Innovation and Creativity
So here is the deal...Innovation and creativity go hand in hand and the stimulation of creativity is becoming an area of focus in the mainstream think tanks. (I know, I sound like a broken Mp3). For the latest on this, please go to your latest issue of Harvard Business Review (October 2008 issue). If you don't have it, sorry, you are missing some good stuff.
I am not pushing, HBR, mind you. What I am trying to push for is for the wholesome adoption of creative teaching in our society because in my job, I see a dearth of creativity in the people that are not in "creative" endeavors but are responsible for the heartbeat of companies.
In any case, here is the link to the article for those that may want to download it (and pay for it).
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=R0810G
But wait, there is more.
For all those Executives out there that may just have arrived at this blog by accident and are trying to institute an innovation practice and want to hire people with a creative bent, here is some quick advise.
This is purely anecdotal, but when interviewing a potentially creative person for your Innovation practice, present them with a product that you may be thinking of producing and see how they react and what they say. Don't tell them too much in terms of what you expect them to say; in other words don't present it as a case study. Instead throw it out there casually and just say: "if you were part of the innovation team how would react to such a product."
For responses look for phrases such as: "...what if we could do this..." "...Oh yes, and we could do this if we changed that..." or "...how about if we changed it to adapt to this and that market" "if I did this, it would address a new vertical" "the go-to-market strategy could be this..."
In my experience responses with a passionate tone that include these catch phrases are reflective of three things: 1) intellectual curiosity; 2) willingness to be part of a group with "we" instead of "I" and 3) a creative drive to create something new in a team invironment
I am not pushing, HBR, mind you. What I am trying to push for is for the wholesome adoption of creative teaching in our society because in my job, I see a dearth of creativity in the people that are not in "creative" endeavors but are responsible for the heartbeat of companies.
In any case, here is the link to the article for those that may want to download it (and pay for it).
http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/b02/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=R0810G
But wait, there is more.
For all those Executives out there that may just have arrived at this blog by accident and are trying to institute an innovation practice and want to hire people with a creative bent, here is some quick advise.
This is purely anecdotal, but when interviewing a potentially creative person for your Innovation practice, present them with a product that you may be thinking of producing and see how they react and what they say. Don't tell them too much in terms of what you expect them to say; in other words don't present it as a case study. Instead throw it out there casually and just say: "if you were part of the innovation team how would react to such a product."
For responses look for phrases such as: "...what if we could do this..." "...Oh yes, and we could do this if we changed that..." or "...how about if we changed it to adapt to this and that market" "if I did this, it would address a new vertical" "the go-to-market strategy could be this..."
In my experience responses with a passionate tone that include these catch phrases are reflective of three things: 1) intellectual curiosity; 2) willingness to be part of a group with "we" instead of "I" and 3) a creative drive to create something new in a team invironment
Comments
I am going to enjoy reading your blog. Do you have RSS feed?
Thanks,
Drew
www.innovationinpractice.com