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About the Author
Samuel A Malone is a self-employed training consultant,lecturer, moderator, examiner and author. He is the author of
20 books published in Ireland, the UK and worldwide onlearning, personal development, study skills and businessmanagement. Many of his books have been translated into
foreign languages and gone into second editions. His mostrecent book (2014) is titled Awaken the Genius Within – AGuide to Lifelong Learning Skills (Glasnevin Publishing,
Dublin). He has a M.Ed with distinction (in training anddevelopment) from the University of Sheffield and is a
qualified Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA),Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) and aChartered Secretary (ACIS). He is a Fellow of the Irish
Institute of Training and Development (FIITD). Previous books published by the author include Why Some PeopleSucceed and Others Fail (Glasnevin Publishing, Dublin),
Learning about Learning (CIPD, London), A Practical Guide
to Learning in the Workplace (The Liffey Press, Dublin), Better Exam Results (Elsevier/CIMA, London) and How To
Set Up and Manage A Corporate Learning Centre (Gower,Aldershot, UK). All of these books are available online fromAmazon.co.uk.
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Dedication
To my wife Veronica, my children Caroline, Sandra and Davidand my three grandchildren Shane, Kate and Rachel.
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Copyright © Samuel A. Malone (2015)
The right of Samuel A. Malone to be identified as author of thiswork has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims
for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the BritishLibrary.
ISBN 978 1 78455 416 3
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2015)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.25 Canada Square
Canary WharfLondon
E14 5LB
Printed and bound in Great Britain
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Austin Macauley Publishers for having the
confidence in me to publish this book. I would also like to thank
them for the great job done on layout, typesetting and editorialwork.
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Contents
Preface 13
1 What Is Creativity 20
Introduction 20
Exploring Creativity 20
Nature Verses Nurture 23
Creativity and Innovation 25
IQ and CQ 31
Multiple Intelligences 35
Barriers to Creativity 42
Myths of Creativity 58
Summary of Chapter 1 69
2 Why Does Creativity Happen? 70
Introduction 70
Business Needs 71
Visualisation 73
Design Needs 75
Career Opportunities 80
Creativity and Travel 81
Creativity and Motivation 82
Adopting Certain Roles 90
Summary of Chapter 2 93
3 When Does Creativity Happen? 94
Introduction 94
Role of the Subconscious 94
Inspired By Dreams 96
Notes to Inspire 101
Serendipity 104
Thinking Creatively 118
Summary of Chapter 3 124
4 How Does Creativity Happen? 126
Introduction 126
Five Stages of Creativity 127
Practical Creativity 133
The 4 Ps of Creativity 139
How to Kill Creativity 141
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Creative Perspectives 147
The Range of Creativity Paradigms 152
Brainstorming 157
Techniques for Stimulating Creativity 165
Suggestion Schemes 180
Creative Problem Solving 184
TRIZ 191
Biomimicry – Creativity Inspired by Nature 199
Summary of Chapter 4 213
5 Where Does Creativity Take Place? 215
Introduction 215
Creativity in the Brain 216
Flow and Creativity 220
Exercise, Sleep and Mediation 221
Creativity in the Home 223
Creativity in the Workplace 231
Nurturing Creativity at Work 241
Nurturing Creativity in Teams 244
Universities and R&D 247
Western Verses Eastern Cultures 250
Cities as Creative Hubs 254
Summary of Chapter 5 259
6 Who Is Creative? 261
Introduction 261
Traits of Creative People 262
The Dark Side of Creativity 266
The DISC Personal Profile System 269
Thinking Styles Preferences 271
Gender and Creativity 273
Famous Creative People 278
Creativity over the Lifespan 281
Diffusion of Innovation Curve 293
Education and Creativity 295
Entrepreneurs 296
Summary of Chapter 6 299
References and Bibliography 301
INDEX 314
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P r e f a c e
This book answers the six vital questions everybody has about
creativity: What is creativity? Why does creativity happen?When does creativity happen? How does creativity happen?Where does creativity take place? And who is creative? There
are six chapters in the book devoted to addressing each ofthese issues. Each chapter is illustrated by practical examples
of creativity and innovation in action. These range from business to science; from continuous improvement to new product development.
Creativity is creating something that wasn’t there before,seeing novel relationships between things, ideas, artefacts,
products, places and people. Creativity has been linked to
genius, in science, business, and art, and many people haveattained world fame through their wonderful discoveries andinventions. Every idea that changed the world began in the
mind of someone as a thought. Modern living has beenenriched and made possible through creative endeavours.
Apart from making something new or original, creativity can be also about improving, refining, changing or combiningthings in unusual ways. Creativity is not just for the privileged
few, because we all have the potential to be creative.
The debate about the contribution of nature versus nurtureto creativity still goes on and evokes considerable
controversy. Research shows that certain characteristics,whether from nature or nurture, or a combination of both,account for a person’s creativity. These traits include having a
broad range of interests, being attracted to complex issues,seeking out novel experiences, aesthetic sensitivity, and
toleration of ambiguity, non-conformity, risk taking and self-confidence. Historiometry is the study of personal traitsmaking up genius such as creativity. It covers the lifespan of
people who were exceptionally creative, and the progress oftheir creativity throughout their lives. By studying these role
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models we should be able to learn about what it takes to becreative, and apply them to our own lives.
Creativity and innovation are different. Creativity is the
production of novel and useful ideas in any field, whereasinnovation is the implementation of these ideas. Creative
companies believe in flexibility, adaptability and involvement,implemented by a policy of employee empowerment anddevelopment. Creative companies such as 3M, Apple and
Google actively support a culture of creativity.Intelligence and creativity are linked but different.
Creativity is just one aspect of intelligence. Nevertheless, you
need a certain amount of IQ to be creative, although peoplewith a high IQ are not necessarily creative. Howard Gardner,
who has come up with the theory of multiple intelligences, haswidened the definition of intelligence to include eight aspectsthat have a strong creativity bias. These include spatial,
interpersonal, musical, intrapersonal, linguistic, kinaesthetic,logical and naturalistic. People can develop their creativeskills in any or a combination of these areas.
The barriers to creativity include conformity, fear andgroup think. The myths of creativity include that the right side
of the brain controls creativity, and that all the best ways ofdoing things have already been found. Being aware of the
barriers and myths to creativity will help you develop a more
positive attitude to creativity and counteract any negativity.Evidence of creativity has spanned the history of human
kind, from the drawings on cave walls and the invention of thewheel to the modern wonders of telecommunications. Globalcompetition, rapidly changing technology, and the shorteningof the product life cycle, has made creativity more important
in business than ever before.Creativity is important because it creates business
opportunities, visualises possibilities, fulfils design needs,meets personal ambitions, provides roles for people to play
and presents career opportunities for employees. Without being creative we would be unable to solve the everyday problems of life, and the ever changing challenges of business. The people who progress in their careers are the
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ones who can come up with new and innovative ideas, andnew and improved ways of doing things.
To survive, a business needs to work smarter and faster,
continually develop new products and services, and improveexisting ones. We tend to move towards those goals that we
clearly visualise. If you visualise a difficult task before you doit, you are more likely to successfully complete it.
Good design is an important ingredient of creativity in
business and permeates all aspects of our lives. Manysuccessful companies are now driven by design. It is often themain competitive advantage. Good design will increase sales,
create brand recognition, and should be considered aninvestment rather than a cost.
Travelling to foreign parts and particularly living inforeign countries seems to be an aid to creativity. Living andadapting to a new culture forces us to think and to learn novel
approaches to problem solving, and behave differently to copewith a changed way of life.
In general, people will be most creative if intrinsically
rather than extrinsically motivated. If you love what you doyou are intrinsically motivated. The roles people adopt
facilitate the process of creativity. These roles are: explorer,artist, judge and warrior. A combination of these roles isneeded for creativity.
The subconscious plays a vital role in our creativity. Yoursubconscious is the storehouse of everything you know, even
things you can’t readily recall to mind. It makes patterns andconnections without your conscious knowledge. It will
process, recombine, adapt and consolidate ideas, images andexperiences and suggest solutions. You can tap spontaneous
insights by accessing the vast resources of your subconscious.Many famous people came up with their most brilliant
ideas and marvellous inventions after a daydream or a dream.When you sleep your mind doesn’t turn off but instead
becomes very active. Sometimes dreams are the way yourmind works out solutions to difficult problems, and it taps intothe creativity in your subconscious to do so. Thomas Edisonclaimed that most of his ideas came to him after dozing.
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Similar claims have been made by other prominent scientistsand authors.
Creative people are great note takers. Leonardo da Vinci
kept detailed notes and drawings of his ideas that survive tothis day. Charles Darwin was an avid note taker. Scientists
could not keep track of their experiments and research withoutkeeping comprehensive notes. Novelists and non-fictionwriters could not produce their books without notes on their
observations and research.Many famous inventions were inspired by serendipitous
or accidental events. Serendipity is the source of many ideas
in consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, science, medicaldevices, industry and discoveries about astronomy. One of the
most notable accidental discoveries was Alexander Fleming’s penicillin made in 1928.
Thinking creatively can be encouraged by having the right
mindset, adopting the right approach and having fun duringthe process. You are more likely to be creative if you areoptimistic, have a strong self-belief and pursue ideas with
confidence and purpose.The five stages of creativity are preparation, effort,
incubation, insight and evaluation. New ideas may betriggered off by means of the acronym CAMPERS. Thisstands for combine ideas, adapt, modify, put to other uses,
eliminate unnecessary parts, rearrange and simplify. Thissimple acronym if used purposefully can be a great inspiration
for creativity.In many organisations ideas are killed before they ever get
off the ground. Some of the best ideas were initially rejected but came to fruition through the persistence and determination
of their owners. The ‘not invented here’ syndrome is a goodexample of a prevalent barrier to creativity.
Edward De Bono, the inventor of lateral thinking, hassuggested the six thinking hats as a way for people to become
more creative. Wearing these metaphorical hats gives usdifferent perspective on a problem. The hats represent whitehat thinking (logical), red hat thinking (emotional), yellow hat
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thinking (optimistic), black hat thinking (pessimistic), greenhat thinking (creative), and blue hat thinking (control).
Brainstorming is one of the most popular methods used in
companies to generate ideas. The four stages of brainstormingare: suspend judgement, freewheel, generate many ideas and
cross fertilise. Other techniques of creativity include fantasy,attribute listing, metaphors, synectics, swot analysis, stretchimaging and suggestion schemes. Companies may set up
suggestion schemes to encourage employees to make costsavings and improvements related to their work or the
products or services of the company.
Creative Problem Solving (CPS) is another majorcreativity technique for generating ideas and solving
problems. TRIZ is the Theory of Inventive Problem Solvingdeveloped from world-wide patterns of inventions from patentliterature and it has now been adopted by many major
multinationals. These two techniques have made a majorcontribution to creative problem solving in organisations.
Biomimicry is creativity inspired by nature. Sources
include birds, the sea, plants, insects and humans/animals. Nature has evolved over 3.8 billion years to solve problems in
surprisingly efficient and novel ways. A closely related fieldto biomimicry is bionics, which is used creatively to mend
broken bodies.
Creativity starts in the brain. Both sides of the brain areneeded for creativity. The entire creative process engages
different regions of the brain. The neocortex is the part of the brain that distinguishes us from the other mammals. Thanks tothe neocortex, humans can perform extraordinary creative andcomplex tasks. These include writing a book, composing a
symphony, painting a landscape or building a computer.Creative people tend to lose themselves in the creative
process. This is known as a state of flow.Exercise, sleep and meditation are good for your
creativity. Creativity can happen at home or at work.Creativity is needed in our personal lives to solve everyday
problems. These could include household budgeting, interiordesign and carrying out do-it-yourself projects.
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In the workplace there are numerous opportunities toexercise creativity from continuous improvements to new
product developments. Simple everyday changes and
improvements may reap major benefits in productivity.Responding in a creative way to a customer’s request, or
solving a crisis requiring a quick response, are everydayoccurrences in most businesses. At a more sophisticated levelnew goods and services are coming on the market all the time.
Universities are designed to encourage the flow of ideas between disciplines within and outside the university. Pureresearch is conducted in universities rather than development.
The fruits of this research benefits industry. The internetenables universities to keep up to date on the research
activities of other universities at home and abroad.Western and eastern countries differ to the extent that they
are creative. Originality, initiative, fluidity and flexibility are
highly regarded and respected in the west. On the other hand,eastern cultures emphasise the importance of the group overthe individual, and the need for conformity, respect for
tradition and social harmony. Japan has built its reputation onincremental improvements rather than invention. China is
becoming a major economic force in the world.Major cities are creative hubs. The average inhabitant of a
city is three times more creative than someone living in a
small town. Innovation is a prime driver of economic growthin cities and regions. Globalised cities such as New York and
London now trade in creativity, ideas, knowledge andinnovation.
The traits of creative people include playfulness,resilience, imagination, novelty, curiosity and energy. These
traits are well worth developing. The average personunderestimates how creative they are. Creativity can be
expressed in our lifestyle, in the way we solve problems, inthe way we dress, in the way we speak, in how we interact
with others and in the way we cook.There is a dark side to creativity. Many famous creative
people show symptoms of extreme personality disorders suchas schizoid, histrionic, narcissistic and manic depressive. The
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DISC Personal Profile System attempts to develop a creativityquotient (CQ) similar to the intelligence quotient (IQ), but hasnot achieved the same level of acceptance. There are thinking
style preferences in creativity such as the inventive style, theimplementing style and the evaluating style. Men and women
are equally creative.Creativity lasts a lifetime despite the fact that some people
consider themselves too old to be creative. Creativity is a
highly desirable skill at any age even though it may vary overthe lifespan of a person. Scientists, artists, politicians,entertainers and writers can remain creative throughout their
lives and into old age.Education plays a critical role in creativity. Deep
knowledge of a particular domain and a fund of generalknowledge is an important resource for creativity. Creative
people need a store of knowledge to fall back on. An
individual must have knowledge of a specific field of study toengage in problem solving related to that field, and make acreative contribution to that domain. Entrepreneurs need to
know their businesses and be knowledgeable and creative iftheir enterprise is to survive and thrive.
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1
W h a t I s C r e a t i v i t y
Introduction
The word creative means to create, to make or to produce.Creativity is creating something that wasn’t there before,
seeing novel relationships between things, ideas, artefacts, products, places and people.The debate about the contribution of nature versus nurture
to creativity still goes on and evokes considerablecontroversy. Historiometry is the study of personal traits
making up genius such as creativity. It covers the lifespan of people who were exceptionally creative and the progress oftheir creativity throughout their lives.
Creativity and innovation are different. Creativity is the production of novel and useful ideas in any field, whereasinnovation is the implementation of these ideas into useful
products. Creative companies actively support a culture ofcreativity.
Creativity is an aspect of intelligence, although peoplewith a high IQ are not necessarily creative. Howard Gardnerhas widened the definition of intelligence to include eight
aspects having a strong creativity bias.The barriers to creativity can be social, corporate and
psychological. The myths of creativity relate to people, ideas,
business and the brain.
Exploring Creativity
The word “creative” or “creativity” comes from the Latinword “creare” which means “to create, to make” or “to
produce.” Beginning in the Renaissance (14th – 17th century),
into the Age of Enlightenment (18th century), and continuing