The most effective and useful creativity tools available

What are the most effective and useful creativity tools available?

There is a lot written about creativity. What is it? How can we develop it? Can it be measured and managed? An increasing amount of discussion in the business community is directed towards the topic of creativity. Creativity is a process, albeit a mental one and therefore mostly invisible. My question is therefore what are the most effective and useful creativity tools available?

Here’s a selection of the possible answers:

Jethro Murphy: Owner, DOOmore.com

I think there is a little confusion around this notion of creativity. Creativity is usually used in the same breath as ‘innovation’; both terms are almost cliche at this stage but they do have business benefits if they are understood and used in the right way.

To do a little demystifying first: Our definition of innovation is ‘using creativity to add value’. This naturally begs the question ‘great, so what’s creativity?’. A definition we use is that creativity is the art of turning ideas into reality. Combining the two gives us a definition of innovation as ‘the art of turning ideas into reality to add value’. Here’s an example of what we mean:

Sean the Sculptor, Mary the Musician, and Ivan the Inventor all have creativity in common. If they did not, they would simply be Sean, Mary and Ivan. Before Sean, Mary and Ivan became a sculptor, musician and inventor, it is possible that one day in their past they were on the dole, sitting in a pub somewhere talking about their great ideas and ambitions. With each passing drink, they got more imaginative, but they would never have become the Sculptor, Musician or Inventor if they did not act on their ideas, and that is the difference between being imaginative vs creative. Companies are no different. A further question that arises in our definition of innovation is that of ‘value’. Value, like beauty, lies in the eye (or ear) of the beholder, as Sean, Mary and Ivan would know all too well. Sean’s sculptures would not appeal to everyone, and what one person finds inspirational another may find ordinary and un-remarkable. It is important then for you to know as an organisation what your ‘value’ is, who it is for, how and when it is added, by whom and how often.

Finding imaginative ways of creating and adding value to your products and services is one thing, making them happen is truly creative. Ideas are the starting point. Look and find them all around you. Open your eyes and your minds. Then decide on the right ones to make a reality to add value to your business…

Hamish Taylor: Strategy Consultant & Coach @ www.shinergise.com

Have a look at the Visual Explorer and Leadership Metaphor Explorer tools of CCL – invented by David Magellan Horth and Chuck Palus, they are extremely effective creative exploration tools.

I like to think of them as mental can-openers, in fact they can open some of the most tightly closed minds to new perspectives!

http://www.cclve.blogspot.com

Beth Robinson: Product Development Chemist

You might want to check out Chuck Frey’s new ebook – Creativity Hacks. The bonuses include an evaluation of ten popular tools. You might also like his website – Innovation Tools.

I can’t give a personal opinion because I primarily use observation and reading combined with pen and paper and haven’t tested outside tools.

Rip Stauffer: Owner, Woodside Quality Solutions; Professor, Walden University

I strongly agree that an open mind is essential. When it comes to tools, the best stuff I’ve found are the tools in the work of Edward DeBono. It’s all based on great cognitive science, and the tools are reasonably easy to facilitate, and they work! Pick up copies of Lateral Thinking and Serious Creativity, by DeBono. I think you’ll like them.

Bruce Baron: Senior Marketing Leader and Strategy Consultant

Most effective and creative tools?

1. A group of people in a real room
2. Information and data available as to what is the issue we need to solve
3. Time to solve it
4. A whiteboard to sound out thoughts
5. People free to speak thie mind

Trevor Lobel: Seasoned project manager specialising in change management, software implementations and NGOs. Liquidplanner addict

The most powerful. effective, useful and not coincidentally cheapest tool is an open mind. Having an open mind also means listening to everyone, up, down and sideways in your organisation and amongst your customers.

Bogdan Borza [LION]: Technical Sales Manager/Senior Consultant at Edata

Mind Manager. And, of course, Prezi.

Duncan Hart LLB MBA (Australia): Owner/Lawyer, Duncan Hart Consulting and Legal Services Consultant

I have Mind Manager and PersonalBrain – the latter is the most useful

Paul Slater: Consultant and coach specializing in strategy development, complex programmes and projects and change management.

Creativity means something different to each and every one of us. What one person sees someone else doing as being really creative that person may well think is pretty normal. In terms of tools, I think an enquiring mind and nothing more complicated than pens and paper – coloured pens if you wish!

Dean Stevens: Pragmatic Lean Business Process Engineer

Collaborative 5-why to guide the thinking. Then use many of the tools mentioned to organize to results.

FRANK FEATHER: CEO NorthStar — Strategic Futurist ex-Banker = “A Future You Can Bank On!” — Keynote Speaker

There is no better creativity tool or software than the human mind itself. Einstein didn’t have any other tools.

Joy Montgomery: Building your business system so you can build your business.

Ears!

Judy B. Margolis, MA: Marketing Communications, B2B Specialist, Business Writer and Editor

Creativity is innate and cannot be forged with tools. Intellectual challenges inspire those so inclined to tap into their creative syanpses.

Hisham Sabry: Lean Six Sigma MBB at HSBC, EKFC CEO,ITIL, ISO20K,Innovation Award,15 M U$ savings. Six Sigma Book Author,PMP

Only two tools my friend

1. TRIZ
2. HIT

José Amancio: Controller – Sarbanes Oxley (SOX), International experience (USA, UK)

The best tool to improve the creativity is the old and good (Get things done!) in other words when you asign responsability and empowerment to people to find and implement solutions on the day by day routine or over some specific problem you will see that everyone will became more creative. And also you will need to have a formal process to evaluate, approve and give a reward for the good ideas and a feedback for the ideas that was not used.

Sergei Dovgodko

Read “Thinkertoys” by M. Michalko

Related articles

• Learning Creativity (slideshare.net)
• Live stream of the baloney-slicing of the brain of famous amnesiac “H.M.” (boingboing.net)
• 7 Japanese aesthetic principles to change your thinking (presentationzen.com)
• Paul Williams: Compartmentalize: Brainstorm Like a School Lunch Tray (mpdailyfix.com)
• A Brain Shaped By God (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)
• Evidence Points to Conscious ‘Self-Reflection’ in Some Animals (usnews.com)
• Forgotten Memories Are Still in Your Brain (wired.com)

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By robthompson on December 14th, 2009 at 8:45 am

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