Breaking The Rules Intelligently?

There are many definitions of creativity. The most common is associated with the use of imagination to generate original ideas or to generally create something. The definition I like the most argues that creativity is all about breaking the rules, intelligently.

In the context of innovation, creativity is absolutely?necessary for the process - from ideation to finding solutions and implementation. But what does it mean to breaking the rules intelligently...?

Some may argue that any cognitive action is a creation of something (idea/action). Intelligent has nothing to do with how smart one may be considered or how high are the received grades. At the end of the day, and in most cases, learning in education organizations (mainly schools) represents a repetition of old knowledge. One learns the rules of limited, known, and old knowledge.

What about your own genuine knowledge? Obviously, it cannot be reflected in that framework. It seems like the more we grow, the less creative we are. Just think about the world of kids and its unlimited creativity. They can do almost anything they think of, simply because they are in the process of learning the rules. Sure, some of the actions may be dangerous, so they need to learn what to avoid.

As they grow, the motivation to try new things is significantly limited. The ability to engage in divergent thinking is fading. There is no room for creativity as they are measured based on the achieved grade which reflects, as said, the repetition of old, no knowledge. Nothing new or innovative, zero tolerance for what is out of the learned scope.

This is the pattern. These are the rules that need to intelligently be broken to innovate. Indeed, the innovation process is a systematic one and one may argue that it may sound antithetical to creativity. So how it all comes together?

I do believe that creativity is a skill that can be taught and learned. Creative behavior is based on cognitive skills (ideation, problem framing, visualization, solution planning) and emotional skills, and tolerance for risks.

I think that creativity starts with critical thinking which develops a creative mindset. Aligned with a structured process it can generate the required innovative solution. This is the intelligent part that has nothing to do with the education level.

It means that creative thinking?is key for solving a problem or dealing with any challenge. By challenging our own, existing, or known assumptions we actually break the rules (or the virtual "box"). While there will always be constraints to creativity, the unique capacity to think critically and independently allows us to intelligently cope with changing conditions and innovate.