Again, I have been absolutely blown away by the thoughtful, in-depth "Top Creativity & Innovation" questions you all have been sending me ... savvy submissions have been pouring in!
And I'm going to be sharing your amazing questions and answering them right here in A Creator's Guide blog over the next few weeks ...
So stay tuned to the blog for answers - and check out the launch of A Creator's Guide to the Universe: Principles, Process and Power to Transform Your Life, Work & World and the full, limited edition Creative Guidance System Home Study Course - and get your free Sneak Peek "Mini-Book" preview and "Arnold's Arc" (Arnold Schwarzenegger's Creative "Life Arc" - a story you've just got to hear!) now ...
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By far, the most popular questions I've received involve the difference between creativity and innovation, especially since innovation is such a hot topic these days.
Read on to discover the real differences between creativity and innovation - and to avoid the common mistakes in understanding these two kindred concepts (and, most important, learn why shortcutting the Creative Process will inevitably doom any innovation initiative, and what you need to know to succeed in yours):
Creative thought is the ground – the foundation – for innovation.
Can we afford … the time … the resources … the risk … to be innovative?
As Trevor Davis said in a 1999 PricewaterhouseCoopers Innovation Study:
"Innovation will be the dominant value proposition for the next century."
In truth, we can no longer afford not to be creative.
Creativity is the one capacity that holds its value, while everything information-based becomes more a commodity. The free flow of information – across global networks – has shifted the fundamental dynamics.
The only competitive advantage is creativity.
Creativity and innovation are the way … the way we become more strategic and more competitive … the way we do more in less time … the way we stretch and multiply resources.
Creativity is the ground of innovation.
Let’s be clear: Creativity and innovation are not simply one more “program” added to our work.
Creativity is the process by which we do our work.
We must build it into our culture.
Though all too often we try to contain it, control it, minimize it or even ignore it, there ultimately is no avoiding that the Creative Process powers our world.
Moreover, creativity is more than just a high theory or noble concept – it is the essential force that determines how our lives unfold and how our organizations reach their potential.
In A Creator's Guide, we reveal that creativity – as well as its cousin, innovation – is a mindset, a different culture, a new way of thinking.
As we’ve noted, however, innovation can be framed almost as broadly as creativity itself – as a mindset or ground of thought – but is most often defined more narrowly as the “action and Implementation” stages of the Creative Process.
As tempting as it may be to shortcut the Creative Process – to focus only on the “action and implementation” steps – to do so would be to skip over the critical first steps of the Creative Process, which, as we reveal in A Creator's Guide, are the steps that frame vision and set strategic context.
Doing so would effectively disconnect any resulting “action” from adding strategic value, and from
the flow of creative power and potential that intentional use of the full Creative Process generates.
For businesses, the profitability of ideas is paramount. Yet, it is only within the context of the full Creative Process that innovation gains its power to reshape not only products but categories, and to contribute dramatically to an organization’s bottom line (or Return on Innovation investment).
Innovation expert Elaine Dundon acknowledges this context, in noting that “without creativity, there is no innovation."
Let’s be clear: Innovation is important, especially as defined as the “action and implementation”
stages of the Creative Process. Innovation is critical to business, and ensuring creativity is tied both to strategy and implementation is more crucial than ever to sustainable success.
However, this creative shift is much more than the latest organizational trend; it requires an entirely different mode of thought. Moreover, this creative shift, unlike passing popular business fads - once in favor, then “out of favor” - is not temporary. It marks a fundamental shift in our culture.
As we seek to infuse innovation into our lives and work, it is critical first to understand the full
Creative Process, and the place of innovation within that broader framework, as well as within the broader shift to a creative WorldView.
Julie Ann Turner
A Creator's Guide
P.S. The Creative Guidance System captures the full Creative Process, and places all its stages and steps - from vision and strategy to implementation and evaluation – into a powerful, practical framework both individuals and teams may use to generate the results they wish to create.
Stay tuned for next week's launch of A Creator's Guide to the Universe: Principles, Process and Power to Transform Your Life, Work & World and the full, limited edition Creative Guidance System Home Study Course - see the sneak peek "spy photo" of the cover now
P.S.S. There's still time to enter the special Launch Giveaway Contest for my brand new Creative Guidance System Home Study Course! To enter, you simply post your entry as a comment to the previous blog post below (it's as easy as 1-2-3!). The context ends this Friday!
