Creativity theory and practice

Creativity
Principles and techniques
François Guély
francois@guely.com

Defining creativity
• Small or big « C »
• All domains
– Science, technique
– Business, commerce
– Art, Literature
– Personal
• Individual or group
– Companies
– Improvisation (Jazz, theater)
• Without application,
experimentation
– How to know if an idea is
worthwhile ?
– What would be an artist who
does not practice art ?
Original and
worthwhile
(according to peers)
idea or solution
And its
application!

Why study creativity ?
• Leverage our creative talent
• Better solve problems
• Improve teaching and training
• Be a better salesman, engineer, artist…
• Become a more innovative company
Improve your or
your organisation’s
creativity

Spiritual stream of thought
Creativity in western culture
Antiquity Romantism
1760 - 1850
Modernism,
impressionnism
1850 - 1940
Post-modernism
1920 – 2012
Comes from
unconscious, instinct,
madness, excentricity,
childhood.
Expressionism,
Surrealism
1910 - 1950Comes from
gods &
muses
(Plato)
Lumières
1670-1820
Comes from emotion,
du daydream,
inspiration is
spontaneous.
Demands a
conscious
rational
work
(Aristotle)
Renaissance
1300 - 1600
Reason, learning,
work, knowledge.
Leonardo da Vinci
Newton, Diderot,
Voltaire
genious
Reason, observation Relativism, pluralism,
scepticism, rejection of
utopia
New age
1940 - 2012
Discovery
of essential
self
Therapy
Inspiration may be a form of
superconsciousness, or
perhaps of subconsciousness
- I wouldn't know. But I am
sure it is the antithesis of self-
consciousness.
Aaron Copland
I want to be a machine
Andy Warhol
The true work of art is born
from the 'artist': a mysterious,
enigmatic, and mystical
creation.
Vassily Kandinsky,
Concerning the spiritual in art
Form follows fonction.
Le Corbusier
One morning, one of us lacking
black, used blue : impressionnism
was born.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Classicism is
health,
romanticism is
sickness…
Goethe
Rational stream of thought

Artists exaggerate their
eccentricity in
psychological testing
Becker
50% of innovations are made by
10% of domain specialists
Simonton
The breakdown in communication
between the brain hemispheres kills
creativity (we need the left brain AND
right brain to be creative)
Restak
Creativity cannot be inherited
genetically - research on
monozygotic and heterozygous
twins
Barron, Vanderberg, Reznikoff et al.
Above IQ=120, creativity does
not increase
Getzels & Jackson
Failed attempts to
measure creativity by a
standard test
1962
The « science » of creativity
1950 - 70
1993
1968-73
1999
2000
Nobel laureates publish twice more
than other scientists
Simonton
1988

Motivation and creativity
Intrisic
motivation is
essential for
creativity
Genious is 1%
inspiration and 99%
perspiration
Thomas Edison
External rewards (eg
financial) do not seem
to help and in some
cases may interfere
Torrance 65 / Amabile 80-96 /
Eisenberger & Cameron 96 /
Hennessey 03

No universal creativity
Creative people are creative only in their
area of expertise
Feldman 74-80, John-steiner 85, Csikszenmihalyi 88
Creativity cannot be explained without action
We reached our optimum after 10,000 hours
of practice (5 years full time)
Malcolm Gladwell
J.S. Bach Pablo PicassoSteve JobsAlbert Einstein
Image : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_Head.jpg Image : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Matt_Yohe Image : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg Image : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pablo_picasso_1.jpg

Eminence and formal education
Formal education
140
120
100
80
Eminence
High
school
Graduate Master Doctorate
Creators
Simonton, 1983
Notes :
1/ Relevant for USA
2/ Average school level has increased since then
The most famous designers in their field are
not necessarily those who have the most
education

Creativity comes from
the unconscious ?
… and is uncontrollable ?
– This idea dates from the
romantic era…
– ..and was reinforced by
Freudian psychoanalysis
But we are creative only in our
domains of expertise!
… research shows that
creativity is mostly the result
of conscious work
– The more creative geniouses
are also the most productive
ones
– Nobel price laureates publish
twice more than other
researchers (Simonton 1988)²
John Keats
Freud
Jacques Lacan Percy Bysshe Shelley
Image : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sigmund_Freud_Anciano.jpg
Image : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacques_Lacan.jpg
Image : www.reusableart.com/v/people/portraits/arts/artists-03.jpg.html
Image : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Percy_Bysshe_Shelley_by_Alfred_Clint.jp

Are children more creative ?
Does education kill their creativity ?
This idea dates from
the romantic era
Children were
considered pure and
adults corrupted
But creativity
demands
competence to
flourish
Education makes
creativity possible

Is creativity the
expression of the
essential self ?
(« new age » belief)

Are the most creative people
misunderstood geniuses ?
The myth of the
misunderstood genius dates
from the nineteenth century.
Misunderstood geniuses are
actually very rare.
It is often believed that
Mendel and impressionists
were misunderstood in their
time but ...
Mendel and his work were
renowned at his time (but
the true scope of his work
could not be understood at
the time, even by himself)
The Impressionists had
their own galleries and
buyers in their lifetime
Image : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gregor_Mendel.png
Gregor Mendel
Image : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PARenoir.jpg
Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Analytical
phase
Prospective phase
The three steps of creative problem solving
Identify an
interesting
problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking

AnalysisProspective
Identify
A problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking
Identifying meaningful problems,
asking the right questions is a key
characteristic of creative people…
If I had one hour to save the
world, I would spend 59 minutes
defining the problem and one
minute solving it…
Albert Einstein
Computers are useless. They can
only give answers…
Pablo Picasso

Some related qualities :
- Listen to the unusual
- Identify consequences that make the
subject essential
Examples of important questions :
Why is the speed of light the same
everywhere ?... led to the discovery
of relativity by Einstein
How to use colors differently?…
one of the essentiel questions that
led to impressionnism
How to make bus stop shelters
viable?... led to the worldwide
success of Decaux
AnalysisProspective
Identify
A problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking

Imagine many
possible answers to a
question.
1970/71 : these tests
do not correlate well
with real individual
creativity.
Divergent thinking
tests have been
developed in the 60s.
Also called lateral thinking (Edward De Bono)
Image: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Zureks
AnalysisProspective
Identify
A problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking

Example : the quota method
When at least three good ideas have been found, many more
are generally found!
Always ask at least 3 ideas from your team (& yourself!):
- Different options, alternate solutions
>> Or refuse to decide
Break the "linear thinking" propensity to :
- settle for the first idea
- logical reasoning, that locks you in the first solution
AnalysisProspective
Identify
A problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking

IQ
Tests
Deductive capacity:
deduce the
consequences.
Ability to identify
benefits and risks.
Keep the best and
eliminate wrong
answers.
Evaluation / selection.
Positive and critical
thinking
No standard
test
AnalysisProspective
Identify
A problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking

Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking
Problem
identification
Great advances are
usually the result
of a long process
that is a sum of
intuitions and
successive
progresses.

AnalysisProspective
Why cannot we create a standardized test
measuring individual creativity?
Identify an
interesting
problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking
IQ testsDivergent
thinking tests
produce mixed
results
No standard test for
ability to formulate
interesting problems
Emotional
Intelligence
Creativity
implies
domain
knowledge
Creativity is
a process
Creativity is
often a group
phenomenon

Analysis
Prospective
Identify an
interesting
problem
Divergent
thinking
Convergent
thinking
Characteristics of creative people
McKinnon 78, Barron & Harrington 81, Feist 88, Tardif & Sternberg 88
Verbal fluency
Metaphorical thinking
Ability to visualize
problems Flexible decision
making
Tolerance for
ambiguity, acceptance
of internal conflicts
Energetic, willingness to overcome obstacles
Alert
Ready to take risks
Open to new
experiences
Independence, autonomy
Confidence, courage in
one’s opinions
Little self-censorship
High IQ
Interest for complex problems

Group Creativity
• Collaboration boosts creativity
– Challenge, exchange of ideas…
• Factors group creativity
(Larey & Paulus 99, Taylor & al 58)
– Having worked together for a long time
– Sharing common knowledge
– Complementary expertise
• Group more creative than the individual if
– The sum of everybody’s knowledge is important to understand the
problem
• Depends on the phase of the creativity process
(Sawyer 03)
– Find a problem : diverse participants obtain better results
– Solve a problem : participants sharing expertise obtain better results

Creativity of the organisation
• Related to the ability to create a culture of collaboration
• IQ explains only 10% of job performance
• The myth of talent
– Assumes that people make the organization intelligent
– Most often, the opposite is true (Gladwell 2002)
• Many of Edison’s inventors were originally young guys
recruited for basic tasks
– Self-taught, without electricity or chemistry degree / Chemistry / ...

Creativity of the organisation
Thomas Edison
1903 Patents and
inventions
How is it possible ?
1866: Telegraph
1869: Telegraph multiplex
1874 : TTY
1876: Best phone microphone
1877: Gramophone
1879: Improved incandescent
bulb
1882: Power Station
1888: Electric Chair
1888 Camera / cinema
projector
1893 Production Studio
1893: Cinema
1895: X-ray light
1903: Improved Camera
1913 Camera for talkies
1915: Nickel-iron battery
William Hammer: flashlight,
illuminated signs, power plants,
treatment of cancer by radiation,
photoluminescent dials
Edward Acheson: carbon lamps,
artificial diamond... 70 patents
Lewis Howard Latimer: carbon
filament manufacturing , carbon
globe light bulbs, refrigeration
system...
George F. Morrison : lamp filament
manufacture...
Francis Robbins Upton: Watt meter,
incandescent lamp, electrical
distribution, dynamo, fire alarm ...
William Kennedy Dickson : 35mm
camera & film projector, celluloid
film camera.
Henry Ford: Cars ...
Miller Reese Hutchison : horn,
hearing aid, naval tachometer ...
Arthur Kennelly: Electric Chair ...
Nikola Tesla: AC motor, radio ..
Majority of
inventions made by
members of his
laboratory often in
his name
Image : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edison-
at_home_in_Ft._Myers_Florida_1914_detail_LC-LC-USZ62-
131044_.tiff_adjusted.jpg

Can you become more creative?
Individual
creativity level is
not genetic
Everyone
can learn to
be more
creative
Companies
can become
more
creative
1972 Torrance
identifies 142
scientific studies
demonstrating that
creativity can be
enhanced by
specific techniques
(training or other)
Creativity is a
group and a
social
phenomenon

Creativity techniques
Constructions:
LEGOs, blocs…
Innovation
games
Luke Hohmann
TRIZ
Genrich Altshuller
Brainstorming,
brainwriting,
method 635, CPS
Synectics
(analogical
reasoning)
Frame games
Thagi
Rational
« Serious
creativity »
Gaming
Idea
gathering
Idea box, idea
intranets,
participatory
innovation
Irrational
Lateral
thinking, 6 hats
Edward De Bono
Detour
approaches
Mindmaps
Tony Buzan
Crowdsourcing
Random
approaches
Improvisation

Idea Gathering Techniques
Brainstorming, brainwriting,
method 365, CPS
Participatory innovation
Idea boxes, idea intranets
Alex Orborn
President &
co-founder
of BBDO
In order to answer a
question, generate in a
meeting as many ideas
as possible in a short
time without exercising
censorship on the
participants.
Analyze and prioritize
ideas afterwards.
Shôgun Tokugawa Yoshimune
1721: the best ideas
deposited in a “idea
box” (meyasu bako)
are rewarded.
Seventies : japanese companies
develop quality circles and « Kaizen ».
2000s: idea management software,
participatory innovation: open
procedures for the collection, analysis
and application of ideas.
2010s: companies seeking new ideas
outside with idea crowdsourcing :
Crossing, YourEncore, CrowdSpirit,
InnoCentive
Image : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tokugawa_Yoshimune.jpg

Rational approaches
TRIZ
Lateral thinking, 6 hats…
Mindmaps
Tony Buzan
Edward de Bono
Genrich Altshuller
He discovers universal laws of
technological invention. Each
solves a contradiction between
physical quantities.
To innovate, one identifies
contradictions, then
applies these laws, which
provide avenues to
explore.
“Lateral thinking" escapes from the linear
thinking for example by introducing a
random component in reasoning.
The "six hats" are a means to
materialize the most common
reasoning attitudes.
Means to visually
represent ideas, facts ...
Mindmaps are used to summarize
existing knowledge, gather ideas
(brainstorming), or organize tasks or
information (meeting
management…).
Image : www.tonybuzan.com/gallery/photos/
Image: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Genrikh_Saulovich_Altshuller_commemorative_plaque_in_Petrozavodsk.JPG

Gaming techniques
Constructions:
LEGOs, blocks…
Innovation games
Frame games
35, Take5, envelope…
Thiagi Luke
Hohmann
Fun activities to collect,
organize, prioritize ideas
with clients to establish
for instance a product
roadmap...
« Cheaper, faster, better »
Games or generic
interactive activities
suitable for all kinds of
training situations or
brainstorming.
Using "lego" cubes, magic slates, or
other materials to "see & feel" real
situations and generate insights and
ideas more easily.
Gamestorming
83 Fun Activities to
brainstorm, including
"innovations games"
Thiagi games, other
games ...
Image : www.thiagi.com/pictures/
Image : innovationgames.com/about/

« Non rational » Techniques
Ideation phaseDistanciation phase
1/ Blanks fuzzy, ambiguous ideas,
2/ Scanning / crossover: one follows
the track to push the idea as far as
possible until it becomes useful.
Principle : turn ideas into positive. To
make it work, it would have to …
Principle : distort and transform the
problem into an evocation that
stimulates the imagination
Approaches :
Deformation, forced encounters,
dreamlike techniques, projective
graphics …
Detour techniques : one distances himself from the problem and then then returns to it
to converge. The distance stimulates imagination. Idea production follows.
"Making the familiar strange, making the strange familiar." 3 types of
analogies:
‒ Direct: natural (animal, plant), or graphic
‒ Symbolic parable, metaphor
‒ Fantasy: dream, daydream
Personal approach: personal identification with the situation
Analog techniques shift the problem with analogies, and explores them.
William
Gordon

4 Methods useful for Marketing & Sales
Innovation games
BrainstormingLateral thinking, 6 hats
Mindmaps
Represent information (ideas or
facts) in the form of a diagram
called "mental map"
Usage: synthesis of information
/ collaborative brainstorming ...
Fun activities rather than games
rather, they aim to collect,
organize and prioritize ideas
Usage : product roadmap,
identifying growth drivers ...
Approach to overcome the
limitations of the "linear, logic
thinking" while remaining
rational
Usage : problem solving,
product ideas ...
Collection of ideas to produce a
maximum of ideas which are then
analyzed and sorted
Usage : product ideas, solutions
to a problem, names, slogans ...
Tony Buzan Luke
Hohmann
Edward de
Bono
Alex Osborne
(BBDO)

Principle of Mind Maps
• Representation of facts, ideas, knowledge ...
– Visual
– Compact
– Tree (hierarchical)
– Main concept at the center
– Sub-concepts radiating from the center

How to Mind Map
Put key words, parts of
sentences
– Compact: on one "sheet"
– Gives an overview of a problem
– Helps to remember details
Use colors, images, symbols
– Facilitates memorisation
Add associations
– Link concepts from different
branches
An element can appear
multiple times
– It can be highlighted for example
by emphasizing
Use mapping software
– Many software exist, several free
ones
– Flexible
– Distribution of map is easier
– Can be further modified
Progressive construction
without pre-determined order
– With mind mapping software
– Enables to complete a mind map
anytime
Multiple tree levels
– More compact diagram
– Ability to zoom / navigate

Mind Mapping Software
• Proprietary tools interfaced
with MS Office
– Mindjet MindManager
– MatchWare MindView
– MindGenius
– MindMapper
• Free tools
– CAM Editor
– Freeplane*
– FreeMind
– Xmind*
– yED

Avantages of Mind Mapping Software
• Word / PPT / Excel export
• Sharing is easier
• Content is reusable

Mind Maps & Documents
DOCUMENT
Generally underlying tree
structure
– Title
– Chapters
• Sub chapters
– Paragraphs
– Bibliography
– Index
… & linear appearance
Linear reading is not the most
efficient reading approach!
MIND MAP
Any document can be
summarized by a mind map
– Very efficient to review
important points
Mind Mapping tools enable to
– Export to WORD / PPT /…
– Import from WORD
Mind maps are a way to
create documents
A Mind Map is a non linear document.

• No limitation in page size
Example : Edward de Bono, Penser vite et bien – méthode « BESCA »

• Mask / Develop portions of the tree
Example : Edward de Bono, Penser vite et bien – méthode « BESCA »

• Add / suppress anytime : living maps
• Reorganize easily to structure your ideas differently

• Map Style Management

Some uses of Mind Maps
Brainstorming, creativity,
problem solving
– Present problems, causes,
possible solutions
– Possibility to associate concepts
Communication tool
– Expose information in a concise
& interactive way
Checklists
– List of points to check
– Checkboxes
Document summary
– Important notions & ideas
Prepare a job interview
– Answers to common questions
– Information on the company
– Information on the contact
Write an essay
– Outline
– Main points
Learning languages
– Domain vocabulary
Project management
– WBS / OBS are trees
– Project phases & progress
– Participants
– Ressources

Brainstorming
• 1938 : Technique invented by Alex Osborn,
co-founder of BBDO to:
– Find many ideas for commercials
– Withour censorship of participants

Define the
problem
Generate
ideas
(ideation)
• Suspend judgment
• Playful thought
• As many ideas as
possible
• Combine &
improve
Look for
solutions
• Prioritize with
color dots
• Analyze most
promising ideas
3 Phases of Brainstorming

4 rules of ideation
Do not criticize,
approve, judge,
discourage, evaluate
Unconstrained
thought: impossible,
absurd, crazy ideas
are welcome…
Quick generation of
many ideas
Adapt, modify,
magnify, minify,
substitute, swap,
combine

Practical Aspects
With a facilitator
Note each idea
– With the author’s words
• Do not interpret or reformulate
– Telegraphic style
– Write in very large letters
– Large post-it notes
• To re-position / regroup similar
ideas
Large flipboard

« Brainwriting »
• Often done in companies
– Easy to do
• Everybody
– Notes his/her ideas beforehand
– Sticks his/her ideas on the board
– Reads them to the others
Few
associations Pratical
Participative
but not very
creative

Scientific studies refute classic
brainstorming
Scientific research shows that brainstorming
groups produce fewer ideas than the sum of
individual participants
– Mullen, Johnson, Salas 1991
• Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: a meta-analysis
integration. Basic & applied social psychology, 12, 3-123
– Larey & Paulus, 1999
• Group preference and convergent tendencies in small
groups: a content analysis of group brainstorming
performance, Creativity research journal 12, 175-184

When to use Brainstorming
Good for
• Advertising, marketing, daily life
• Problems with many possible
solutions
• First step to other approaches to
creativity
Critics of Brainstorming
• Too many useless ideas
• Participants not necessarily involved
in the implementation
• Takes time
• Too many ideas already known

How to generate
more ideas, more
creative ?

Brainstorming according to Tom Kelley
• "The idea engine” of IDEO's culture '
• Define the problem to be solved
• Prepare
– Documentation, visits, benchmarking
– Existing solutions
– Material to implement ideas
• Write rules of the game
– No critic
– One at a time
– Look for quantity
– Be visual
– Encourage crazy ideas
• Number ideas
• Look for
– Fluidity
– Improvement of ideas
– Totally different ideas
• Post-it + Paperboard

Transgressive Methods
• We are more creative in situations of
transgression
• Create a fun / challenging situation
• What shocks us stimulates us
–Crazy ideas
–Stupid ideas
–Strange Ideas
… et facilitates associations of ideas

Random Methods
• Escape linear thinking
• Random words
– Draw a word randomly
– See what idea it inspires you
• Random inages
– Visualise images dranw randomly
– See what they evoque, which solution to the
problem they suggest

Random Methods
• Google storming
– Start with a word
– Search it on Google
– Click on a link in the top 5 (that seems interesting)
– Seeing what you can find inspires you in relation to
the problem to be solved
– Bounce on other research
– Do not start looking too much into the content of the
pages
– Stay focused on the original goal

Analogical Methods
• Principle
– Shifts the problem by making analogies
– See what ideas each analogy brings
– Return to the initial problem
• Synectics (Gordon - 1961), analogies :
– Direct : natural (animal, plant), or graphic
– Symbolic : parable, metaphor
– Fantasy: dream, daydream
– Personal approach: identify with the situation

Follow the rules of improvisation
• Keep space for yes
– Say « YES »
– Do not criticize
– Say what you find good
– Create trust
• Bring your own stone
– Say « AND »
– Contribute, in a small or
large way
– Or ask a question
…To study an idea thouroughly
YES, AND…
Constructive
brainstorm

6 Thinking Hats
Facts driven
Feelings,
intuition
Careful examination
of negative aspects
Process driven
Optimism : examine
benefits, feasibility
New ideas,
creative attitude
Edward de Bono

Personal confusion
Facts
Positive

Directed thought, mastered
• Focus on the most suitable hat
• Change hats when needed

Direct your thought
Example : you want to progress in
tennis
Express your
enthusiasm
(stay
motivated)
Study facts to
learn how to
improve

Intra-personal confusion
Facts
Positive

Example
dissatisfied
customer
Sales person that
is process minded
lack of
understanding

Resonate – to establish communication
Facts
Positive

Une on same
wavelength, I
can change the
hat
As long as we are
not on the same
wavelength won’t
change my point
of view
I listen to the mindset of the
other so he feels really
understood

Example
Unhappy
customer
Sales person who recognizes his frustration
Let’s get to the facts
Let’s get to the process
If I were you I
would have the
same reaction
Let's see what
exactly
happened
How to make it
not happen
again

Confused ineffective group
Everyone thinks he hold the truth
Process Feelings
Imaginati
on
Critical
Positive
controversies
endless
discussions

Parallel, cooperative thinking
• Focus everyone on a hat
• Change hat together

Benefits
Accelerates meetings
Prevents ego
One thing at a time avoids
confusion
More diverse thinking
Better focus
Avoid individual trends

Innovation Games
Fun activities for product strategy &
marketing:
With clients / internal
One or more games at a time
Many companies use them
Characterized by:
Relaxation, Collaboration
Encourages teamwork
Increase information sharing
Fun
Verbal and visual communication

What for ?
Remember
the future
Spider web
Start your
day
Vision of the future PrioritisationBrainstorming on features
Knowledge of customer
Me and my
shadow
The
apprentice
Identify problems
Speed
boat
Product
Box
Product
Tree
Give them
a hot tube
Buy a
feature
20/20
Vision
game
activity

Creativity theory and practice

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