Do your peers see you as a SuperCreatir?

This  Creativity Tool turns ideas  from Weird to Workable!

The Creatir is a tool that can help anyone to ‘think-out-of-the-box’ and create unique solutions
and business opportunities. Creativity (and the ability to find innovative solutions) is fast becoming the most sought after ‘skill’ in the world.

The SuperCreatir Template

By using The Creatir tool, you can facilitate a group, or do it on your own. You can use it to find a solution to a problem, create a unique business opportunity, or invent a new product. It is much more fun working in a group, especially if you have a group of very diverse thinkers. Why ‘diverse thinkers?’ Well, because you want as many ideas as possible, AND IN PARTICULAR, you want as many different ideas as possible. Using a diverse thinking team will give you a wider variety of choices.

For the purpose of the following practical exercise, we assume you have a group helping you. The example in grayscale will continue throughout. This will enable you to observe the progressive development of the process as a whole. You only need to replicate it for yourself.  Then, continue with the following.

Complete the following exercises of “The 4 Steps to Create.”

Organizing the Creative Group

You will need a flipchart with lots of flipchart paper and at least 6 flipchart pens. Use black for your writing on the flipchart. You will also need lots of sticky putty. Your room must be big enough for the group, be comfortable, well lit and well ventilated. You will need lots of wall space to ‘stick’ your completed flip chart sheets. Your Creativity Group should have comfortable chairs arranged in a half-moon, directly in front of the flipchart. The facilitator (possibly you) should stand next to the flip chart – ready to record input from the group. There should not be anything between the facilitator and the group. The group will not need any writing materials at all. The Creatir Template should be displayed visibly to the group. (Consider enlarging it to A1 and displaying it on a second flip-chart stand, or on a convenient wall.  Inform the group about the use of The Creatir Tool.

The Tool will take the group through 4 Steps.

In Step 1, Input the ‘problem’, or in this case, the ‘purpose’, or desired business, is selected and reformulated by using 5W & H. Questions about, Why, What, Where, When and How are asked and answered and used to reformulate the original statement.

Then in Step 2, through a series of questions that ‘cause creative tension’; the group generate as many possible solutions/ideas as possible. The facilitator will ask the questions and the group will generate answers in any order or sequence they wish.

Note: An important rule during this, the Divergent Phase, is that no idea will be criticized in any way. Asking a question to gain clarity is OK. The facilitator will record every answer on the flip chart, EXACTLY as given by the participant. The facilitator must encourage inputs from the participants.

The more ideas - the better. Weird is excellent! Completely original is great, and so on. Ensure that no idea is judged, in any way. This process overcomes the natural fear of criticism that normally prevails. Exhaust the inputs. The flipchart sheets, filled with ideas (in sequence), will now align the wall. It is a wall of Possibilities - possible ideas to use.

Then in Step 3, The Convergent Phase, the task is to select the best possible ideas. Here the task is to be critical. The criteria filter will be used to select the most promising ideas. The Criteria filter would include 1. ‘Best fit’ in relation to your Purpose statement, and may include things like; 2 Financial Limitations, or 3 Physical Limitations, or 4. Skill Limitations – whatever limitations exist. (It is very important to test whether these perceived limitations are real!) The group then vote individually for their ‘top’ three possibilities. These three ideas are then combined, turned around, discussed until it is synthesized into a workable idea.

Then, finally in Step 4, the idea is made practical by applying the 5W & H method to provide the basis of a Business (or other) Idea.

Have fun!

BEFORE YOU GO..

Check out this VIDEO for an alternate approach to 'copying' and 'pasting' great talent..including CREATIVITY...Alain Willem - 5 Steps to Greatness based on his book, 'Success DNA'.