Learning2Think Creatively

Can we learn to think creatively using a deck of cards?

Creative Thinking in Practice

Tools for Creative Thinking

Internet is a great source to access required information. Try the following links to expand your power of creative thinking.


Creative Thinking Techniques

Integrative & Creative Thinking

Critical Thinking on the Web

Exploratree is a free web resource where you can access a library of ready-made interactive thinking guides, print them, edit them or make your own. You can share them and work on them in groups too.

The Exploratree web resource has been developed by Futurelab and emerged out of our work on the Enquiring Minds project. It provides a series of ready-made interactive 'thinking guides' or 'frameworks' which can support students' projects and research. Thinking guides support the thinking or working through of an issue, topic or question and help to shape, define and focus an idea and also support the planning required to investigate it further.
Exploratree

Military Transformation & the Process of Innovation

Best web Sites on Creativity

You no longer to search for sites on innovation and creativity. just try the following link

http://www.creax.net/

John
www.creativityasia.com

Creativity: The New Landscape of Business

C. K. Prahalad on Innovation, Part 1
The new landscape of business

Management expert C. K. Prahalad discusses the new landscape of innovation, in which companies must learn to co-create with their consumers, making use of a global ecosystem of resources

Creativity: Putting products to Work

While everyone is interested in Creativity, the main question how can I put that to work. The video from Busineesweek featuring Clayton Christensen on innovation provide some interesting answer.

Innovative Companies

What is the best way to learn to be innovative? Learn from others. The article from Businessweek should help you.

The World's Most Innovative Companies

Wireless Energy

In the past, people like Nikola Telsa did attempt to beam electricity around wirelessly. That attempt that started during the late 19th century came to an end when funding ran out for his research. When the world was willing to live with wired network of electricity, the reason for developing wireless network to transmit electricity took a back seat.

Recently Marin Soljačić, from MIT, was dragged out of bed by the insistent beeping of a cell phone. "This one didn't want to stop until you plugged it in for charging," says Soljačić. In his exhausted state, he wished the phone would just begin charging itself as soon as it was brought into the house.

That problem triggered the journey for wireless transmission. Watch the video


Wireless Energy

Airbus A380 Part 1

The Story of Airbus A380

Fosbury Flop - Do the Opposite of what is expected

Cultivating Innovation in the workplace

How can we go about cultivating innovation in our workplace? Get some inspiration and new ideas from the articles at:

Cultivating Workplace Innovation - Lessons from Google

Finding Opportunities for Innovation

Building Innovation Culture

What Innovation Is?

What's Wrong With the Traditional Thinking?

Learning to think rationally is critical but there are limitations with such thinking when we continue to depend on it when managing all our situation.However, once we recognise how to manage the process to our advantage you are in a winning position. Read the document below written by:Matthew E. May: Mind of the Innovator: Taming the Traps of Traditional Thinking


Mind of the Innovator

Managing Innovation

Diann Daniel who writes and edits CIO.com, argues that innovation requires a lot of planning and hard work. Her article titled 'Five steps to Managing Innovation' provide some interesting insight on how to manage innovation.


Five Steps to managing Innovation

Creativity & Innovation Video Clips

Creativity is about thinking new ideas for your products, services or process. Innovation is about making those ideas adding value to your business. Get a dose of creativity and innovation from the following link:


Creativity and Innovation

Creativity & Innovation Video Clips

Intersting video clips from UCTV. You will find useful.


Innovation & Creativity


Video clips on creativity and innovation from Standford

Creativity

Expanding the Innovation Horizon - IBM's The Global CEO Study 2006 report

According to the IBM Global CEO study 2006 is an document every manager should read. The document based on the study by IBM with Economist Intelligence Unit is based on interviews with 765 Chief Executives from around the world. The report offers a number of suggestions, including the following considerations that can help the business organizations to become more effective when embracing innovation:

• 'Think broadly, act personally and manage the innovation mix'.
• 'Make your business model deeply different'.
• 'Ignite innovation through business and technology integration'
• 'Defy collaboration limits'
• 'Force an outside look ... every time'.

In the past innovation was recognized as a critical strategy for developing products, services & new markets, as well as innovation that enhances operational efficiency. The Report citing the findings highlight the importance of business model innovation. Successful business corporations pay attention to all three areas of innovation . Business model, Operation and products/services & markets.

Anyone who is serious about incorporating innovation as a corporate strategy, must recognize the need to introduce systems in place that will encourage collaboration. The collaboration does not stop with team structure, an element of the new organisation design but extends to other critical stakeholders - customers and busines partners as well. The IBM report cites the customers and business partners as the main source for innovative ideas.

The changes in the organizational structure and establishing new strategic partnership are the two major areas of innovation under the business model of innovation. Why should anyone be interested in adopting business model of innovation? According to the report, the innovators of the business model enjoy a number of benefits, including cost reduction and strategic flexibility.

The operational innovations were generally aimed at making the business operations more responsive to ever customers. Operations that are slow, costly and that are no longer relevant are dumped. Successful operational innovators use IT and technology for optimum performance efficiency. The repost cites a number of successful corporate examples.

The life span of products and services are getting shorter. This would mean, organizations are under pressure to continue to innovative their products and services.

Anyone who want to survive, grow and continue to thrive in the global business environment should read the IBM report.

Expanding the Innovation Horizon

Happy reading.

John

Arul John Peter, co-owner of Centre for Creative Thinking, a training agency based in Singapore (www.creativityasia.com), facilitates training workshops on creativity and related soft skills for clients in Asia and Middle East. As a Trainer, John facilitates management seminars and workshops in the areas of Creative Thinking, Supervisory Skills for new managers, EQ Skills for Team Leaders, Customer Service Excellence, Managing Difficult Customers, Communication Skills, Change Management, Personal Development Workshops, and Public Speaking Skills. He holds an MBA and majored in strategic human resource management. He is a member of the American Creativity Association.

Creative Thinking - A Powerful Tool To Sustain Organisational Success

Since the publication of Thomas Friedman’s book ‘The World Is flat’ with accounts of the major changes that are happening at present, there is a renewed interest among business organizations about gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. Rapid changes in the IT, technology and communication put pressure on business firms to respond more promptly to the challenges. Managers and employees at all levels need to respond effectively to the threats and opportunities. It is the ability to think creatively on the part of the employees that is going to make all the difference.


To cope with the challenges created by the ‘World is Flat’ phenomenon, managers and employees need to become innovative in their thinking when seeking possible solutions to problems. There are several barriers we need to overcome when traveling on the road to success. The barriers relating to systems and people can be managed successfully only when we are prepared to tackle them through creative approaches. In the past we believed that knowledge is power. In the present flat world, it is the ability to imagine and seek creative and innovative solutions using the knowledge is the power. That is the way to sustain business success.


Organisations that are serious about becoming and sustaining their competitive advantage must be prepared to train and develop their employees to think creatively so that they can work on innovating the process, system, product and practices. Managers must incorporate the creative problem solving approach as part of their decision making process.


Creative thinking enables business organizations to think and merge information, existing ideas and practices into new ideas. Only then business firms can move on to convert the ideas into practical product or services. Creating the right work environment requires lot of effort and planning on the part of managers. Creative thinking is the powerful tool to garner and sustain your competitive advantage.

Creativity Test

We believe that we are creative. Is it possible to measure one's creativity? Despite the controversy, a number of tools are available to emasure your creativity. The follwoing site provides a FREE tool to measure your creativity.

Try it.

http://www.creax.com/csa/

After obtaining your score, please share your thoughts in this blog. We look forward to your comments.

If you want a more comprehensive along with suggestions on how to manage more creatively (and willing to spend US$70.00) then send an email to: info@creativityasia.com with your contact details. Request for a sample report (FREE) to find out more about the assessment. The US$ 70.00 assessment is offered FREE for in-house Creativity & Innovation workshop. For details email info@creativityasia.com


Enjoy the assessment.

Make Way For New Ideas

You are creative by nature. To bring out the creativity to the open you need to make an effort. Unless we learn how to take advantage of our creativity that lies within us, we will not be able to generate innovative ideas at our work.

We should be prepared to put the logical thinking on a hold, to take full advantage of our creative potential. To be creative also requires a different mindset. It is not necesary to be always be serious when seeking solutions. That is how we make way for new ideas.

Arul John
www.creativityasia.com