Not brawn. Not brains. It's...
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- Created on Thursday, 12 January 2012 21:08
Illustration: Hiro Shibata
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent,
but rather the one most adaptable to change. — Charles Darwin
Darwin spoke about the evolution of species. Today, as we watch the typewriter ribbons and floppy discs of our youth dwindle to extinction, we realize Darwin's words apply just as aptly to business in the Internet Age.
It's not brawn. It's not brain. It's adaptablity that allows you to survive. It's an organization's ability to problem solve in real time — to identify gaps and opportunities and find valuable ways to fill them. That's the very definition of innovation, according to some experts, and it requires creative thinking. "Creativity is the key," says professor Gerard Puccio, PhD. "The problem is, we have a cultural belief that you can't teach creativity — that you are born with it. That's a flawed belief. To the contrary what the research shows is that creative thinking and creative problem solving can be enhanced through training and deliberate practice."
Puccio is the chairman of the International Center for Studies in Creativity. He has dedicated his career to teaching creativity—to making its research, its process and its secrets accessible to the rest of us. He heads up the graduate program (a Master of Science) in creativity, innovation and change leadership at Buffalo State College and has co-authored the books Creative Leadership and The Innovative Team.
The problem is, we have a cultural belief that you can't teach creativity.
That's a flawed belief. — Gerard Puccio
"I'm an absolute believer that you can develop creativity in yourself and others," says Puccio. Nearly 15 years ago, while he was collaborating on the creation of a new complex model for creative problem solving, he simultaneously developed FourSight: Your Thinking Profile, a 36-question assessment to bring simple language and memorable models to the incredibly complex world of creativity.
What he witnessed: Teams that learned a common language for creativity and gained a respect for other people's unique problem solving approaches could transform their ability to innovate. "Based on the impact studies of teaching creative problem solving to individuals and groups, you'd be hard pressed to come up with a better way to invest training and development dollars in today's economy," says Puccio. "Creativity is a core competency in any organization that hopes to survive the Internet Age." — S. Thurber (Jan 2012)
Building diverse teams
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- Created on Monday, 28 November 2011 00:00
Ever wonder why some people just “get” your thinking while others don’t seem to get it at all? Generally, we avoid that second group, but research suggests they may be the very people we need to solve problems most effectively.
There’s strength in diversity, especially when it comes to cognitive diversity. Studies show that, while homogenous teams are more compatible (i.e. they “get” each other), diverse teams are more effective at solving complex problems over time.
So how do you build a diverse team that “gets” each other?
One way is to surface people’s unique thinking styles and to make the differences explicit—and positive.
People are prone, perhaps even wired, to sniff out differences. We can sense when someone is not like us. And in the absence of positive labels, we tend to see those differences as "bad." The human default setting appears to be: If it's different, I don't like it. So we tend to gravitate toward “people like us.”
Assessments like FourSight intentionally highlight differences. They actually produce a numerical and graphical representation of how people are different in their thinking preferences. The results can come as a revelation to a team, confirming their suspicions, but in a positive sense, since each profile contributes something unique to innovation.
So suddenly, where you felt Fred was holding up the team’s momentum by obsessing on the research, you now see that Fred is a high Clarifier. His strong preference for using data to gain insight into a challenge is his way to make sure your team is on track, solving the right problem. Now you can appreciate Fred's preference and tap him whenever the team needs energy around data collection and factual analysis. And when the team moves beyond that stage, Fred now has the self-awareness and the reassurance to move along with them. He knows he’s got the tools—and teammates—to buoy him through the rest of the process.
Armed with this insight, the members of this diverse team can “get” each other and make the most of their unique strengths. Together, they can consciously build their team and manage their process to achieve outstanding results. — S. Thurber (December 2011)
Click on the sidebar to learn more about research conducted by IBM that reveals the power of FourSight teams.
Subcategories
Certification Workshops 2012
March 14-15 - Chicago, IL
Attend our certification at the Orrington Hotel in Evanston
April 18-22 - Sestri-Levanti, Italy
Join the CREA conference and sign up for FourSight certification
May 13-16 - Buffalo, NY
Come to the Expert-2-Expert conference and attend the FourSight Certification
Articles
What's an Idea?
A Q&A with Gerard Puccio
Setting up a Sustainable Innovation Team
The IBM Study
