Creative Process
Creativity is a process, not an outcome. The descriptions of what countless creative and innovative people go through on their way to an idea are amazingly similar. At the core of these experiences is, I believe, an organic, step-wise process that cuts across the major areas of creativity, including art, science and business.
We live in a world where there appear to be more problems than solutions, making life potentially stressful; every problem has more than one solution, but to waste creative efforts only leads to more stress.
true.
We usually define a problem fairly negatively: a problem is a hassle. This is often true, but more generally; a problem can be considered the difference between what is, and what might or should be.
Often people associate creative problem solving with dealing with crisis or difficulties or think of it as something that's used for games and puzzles or special kinds of jobs. So, finding a way to exploit an opportunity is a form of problem solving just as coping with a crisis is.
Moreover, any opportunity to improve work processes or products fits that definition of a problem. Creativity can help all of us progress from our current situation to a desired future situation, whether our jobs are normally thought of as involving "creative work" or not; creative problem solving skills are required for achieving exceptional performance in most jobs.
Like any other process, there are many different tasks that need to be done to properly solve problems. The creative problem solving process differs from routine problem solving in that with routine problem solving a pre-established method for solving the problem is used; with creative problems solving, any pre-established method for solving the problem is either unknown or not used. Creative problem solving involves a hunt for new solutions, while routine problem solving uses old solutions. The problem solving shares the assumption of the knowledge-based view that the objective is to create valuable new knowledge by creating new means to convert inputs into valued outputs.
A critical aspect of the creative process is the extent to which individuals enjoy the creative experience. Indeed, creators derive affective pleasure from an intensive focus, which enables them to get emotionally involved in the creative process.
A reduced focus will have spillover effects in the whole creative process, as less focused individuals will enjoy the entire creative experience less.
This kind of experience has a number of common characteristics. First, people report knowing very clearly what they have to do moment by moment, either because the activity requires, or because the person sets clear goals every step of the way. Second, they are able to get immediate feedback on what they are doing. Again, this might be because the activity provides information about the performance, or it might be because the person has an internalized standard that makes it possible to know whether one's actions meet the standard.
“We cannot solve problems at the same level at which we created them”– Albert Einstein
We live in a world where there appear to be more problems than solutions, making life potentially stressful; every problem has more than one solution, but to waste creative efforts only leads to more stress.
true.
We usually define a problem fairly negatively: a problem is a hassle. This is often true, but more generally; a problem can be considered the difference between what is, and what might or should be.
Often people associate creative problem solving with dealing with crisis or difficulties or think of it as something that's used for games and puzzles or special kinds of jobs. So, finding a way to exploit an opportunity is a form of problem solving just as coping with a crisis is.
Moreover, any opportunity to improve work processes or products fits that definition of a problem. Creativity can help all of us progress from our current situation to a desired future situation, whether our jobs are normally thought of as involving "creative work" or not; creative problem solving skills are required for achieving exceptional performance in most jobs.
Like any other process, there are many different tasks that need to be done to properly solve problems. The creative problem solving process differs from routine problem solving in that with routine problem solving a pre-established method for solving the problem is used; with creative problems solving, any pre-established method for solving the problem is either unknown or not used. Creative problem solving involves a hunt for new solutions, while routine problem solving uses old solutions. The problem solving shares the assumption of the knowledge-based view that the objective is to create valuable new knowledge by creating new means to convert inputs into valued outputs.
A critical aspect of the creative process is the extent to which individuals enjoy the creative experience. Indeed, creators derive affective pleasure from an intensive focus, which enables them to get emotionally involved in the creative process.
A reduced focus will have spillover effects in the whole creative process, as less focused individuals will enjoy the entire creative experience less.
This kind of experience has a number of common characteristics. First, people report knowing very clearly what they have to do moment by moment, either because the activity requires, or because the person sets clear goals every step of the way. Second, they are able to get immediate feedback on what they are doing. Again, this might be because the activity provides information about the performance, or it might be because the person has an internalized standard that makes it possible to know whether one's actions meet the standard.
“We cannot solve problems at the same level at which we created them”– Albert Einstein