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Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas,
alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems,
communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.

V Three reasons why people are motivated to be creative:

1. need for novel, varied, and complex stimulation
2. need to communicate ideas and values
3. need to solve problems

V In order to be creative, you need to be able to view things in new

ways or from a different perspective. Among other things, you need to
be able to generate new possibilities or new alternatives. Tests of
creativity measure not only the number of alternatives that people can
generate but the uniqueness of those alternatives. the ability to
generate alternatives or to see things uniquely does not occur by
change; it is linked to other, more fundamental qualities of thinking,
such as flexibility, tolerance of ambiguity or unpredictability, and the
enjoyment of things heretofore unknown. (page 394)

V ..."creative" refers to novel products of value, as in "The airplane was

a creative invention." "Creative" also refers to the person who
produces the work, as in, ?Picasso was creative." "Creativity," then
refers both to the capacity to produce such works, as in "How can we
foster our employees' creativity?" and to the activity of generating
such products, as in "Creativity requires hard work."
V All who study creativity agree that for something to be creative, it is
not enough for it to be novel: it must have value, or be appropriate to
the cognitive demands of the situation." (page 4)

V Characteristics of the creative personality:

1. Creative individuals have a great deal of energy, but they are
also often quiet and at rest.
2. Creative individuals tend to be smart, yet also naive at the
same time.
3. Creative individuals have a combination of playfulness and
discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility.
 4. Creative individuals alternate between imagination and fantasy
ant one end, and rooted sense of reality at the other.
5. Creative people seem to harbor opposite tendencies on the
continuum between extroversion and introversion.
6. Creative individuals are also remarkable humble and proud at
the same time.
7. Creative individuals to a certain extent escape rigid gender role
stereotyping and have a tendency toward androgyny.
8. Generally, creative people are thought to be rebellious and
independent.
9. Most creative persons are very passionate about their work, yet
they can be extremely objective about it as well.
10. The openness and sensitivity of creative individuals often
exposes them to suffering pain yet also a great deal of
enjoyment.
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Call it a recession, tough times, financial crisis, or a flat business
environment; it is the !
 time to shift your organization¶s perspective. It
is the perfect time to motivate toward the future, and enrich values and trust
to impact your business¶s economic factors. Wise leadership will use the
current slow economy as the ³resistance´ and begin to reorganize their
organization toward a stronger culture of values, trust, strategy, and
success.Work from within; delay fancy add-on machines until later! This is
an excellent analogy for how we might use this current economy to create a
healthier business environment within our own organizations in order to
enrich them with value, value-adds for our customers, and a culture of trust
in order to impact the bottom line of the business.
Most leadership follows an intuitive response to use tighter controls,
demands signing off on all key decisions, requires their physical presence
at all meetings, changes the business strategy to a more narrow focus and
generally begins to micro-manage. It is exactly the wrong thing to do. If you
need to rebuild your business ³muscle´ or your place in the market, you do
not suddenly drive your employees hard. Instead, try the following
strategies:

1. Meet
The ³collective wisdom´ of your managers and teams is critically important.
By listening to knowledge exchange in these meetings, you invest in
learning but also begin to deepen the trust culture in the organization. It has
been my experience that energy begins to build in these properly
administered meetings, and spontaneous, exciting suggestions develop a
strategy fitness for the entire organization. Toyota, for example, values the
input of every person employed. A line worker suggested a certain swing
chair that revolutionized the installation of a part along the assembly line; it
saved the company huge resources and got the job done! In difficult times,
it is not business as usual andevery employee knows that. Push against
the economic changes with collective wisdom; it strengthens the corporate
muscle.

2. Leap
All leaders and management need to ask powerful questions. Lots of
questions. Ask challenge questions that test the current methods, test the
traditional organizational boundaries and rules, and ask questions that
possibly help predict events that lie ahead. As James Mapes would say,
³Use quantum leap thinking.´1 Skillful use of open-ended questions will
provide leadership with possible new targets, product spin-offs, solutions to
customer retention, and opportunities in new business territories. Clearly
define the values on which your business operates. Push against the
attitude that calls for hiding the business in a bunker until the war is over;
get the corporate muscle prepared for successful months ahead.

3. Coach
Leaders and managers must find a way to translate strategies, goals,
objectives, and action plans throughout every unit of business, every
customer contact, every shareholder meeting, and every public exposure of
the organization. Qualified professional coaches, trainers, and facilitators
can assist even the finest CEO or business owner in these challenges to
communicate effectively. Once goals, objectives, and plans are aligned
throughout the organization, an atmosphere of trust and understanding
develops. Push against the poor, slow decision making systems based on
fear; communicate past, present, and future success to enrich the cardio
fitness of your group.
4. Quantify
Without counting reps, without steeping on the scales, without watching a
pulse monitor, total fitness is only a guess. Once measured the goal of
being totally fit can be acknowledged and sustained.You know what it
takes. Organizations have learned that they must apply the same principle
in order to make transitions, meet the challenges of change, improve their
quality, and make the bottom line healthy. For example, many
organizations who have prepared for the Baldridge Award¶s quality
improvement processes have found that the measuring of quality goals
leads to enriched lives for employees, customers, clients, patients, and
students, and it leads to an enriched profitability for their company. You
simply cannot manage what you do not measure. The evidence of ³how we
are doing´ when presented in clear, quantitative terms overcomes
resistance to change. Measure your quality efforts. Push against the
doomsday predictions of the New Year; use measured quality within your
business to produce strength to accomplish greater productivity and even
greater success.Ask any Ironman why he or she engages in resistance
training! They know that on competition day times may be tough ± winds
may kick up, rain may fall, and the water may be choppy-but they have
prepared for years for that day. That preparation results in their being one
of the world¶s finest athletes. Is your organization- your business-an
Ironman? Are you ready for this race day that has thrown some surprises
your way? Have you completed resistance training?

When times get rough in the marketplace, we can complain and work in an
atmosphere of doubt and fear; or we can choose to work in trust while
always looking for the best possible results of our decisions, the best
possible strategies for dealing with the competition, and most of all
stepping out in even the global marketplace with quality and integrity. It
never fails; you and your teams will remain personally and professionally
enriched and successful
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