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: Masks and Trance

One useful import from the field of Improvisation is the concept of Masks and Trance to get people thinking in different directions.

Mask studies show that peoples character changes according to the perceived character of the mask they are wearing. Virtual masks (pretending) encourage people to think in radically alternate directions:

a) Businessmen scored low in creativity until they were asked to pretend to be happy go lucky hippies, when their creativity ratings skyrocketed.

b) People are more likely to express inappropriate ideas, as they believe they have less value.

c) People are more likely to express inappropriate ideas, as they are able to give the impression that it is not really what they would say.

d) People are able to quickly switch between personalities by putting on different masks – and instantly change their approach.

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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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