How to Be a More Effective Creative

The Innovation Engine & the conditions for effective creativity

• Considerable academic consensus exists around the conditions required within an organisation for creativity to flourish. ‘How to be a more effective creative’ takes the Innovation Engine model created by Dr Tina Seelig at Stanford University as its point of reference.
• At the outset of the session course attendees will be introduced to the theory of the Innovation Engine, the principles behind it and the 6 core conditions which underpin it.

Knowledge

• Understanding the language of creativity
• Exercise: agreeing a common definition for creativity
• Exercise: sharing and discussing favourite work and ideas
• The difference between ideas and execution
• What is effectiveness?
• Exercise: agreeing a common definition for effective creative work

Imagination

• The timeless technique for producing ideas
• Discussion: the value of creative partnerships
• The importance of diverse teams
• Miles Davis and radical collaboration
• Diversity and innovation: 6 behaviours that unlock new thinking
• Whole brain thinking - the latest thinking on how we think
• Some practical initiatives to fuel effective creativity
• Extended exercise: mini brief

Attitude

• Discussion: why have you chosen this career?
• Exercise: articulating and reflecting on your ambition
• Discussion: sharing experiences of doing something out of the ordinary
• Discussion: exploring fear and how to put it into perspective
• Exercise: sharing and discussing examples of brave creative
• Extended exercise: identifying the rules of an industry sector and how its rules and tropes might be broken
• Inspiring and influencing colleagues

Resources

• Your greatest resource: the value of creative time
• Discussion: how is creative time valued in your company and how would you want to change this?
• Insight - where it comes from and how you can play a part

Environment

• Discussion: how is your environment geared towards creativity and what could you do to change or influence it?

Culture

• Leadership and trust: how is creativity supported within organisations
• Margaret Heffernan and the principle of social capital
• Discussion: how does your company culture foster creativity and how can you influence this?

Action plan: how to be a more effective creative

• Attendees will spend the last section of the day writing a tangible and practical action plan they can take back into their work place to guide their day to day thinking and interactions.

Please note: this course will involve some practical pre-work to bring to the session:

• I love this: bring a piece of creative work that you love. It could be yours or someone else’s.
• Wow that’s brave: bring a piece of creative work that demonstrates bravery or might have scared everyone to death.
• Out of the ordinary: before attending the course actively do something you’ve never done before. It doesn’t have to be sky-diving or shaving your head, but it could be watching a TV series or film that’s the complete opposite of your normal choice; visiting a venue or event you’d never normally go to; engage an individual or group in conversation that you’d never normally meet. Come prepared to share what you’ve learnt.