New ways of developing and expanding creativity and human resource
tim: www.peakperformanceforyou.co.uk
What is creativity and why do we need creativity?
Creativity is the source of our success in business. All companies, no
matter how large, were started as a consequence of a creative thought
by its founders. All chief executives or one of their predecessors,
started their company as a result of a creative idea, and the company
growth has continued from subsequent creativity. Company failure may be
due to lack of creativity to solve problems as they arise.
True creative thinking at its best is cognitive thinking. Cognitive
thinking is when you have a thought or an idea that seems to have come
from nowhere. In reality these thoughts do come form somewhere but
certainly not the every day level of the mind - our intellect. It is
our intellect, which has to validate and assess the value of such
thoughts after they have occurred. Cognitive thought is truly creative
as it generally is 'original thought'. Why do we want original
thoughts - simply because they give our company the edge over rivals
- new ideas, new ways of working, new products i.e. new growth for
the company.
The story of Henry Ford having this inspiration to make car transport
easily affordable is legendary. The creative spark made Bill Gates tell
IBM he could develop their data operating systems. Having made that
claim to IBM Gates had to use his intellect to develop how he was going
to achieve this outcome. This became MSDOS and resulted in the
formation of Microsoft, and all that has followed for that iconic
company.
There are very many other famous examples of such history changing
thoughts in all fields of life, all over the world. (If you have your
personal favourite - please send it to me at my contact details
below).
Many inventions developed in this manner. Edison had the concept of an
electric light even though initially he did not know how to achieve his
goal. Some authorities say Edison took over 1000 attempts before
achieving success, developing the light bulb. One of the greatest minds
in history - Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity from
a 'creative insight, a creative flash' then having to spend along
time using his intellect to work out the mathematics of his insight.
What was Einstein
doing when he had his creative flash, his insight that changed modern
science... looking into the flames of a fire!
If you wish to keep your company 'cutting edge', to keep new and
alternative solutions to problems, then you need to continue to develop
creative thinking - expanding your creative consciousness.
.
What is the source of creativity?
As explained above, our creative thinking is not an intellectual
process, but a process, which is later, validated and developed by the
intellect. Where is the source of our creativity? In the diagram we
can see activity at the top. The wavy line is the interface of our
thoughts and actions. All actions are based on a previous thought. We
think, then we do (to a greater or lesser extent). However we also know
from our own experience, that the quality of our actions results form
the quality of our thinking.
The surface values of the mind are intellectual thoughts, for most of
us in the West - our workday thinking.
Deeper to the intellect is the field of concepts. Here the thinking is
less precise but broader in depth. The higher you are in management,
the more you also have to access conceptualisation in your working
mind, as your role in the organisation requires a greater overview
along with specifics. This is more the level of ideas and feelings.
Deeper still is what I call the level of creativity and innovation -
original thought or cognition. Mental activity at this level is very
profound and original. This is the level at which Einstein came up with
E=MC2 (but at the level of inspiration not mathematical
intellectualisation). Activity at this level includes a sense of
'knowingness'. "I know I an going to ..." or "I know I must
develop..." or "I know this to be true but now I have to find a way
to prove it." etc. etc. - The person is left with an assuredness and
lack of doubt about the experience. There may be some intellectual
enquiry as to how to achieve the innovative thought (Edison took 1000
attempts). However he persisted because he was driven but a sense of
knowing he was on the right track to something great.
- This is the level of the mind at which the board of directors in a
company need to access, in addition to the higher levels of the mind.
At the base of the diagram is stillness. This is the level from which
thoughts arise into cognition. Whilst almost absentmindedly gazing
into the flames of his fire, Einstein 'let go' of his intellect and
let his mind 'drifted off' into the deeper levels of innovative
thought. This suddenly resulted in his 'eureka experience',
changing the world understanding of physics.
In the diagram, the 'bubbles' arising out of stillness represent
the development of a thought through the various levels before bursting
out into activity. The innovative /original thought - (small bubble)
rises and expands to the light bulb being manufactured (large bubble
breaking through into action), to use the Edison analogy once more. The
bubbles could represent the stages of development in the mind of the
person with regard to his/her creative thinking.
In the business environment careful assessment of all processes as to
how to achieve the goal is very necessary, - the practicalities still
have to be worked out! However it can be clearly seen from the above
examples that a lack of creative thought by personnel in a company will
lead to stagnation of that company and possibly lead to its future
demise.
What blocks creativity?
Overload, stress and tension lead to blocks of creativity, although
they may be a stimulus for the need for creativity!
If a company is under major stress - financial crisis, complete
overhaul, aggressive competition/ takeover etc. etc. then the directors
will be under significant pressure to protect their company - that is
their primary function. This pressure will stimulate action by the
board and they will be expected to come up with solutions to the crisis
- they will be expected to develop creative thinking and create new
ways of operating to remedy the situation.
Stimulation is not the same as stress! If the pressures become
excessive for any individual then that persons ability to access deeper
levels of the mind become blocked. Conceptualisation becomes more
difficult and cognitive/deep creative thinking, is not available to
his/her awareness. At this point the individual may start to develop
some anxiety, as they become aware that the very levels of the mind,
which will solve their problem, are no longer accessible. This is also
the point at which colleagues may notice a lack of previous ability.
These factors further increase the stress to the individual - it
becomes a vicious cycle. If the situation is not a sudden acute crisis
but a long term one, health issues may arise to the person/persons
concerned. Any health issue naturally would further interfere with
effective function at work.
How to develop creativity?
Unlike Einstein most of us do not have access to a live flame fire to
gaze into! In order to access the deeper levels of thinking it is
necessary to bypass the intellect. Maybe Einstein was very tired after
burning the 'midnight oil' on his mathematics allowing himself to
mentally drift - who knows? However there are ways to access this
level of the mind, in a structured way, which can be taught. Many
eastern systems of philosophy claim to do this. However for many of us,
the idea of meditation is not business like, and for some not in
harmony with their religious ethos. (This article is not for enquiring
into individual beliefs and ethics so I will not pursue this avenue).
Having a background in body medicine (osteopathy) I realised that using
body physiology awareness techniques, it can be possible to
circumnavigate the intellect and allow the mind to arrive at the level
of cognitive/ original thought. This process is both powerful and
effective on both the levels of mind and body. For the mind it develops
and expands our ability to function at the most profound levels, and on
the level of the body it can reduce and remove stress and tension
promoting healing and better health. This is a 'win/ win situation'
a 'beneficial circle' not a 'vicious circle'. Creativity
increases and stress/ tension is reduced - which further increases
creativity etc. etc.
In the space of a short article it is not possible to describe the
exact details of the process, which I call creative dynamics. This also
needs guidance for its best implementation and effectiveness.
However on a lesser level of effectiveness one tip is to:
- Take some full body stretches followed by 3-4 deep breaths, allowing
the mind to 'let go' of the previous train of thought (very
important). Let the mind wander for a few moments and see where it
settles. DO NOT FOCUS NOR INTELLECTUALISE DURING THIS PROCESS! Allow
the mind to find its own level. Do not rush this stage.
- Note any differences in your thinking and see if any creative
thoughts arise.
If you wish to find out more regarding the more profound creative
dynamics approach to developing and enhancing your creativity and
stress management please contact me via the web site:
www.peakperformanceforyou.co.uk then follow the links to executive and
management training.
Timothy Marris DO MSCC