Creativity & Innovation

The more ideas you produce, the higher is the probability that one of them is a bright one. But are you spending enough time and do you have the right processes in place to boost ideas within your company? So what does this YouTube clip tell you about your creative processes?

Being creative and coming up with ideas is important, but having the skill to communicate ideas or a vision is business critical too. Being able to describe the future in rational terms (numbers or products) is just as important as describing the future in emotional terms (how it will feel for all concerned).

At last weeks IFS VIP event I asked for a volunteer to try one of our existing apps. In the back, a lady waved intensively and shouted “I want to try, I want to try”. I gave her my phone and in a single click she had authorized her first travel expense and purchase order – and she was so happy. When she had completed her very first travel expense, including a photo of a taxi receipt, she was literally dancing on the stage…

As a marketer you have a few parameters to differentiate your product against the competition. Take a scale for example. Some people might prefer a digital display and some prefer a retro analog style. Some people might want a black descret scale and someone else wants one in a strong and personal color – maybe purple. But does it really stop here?

Innovation is often about finding effective and cost efficient solutions. The”Littre of Light” project in the Philippines brings indoor light…

I don’t know if you’re familiar with Dragon’s Den, a reality television series featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists. We used that concept at our R&D event last week—and the result was 60 ideas in 2 hours. Do you want to know how?

In this edition of “Leaders Insight” I met with Heino Westdijk, Service Director at Damen Shipyards. This is what Heino had to say about how to boost creativity and innovation within an organization that is constantly on the move – a mobile workforce.

Every now and then I update my Facebook status. Afterwards I can see myself falling into the trap of measuring my personal success based on the number of comments or “Likes” my post received. Sound familiar? This incentive of getting people’s attention is a very powerful tool to use in a creative process. It can make wonders.

Great innovations doesn’t necessarily translate into large investments. More importantly is a clever design that exactly solves a certain problem. That’s why the creativity process needs knowledge and inspiration from your customers and stakeholders. The problem however is to get the information from the customer of exactly how they work and what their challenges are. You normally don’t get such information in a conference room with a Danish pastry and a cup of coffee. You have to look elsewhere.

Creative performances results in more innovation – and innovation increases a company’s competitiveness long term. Ask yourself – will I or my company be more creative in the future than we are today, and if so, how will it happen? Researchers have identified four dimensions as the distinguishing signs of creativity, to understand the intrinsic qualities of creative performances.