engagement, task methodology is refined, tacit knowledge base expanded, competencies learned and performance gradually optimised.

c) Moving out of comfort zones ? here new and valuable competencies are learned that can cross pollinate with existing skills.

d) Direct access to decision makers. Feedback is quick and adjustments immediate. The experience curve is scaled faster.

These and other topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author's name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com/

---

How To Discover Hidden Talents Within You And Begin Appyling Them In Your Life Now

Have you decided it may be time to start creating some new excitement in your life? If you are now retired, soon to be retired, or just now reaching those "golden years" do... Read More

Who Wants To Be A Creative Genius?

Can You Learn Creativity?Have you ever watched Robin Williams do a stand-up routine? Could so much creativity and spontaneity result from a highly organized approach? Definitely. Wild and funny thoughts don't come from... Read More

Creativity Management ? Finding Your Voice

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Five Basic Steps to Benefit from Your Creativity

The ability to exercise your creativity is even more important for you than you probably think. Why? First, your creativity tremendously contributes to your self-actualization, which is essential for you to feel satisfied... Read More

Attraction: What We Attract With Our Creative Choices

I used to be a jazz singer. Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, they were wonderful and I strived to sing like they did. But no one impressed me as much as Billie Holiday. The... Read More

What Every Manager Should Know About How to Think Creatively

You may have heard of Roger von Oech's book, A Whack on the Side of the Head: How to Unlock Your Mind for Innovation. It's as much fun to read as its title... Read More

Creativity and Innovation Management : Why Products Fail!

There is no sure fire route to commercial success but the probability of success can be increased. This is important for at least two reasons:a) Resource Management. The Economist (2003) states that 3000... Read More

The Art of Keeping a Journal

Journal keeping is basically without rules. It is an uncensored invitation to cut & paste, sketch & chart, and to visualize and unravel every great and small thought. At its most basic it... Read More

Innovation: Wake Up Your People?s Creative Genius

Successful companies have innovation in their blood. The single most important element in an innovative company is the creativity of their people. Creative thinkers don't win by conforming to a given set of... Read More

How to be More Creative and Enhance Your Creativity

efore thinking about how to be more creative, let me begin point out some real barriers that some people seem to have when wanting to enhance creativity, have a think if any of... Read More

Five Steps to Higher Creativity: Engaging the Human Spirit

Unleash Your Creativity! Creativity has often been the misunderstood child of the genius family. This misunderstanding has brought along with it a tainted picture of what creativity is, what function it serves,... Read More

Think & Grow Rich

All wealth is a product of mind. Some economists will try to convince you that wealth comes from productivity. Many people believe that wealth is a matter of ownership or the accumulation of... Read More

Creativity Management ? Don?t Write, Rewrite

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

How To Entertain A Thought

After studying scores of great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci, I think I've stumbled upon what really set them apart from the rest of the folks living (and thinking) at the same time.It's... Read More

Mindfulness and Independence: Observing Fireworks

"It's a free country," they say. "Celebrate our independence," I hear.Well, I'm all for having a party, but it strikes me that you don't have to be an American to appreciate freedom, and... Read More

9 Ways to Live Creatively

Creativity ? according to Webster's it means having the ability or power to create; characterized by originality and expressiveness; imaginative. Ok that sounds great, wouldn't we all like to be more creative every... Read More

My Work Is My Play - The Journey From Survival to Creativity

"For the love a' creation!", my father was fond of expounding, when "Pete" and "God" had run their course. It was years later until I realized that sentence actually held meaning for me... Read More

Creative Thinking The Secret Key To Lasting Success

What is creativity anyway? Well, let us look at the word. Creativity means the capability to build, create something. It does mean to build something new but not necessarily something unique. And here... Read More

Self-Care for Creative Artists: 5 Ways to Start Today

Self-care is the path to creative expression. By paying closer attention to your self-care, you can have easier access to your creativity, to your muse and to your inner strength and resilience. You'll... Read More

Go Ahead and Think Outside the Box!

I am trying to create a discipline where I blog daily. This alone requires effort and commitment. But isn't that what our lives ought to be about especially if we are trying to... Read More

Improve Your Bottom Line, Kens Idea Saved over $100,000

Engaged employees can show us the way to continuously improve. Customers want our products and services to be better, delivered faster, and produced less expensively. This means that everything we do needs to... Read More

Sing & Be Well

When people find out that I'm a music therapist, the comments I hear most often are "I wish I could sing!" or "Oh, I love to sing, but I'm not good enough to... Read More

Creativity Stereotypes ? Are They Holding You Back?

Here's a quick quiz:1) When I see a see a sunrise, I'm moved to:A. Compose a poem.B. Try and capture the beauty with my paints and brush.C. Stumble drunkenly into bed -- boy... Read More

Why Do We Need Creativity?

Creativity is central to the management of our individual lives, but in modern times few people are able to access this as a resource. Alan Watts writes in The Wisdom of Insecurity:"We have... Read More

Creativity Management ? Breaking Through The Mental Barrier

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Creativity Isnt Just About Art It Is About Healing

Go on, pick up a pen, hold it in your hand and ask, " What can you do for me?" What do you hear? If you listen with your heart you may hear... Read More

Re-Energize Your Brain

We all use tools in our work, and all of these tools need to be re-energized in some way over time. They need to be polished, sharpened, refurbished. They need new spark plugs... Read More

10 Tools for Dealing with Criticism and Rejection

Ouch! Whether it's feedback we've asked for, an unsolicited remark called out from the audience or a simple "no" result of an audition or submission process, criticism and rejection are a huge part... Read More

Lucid Dreaming: Discover a Whole New World

Did you know that all of your most cherished dreams are just a good night's sleep away?Lucid dreamers share one of the greatest secrets of modern living. They have discovered a whole new... Read More