I really enjoyed an interview I read where Peter Cook was interviewing Professor Adrian Furnham. For me, it was great to read an an article that was low on jargon and trademarked and what I see as the bulls#*t factor. Unlike a lot of academics work on creativity and innovation he speaks simply and realistically.He also acknowledges the hard work (as with any success) involved in developing a culture of innovation.

There was a nice sum list at the end the summed up the his view on encouraging personal creativity. Read the article, it’s great.

Furnham’s top creativity tips

PK: Given that creativity may be necessary but insufficient for an innovative enterprise, I asked Professor Furnham for his top tips to encourage personal creativity at work, learning and play:

AF : Here are ten simple but important ideas:

1. Sleep on it:  Come back to problems and issues.  Let them fall fallow for a bit; stew; incubate.  Revisit them when it suits.
2. Read widely: Talk to all sorts of experts.  Get outside your box. Talk to people who think about things differently from you.
3. Don’t give up:  Persistence is the key.  Most attempts fail.  Breakthroughs are rare.
4. Take a Risk: Fear of failure, humiliation, teasing and abuse are natural enemies of creativity.  Go on – play with hunches and tentative ideas.  Break the rules.  Take courage.
5. Piggy back:  Take others’ work and take it further.  Put things together which do not fit.
6. Identify peak times and conditions:  Work out when and where you are at your best for idea generation and refinement.  Set aside these times for those activities.
7. Record your flashes:  Have a place and method to record all ideas – some worth revisiting and incubation.
8. Build your particular expertise/skill/knowledge: creativity is always skill based.  Get to the cutting edge of your chosen area…..there is no substitute for this.
9. Question and Probe the obvious:  Take little for granted; turn things upside down; celebrate similarities and differences.
10. Lighten up:  Be playful; use humour; have a sense of the absurd and the ridiculous.