Sparking Creativity

I recently posted on LinkedIn about critical thinking and reasoning. I talked about the need to be creative when embarking on inductive reasoning. So what does it mean to be creative?

I define creativity as coming up with a unique solution to a question. The question could be a task, an issue, or a problem. Think about a way to handle an irate customer or an elegant solution to quickly identifying anomalies on sensor data.

Being creative doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are some ways to your path to more.

1) read, listen, watch, & explore—expose yourself to more ideas and concepts. Greater the foundation more to ideas to choose from. Artist study the old (& new) masters. Architects as part of their training expose themselves to 100s of architectural concepts. Software engineers learn about various different algorithms in their formative years. Practice curiosity, be inspired by your broader and reflect. Also, consider picking up a new skill or hobby to keep your creativity fresh.

2) Visualize—putting things on paper and mapping connections is always a good thing. It helps you (literally) look at questions A lot has been written on the correlation of our visual sense and creativity. Use mind maps as a way to capture details and the relationship between topics.?

3) Brainstorm—it is powerful tool to generate ideas in a short period of time. One of my first formal exposure to creative ideation was in college when a friend of mine and I did a brainstorming project through an organizational behavior business class for a Pittsburgh-based business.?

I recently dug up these decades old notes that still hold true. These hold true for brainstorming and sparking creativity. Here are my favorites:

* writing ideas down without interruptions

* collaborate & share ideas with your team—encourage them interact and ask questions,

* capture all idea relevant to the topic,?

* don’t allows for criticism or negative feedback at the initial stages,?

* set a time limit for the sessions and take breaks to recharge,?

* leverage tools like a whiteboards to collaborate,?

* keep a parking lot for topics requiring detailed discussion or somewhat related but not immediately relevant ideas, and?

* explore a change in place to stimulate new perspectives.

We had access to some amazing technology back then through our university like digital whiteboards, remote collaboration (years before there was Zoom and Teams). But mainstream technology has not only caught up but far surpasses what one could have imagined. Zooms whiteboard functionality enables wide spread collaboration. Post-it has an amazing app that I often use when digitize in person sessions.?

4) Dream and let your mind wander—day dreaming is an effective way to expand your idea base. Be curious and question status quo to seek new and unique answers to your questions.

5) experiment and embrace failure—we had a strong philosophy of failing fast and pivoting at one of the companies I worked at. It encouraged me to experiment and embrace failure.?

Remember, creativity is a muscle that can be developed with practice and patience. Take the time for creative pursuits and explore what works best for you! Share your own best practices for sparking creativity.