Creative Approaches to Problem Solving - SAGE …

1 1111 CreativeApproaches toProblem Solvi ng1 Whether it is conside red fro m the viewpo int of its effec t on society, or as one ofthe expressions of the human spiri t, creativity stands out as an activ ity to bestudi ed , c he rishe d, and cultivated. Silvano Arie tiThe purpose of this chapter is to descr ibe what we mean by creati ve Approaches to prob-lem Solving . As a resu lt of reading this chapter, you will be able to do t he f the four basic elements of the system for understanding in w hat the terms creativity, Problem Solving , an d Creative Problem solvingmea n a nd their implications for m anaging how creativity and Problem s olving rel ate to making change person who f oll ows the crowd will u sua lly get no further than the pe rs on who walks alone i s likely to discover plac es n o on e has ever beenbefor in living is not without its attendant difficu lties.

2 Fo r peculiaritybreeds contemp t. And the unfortunate thing abou t being ahead of your timeis th at when people finally realize you were right, they ll say it was obviousall have two choices in lif e: You can di ssolve into the mainstream, or you canbe di stinct . To be d istinct, you mu st be different. To be different, y ou mu st bewhat no one else but you can be.. AnonymousThe purpose of this chapter is to prepar e yo u for using the inf ormation in this bookto help y ou make decisions, solve prob lems, an d u se y ou r creativity to change yourworld in the direction of your greatest aspirations.

3 Let s examine the core conceptsbehind Creati ve App roach es to Pr oblem Solv ing: A Framework for Innov ation and of our intentions in writing this book is to explore with you a creativitymethod you can use to productively and proactive ly manage change and produceinnovation. However, one of o ur assumptions is that you already have exp eri ence withmanaging change. Therefore, let s start with you and your own thoughts about t hemain concepts in this Creative Approaches TO Problem SOLVINGA ctivity Creativity and Problem SolvingTake a minute and write down a few of your first impressions when you see or hear theword write down a few of the first impressions when you see or hear the words purpose of Activity is to help set the stage for understanding what wemean by Creative appro aches to Problem Solving .

4 It asks you to identify and list yourperceptions of the key words in our book title. Take a minute to complete the activit ybefore continuing to read the do you notice about the two list s you created? When we do this e xercise inour trai ning courses and workshops, we get plenty of diff erent responses for eachword. However, we also find strong themes i n people s responses, even when weinvolve people f rom several different cultures. Let s examine how people haveresponded to the activit y and u se these responses to exa mine each Is Creativity?Creativity is a distinguishing char acteristic of human exc ellence in ev ery areaof behavi or.

5 E. P aul TorranceMost people can readil y come up with i nf ormal defi nitions of creativi ty. Theyoften a ssociate creativity with words such as new, unus ua l, ideas , out of the ordinary,imagination, unique, exciting, wacky, open, fuzzy,or somet hing rad ica lly d ifferen t. It iscommon for them to relate c reativit y to the arts: composing or performing plays,making great sculpture, the paintin gs of the masters, writing great litera ture, compos-ing and performing music, and the like. It s a word that often has a great deal of posi-tive power and e ne rgy associated with i t, within and across the other hand, it is unusual for people to assoc ia te creativi ty with words suchas usefulness, value, and purposeful.

6 When we probe fu rther, we find that some peop leoften per ceive cr eativity as something not very worthwhile, and in some cases, even assomething q uite negative. We have iden tifi ed three principal myths people hold aboutcreativity. We call them th e myths of mystery, magic, and people believe that creativity is something so mysterious it cannot be stud-ied productively. They believe creativ ity comes from an external source over which theindividual has no contro l. This becomes a Problem whe n it inhibits or inte rf ere s withthe ir desire or abil ity to make sense of their own creativity and how they might use people b el ie ve that creativity is something that is magic al, which only a fewgifted people reall y have.

7 This suggests that creat ivi ty is a trick that certain peopleknow and if you talk ab out how the trick is done you will take away the ma gi c. If youhold this belief, you separate people into two groups: those who have it and those whodo not. This myth also discourages people from discussing how they use their creativ -ity or how they can nurture it in third common myth is that creativity is linked with madness. In other words, tobe Creative , you must be weird, strange, or a bnormal. This suggests that creativity isunhealthy behavior, w hich should be avoided (F igure ).In the face of so many co mmon myths and misconceptions, it is a wonder that cre-ativity has been studied seriously at all.

8 Ho wever, there is an alternative set of assump-tions and belief s that allow us to be more productive in learning about and developingcreativity. Creativity is natural (present in everyone), healthy, enjoyable, import ant,and complex but creativity is a complex and challe ngi ng concept, with no universallyacce pt ed definition, it is understandable. For more than 50 years, people have beenstudying, read ing and writing about, theorizing about, and researching c theorie s have been devel oped to help us understand and organize the complexnature of creativity. Many research stud ie s have established a body of evidence to g uideus in understanding , recognizing, and n urturing creativit and Hausman (1976) support the importance of studying creativi stated,Th e investigation of creat iv ity is at the forefront of contemporar y inquiry because it poten-tially sheds light on crucial areas in the specific fields of behavioral science and philosophyan d, m ore deeply, because it concerns an issue related to our survival.

9 Our understandingan d improvement of ourselves and the world at a time when conventional means of under -standing and betterment seem outmoded and ineffect ive. (p. 5)Creativity is a natural part of b ein g human. It is not res erved for those peoplewith some sort of special gift. This suggests that creativity exists in all people Creative Approaches to Problem Solving 3(at different levels and various styles). The challenge arises from learning how tounderstand and use the creativity you have. This belief is fu ndamenta l f or thosewho are interested in identifying what creativity is and unders tanding ho w it can and using cre at ivity can release tensi on and help people lead health yand more productive lives.

10 Much of the popular c reativity literature tends to focuson those stories of unusual art ist s o r scientists who were highly cre ative and knownfor rather exotic or strang e behavior. We often overlook c reative individuals wholead normal lives. It can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that people needto display unusual behaviors in order to be Creative . In the research conducted o ncreativity, there is no evide nce to suggest th at in order to be crea ti ve one must besi ck , abnormal, or unhealthy. To the c ontrary, there is some evid ence to suggest th at learning how to under stand and use crea ti vity can be mentally and physicallyhe Creative Approaches TO Problem SOLVINGF igure Common Perception of C reativitySOURCE:Copyright 20 09.