Managing Creativity MBA dissertation

FORWARD

I recently gave a presentation at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design on a topic entitled "Is creativity management an oxymoron?"

The essential confusion to people resistant to the idea of "creativity management" was the word "management." Replace it with the word "optimization" and the resistance disappears; all we're really trying to do is optimize the quality of the idea pool and optimize the implementation process.

Then you can suggest that most people already implicitly accept the idea of creativity management: if you ask them to solve a problem or engage in a particular endeavour, one of the things they're likely to do is herd people into a room with a flip chart and conduct some sort of brainstorming session and implicit in that action is the acceptance that certain methods, processes and procedures enhance creative output.

Then you can begin discussing how to improve the enormous amount of creative output people generate, from problem solving in everyday business life right up to the level or art.

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TIP OF THE DAY: THE HARSH FACTS OF LIFE FOR ALL INNOVATORS

a) Your opinion doesn't matter. The end user's does.

b) People will resist change unless they see a significant benefit.

c) If the innovation failed, then you made the wrong assumptions.

d) Your innovation may not be appreciated until you are dead.

e) No innovation is so compelling it will sell itself.

f) People will find reason NOT to adopt your innovation.

g) Only 2.5% of the population are willing to give your idea a try (Innovator Theory, Moore).

h) Culture, emotion and tradition are powerful obstacles.

i) If you don't find out what potential users are like, you will likely fail.

j) If you don't use a broad, diverse and novel sample in your market research, then parochialism, path dependency and competency traps are preventing you from making good decisions.

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If you haven't already done so, you can buy the MBA Research Project on Managing Creativity and Innovation, DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator software and the 50 slide Powerpoint Presentation from http://www.managing-creativity.com

Best

http://www.managing-creativity.com

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