“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” —Michelangelo
As a creativity expert, I have had practical experiences of what creativity looks like in many instances. As much as I believe that the word creativity means many things to many people, I deem it necessary to define it around the context of innovation, which, to me, is a more tangibly expressed and defined phenomenon than creativity. Without innovation, we doubt creativity. Innovation is what creativity looks like. It is the ability to apply creative solutions to problems and to opportunities to enhance and to enrich people’s lives. Both radical and incremental innovations are the building blocks of science and technology. Without creativity, society will be lifeless and without the force of innovation, the economy will be stagnated.
My name is ‘Niyi Kolade a.k.a thinkUP…liberating souls and celebrating solutions.
What innovation is to an entrepreneur is what creativity is to an artist. Creativity is however not artistic ability – A common belief is that creativity is the same as artistic ability. Creativity is the development of new ideas, concepts or possibilities that did not previously exist. Whereas artistic ability is the skill of creating fine works of art, for example painting, drawing, sculpting, musical composition or performing. Everyone can come up with a new idea without having any artistic ability. Creativity is the bedrock of innovation. From ideation to innovation, entrepreneurs turn creative ideas into lucrative opportunities. They take creativity from indoors into industry and move from conceptualisation to commercialisation. Innovation is short-lived if creativity is short-sleeved.
Creativity is a precursor to innovation and the cornerstone of entrepreneurship (Katz-Buonincontro, 2012). Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity. Innovation is applied creativity, in which the spark of a new idea is turned into a novel solution or process. It takes creative thinking, planning and implementation of new ideas to constitute innovation.
“Creativity is the ability to think in new ways and apply fresh perspectives to old problems.” – Shawn Hunter, author of Out Think: How Innovative Leaders Drive Exceptional Outcomes.
Creativity is the key to education in its fullest sense and to the solution of mankind’s most serious problems (Guilford, 1967).
Creativity is thinking outside of the prescribed formulas. Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought. Creativity is thinking outside of society’s norm. It is being able to express oneself in different varieties of arts – painting, poetry, sculpture, style, fashion, etc.
List of brief definitions on how scholars define creativity:
Creativity is one of the words in the English language which means many things to many people (Doppelt, 2012).
“Creativity is a divine madness, a gift from the gods.” – Plato
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” – Robin Williams
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
Creativity is a complex multifaceted phenomenon (Uribe Larach, & Cabra, 2010).
“Creativity is just connecting things.” – Steve Jobs
Creativity is a basic element of innovation (Andersen, & Kragh, 2012).
Creativity is a precondition for innovation (Bassett-Jones, 2005).
Creativity is the foundation on which innovation relies (Argabright, McGuire, & King, 2012).
Creativity is a process that brings new knowledge (Kristensen, 2004).
Creativity is defined as something independent of knowledge (Cronbach, & Meehl, 1955).
Creativity is defined as the process of using imagination and skill to invent a unique product or thought (Scott, 1995).
Creativity is defined as the ability to create (Kristeller, 1983).
Creativity is not predominantly something that can be “forced” through creativity “techniques” (Cook, 1998).
Creativity is those attitudes by which we fulfill ourselves (Young, 1985).
Creativity is defined as the production of novel and appropriate ideas (Amabile, & Conti, 1997).
Creativity is often achieved from a combination of conscious and subconscious information processing (Huber, 1998).
Creativity is the degree to which outstandingly creative individuals feel influenced by social and environmental factors (Amabile, 1983).
Creativity is the ability to combine ideas, things, techniques, or approaches in a new way (Romey, 1970).
Creativity is often vital to organizational effectiveness (Carson, & Carson, 1993).
Creativity is often obvious in young children (Sternberg, 2006).
Creativity is more than mere spontaneity (Young, 1985).
Creativity is a matter of intuition and inspiration (De Bono, 1991).
Creativity is thinking; it just happens to be thinking that leads to results that we think are great (Amabile, 1996).
Creativity is the generation of new and useful ideas by individual employees (Zhou, & George, 2001).
Creativity is essential to human progress (Hennessey, & Amabile, 2010).
Creativity is defined as something independent of knowledge (Cronbach, & Meehl, 1955).
Creativity is defined as the process of using imagination and skill to invent a unique product or thought (Scott, 1995).
Creativity is defined as the ability to create (Kristeller, 1983).
Creativity is more the exception rather than the norm (Zhou, & George, 2003).
Creativity is more than intelligence (Piers, Daniels, & Quackenbush, J.1960).
Creativity is a fundamental feature of human intelligence (Boden, 1998).
Creativity is a mental phenomenon (Simonton, 2000).
Creativity is a broad term (Dijksterhuis, & Meurs, 2006).
Creativity is a valued commodity (Gough, 1979).
Creativity is a relatively recent academic notion (Le Masson, Hatchuel, & Weil, 2011).
Creativity is a competence (von Stumm, Chung, & Furnham, 2011).
Creativity is a necessary step in the innovation process (Carson, & Carson, 1993).
Creativity is a cognitive process (Blissett, & McGrath, 1996).
Creativity is a capacity which is inherent in the nature of man (Dudek, 1974).
Creativity is a necessary skill for students to become problem solvers (Webb, & Rule, 2012).
Creativity is a topic of study across many disciplines (Beaussart, Andrews, & Kaufman, 2012).
Creativity is a continuous rather than a categorical variable (Piffer, 2012).
Creativity is a beast as complex to conceptualize as beauty (Bhatia, 2008).
Creativity is the realm of a few selected individuals (Vygotsky, 2004).
Creativity is one of the most complex of human functions (Treffinger, 1986).
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