Particularity when times are challenging, what companies often need the most is an asset that cannot be found on a traditional balance sheet: creativity. While corporations are often not associated with creativity, the track record of businesses in thinking outside of the box is mixed. Some corporations have been responsible for breakthroughs that have completely transformed our lives, while others have blindly stuck to outdated ways that led to business failure. But what is creativity? Is it something that comes from a moment of inspiration, or are there processes that make creative solutions more likely? This article considers creativity in the business context and discusses ways that all companies can become more creative.

Two Types of Creativity

When we hear the word creativity, what comes to mind? A painting by Picasso? The iPhone? The work of Walt Disney? The concept of creativity derives, simply enough, from the ability to make something that did not exist before. This could be a new song, art form or way to work. Here are the most creative paintings of all time, chosen by a computer.

Creativity can be divided into solution-driven creativity and non-solution-driven creativity. Solution-driven creativity is an effort to find a solution for a specific problem. An example of this is trying to think of a way to get a stuck car out of the mud. There is a problem (the car is stuck), the standard method of solving it is not working (pressing the accelerator), and a new solution is needed. That is where creativity comes in.

Two types of creativity are solution-driven and non-solution-driven creativity.

Solution-driven creativity is extensive in scope. It can involve not only looking for a solution to a mechanical problem but also one that is artistic or highly theoretical. This could involve not only thinking of a tire design that does not get stuck in the mud, but even a car that can dig itself out of the mud or fly over areas where driving is difficult.

Non-solution-driven creativity may or not lead to a practical solution. It is not required to have a reason, direction, or goal. Since it is not limited by a problem, this type of creativity can take an endless number of forms, ranging from new ideas to new forms of expression to new products.

Mapping the Creative Process

Trying to define the creative process presents a paradox because many moments of inspiration come from rejecting an approach, even a creative one, and coming up with something completely new. Yet, if we consider how new ideas are brought to life, there are certain patterns that repeat themselves over and over again. Let’s look at this in the area of solution-driven creativity.

Understanding the Problem. The first step in solution-driven creativity is understanding the problem. This sounds easy, but in fact, we often look at only a dimension of the problem or what we perceive to be the problem rather than the problem itself. Creatively pressing the accelerator in many different ways is not likely to get a stuck car out of the mud. Creatively dancing in front of a broken television will not get it working again.

Understanding the many layers and dimensions a problem can have and getting to the essence of it so a solution can be designed requires a surprising amount of perseverance and an open mind because our perspectives, professional outlooks, and even thinking habits can prevent us from seeing the actual problem. The physical trainer thinks the stuck car can get out of the mud by pushing it, the car salesman thinks the solution is buying a new car. and a tire manufacturer thinks that the problem can be solved by buying new tires. The prototype process of many inventions is often as much an effort to understand the problem as it is to find a solution.

The prototype process of many inventions is often as much an effort to understand the problem as it is to find a solution.

To create groundbreaking depictions of the human form, Leonardo da Vinci spent a great deal of time studying the human body. Here are some of da Vinci’s anatomical sketches. To express light in his paintings, Monet sat in the forest before dawn and waited for the sun to rise so he could see how light emerged from darkness.

Idea Generation. The second part of the creative process is generating ideas to solve the problem. There are four general ways to come up with ways to solve a problem.

• The first way is to use a solution that has already been developed and apply it. There are often countless solutions to problems that lie outside the frame of reference of a person with a problem, and researching other solutions that have been tried can dramatically accelerate the creative process.
• The second way is to use cross-over solutions, which involve a new use of an existing product or idea. This could involve, for example, using a robot to act as a personal trainer or using a new type of dough to make pizza. We are taking something out of one context and putting it in another.
• The third way is to build on ideas or processes that already exist. This involves taking an idea or process and modifying it to address the particular problem that is trying to be solved.
• The fourth way is to come up with something completely new.

The quality of the idea generation phase often depends on the awareness of other reference points and the ability to see connections between them and the problem. Reference points are things that we are aware of and come to mind when we hear or think of something. For example, what comes to mind when you hear the word “Italy?” For some people, it might be a set of places; for others it might be food; for others it might be music. These references points are created by what we have seen, heard, and experienced.

These references are determinative in the creative process because they heavily affect the solutions that come to mind. Some people have a narrow frame of reference and can see few connections between those reference points, while others have a wide range of reference points and can see many connections between them.

Testing the Viability of an Idea. The third part of the creative process is to test whether or not the idea is viable. Viability has several components, including:

• how difficult the solution is to implement
• how costly the solution is to implement
• whether the solution solves the problem
• whether the solution will solve the problem under a narrow or wide range of circumstances; and
• whether the solution will solve the problem for a short or extended period.

Solution Implementation. The final part of the creative process is to test whether the solution works in practice and whether the assumptions set forth in the viability stage of the creative process were correct.

Each phase of the creative process has the possibility to and often, in fact, travels backward, as challenges in the idea phase can lead back to the problem analysis phase, and problems in the solution phase can lead back to the idea generation phase.

Corporate Creativity

While companies, and particularly large ones, are often associated more with bureaucracy than creativity, in fact, corporations have been responsible for countless inventions that have changed the world. Some corporate breakthroughs include:

• Apple. iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Siri, Mac Pro
• Tesla. Electric cars, solar roofs, Megapack, Tesla Power Wall
• Amazon. Prime, Prime Now, Prime Air, One-Click Purchases, Dash Button
• Google. Google Chromebook, Google Translate, Google Maps, Google Universal Seach
• Microsoft. MSDOS, Windows, C#

Here is the BCG report on the most innovative companies in 2023.

As centers of creativity, corporations have several advantages compared with people working in isolation.

Living Innovation Labs. Companies are faced with a continuing stream of challenges across every level of firm operations, and each of these challenges presents an opportunity for innovation. Further, because companies are in continuous competition, they constantly need to defend their market position and create value by developing new products and services, implementing new technology, streamlining operational practices and cutting costs.

Differences in Perspective. Corporations are often horizontally and vertically very diverse and have significant breadth in organizational positions and depth in roles. People can occupy these roles with very different backgrounds, ways of looking at the world, and problem-solving methods. This diversification is a very powerful source of different perspectives regarding the problems, potential solutions, and how viable potential solutions are.

Innovation Data Storage. Corporations very quickly accumulate large amounts of data comprised of feedback from marketing campaigns, feedback from clients, and comments from employees. This data, and the experience it reflects, can continually be mined for potential solutions to problems.

How Companies Can Become More Creative

What practical steps can companies take to become more creative?

Foster a Culture of Innovation. Companies should foster a culture of innovation. This first means transmitting innovation as a core company value in corporate communications, meetings, and corporate planning. Companies should also encourage and reward people across the organization for proposing new ideas, regardless of their role.

Build an Idea Data Bank. Companies collect large amounts of data, and this data is vital for developing solutions. Companies should actively seek to build their idea data bank and expand idea reference points by studying other companies and examples from history.

Companies should also challenge themselves not only look at examples from their industry or sector but also try to reach out to different areas and disciplines to look for different ways of thinking and approaching problems.

Recast Problems as Opportunities for Improvement. A second step that companies can take is to consciously reframe corporate challenges in a way that invites creative solutions. Instead of viewing problems or competitive disadvantages as something that people should be blamed for or lie beyond a company’s control, instead view these as opportunities to innovate. The problem is often the way forward.

Create an Organizational Creativity Framework. Solution-driven creativity process has several phases which can extend, depending on the problem over a long period of time. For this reason, it is important to set up an institutional process and create institutional space so that each of these phases can be carried out. Without a structured approach, many ideas will not travel through the entire creativity cycle and be converted into a solution. On the other hand, solutions which never should have been implemented may, in fact, put into practice, which either do not fix the problem or worse yet create new ones.

Set Creativity Priorities. While every area of a company could benefit from increased creativity, no corporation has the time and resources to run every corporate issue through a four-stage creativity process. Because of this, corporations must set innovation priorities along other organizational strategic and operational objectives.

Conclusion

Creativity has immense value-building power. While many companies are not thought of as creative, corporations have developed countless innovations that have changed our lives for the better. By putting in place a structured process, companies can significantly increase their creativity, operational performance and competitive position.

Thanks to Nick Fewings for the photo of a bicycle with a reinvented wheel on Unsplash. Beautiful Free Images & Pictures | Unsplash