The Magic of Being Creative

What is creativity? Why is it important today?

Simply put, creativity is about coming out with something new. Some of the greatest artists and scientists in history have done this and made themselves immortal, such as Michelangelo and Galileo. However, being creative may not make you another Michelangelo, but new ideas are certainly necessary for today’s fast changing world. Just look at Singapore and notice how many changes we have made in the last several years.

Edward de Bono said: “As competitions intensify, so does the need for creative thinking. It is no longer enough to do the same thing better. It is no longer enough to be efficient and solve problems… Businesses need creativity …. to make the shift from administration to true entrepreneurship.”

You can also apply creativity in your daily life. You can look at what you are doing and find alternative ways to improve them. Problems will no longer be set-backs to you. Rather, they become opportunities for you to use your creative thinking.


Critical vs creative thinking. We can be creative!
Scientists and psychologists tell us that there are two hemispheres of our brain. Our left hemisphere is all about logical, rational, and sequential thinking. Our right brain hemisphere is concerned with intuitive, random and subjective thinking.

Schools tend to concentrate on boosting the students’ left brain in “scholastic” subjects. Right brain activities such as creativity and aesthetics tend to be downplayed in traditional academic environments. As a result, for many people, the left side of the brain is more active than the right side. We end up being more critical than creative.

It is in our interest to stimulate the right side of our brain. This can be done by attempting tasks that require imagination and a fresh approach. Our brain has the ability to create an infinite amount of ideas. Unfortunately, we use only 2% to 3% of our brain capacity. There is therefore plenty of room for creative thinking. Each of us is capable of an enormous amount of creative output.


Techniques for generating ideas
Marcel Proust said: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands, but in seeking with new eyes.” It is the ability to see the same thing as everybody, but thinking of something different.

There are many techniques for generating ideas. Here we take a look at a classical method called SCAMPER.

It is a method for manipulating an existing item into a new idea. It is actually a collection of seven techniques, arranged according to the acronym of the word S-C-A-M-P-E-R:
S = substitute
C = combine
A = adapt
M = modify
P = put to other uses
E = eliminate
R = rearrange

Take an existing item, ask S-C-A-M-P-E-R questions about it, and you may get a new idea. There are success stories for each of these techniques:

Substitute – The Russians failed to market vodka in the USA in the 1930s because clear alcohol was not popular. Heublein took the rights, and looked for other ingredients (substitute) to colour the drink. Moscow Mule, Screwdriver and Bloody Mary were born and caused vodka sales to rise from 6,000 cases a year to 38 million in 1988.

Combine – Customers of American gas ARCO asked whether after they have pumped their gas, they could walk over to the adjacent convenience store to pick up a hamburger and a quart of milk. Now you can have your petrol pumped, dinner eaten and shopping done (combine) in minutes all at the same petrol kiosk.

Adapt – William Durant, the founder of General Motors, had great ideas but could not run the company profitably. He was replaced by Alfred Sloan, who was able to take many of Durant’s ideas and turn them (adapt) into orderly reality.

Modify – The marketing people of 3M relied on advertisements to sell its Post-It pads, but sales did not pick up. It’s General Sales Manager, Joe Ramey, noticed people who write on pads could not stop. He convinced the company to modify its marketing approach to give away free samples. The Post-It became one of 3M’s all-time champion products.

Put to other uses – A toilet tissue manufacturer discovered a carload of paper that was too thick to be made into tissue. Unable to return it, he asked “What else could be done with this paper?” (put to other use), and the paper towels were born.


Eliminate – Before 1836, mail had been paid by the addressee, with fee computed according to distance and weight. This made correspondences expensive and slow. Rowland Hill proposed that postage be uniform regardless of distance (eliminate), and that this fee be prepaid by buying and affixing a stamp. Overnight, mail became convenient.

Rearrange – Xerox’s first copier sold for $4,000. Few companies were willing to make such a capital investment as it meant seeking approval from the board of directors. Xerox understood this and began selling what they produce: copies. At 5¢ a copy, the company staff could pay for them out of petty cash (rearrange).


Magic as a hobby, and creativity
A hobby is a good place to start being creative. One hobby that requires a lot of creative input is magic. Magic transports us to a world of make-believe where the impossible becomes possible! Since many of us know that magic is not real, it takes a lot of creative effort to make something that is not real appear believable.

Pick up a book on magic and learn how to perform a magic trick. You will find that the process of how a magical idea is conceived, to communicating it to the audience through a performance is a creative process. You will discover the magic of being creative!


Contributed by John Teo, Senior Consultant, Training Edge International
Email : john.teo@trainingedgeasia.com
Website : www.trainingedgeasia.com