Creativity and How to Foster It 🧠

Introduction

• Speaker's Background: 25 years of observing creative processes.
• Scientific Basis: Research from Berkeley in the 70s by Donald McKinnon confirming observations about creativity.
• Overarching Claim: Creativity is difficult to explain and cannot be fully understood or taught.

Understanding Creativity

• Creativity Is Not a Talent: It’s a way of operating.
• IQ Unrelated to Creativity: Creativity is not correlated with IQ above a minimal level.
• Creativity Involves Play: The most creative people have a playful mood, exploring ideas for enjoyment.
• Closed vs. Open Mode:
  • Closed Mode: Active, anxious, stressed, purposeful, not conducive to creativity.
  • Open Mode: Relaxed, expansive, playful, curious, conducive to creativity.

Examples

• Alexander Fleming: Discovered penicillin by staying curious in the open mode.
• Alfred Hitchcock: Avoided working under pressure by using humor and relaxation.

Balancing Modes

• Open Mode for Pondering: Use open mode to think of solutions.
• Closed Mode for Implementation: Switch to closed mode to execute decisions.
• Avoid Getting Stuck: Politicians and others often get stuck in closed mode due to constant pressures.

Conditions for Creativity

• Five Key Conditions: Space, Time, Time, Confidence, Humor

Space

• Create Quiet Space: Seal off usual pressures to allow creativity.
• Environment: Quiet, undisturbed area.

Time

• Boundaries: Set specific start and stop times for creative sessions.
• Duration: Allow enough time for mind to settle and enter open mode.
• Pondering Time: More time with problems yields more creative solutions.

Confidence

• Playfulness: Must feel safe to make mistakes and explore.
• Openness: Accept that there's no wrong answer in creativity.

Humor

• Humor Leads to Openness: Laughter and humor help transition to the open mode.
• Serious vs. Solemn: Being serious is good; being solemn is not conducive to creativity.

Group Dynamics

• Creative Groups: Work better with trusted colleagues who encourage play and positivity.
• Avoiding Negativity: Ensure no defensive individuals or negative comments.
• Cultural Insights: Japanese unstructured meetings foster creativity by allowing free ideas.

Creativity Techniques

• Connecting Ideas: Juxtapose unrelated ideas to spark new connections.
• Random Juxtapositions: Use intuition to find meaningful connections among random ones.
• Intermediate Impossibles: Use absurd ideas as stepping stones.

Final Thoughts

• Allow Pondering Time: Keep mind gently focused, and rewards will come unexpectedly.
• Humorous Interactions: Use humor when it's suitable to alleviate stress and foster creativity.

How to Suppress Creativity

• No Humor: Humor is a threat to self-importance.
• Undermine Confidence: Only criticize, no praise.
• Demand Constant Activity: No pondering, only urgent action to suppress creativity.

Conclusion: Balance space, time, confidence, humor, and a playful approach to foster creativity. Avoid the traps that suppress it.