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Posts from the ‘brainstorming’ Category

Jul 21

Creativity: How to Find and Nurture It

I work at an innovation consulting firm, and creativity becomes a crucial asset at certain points of a growth project. We need to find employees with creativity in their repertoire, yet their formal academic disciplines must range from journalism to engineering.

I’ve often wondered if there is a simple test to help compare the creative potential in people (and exercises to build on it!).

The team at Newsweek gave me an idea today: The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, developed by psychologists at the University of Georgia. It uses a complete-the-drawing format where the research subject is provided with a sheet of paper containing a partial image, and is asked to complete the image.

The drawing above started with just the box, the long straight edges of the hat, and the linking loop that forms the top of the hat. This drawing was made by an adult, Joshua, and was given a TTCT score of 15 points out of 18. The only weakness the scorer found was the use of a common object

−

a hat

− as the basis for the otherwise creative response.

Yes, a weakness in the system is the requirement for a trained evaluator. Still, it’s intriguing. For more on this, see the July 12 Newsweek essay called “Forget Brainstorming” (http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/12/forget-brainstorming.html).

May 28

Why Do People Hate Brainstorming?

There was a time, not too long ago, when people looked forward to contributing to a brainstorming session. How long ago was that? And what happened?

I’m interested in this topic since I’m writing a book on design thinking for manager, and it has to include brainstorming.

Maybe our new loathing of brainstorming stems from the played-out image of the white board covered in post-it notes. (Personally, I still love the post-it note, but I concede it is tired of its duty as the iconic representation of innovation. Ready to take its place in the grave yard next to the light bulb.)

Have people gotten tired (I hope?) of the “fireworks model” of innovation, where you gather to brainstorm, sparks fly in a flurry of post-it notes, then everyone heads home … and the next day the room looks like the morning of July 5th, debris everywhere with no follow-up process in place?

Maybe people don’t hate brainstorming, and I’m hanging out in the wrong places. Whatever the case, here is my starting list of why we MIGHT hate brainstorming:

1. Like a crash diet, we have used it too many times and it mostly hasn’t worked;

2. The guest list always contains the same people and generates the same (tired) solutions;

3. We have a suspicion that the guest list is motivated by the politics of inclusion more than the fitness to address the challenge;

4. We frame problems poorly (or not at all), so the sessions quickly devolve into gripe sessions;

5. We frame problems poorly (or not at all), so our efforts at blue sky thinking lack any reference to the true constraints and are worthlesss;

6. The brainstorms we attend lack rules, so we spend our time poking holes rather than building on each other’s efforts;

7. We have no credible mechanisms for learning through action in the face of uncertainty, so even the most jaw-dropping of ideas has no real chance at life beyond the conference room.

These are a few off the top of my head … do any come to mind for you?