Creativity and Innovation: Different But Related

Creativity and Innovation: What is creativity? What is innovation? Are they the same?

Recently, I learned that among the topics that managers are interested in learning more about is curiosity and innovation. For some reason, creativity came to mind because it is among the key skills the World Economic Forum (WEF) says you need to succeed in 2020.

It has been my experience that both creatives and innovators are curious. So, I wondered, “What is the difference between creativity and innovation?” I don’t think this is something I ever thought about before.

I discovered that creativity and innovation are very different, but related  skills. From what I have discovered from my research, innovation takes up where creativity leaves off. Innovation is an extension of creativity. I know a lot more about creativity than I do about innovation.

Since creativity is one of the 10 skills WEF says you need, I created a curated post. Although I have read several books and attended a few workshops on creativity, I found it very difficult when I was curating the post on creativity. I think the core problem is that everyone has their own take on what creativity is.

 A Technique for Producing Ideas How to Get to Great Ideas How to Get Ideas The MacGyver Secret Gaming to Innovate

Linda Naiman, founder of Creativity at Work says:

“Creativity is a crucial part of the innovation equation. There is no innovation without creativity. The key metric in both creativity and innovation is value creation.”

Continuous learning is a part of life. If you’re not a reader, you can find a synopsis of many books from Readitforme that you can listen to. Click the link to join. This is a great way to learn the latest thinking on many topics. And it is a great way to learn which books to buy and devour.

Have you read?

The Beginner’s Playbook to Creativity Skills

I will define creativity and innovation for you, but I will also include three models to help you to learn how to develop creativity and innovation skills. You'll also find links to book summaries I've written on the topic.

What is Creativity?

Here is how Linda Naiman defines creativity:

“Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing.”

Based on the related books I have read and the workshops I have attended, a creative imagines something new; uncovers what was hidden; and generates new ideas, solutions to problems, and possibilities.

What is Innovation?

Linda Naiman has this to say about innovation:

“Innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product, service or process that creates value for business, government or society.”

An innovator introduces something new, that has never been seen before, into the marketplace, creating value. The innovator also applies the ideas that the creative generates.

Creativity Model: A Technique for Producing Ideas

Have you read?

A Technique for Producing Ideas by James Webb Young

Step 1: Gathering Information – Preparation

You have a problem or issue that you are grappling with. Start to gather materials that you think will help you to solve the problem.There are two types of information for you to gather:

Specific Information: This is information that is related to the problem or issue you are grappling with.

General Information: This is an ongoing process throughout your life. Record any interesting information you come across in a scrapbook or other filing method that makes sense for you.

Step 2: Working Over the Information in Your Mind

1. Look at the information you gathered from many different angles.
2. Synthesize the information.
3. Merge two facts and see how they fit together.
4. Connect the information with what you already know, nothing exists in a vacuum.
5. As tentative or partial ideas come to you, no matter how crazy or incomplete, document them.
6. Do not stop until you have at least one partial or incomplete idea.
7. When everything is a jumble or it is pointless for you to do additional work, it is time for the next step.

Step 3: Incubation

1. Turn over the problem to your subconscious mind. Sleep on it so to speak.
2. Work on an unrelated task or do something, which stimulates the imagination and emotions.

Step 4: Eureka! I have It – Illumination

1. When you least expect it, the idea comes to you
2. There is nothing magical about this step. You did the work by following the previous steps.

Step 5: Shaping & Developing the Idea

1. Ideas seldom come to you fully formed. More than likely you will have to work with the idea before you can implement it.
2. Subject it to criticism – test it, then refine it.

Have you read?

Summary: A Technique for Producing Ideas

Another Creativity Model: The MacGyver Secret

Core Ideas from The MacGyver Secret

1. You have to come up with a creative solution to a problem. To make sure that you adequately define the problem you are trying to solve, you MUST go through a problem finding process.
   1. Construct the problem.
   2. Identify the key elements.
   3. Formulate a description.
2. When you have complex problems or questions, you may have to ask your inner MacGyver several times to get the answers that you seek.
3. Answers do not come to you from a vacuum. You need a prepared mind. Raw materials have to be available in your memory for your subconscious to explore.
4. You cannot overload your inner Mac. Your subconscious mind can manage and organize large amounts of information to present a more holistic solution.
5. Prepare your mind, input it with raw materials so that your inner MacGyver can present you with a holistic solution.

Have you read?

Summary: The MacGyver Secret by Lee David Zlotoff

Innovation Model

I am more familiar with creativity models that I am with innovation ones. However, I used the techniques outlined in the book, Gaming to Innovate, to reinvent the MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World. Now it is more of a program professionals take to learn the key skills they need to succeed in 2020.

Have you read?

Gaming to Innovate by Curtiss Witt, Book Review

As an example, let us say that there is a product that you would like to innovate. There are a few questions to ask yourself to get into the innovation mindset.

Functional Fixedness: What are the different uses of product?

Structural Fixedness: If you look at the product as a whole, then it’s very difficult for you to innovate. How can you break the product into its parts?

Subtraction: What are the internal components? What essential component of the product can you take away?
Multiplication: Make a copy of a part of the product, then change the copy. What is the benefit of doing that? Which part of the product can you multiply?
Division: Divide the components of the product. Can you move around parts of the product? What would be the benefit of that?
Task Unification: Can you use one part of the product to do the work of another part without overloading it?
Attribute Dependency: What are the attributes of the product? Can you make parts dependent on each other? Can you break dependencies between parts?

Do you see how the techniques can help you to become an innovator?

Creativity vs Innovation: Different But Related

Can you see the relationship between creativity and innovation. Based on the information above, can you create and innovate? If you like the creativity and innovation models, but wanted more information, there are links in this post to the book summaries I wrote. I added instructions so that you can apply the model.

How Avil Can Help You!

If you need help and would like a program that’s already set-up to help you read more books, Join MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World, click the link to buy.

I invite you to Join MoreReads: Blueprint to Change the World that walks you through the process of learning key skills and more. You’ll be reading books to build skills and develop intercultural awareness.  Get more reading and learning tips here.

In December 2020, I published two books on Amazon. I would greatly appreciate your support if you bought my two short e-books Read 30 Books in 30 Days Like Francis Bacon and Performance Accelerator Plan: Guide to Learning and Mastering Key Skills for the Future.

Read 30 Books in 30 Days Like Francis Bacon is not about speed reading. It’s about approaching every book differently and reading only the sections that align with your purpose.

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First Published October 2018