Creativity, Innovation, and the Importance of Spontaneity

Spontaneity occurs when ideas or behaviours are expressed without evaluation. This lack of evaluation is the key to good idea generation. Some of the links include:

a) Large, quality idea pools are built up through a separation of creative thinking from critical thinking. If the people who wrote Red Riding Hood had realised the number of interpretations it has undergone and the various meanings attributed to the story, they may never have written it.

b) Creativity can be defined as the generation of a large number of ideas and a large number of novel and diverse ideas. Spontaneity, with its lack of evaluation, increases the number of ideas and the number of novel and diverse ideas.

c) A lack of evaluation reduces evaluation anxiety, removing blocks and increasing idea numbers and the number of novel and diverse ideas. If people are worried about being unoriginal then they produce less; if they're worried about failing then they'll produce less; if they accept their first thoughts, ideas will flow. The trick is to ignore content.

d) Spontaneous engagement of novel and diverse behaviours increases the generation of novel and diverse ideas. Spontaneous engagement of novel and diverse behaviours increases the intellectual cross-pollination that is necessary for good idea generation.

e) By not evaluating, participants are less likely to block. They are less likely to say "no" and more likely to say "yes," thus opening up new pathways.

These topics are covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com. You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

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Kal Bishop MBA, is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.