TOOLS FOR CREATIVITY

“Everything you can imagine is real”

• When we introduce somebody to innovation methodologies, especially
those focused on business models, the role of creativity topic usually
comes up. The most common question is whether we need to use
creativity or not to innovate. There is a short answer for this: The
majority of the most successful innovation methodologies give
creativity a strong role. Moreover, all those methodologies clearly state
that creativity is not a matter of genius or lucky lightbulb moments, but
something that everyone can achieve with the help of proper tools.
• From this basic statement we can go further into the topic of
creativity in innovation. We can explain that the tools for creativity
are used during a regular innovation process where teams should
generate new ideas to further explore their feasibility as proper
business models. For individuals not accustomed to innovation
methodologies (which is almost everyone), the phases that utilize
creativity are the most challenging..
• Because of this challenge, innovators have developed a wide range of
tools to help people unleash and nurture their innate creativity, which
is usually constrained by the rules, procedures, and methods that
many companies use. These restrictions are suited to run established
companies, but they are not helpful to explore new possibilities
during an innovation workshop or project.
Let us explore the most popular creativity tools for innovation. To get
started it may be useful to separate them into two groups:
1. Divergence tools, focused on the generation of as many ideas as
possible.
2. Convergence tools, which strive to analyze, filter and merge ideas,
in order to select the best ones.
Divergent tools

All the creativity tools focused on divergence try to generate as many

ideas as possible during a short time span, usually a few minutes during
an ideation session. A basic rule here is not to criticize or judge new
ideas as they come, as negativity is probably the best way to kill any
ideation. Innovators should let their brains run free to generate as
many possibilities as they can; filtering and merging will come later,
during the convergence process
Analogy cards

Analogy thinking produces 80% of ideas during the ideation session.

Basically, this means copying concepts from other industries and
adapting them to our own. So, a great way to generate new business
ideas is to check and review other business models and industries, even
those not closely related to our own company. Try to analyze their
business model, and figure out how we can apply it to our industry.
During this process, new business possibilities will naturally arise.
Trend & technology benchmarking

Another alternative method for analogy thinking uses technology

benchmarking as a reference. Sometimes it is useful to select several
trend technologies, and try to figure out how to implement them in our
company. For instance, if we choose IA, IoT, and blockchain, through a
brainstorming process we would come up with new business ideas for
our company based on current applications for these technologies. As
we do that, we will find that new ideas come from the interlink
between our experience and new possibilities coming from new
technologies.
The “three ifs”

Lateral thinking tools are another useful methodology set to run an

ideation session. This way of thinking involves looking at your situation
in a different way -- essentially stepping sideways from our current
business strategy. A nice way to do that is the “three ifs” tool, which is
very useful to challenge our assumptions and change our perspective.
In this phase, we should ask ourselves what would happen if our
situation was different in three ways. For instance :
• What would happen if I change my client?

• What would happen if I have another value proposition?

• What would happen if I change my value chain?

• For better results, it is recommended to combine analogy with lateral
thinking. For example, we can ask ourselves what would happen if we
introduce AI to our value proposition. Or maybe we can try to figure
out which clients we would have if we applied a particular business
model from another industry to our own. While trying to answer
these “if” questions, we will find that our previous business
knowledge will help us to discover new possibilities, generating new
ideas during the process. The possibilities for analogy and lateral
thinking are huge, and that is fine, since these tools are designed to
fire the spark for a fruitful ideation process, where we can widen our
business scope.
Convergence tools

Convergence thinking tools are intended for a clear purpose: to help us

to organize, filter and select all the ideas generated during the
divergence process. This step requires a very different mindset, so the
tools used for this purpose are also clearly different, focusing on
analysis and synthesis, rather than idea generation. Many people might
think that this kind of work is not creative, but in fact, it is. If we want
to successfully finish any innovation process, running only the ideation
step is useless. We should also have a clear method to filter the best
ideas, leaving apart those not worthy enough, and focusing on the best
ones.
• Mind maps
Mind maps are usually a great way to organize ideas. We can use them
to explore associations and divergences between ideas, clustering all
those concepts coming from ideation. Mind maps will help to identify
underlying trends, cleaning redundancies and narrowing our scope to
fewer concepts to work with. Usually, we need to create a mind map to
achieve this, although we can also use several prebuilt canvases and
tools, such as a customer and business model canvas.
• Thinking hat
The thinking Hat is a popular technique, very useful to explore the upsides
and downsides of every idea. We might define several hats, each one
representing a different mindset (for instance: the customer, the advocate,
the devil´s advocate, and the board of directors). After pitching the idea,
some people should wear different hats, analyzing the pitch from a
different perspective. It might be useful to have the same person wear
several hats, forcing him or her to look at the same idea from different
angles. The feedback this technique generates is really valuable and helps
the team to bring new perspectives into the discussion, dismissing those
ideas that do not make it through the test, and improving those passing it.
• Hundred euro test, or idea shopping
This tool is very useful for rating ideas. We can introduce several value
propositions to a selected audience, usually in a canvas format, asking
people to buy whatever proposition they want with just 100 euros.
Euros can be freely allocated and expended in several places or in just
one. No prices are set, so everybody gives to a particular idea whatever
they think is worth paying. After the funds are distributed, we can
easily identify the most popular ideas, as they will receive most of the
money. This test allows the team to get really valuable feedback from
outsiders, filtering ideas and leaving aside prejudices.
Creativity as a circular process

• Both kinds of tools, divergent and convergent, are used during

different phases of innovation. Sometimes we need to expand our
scope to have a wider view of the choices we can make. After that,
probably we will need to focus on a few ones, just to move forward in
our exploration of new ideas and business models. For both purposes,
we should choose the proper tools.
• Moreover, this innovation process is not a linear path. We can go
through the divergence and convergence process as much as we
need, looking for new and potentially feasible ideas. We have to also
keep in mind that creativity is about teamwork. We should encourage
constructive criticism, including all perspectives on the process.
Diverse teams are usually much better than homogeneous ones, since
different mindsets and experiences can merge and enhance each
other.
• Depending on our goals, we might also create a strategy that mixes
both tools, . Sometimes settling with one tool is not easy and requires
a facilitator with experience and patience to lead the process, choose
the right tools and lead people down the same path. With
professional help, we will make the most of the tools chosen,
unlocking the potential of any team.
• Creativity is the mother of all new ideas and innovation. It is that
bright spark that leads to the development of revolutionary
techniques and path-breaking inventions. Breakthroughs in science
and technology owe their origins to the creative genius of some
people. Just think what would have happened had not Microsoft
founder Bill Gates create the popular Windows software? Or what we
would have done without the invention of the smartphone or
Bluetooth devices? Obviously, these devices have originated from the
creative genius of some people.
• However, creativity tools are not the sole ownership of a chosen few
people. Many of us have creative ideas that get buried under the push
and pull of routine work. Our creative urges slowly die out from not
being used. As a famous quote goes, “…We don’t grow into creativity
tools, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.”

• The reasons for the death of creativity tools are many:

• In general:

• Formal educational systems that focus on rote learning and

straitjacketed syllabus
• Societal pressure to conform to rules and set expectations
• The pressure to earn a living rather than experiment creatively
• At the workplace:

• Dull, routine work, with no scope for trying anything new

• Pressure to meet deadlines and targets
• A desire to conform to standards and set procedures
• Unsupportive work environment, that includes non-cooperative
coworkers and excessive adherence to the rulebook
• Opposition to original thinking from organizational superiors
• Lack of appreciation or incentive for original ideas
• Organizations are in general focused on running as systems on certain
fixed procedures and methods and do not encourage individual
creativity tools or radical thinking. The focus is on earning profits and
delivering service or products, so activities like innovating and
creating are usually put on the back burner. Only the Research and
Development Department does some original thinking.
• In the present times, however, faced with looming market pressures
and economic uncertainties, a number of organizations are forced to
adopt a change in their operating processes and structures.
Innovation and change have become the mantra for survival in the
tough economy. Even organizations hitherto resistant to change, like
public sector organizations in India (banks, insurance companies,
engineering companies) have had to yield to market demands and
introduce newness and originality in their processes.
• The need of the hour, therefore, is to encourage creativity tools and
innovation and generate new ideas that will change the future.
“Thinking out of the box” has become a necessity these days, a
strategy for survival in these tough times.

• Now, the question is if you have become used to following orders and
follow set patterns of thinking, how will you think creatively? And
more importantly, how will you generate ideas? And does your
workplace provide the conducive atmosphere for inspiring big ideas?
• Some methods to inspire creativity tools are listed below:

• Breaking the creativity blocks: Often you may seem to hit a wall while trying to come up with
ideas. Please remember that creativity cannot be forced. An environment has to be created to
let creativity tips bloom.
• You can resort to the following to get the creative juices flowing:

• Prepare the ground, ask questions, and soak in inputs: Your mind is like a sponge. You must keep
the ground fertile and moist by being curious, asking questions, and experimenting and
exploring.
• Feed your brain by reading good books, listening to music, watching theatre. By exposing
yourself to sublime artistic experiences you open up your mind to creative thinking. The mind
can make connections and draw insights from regular nourishment in the form of artistic inputs.
• Keep a notebook of ideas and insights: Inspiration can strike you at the most
unprepared moments. Write down random thoughts and insights as and when
they occur to you. These will become the raw material on which to build further
ideas.
• Allow yourself to make mistakes: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make
mistakes.”Unless you learn to experiment and subsequently try and fail, you will
never learn to think creatively. Creativity follows a trial and error method. You
must be prepared to face obstacles and failure.
• Get some physical exercise: A brisk run or a round of tennis or swimming is a
great way to boost creativity. The endorphins released through exercise generate
a feel-good sensation in the body and help the brain in idea generation. So get
yourself off the couch and do a bit of running.
• Do some quiet contemplation in the lap of nature: Nature is our best
teacher. She inspires us to think in new ways. Take a walk and find
yourself some quiet place to do some reflection surrounded by
greenery. Your imagination will be fueled and you will find your
creativity renewed. Ideas come more easily when we are in a relaxed
and soothing environment.
• Take a short nap: Your subconscious mind throws up great associations
and images in the semi-waking state. Indulge in a session of shut-eye
sitting on your desk, and time your nap to not more than fifteen
minutes. As you drift between sleep and waking up, your subconscious
mind is active and ideas come up naturally.
• Search for Inspiration: Walk around your workplace, talk to people
involved in the situation or handling the problem to identify needs
and solution specific to the problem. This will challenge your
assumptions, give you a clear picture, and put you on the right track.
• Write down stray bits of information and insights from a particular
problem. Later you can organize and categorize these to form a rough
idea.“Problems are hidden opportunities, and constraints can actually
boost creativity.”
• Brainstorm, explore the limits of the situation, ask trick questions,
play devil’s advocate, and generate new ideas
 Creativity Tools
• #1. Attribute Listing
• Here you break down a problem into smaller bits and see what you
discover. The first step is to list attributes, as many as you can, of a
particular object, for example, a toothbrush. The second step is to
consider both positive and negative values of each attribute of the
object, for example, angles, bristles, the shape of the toothbrush.
Finally, you seek to modify the attributes in some way, like changing
the negative attributes. This creativity tools technique is helpful in the
design of new models.
2. Assumption Challenging
• This creativity tips & technique attempts to create new perspectives
in looking at things. It follows a three-step process: Take a critical
component of your problem, write down the assumptions around it,
and challenge these by saying “What if……was not there”, then
answer this question from a fresh perspective.
• #3. Biomimicry
• This is a creativity tools technique where you copy nature’s ideas and
designs to solve human problems. Here nature is treated as a solution
provider. This creativity tips & technique can be used in solving
engineering problems, the logic being that biological organisms and
their organs have evolved over years, and are therefore dependable.
• #4. Classical Brainstorming
• This is a group creativity tools technique. You and some four other
coworkers sit down and ideate on an issue. Write down the problem
on a flipchart or board and make sure everyone understands the
problem. Ask each member to put forth their ideas, the more the
better. A facilitator writes down the ideas. There is no censure or
evaluation of ideas, just generation. After the ideas have been written
down, seek a consensus on what ideas can be considered further.
#5. Osborn Checklist

• It is used to develop new solutions from existing ideas. You have to apply the
following questions to the solution:

• Adopt?
• Modify?
• Substitute?
• Magnify/ Minimize?
• Rearrange?
• Combine?
• Any other use?
• 6. Personal Analogy
• This creativity tools technique involves personifying animate or
inanimate objects or identifying with concepts or objects. You take a
concept and personify it giving it human emotions and feelings. Then
you communicate the personification and emotions and relationships
through role-playing or pictures. The next step is to make connections
between the analog and the subject. And finally, write down insights
gained.
• #7. Wishing
• Wishing is a method of generating radical ideas, of thinking outside
the box. You expand your thinking beyond the logical and the feasible.
You can be your creative best in wishing for things. The first step is to
offer ideas as “I wish”, and then offer ideas as “Wouldn’t it be nice if”.

• After you have collected ideas, now is the time to analyze and
converge these
• #8. Enhancement Checklist
• This checklist is meant to analyze the idea and get it ready for
implementation. The steps involve shaping, tailoring, modifying,
strengthening, analyzing possible defects, comparing with current
situation, and finally getting the prototype ready
9. Six Thinking Hats
• It is a creativity tools technique you can use when you need different
types of thinking. It can be used for exploring ideas to decide which
one to take forward. Six imaginary hats coloured black, white, green,
red, yellow and blue, denote several characteristics. The group doing
this exercise is first explained the meaning of each colour. Then they
proceed to analyze ideas, by mentioning the hat with which they are
analyzing. So factors like cost, control, benefits, obstacles, logic,
feasibility etc. are considered in evaluation.