Your creativity can be aroused

Creativity is not only about problem solving. It is also about
inventing new ideas, new ways to see the world, new applications.
It is about complete fulfillment of your life.
Can you, then, sit in front of a blank piece of paper and ‘create’?

Often thought of as mainly about the arts, creativity is, in fact, something that happens all the time and in all walks of life. It is how we connect events with needs and needs with inventions and discoveries.

Creativity is the ability to perceive relationships. “Putting two and two together ” – that is creativity. Henry Ford observed the high turnover of workers in his factory, higher training costs associated with it and lower productivity. He put two and two together and doubled wages, in a move that shocked businesses at the time. He got the best mechanics flocking to his company, drastically reducing employee turnover, raising productivity and lowering costs associated with training – his shocking move proved extremely profitable.

Creativity is not only about problem solving. It is also about inventing new ideas, new ways to see the world, new applications. At work, creativity could among other things lead to new business ideas or improve existing processes or even better ways of communication. Creativity is a key competency today’s business leaders and senior managers must have.

Can you, then, sit in front of a blank piece of paper and ‘create’?

Not unless you have a starting point, something that stimulates you to do so. This may be a desire to tell a story, to promote a theory, to advance a cause. There must be some spark that sets off the creative process.

You observe, see what is happening around you and hear what is being said to you. You are on the way to being creative. Very few people see and hear. The information overload is too great, we have to re-train ourselves to pay attention to what matters. Material that makes us think is what we need to be creative.

Creativity is not only observation, of course. But without observation you will achieve no creativity. Once you have observed you must relate. Everything that happens in the world impacts on everything else. To create you must think through these impacts.

The Seven Vital Elements of Creativity are:
1. Alertness / Observation
2. Sensitivity
3. Reflection
4. Humour
5. Vision / Foresight
6. Problem Solving
7. Memory

Observation is more than seeing basic facts. A horse trotting down a motorway causes us to look for clues as to why, what effect it is having on car drivers, who is prepared to stop and help and who drives relentlessly on. We will try to see if the horse is hurt, is in control of itself or running wild. A lot more information is needed to move to the next stage.

Observation is the start to creativity. Analysing what we have seen makes sense of observation. It is then that we relate what we perceive to other, possibly unconnected, events. Making ourselves see connections is what makes us creative.