1. Creativity: What is it, what blocks it, and how to get more of it!
Colorado Springs Startup Week
Dr. Lisa A. McElvaney
August 21, 2017

2. Where Do We Begin? We can start by learning…
What research has uncovered about creativity
What blocks creativity
What we can do to unleash more creativity

3. Objectives Define the 4 P’s of creativity
Explore how brain hemisphere dominance impacts creativity
Examine blocks to creativity
Learn ways to break through creativity blocks

4. What is Creativity?
Creativity is the ability to look at the same thing as everyone else but to see something different (Thompson, 1992).

5. What is Creativity?
Creativity implies bringing new meaning or purpose to a task, finding new uses, solving existing problems, or adding beauty or value. It is the expression of our uniqueness (Wycoff, 1991).

6. What is Creativity?
Creativity means a person’s capacity to produce new or original ideas, insights, restructuring, inventions, or artistic objects, which are accepted by experts as being of scientific, aesthetic, social, or technological value (Vernon, 1989).

7. What is Creativity?
Creativity is a problem-solving process that involves bringing something new into existence. It is a set of activities by which custom-made solutions are developed to reduce or close a perceived gap between what is and what should be (VanGundy, 1988 ).

8. How Creativity is Studied: The 4 P’s of Creativity
The Person - individual traits and abilities
The Process - what individuals, teams, and organizations go through to be creative
The Product - the result of creativity
The Presses - environmental and cultural influences on creativity

9. Personality Characteristics of Highly Creative “Persons”
Open to new experiences
Self-confident / Dominant
Flexible
Broad interests
Attracted to complexity
Intuitive
Aesthetic sensitivity
Expressive
Less conventional
Less conscientious (artists)
Courageous
Driven
Impulsive
Hostile
High tolerance for ambiguity
Humorous

10. Other Factors Associated with Highly Creative“Persons”
Intrinsic motivation towards the specific task
Expertise in the task domain
Knowledge
Education
Previous experience

11. Other Factors Associated with Highly Creative“Persons”
A cognitive style favorable to taking new perspectives on problems
Especially observant
Questioning attitude
Able to:
produce lots of ideas (fluency)
produce many different ideas (flexibility)
suspend judgment during idea generation
understand complexities and explore different options

12. Other Factors Associated with Creative“Persons”
2) A work style conducive to creativity
Self-disciplined
Able to:
concentrate for long periods of time
abandon unproductive search strategies
temporarily put aside stubborn problems
delay gratification
persevere in the face of frustration and criticism
3) Knowledge of different creative problem-solving methods (e.g., brainstorming)

13. Your Own Creative Experience…
What was your discovery?
Where were you when it happened?
What were the circumstances or conditions surrounding the situation?
What made it especially memorable?

14. The Creative “Process”
Viewed by many researchers as a rational process made up of definable stages
Preparation - Gathering information, concentrating and becoming thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the problem
Incubation - Taking time out, putting the problem away, letting the mind rest and gather energy

15. The Creative “Process”
Illumination - The AHA! When the answer suddenly appears--often when you are completely relaxed and doing something else
Verification - describes the evaluation of the new solution to ensure that it actually solves the problem satisfactorily

16. The Creative “Process”
Viewed by other researchers as an intuitive, holistic process
To Gestalt psychologists, a phenomenon such as creative insight cannot be truly understood by studying its parts
Needs to be studied as a whole experience

17. The Creative “Product”
A creative product is an object, idea, or procedure that is both novel and useful
“Novel” can involve a significant recombination of existing materials, as well as the introduction of completely new materials
Both “novel” and “useful” are domain-specific and subjective judgments

18. Environmental and Cultural “Presses” on Creativity
Family history and dynamics
School influences
Socio-historical context
Cultural values, norms and rules
Previous forms and practices
Historic events
Many more factors that can either support or suppress creativity

19. Environmental and Cultural “Presses” on Creativity
Management practices
Group/Team dynamics
Organizational climate/culture
Support for creativity
Resources (e.g., time, money)
Reward systems
Cooperation across divisions and levels
Amount of red tape and restrictions

20. Creativity and the Brain
What’s Your Brain Hemisphere Dominance?

21. Traits of the Brain Hemispheres
Left-brain Dominant People: specialize in process thinking (analytical)
Logic, sequences, linear thinking
Language skills
Work with numbers
Focus on details
Analysis, editing, judgment

22. Traits of the Brain Hemispheres
Right-brain Dominant People: specialize in pattern thinking (spatial)
Pattern recognition, pattern completion, pattern correction
Visual, spatial, imaginative abilities
Seeing the “whole picture”
Generate and respond to emotions, images, rhythm, music, and color

23. Creativity and the Brain
Although one side of the brain tends to dominate….
Creativity results from exceptional interactions between both “brains”

24. What Blocks Creativity?
Perceptual Blocks
Emotional Blocks
Cultural Blocks
Environmental Blocks
Intellectual Blocks
Expressive Blocks
(Adams, J. L. 1986)

25. Perceptual Blocks Seeing what you expect to see Stereotyping
Once label applied = less likely to notice actual qualities or attributes
Especially true if the topic is unimportant to you or unpleasant to think about

26. What do you see?

27. Perceptual Blocks Patterned thinking and habitual behavior
Pattern recognition and pattern completion
Inherent in the working of the brain
Allows us to complete incomplete data
The mind as a dish of jelly – how the pattern recognition process works in the brain

28. Perceptual Blocks
Difficulty in perceiving what the problem really is (symptoms vs. cause)
Tendency to state the problem too narrowly
Inability to see the problem from various viewpoints
Difficulty in perceiving what the problem really is (symptoms vs. cause)
Tendency to state the problem too narrowly
- The more broadly the problem can be stated, the more room for creativity
Inability to see the problem from various viewpoints
- Without diverse stakeholder input, creative solutions are difficult to conceptualize

29. Emotional Blocks Fear of taking a risk, making a mistake, failing
Inability to tolerate ambiguity
Having overriding desires for security and order
No appetite for chaos
Creativity is how we create order out of chaos!

30. Emotional Blocks Preference for judging rather than generating ideas
Can KILL newly forming ideas that are fragile and imperfect
Sometimes “wild” ideas spawn other creative and realistic ideas
Judgment of ideas is typically rewarded more than the creation of ideas
Preference for judging rather than generating ideas
Can KILL newly forming ideas that are fragile and imperfect
Sometimes “wild” ideas spawn other creative and realistic ideas
Judgment of ideas is typically rewarded more than the creation of ideas
- Judges seen as more practical and sophisticated
- Demonstrate assumed mental superiority

31. Emotional Blocks Inability to incubate (to relax, to “sleep on it”)
Lack of motivation
You cannot do your best on a problem unless you are motivated
Excessive motivation to succeed quickly
Choosing the first answers that surface may lead to inferior solutions

32. Cultural Blocks
Cultural values, norms, rules, and practices can inhibit creative expression
Some cultures believe/teach:
Problem-solving is a serious business; humor is out of place
Fantasy and reflection
a waste of time
a sign of laziness
Playfulness is for children only

33. Cultural Blocks Some cultures reinforce beliefs such as:
Reason, logic, quantitative measures, utility, and practicality are Good
Feeling, intuition, qualitative judgments, and pleasure are Bad
May reflect old male/female sex role stereotypes
Both reason and intuition are essential to the creative process

34. Cultural Blocks Tradition is preferable to change
Tradition is important and valuable
However, change is the essence of our natural world, which impacts cultures
Cultures that significantly resist change can trap civilizations (Culture Traps)
Creativity is essential for developing new ways to successfully adapt to change
Tradition is preferable to change
-Tradition is important and valuable
-However, change is the essence of our natural world, which impacts cultures
-Cultures that significantly resist change can act as a trap (Culture Traps)
-Creativity is essential for developing new ways to successfully adapt to change

35. Environmental Blocks Distractions Physical surroundings Phone calls
“Drop-in” visitors
Interruptions
Self-distracting activities
Physical surroundings
Most people have their own unique set of conditions that allow them to concentrate intensely to support creative thinking

36. Environmental Blocks Lack of cooperation and trust among colleagues
Autocratic boss
Lack of support to bring ideas into action
Lack of resources: time, money, space, equipment, etc.
Lack of top management support
Lack of consistent policies and practices throughout the organization that support creativity and innovation
Lack of cooperation and trust among colleagues
Autocratic boss - values only his/her own ideas; does not reward others; steals ideas, etc.
Lack of support to bring ideas into action
-Lack of resources: time, money, space, equipment, etc.
-Lack of top management support
-Lack of consistent policies and practices throughout the organization that support creativity and innovation

37. Intellectual Blocks “Expert-itis” - the assumption of knowledge
Trying to solve a problem by using an incorrect language (e.g., verbal, visual, mathematical)
Most people do not consciously select their problem-solving language
American culture has placed a heavy emphasis on verbal thinking; much less on mathematical thinking

38. Intellectual Blocks
Inflexibility in the use of problem-solving strategies; unaware of alternative methods
Incorrect information
Insufficient information
Failure to utilize the information we have
May be due to memory constraints
Could be due to complexity of the problem

39. Expressive Blocks Our verbal language is imprecise
The right words may not be available to successfully communicate a creative idea
Different disciplines use the same word to mean different things
Inadequate language skills
Difficult to express a creative idea in an unfamiliar language (e.g., music, foreign languages, visual imagery, etc.)

40. How can we break through creativity blocks?

41. Overcoming Creativity Blocks
Involve relevant stakeholders when generating new ideas
Question the definition of the problem
Consciously select appropriate problem-solving languages/strategies

42. Overcoming Creativity Blocks
Generate MANY potential ideas first; THEN judge their potential as solutions
Don’t settle for the first or easiest solution
Look in new and different places for new and different solutions
Experiment
Use color; play with toys
Draw ideas with pictures and symbols
Do stimulating things!

43. Overcoming Creativity Blocks
Pay attention to changes in needs, tastes, desires, technologies, etc.
Be willing to pivot, and change directions, if necessary
especially important for startups!
Don’t fall for the Fallacy of Sunk Costs
Pay attention to changes in needs, tastes, desires, technologies, etc.
Be willing to pivot, and change directions, if necessary -- especially important for startups!
Don’t fall for the Fallacy of Sunk Costs
-“It’s a great idea…I’ve invested too much, it’s now worth much more than I’ve invested
-If I give up now I lose my investment
-I can’t change ideas now

44. Overcoming Creativity Blocks
To overcome fear of failure, realistically assess the possible negative consequences of an idea
Conduct “worse-case” scenarios and look at the explicit results
Are the risks really too great?
Weigh the risks/gains of various solutions
Choose a solution with the best overall risk/gain ratio
Remember… it’s trial and error, not trial and accuracy

45. Overcoming Creativity Blocks
Address creativity blocks in the work environment
Teach creative problem-solving techniques
Educate managers and supervisors on the importance of creating a supportive environment for creativity
Examine organizational policies and practices for creativity blockers
Honor creative achievements

46. Overcoming Creativity Blocks
Plan sufficient time for incubation when designing solutions
Find ways to quiet your busy, analytical mind
Meditation, yoga
Music
Get outdoors
Learn to move into a receptive state of mind

47. Overcoming Creativity Blocks
Remember the mind is like a jelly dish, so do things differently to create new grooves
Consciously break old habits and try things that are new and challenging for you
Practice listening to and trusting your intuition
Make creativity an important defined outcome in your work and in your life

48. More Techniques for Stimulating Creativity
Use your non-dominant body parts to trigger opposite brain activity
Cross your legs the wrong way
Interlock your fingers the wrong way
Use your non-dominant eye to read something short
Nose breathing (close off your non-dominant side for a short period)

49. Choose opposite brain activities
If you’re left-brain dominant, try...
Kite flying
Learning to dance
Playing Frisbee
Learning to sail
Singing lessons
Joining a choir
Public speaking
Taking a course in storytelling
Volunteering in a children’s hospital
Being with children
Drawing and painting
Using colored pencils & pens in note taking

50. Choose opposite brain activities
If you’re right-brain dominant, try...
Making miniature models
Starting a stamp or coin collection
Keeping daily checkbook balances
Keeping dated records of activities
Ballroom dancing
Playing golf
Reading history books or novels
Learning chess
Taking a course in auto repair or financial investments
Charting the stock market
Visiting a science museum

51. In Summary… Creativity is important in all areas of life
Creativity is especially important for startups
Everyone is creative
Break through your blocks and discover more creativity!

52. Contact Info
Dr. Lisa A. McElvaney
Business Transformation Consulting
(719)
WISRD (Whole Infrastructure Systems for Resilient Development)
Suggested presentation citation: McElvaney, L. A. Creativity: What is it, what blocks it, and how to get more of it! Colorado Springs Startup Week, Colorado Springs, Colorado, August 21-25, 2017.