Creative people are inventors. They invent problems and they invent solutions. All people are creative to various extents. It’s just that some people act on their ideas and others ignore them. Creativity is an important characteristic to foster. Fostering creative thinking means you will be more likely to seek out opportunities, see problems and come up with new ideas and solutions.
Creativity is the ability to see familiar things in a new light
Creativity is a cognitive process that produces new ideas or transforms old ideas into updated concepts.It involves reflection, consideration, thinking, and mentally reviewing.
So what is the process of creativity?
Step 1. What is your problem?
Often, finding the right problem to solve is the most difficult part of the creative process. When problems exist, you have opportunities for change and improvement.
Every creative journey begins with a problem
Step 2. Define your problem
Well-defined problems lead to breakthrough solutions. How is it going to help? What will it do? How will it do it? This can include clarification of challenges, goals and opportunities. Keep in mind that big problems are normally made up of many smaller ones. Set up criteria for verifying the solution’s acceptability.
The key is to define the box in any given situation and then to seek an alternative
Step 3. Let your thoughts brew
Now you step back from the problem and let your mind contemplate and work it through. It’s at this phase that your conscious and subconscious mind are working on the idea, making new connections, separating unnecessary ideas, and grabbing for other ideas.
Avoid phrases such as “That won’t work,” “I haven’t done it that way before,” “I can’t solve this problem,” “I don’t have enough time
Step 4. The A-Ha moment
Ideas often come when you are least expecting it. You have a moment of illumination on how to piece your thoughts together in a manner that makes sense.
Never dismiss of a potential solution before you have thoroughly thought it through
Step 5. Evaluate what you have come up with
You now evaluate whether your insights are worth the pursuit and decide how well the solutions achieve the goal. This stage requires self-criticism and reflection. In the world of work and business much of the assessment of creative ideas concerns applicability, usability, practicality, and cost of implementation.
Look for loopholes and push boundaries
Step 6. Refine the possibilities
At this stage, you make changes to your solutions so it is clearer. You work to improve your solutions by making subtle or fine variations.
Creativity is primarily an ability to challenge the status quo and come up with new and better solutions
Step 7. Implementation your solution
Make a decision, take action and start building something. Acting on your solution is the best way to continue to learn and grow into the future.
The first step to being more creative in your business is to train yourself to look for opportunities to improve the systems and processes around you. Give yourself the time and the space to be imaginative and creative. Constantly question yourself and your working practices. An example of this would be “I need more clients”. This is the problem, but to start generating a solution you need to ask questions to direct your thinking. An example would be: “Who do I know that could introduce me to potential new clients?”