The science of creativity

I'm no copywriter, but I love the idea of it, and have big respect for the artform.

If you're not an innately creative person, can you still train yourself to become one? Is it like learning a skill, or getting fit - brief by brief? I like to think so.

So anyway, here's part 1 an investigation into activiting your own creativity, maximising its productivity, and focusing its output in marketing and business.

Brainstorming / jam sessions

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique used to generate a large quantity of ideas geared towards addressing a specific problem / opportunity.

• Clearly define the problem / opportunity - ensure everyone understands, and segment it into manageable parts if necessary
• Begin with obvious ideas, and move to the extreme - crazy is good
• Crank out as many as you possibly can - quantity is the key
• Combine and improve ideas 
• Keep the discussion lively - use leading questions, say something weird, whatever it takes
• Nothing is wrong - EVERY idea is whiteboarded and accepted

Lateral thinking

Lateral thinking is a creative technique for encouraging reasoning that's not immediately obvious, and ideas that may not be obtainable using traditional step-by-step logic or existing paradigms.

It's about finding a solution to problems through an indirect approach and disrupting the conventional thinking patterns used by the brain.

"Lateral thinking is used for changing concepts and perceptions instead of trying harder with the same concepts and perceptions" - Edward de Bono, leading authority in creative thinking and the teaching of thinking as a skill

Idea generating tools used to aid lateral thinking include:

• Random Entry Idea Generating Tool - Choose an object at random, or a noun from a dictionary, and associate that with the area you are thinking about.
• Provocation Idea Generating Tool - Choose to use any of the provocation techniques - wishful thinking, exaggeration, reversal, escape, or arising. Create a list of provocations and then use the most outlandish ones to move your thinking forward to new ideas.
• Challenge Idea Generating Tool - A tool which is designed to ask the question 'why' - why something exists, why it is done the way it is etc. The result is a very clear understanding of 'why', which naturally leads to fresh ideas.
• Concept Fan Idea Generating Tool - Ideas carry out concepts. This tool systematically expands the range and number of concepts in order to end up with a very broad range of ideas to consider

"The problems of today will not be solved by the same thinking that produced the problems in the first place" - Albert Einstein

Problem reversal

In his book "What a Great Idea", Charles Thompson suggests that a concept or idea is meaningless without its opposite, and that the only way to truly understand is to learn from positives as well as from negatives.

Problem reversal method is based around looking at a problem / opportunity from a radically different point of view, leading to completely new and unexpected solutions. Here's how it's done:

1. Make the statement negative
For example, if you are dealing with customer service issues, list all the ways you could make customer service bad.

2. Do what everybody else doesn't
For example, Apple Computers did what IBM didn't, while Japan made small, fuel-efficient cars.

3. Ask 'what if?'
Make a list of pairs of opposing actions which can be applied to the problem. Ask yourself "what if I ..." and plug in each one of the opposites. E.g. what if I...

• stretch it / shrink It
• freeze it / melt it
• personalise it / de-personalise it 
• build it / destroy it

4. Change the direction or location of your perspective
Physically change your perspective - walk around, do something different, or imagine you're in another country.

5. Flip-flop results
If you want to increase sales, think about decreasing them. What would you have to do?

6. Turn defeat into victory or victory into defeat
If something turns out bad, think about the positive aspects of the situation.

Closing thoughts

Apparently, by the time you're an adult, you've lost most of your capacity to be creative - maybe it gets stamped out of us at school, or maybe we just get scared of being wrong...who knows.

But creativity requires free-thinking, and the confidence to depart from society’s norms and values -  stuff that's not always fitting to the world we live in...

Food for thought - more to come!