A primer on creative and innovative thinking

As we mentioned a few weeks ago, creativity and innovation are commonly cited as some of the skills needed for the near future, with the advent of disruptive technologies. Exactly how to work with technology, either by harnessing or adapting it, or through complementary products or services, would be the business world’s next challenge.

How then do we develop these skills? Or does one have to be predisposed or born with this talent? We asked Rey Lugtu, our resource person on creativity and innovative thinking, for some of his thoughts on this matter. First some definitions: Innovation can be broadly thought of as new ideas, new ways of looking at things, new methods or products that have value.

Innovation contains the idea of output, of actually producing or doing something differently, making something happen or implementing something new.

Innovation almost always involves hard work; persistence and perseverance are necessary as many good ideas never get followed through and developed.

Creativity is an active process necessarily involved in innovation.

It is a learning habit that requires skill as well as specific understanding of the contexts in which creativity is being applied. The creative process is at the heart of innovation and often the words are used interchangeably.

How do we develop or nurture the creative process? The creative process can be practiced and developed through exposure to solving all kinds of problems in everyday life and the workplace. By providing an atmosphere of openness aligned with a rewards system, we encourage the thinking that “no idea is stupid” so that employees or participants generate novel and original ideas that can potentially solve problems. The process can be applied in many areas such as in putting up tech startups or proposing novel ideas to address societal issues.

What are the gaps in innovation that you’ve observed? Lack of common understanding of what innovation is. While most business leaders know the basic definition of innovation, there’s an apparent misunderstanding of how it happens, where it happens, and when to make it happen.

Innovation is essentially solving problems—whether organization-level or macro-level. It’s finding novel solutions to problems, and it involves key important skills—critical thinking, creativity, and in this day and age of complexity, data analytics.

Critical thinking is declining in our country due to rote memorization pedagogy in public and private education system. This translates to a pool of human capital in organizations that lack critical thinking; hence, the lack of innovation in many organizations.

There’s also a lack of disciplined approach to innovation in many organizations. The common misconception among many business leaders is that innovation is only about making new services and products. While these are important, there are other areas such as process improvement or corporate social responsibility initiatives, where organizations could also innovate.

Also, I’ve noted the lack of innovative leaders. The kind of leaders in organizations determine the innovation outputs of its employees. Many leaders lack the preparation, mind-set and experience to lead innovation in their teams. Furthermore, the lack of innovative leaders results in the lack of a culture of innovation. In a culture profiling survey I conducted in a conference, all participants showed that the lowest attribute in their organizations is risk-taking and innovation. Risk-taking is a critical component of nurturing innovation in an organization, and leaders are responsible for fostering the innovative culture in their companies.

How could we address this innovation gap? Businesses need to understand and embrace innovation—not just lip service but to embrace a true culture of innovation. Rey Lugtu, together with Kay Lugtu, will facilitate a module on “Creativity and Innovative Thinking,” which is part of a six-day program called “Essential Skills for the Future” on March 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27. The program aims to prepare leaders disruptive technology equipping them with skills, like critical thinking, collaborating and communication. INQ

The Inquirer Academy is at 4168 Don Chino Roces Ave. corner Ponte St., Makati City. For more information about the workshops or if you would like to add your input on the article, please email [email protected], call (02) 8834-1557, (02) 8771-2715 or (0945) 2158935 and look for Jerald Miguel or Karl Paz, or visit www.inquireracademy.com