Module 2: Creativity and
Innovation
Index
1. Introduction
2. Theoretical contents
3. Time to be creative
Analogies from Nature
Mind Mapping
Drawing
Six Thinking Hats
What If?
4. Summary
1. Introduction
Duration of the module: 60 min (aprox.)
The objective of this module is to train your creativity and
innovation skills. After completing all the exercises, you will
be able to:
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Define creativity and innovation
Identify barriers to creativity
Understand the creative/innovation process
Recognize the importance of innovation
Explore creativity solutions to problem solving
Enhance creative attitude at work
2. Theoretical Contents
Generating ideas is not a process that happens by chance.
Most of the ideas emerge when people are trying to find them.
The awareness that innovation is only inspiration and creativity
that happens in a moment is a wrong vision.
As Thomas Edison said “Genius is one percent inspiration,
ninety-nine percent perspiration”. Creative thinking allows to
generate ideas that probably would not be generated by
conventional methods of logical thinking.
2. Theoretical contents
Creativity is a competence which involves many others. There
has been in business a growing interest in implementing
creative thinking in their staff.
Both creativity and innovation should be present at all stages of
businesses development and growth. It is important that you
see the link between these two elements of business creation:
creativity is the tool, whereas innovation is the outcome.
Creativity
Innovation
• ability to
generate new
ideas
• ability to put
new ideas into
practice
2. Theoretical contents
What is Creativity?
Creativity is the ability to think outside of the box, to generate
innovative ideas, be enthusiastic and facilitate innovation. It is a
process that involves original thinking and then producing.
Creativity is a skill that can be learned and improved if the right
methods and techniques are used. Therefore, although inspiration
can be important to come up with creative ideas, you can use
several creative thinking tools to develop your creative ability.
Creativity is often associated with personal actions and
developments. A creative environment within a business can lead
to business innovation.
2. Theoretical contents
Creativity
Invention
Innovation
Creativity is the product of human genius as a generator of new
ideas, concept or theories.
Invention is the definition of a product or process resulting from the
combination of ideas in which, at least one is entirely new or the way
in which these ideas are combined is totally new.
Innovation is the transformation of ideas and/or use of inventions that
result in useful applications leading to improvements, particularly in
terms of product , services and/or process.
2. Theoretical contents
Barriers to creativity
Successful creative thinking requires that you are aware of the
barriers which may weaken your creativity. Exceeding these
barriers demand you to think outside the box and explore areas
and directions you might not be used to.
There are many obstacles that hinder the development of
creativity, which can make it a differentiator in the market.
Emotional, social or cultural blockages, inability to change same
answers, and doubt and insecurity are some of the barriers that
disturb free creativity expression.
2. Theoretical contents
At the individual level:
routines
goaloriented
behaviour
beliefs
ego
fears
selfcriticism
stress
At the enterprise level:
hierarchy
and vertical
structure
poor
communicati
on
weak
supervision
market
errors
penalization
fear of
change and
innovation
lack of
autonomy
2. Theoretical contents
Creative Process
The creative process require commitment, energy, discipline
and time. Companies have numerous possibilities to find
new ideas.
Preparation
Incubation
Verification
Illumination
2. Theoretical contents
What is Innovation?
Innovation is the added value that contributes to overall business
growth and efficiency. An important characteristic of innovation is that
it is a continuous process. Innovation is changing the behavior of
agents as producers and consumers. These changes may include:
processes, methods, devices, products or services.
Why is innovation so important?
Innovation is about doing things differently and better, so it is crucial
to promote growth. Innovation is about permanently identifying new
needs while having the ability to implement these needs through
products or processes.
2. Theoretical contents
In another definition, innovation is transforming an idea into a
product, a service or new or improved process. For innovation to be
truly complete, it needs to generate value, but not necessarily
economic power. It can be of environmental value, according to the
organization's goals.
This generation of value can be done in different ways:
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Introduction of a new product or a qualitative change in an existing
product or service
Development of a new procedure not necessarily involving
unprecedented knowledge
Organizational change: new ways of doing the same things
internally or creating new routines and work culture
Opening a new market niche in which a specific sector area has not
yet entered
Creation of new sources of supply for raw materials or other
contributions that encourage sustainability
2. Theoretical contents
The processes of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship are quite
similar. Necessity drives creativity and innovation and all businesses
will encounter obstacles which cannot be overcome without a
“thinking outside the box” attitude. In order to actively benefit from
creativity, examining it as a linear process may prove useful. The
process of creativity can consist of five commonly known steps:
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Problem Definition – Includes problem analysis, redefinition, and all
aspects associated with clearly defining the problem
Idea Generation – The divergent process of coming up with ideas
Idea Selection – The convergent process of reducing all of the many
ideas into realistic solutions
Idea Implementation – Turning the refined ideas into reality
Processes – Systems and techniques which look at the overall
process from start to finish
Time to be creative…
Activity 1:
Analogies from Nature (10’)
Activity 1: Analogies from Nature
In order to improve your creative thinking, you should
know that, contrary to common belief, it has little to do
with intelligence. Those who think in a creative way can
adapt to any situation. No doubt, the future belongs to
people who can act and think creatively.
Using analogies is a good technique to come up with
and organize creative solutions. It consists of
comparing a problem with something else which has
nothing in common with it, formulating a non-standard
association set.
Activity 1: Analogies from Nature
In this exercise you will have to consider the following
problem:
How can the productive processes (or products) in my
company be improved?
Consider whether there is in the nature a solution that
could be used for this question. For example, a bridge
construction improvement was based in a spider web.
Use the Chat activity to post different possibilities and
discuss this with your colleagues. The idea is that you
improve your own solution
Activity 1: Analogies from Nature
Congratulations, you have just completed your
first lesson!
Now you can proceed to Activity 2!
Activity 2:
Mind mapping (10’)
Activity 2: Mind Mapping
Do you need to remember a lot of information, but
memory fails? Mind-Mapping is a very efficient and
creative method of memorizing and organizing.
It is a diagram used to represent ideas/words linked or
organized around a specific subject. The construction
of the mental map is done intuitively, by classifying
ideas into classes or groups.
Thus, the guidelines are easy to remember and quick to
consult. This schematic representation allows for an
easy viewing and organization of ideas, which is
essential to solving a problem or making a decision.
This activity aims to help improve your creative thinking
and memory. This will help structuring your reasoning
and having in mind all the main aspects to be
discussed.
Activity 2: Mind Mapping
To complete this exercise, you should use the diagram
link to optimize a production process taking into
account the ideas presented in the previous activities
(diminish wastes and develop a sustainable product).
Tips:
• The centre should have an image of the topic and
you should allow one line for each word or image
• The lines should be connected, starting from the
central image. The central lines are thicker,
becoming thinner as they disperse out from the
centre
• Use multiple colours throughout the mind map, for
visual stimulation and also to encode ideas together
• Highlight the most workable ideas identified in the
mind map but keep it clear
Once you are done, you should then upload your map
here and share it with other participants.
Activity 2: Mind Mapping
Congratulations, you have just completed your
third lesson!
Now you can proceed to Activity 3!
Activity 3:
Six Thinking Hats (10’)
Activity 3: Six Thinking Hats
The Six Thinking Hats (by Edward de Bono) is a method to try
to generate solutions to certain problems through the
perspectives of six different "thinking hats". This method
provide a means for groups to plan thinking processes in a
detailed and cohesive way, so as to think together more
effectively. The six thinking hats allow the group to view
the problems and solutions in question from a range of
differing perspectives, which will lead to a more rounded idea
being formed.
In this technique, you will be assigned one of the six different
roles. All participants must review and brainstorm the current
problem wearing their imaginary thinking hat (each of which
has a defined personality approach) and write up their ideas.
Six distinct roles are identified and assigned a color.
Activity 3: Six Thinking Hats
The colours of each hat and its meaning are the following:
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White (Objective) - relies on questioning and knowledge, only
considers the available information and facts.
Black (Negative) - represents potential pessimism, bad points
and criticism of ideas - why the current solution does not work?
What are the problems? – it identifies flaws or barriers to the full
development of an idea.
Yellow (Positive) – it is synonymous with optimism, good
points and potential advantages and profits to be made.
Green (Creative) - represents creativity and innovation, always
brainstorming new ideas.
Blue (Process) – it is representative of control and systematic
thinking – a group leader brainstorms among others, but also
ensures time management and deals with the exchanges of roles.
Red (Intuitive) – it is representative of emotions.
Activity 3: Six Thinking Hats
For this activity you will work in a group of 6 (1
participant for each colour) using the chat platform link.
The idea is that each participant only “wears one hat at
a time” when considering a problem.
Thinking about security, quality control and time
management, discuss:
How to improve and optimize a production process?
The participant using the blue hat acts as a leader
encouraging the participation of the other hats.
Activity 3: Six Thinking Hats
Congratulations, you have just completed your
fourth lesson!
Now you can proceed to Activity 4!
Activity 4:
What If? (10’)
Activity 4: What if?
Creative thinking involves moving away from a static way of
thinking.
This exercise aims to develop the level of abstract thinking.
This technique intends to give a comprehensive look at each
problem and develops multi-thinking taking into account
external challenges.
Activity 4: What if?
In this exercise you should use the forum platform link
to discuss how to solve this problem.
Think about this question:
What if…
…you had to collect products at the end of their life and
give it a new use, what would you do?
Try to find alternative ways using also the knowledge
obtained in the previous activities.
There are no right or wrong answers, but try to maintain
a logical approach that might help you in your work.
Activity 4: What if?
Congratulations, you have just completed your
second lesson!
Now you can proceed to Activity 5!
Activity 5:
Drawing (10’)
Activity 5: Drawing
Drawing is an activity which improves the creativity. In
this exercise you will have to combine creative and
innovative skills to come up with a solution for the
problem presented.
Activity 5: Drawing
To perform this activity you will need a piece of paper
and a pen.
Draw a scheme to ensure a new use of a typical
wasted material in your factory.
Once you are finished, scan your drawing and upload it
here to share it with the other participants.
The drawing should not be limited to simple shapes, but
you should let your imagination run wild.
Good job!
You have completed Module 2!
4. Summary
There are multiple definitions of creativity, but they all focus on the
ability of generating ideas that are original and new. The seeds of
creativity live in everyone. Creative people invent, imagine, solve
problems, create, and communicate in fresh, new ways.
Every business requires creative thinkers in the form of scientists,
engineers, medical researchers, technology innovators, business
entrepreneurs, artists, performers, writers and illustrators, designers,
inventors, educators and parents.
The way you look at one situation determines your thinking process
and analysis of reality. Those with the ability to "think outside of the
box" will lead the future and make special things happen.
Let's get creative!
4. Summary
Links of interest
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http://www.creativityatwork.com/
http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_brown_on_creativity_and_p
lay?language=en
http://www.projectlearnet.org/tutorials/concrete_vs_abstr
act_thinking.html
http://www.triz-journal.com/overview-metaphoric-modelscreativity/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlabrWv25qQ