1. Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA
Everyday Creativity
With De Witt Jones
In Class Activity
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

2. Creativity Principles
Creativity is the ability to look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary
Creativity is a matter of perspective
Every act can be a creative one
There’s always more than one right answer
Re-frame problems into opportunities
Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Break the pattern
Train your technique
You’ve really got to care
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

3. Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA
KC 1: Creativity is the ability to look at the ordinary and see the extraordinary
From the Video:
What is creativity?
“It is not something magical or mystical. It’s something very simple. To me it’s just a moment – a moment where we look at the ordinary, but we see the extraordinary.”
“We’ve all done it. We’ve all had these moments when the world was extraordinary.”
“And we all know how good it feels when it happens.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

4. KC 1: Seeing the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
Insight:
Creativity is often thought of as a phenomenon that is larger than life or out of the ordinary – something that belongs only to certain people, those with certain forms of training or innate abilities.
De Witt Jones challenges such thinking & shows how creativity is something much more simple & accessible – an attitude, an outlook – which is in us all & can be trained.
Creativity is a moment like falling in love, where we see the positive with passion. Without the passion, without the energy the rest of the process (KC:2-9) seems a struggle rather than a joy …
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

5. KC 1: Seeing the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
Question:
Think back to a time, whether on the job or elsewhere, when you creatively handled an issue or challenge. What did you do? Were any of these principles mentioned by Dewitt Jones involved? If so, how? How did it make you feel?
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

6. KC 2: Every act can be a creative one
From the Video:
“… many of us were raised thinking that we couldn’t be creative. But if creativity is just falling in love with the world, then everything I do can be a creative act. My life can be my art whether I’m taking a photograph, working with a client, or raising a family, or volunteering in my community. In every act if we see it as beginning with an attitude, then in every act we have the potential to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

7. KC 2: Every act can be a creative one
Insights:
Creativity is often assumed to mean artistic talent.
We also think of it as existing outside of our daily lives.
When we are open to the potential for the extraordinary we’re more likely to focus on finding and extracting it, despite the challenges before us.
This is true whether we are figuring out how to boost sales, to train an employee or to better utilize equipment on the shop floor.
Focus and balance are always in flux. Every new experience needs new settings. Change is all that is constant. These easy and elegant responses to change may ensure individual survival & even elevate life to the level of art.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

8. KC 2: Every act can be a creative one
Questions:
Did you think of yourself before you watched the film as a creative person?
Has your view changed?
Will you look at your accomplishments and potential in a new light?
While we might be excited to take a new, creative approach to situations, we’re probably a bit hesitant as well. Why do you think this is?
Identify an area of your life in which you know you are creative. Is there anyway you can apply this talent to your work?
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

9. KC 3: Creativity is a matter of perspective
From the Video:
“Creativity is a matter of perspective. As a photographer, the first thing I have to decide is “What lens do I have on my camera?” In other words, what perspective can I take on this problem to help me find the extraordinary in the ordinary view?”
“The right perspective is critical. If we can’t learn to change lenses, we’re trapped. But I’ve learned that there’s always another perspective. When we believe that, it can transform the whole way we look at life.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

10. KC 3: Creativity is a matter of perspective
Insight:
Just as a photographer must change lenses to capture a new picture, we sometimes need to change our thinking, approach or technique to achieve our goals or solve a problem.
We need to ask the following questions: Is our angle the best it can be? Which elements of our situation deserve the most attention, and which the least? Do we need to focus on the big picture or the detail and how?
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

11. KC 3: Creativity is a matter of perspective
Questions:
We’ve all had times when we’ve hit a roadblock and can’t seem to get anywhere with our project. Describe techniques you use to remove roadblocks. Describe examples of how a change of approach, perspective or angle of vision may have helped with a project.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

12. KC 4: There’s always more than one right answer
From the Video:
“ ….. it seems so simple, but it is the key to creativity. There are a thousand ways to come at a problem to find creative solutions. I know that it is hard to bring over this idea …. You can’t stop with the first right answer … press beyond it … knowing that the next answer is out there for you.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

13. KC 4: There’s always more than one right answer
Insights:
Life is ambiguous. Serious challenges can be characterized by the language of ‘messy,’ ‘wicked’ problems.
Many situations do not have a single or simple answer or solution (those that do appear ‘tame’)
This can make things difficult. We may want -- even without realizing it -- a rulebook. We may want to know that if we do certain things, apply certain “tried & true” techniques, ones perhaps we always use & are comfortable with, we will end up in a certain place.
Certain situations demand that we press on & see what else we can find. We need a sense of confidence that if we keep going, we will find that there are more – and better – solutions
( … “the road less travelled”)
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

14. KC 4: There’s always more than one right answer
Questions:
The idea that we need to keep working on a problem to find the right answers isn’t always what we want to do. Why? Identify reasons.
It may not be practical to wait for all the information to make a decision. When do we know it’s time to stop searching?
Identify a problem/challenge your team is having. Without judging list three possible solutions. Are they workable & practical? Re-evaluate your list to find at least three workable solutions.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

15. KC 5: Re-frame problems into opportunities
From the Video:
“When you come at the world with a sense of abundance rather than scarcity, you get more and more comfortable reframing problems into opportunities, finding new angles, coming at the same elements from a totally different direction, & being confident that the next right answer will be there.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

16. KC 5: Re-frame problems into opportunities
Insights:
When we see situations just as a problem it is easy to feel intimidated, burdened and defeated.
Re-framing and changing the perspective are important techniques of creatively; becoming more and more open to ideas or to resources that were overlooked.
Include others and use positive attitudes which enable solutions to be found.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

17. KC 5: Re-frame problems into opportunities
Questions:
On a continuum of looking at problems as opportunities or seeing problems as obstacles at every step, where are you? What can you do to change?
Do the same for a work based situation involving a product, market or business process situation. Explain the re-framing.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

18. KC 6: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
From the Video:
“If I were afraid to make mistakes, if I never took the risk to think out of the box,, to press the edge of my envelope, to search for the next right answer, I’d still be back here at the beginning wondering why (this photo) didn’t work.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

19. KC 6: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Insights:
As a child, it’s easy to think you’ll grow to a point where you’ll know just about everything you’ll need to know. As we grow older, we realize that learning never stops even if we hang on to the idea that making mistakes will end.
Not only do we continue to make them, but they get harder to take. So we slowly decide not to venture outside of a narrow range of expertise, not to take risks and not to try new things. In doing so, we may make fewer mistakes, but we also fail to achieve anything great.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

20. KC 6: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes
Questions:
Think of a work or marketing related accomplishment involving creativity. What principles of advanced leadership were involved to make it successful?
Were you or the company afraid of making mistakes?
What attitudes prevailed and how did these relate to achieving success?
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

21. Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA
KC 7: Break the pattern
From the Video:
“When we’re not afraid to make mistakes and when we believe there’s more than one right answer, that’s when we begin to break the patterns in our lives.”
“Patterns, systems – they’re incredibly important. We can’t function without them. But we all know that if we let those patterns go too long unquestioned, they become our prison.”
“When we begin to break the patterns in our lives, then everything is always in question, even when it’s going well. That’s the very basis of creativity. You’re always saying: ‘Why do we do it this way? How can we do it better?’”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

22. Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA
KC 7: Break the pattern
Insights:
By definition, creativity demands that we break a pattern. In order to bring into existence something that hasn’t existed before, we have to form a new mold rather than fitting into an existing one.”
That’s easier said than done. Even people who consider themselves unbound by convention often find that they work within the patterns of their culture more than they realize.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

23. Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA
KC 7: Break the pattern
Questions:
Not many of us want to go against the grain. Name some reasons why we refrain from breaking the pattern?
How receptive is your team environment, that you and your colleagues have created, for those who want to beak the patterns?
Do new ideas get shot down at meetings? Are colleagues encouraged (even subtly) to think a certain way? Can the atmosphere be improved? If so, how?
By interacting w/ others, you may find patterns or rules in your own life that you may be overlooking. Ask someone in another department or are to describe what they believe are your rules at work.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

24. KC 8: Train your technique
From the Video:
“We have to train our technique. That’s critical, because vision without technique is blind. We need to hone our techniques to a razor’s edge, so that when there is a decisive moment, I’m not worrying about technique and I can capture an extraordinary opportunity.
“Place yourself in the place of most potential - the place where you have the most possibilities of finding multiple right answers.”
“Life presents us with windows of opportunity or “decisive moments” when it all comes together, when we have to be there, ready to take advantage.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

25. KC 8: Train your technique
Insights:
While passion and inspiration, and heart and soul are critical, we can’t kid ourselves that they eliminate our need for a solid command of technique.
Whatever our game is, we need to learn, know and become so well versed in its fundamentals that they become second nature. Knowing and respecting our crafts will help us bring our visions to life in ways that are clear and profound.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

26. KC 8: Train your technique
Questions:
Recall an occasion when you felt that you did not have command of the necessary technique. Describe the problem, the techniques and what happened.
Recall an occasion when you experienced a “decisive moment” when technical mastery was in line with an opportunity. What happened? How did it feel?
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

27. KC 9: You’ve really got to care
From the Video:
“Creativity isn’t just about vision and passion. It’s about technique and perseverance as well; a balance of emotion and intellect that springs from really caring about the people you work with and the projects you work on.”
“When the people I photograph know that they are as important to me as my pictures, they open like flowers. And I find that the light that really illuminates my pictures is not the light from the outside – it’s the light from within.”
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA

28. KC 9: You’ve really got to care
Insights:
Few of us can accomplish what we want to do without the help of others.
Viewing others simply as ways to get what we want or where we want to go isn’t right. Nor is it effective. People want and deserve to know that they are valued for more than their contributions to the project.
We have to care about the work we are doing. When we take pride in what we are doing we are more likely to give it all we have got with the quality of our products and services rising to a new level.
Martyn Kingston, PhD, MBA