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Creativity Guru - Robert Alan Black

Creativity Guru - Robert Alan Black

Enjoy part four and the final part in this engaging interview with Robert Alan Black.

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Who are your creative heroes?

RAB
Van Gogh, Gunnar Birkerts (architect, ex-employer), Charles Kettering, Nicholai Tesla, Steve Wozniak, O'Henry, Bill Waterman (Calvin and Hobbes) the cartoonist of ZITS!, the cartoonists who create MADAME & EVE in South Africa, and so many other men and women from around the world in all fields and occupations


What scares you most about creativity?

RAB
The suppression of it, rejection of it, negating of it.


Left brain or right brain – which should we listen to?

RAB

Both individually and in an integrated combination of ways. The right brain has been mislabeled for almost 45 years as the main source of creativity. The supposed skills and abilities of human beings listed as right brain are some of those needed for creative thinking. Many of the reported skills and abilities of the left brain, the limbic brain, the medulla and the other smaller sections of the brain all play a part in creativity.

I have discovered over the past 25 years that every field, profession or occupation as its giants that represent 4 primary creative thinking styles, 2 are extremes of left and 2 are extremes of right brain type thinking. We as human beings tend for many reasons to develop our own styles of creative thinking and can learn to appreciate and develop others throughout our lives.

Should we hire creative people or train them to be creative?

RAB

Both

How can an individual learn to be more creative?

RAB
Begin by deliberately trying to think original thoughts. Then deliberately focus on generating many ideas become more fluent before choosing or finalizing on a single solution.
Follow that with deliberately striving to be flexible in your thinking. One easy way is to choose to think like other people may think or strive to see things through other's eyes or from their perspectives.

This is only the beginning of what can be a life-long process as it has been for me in my nearly 62 years.

What frustrates you most about the topic of creativity?

RAB
The resistance to it. The fear of it. The unwillingness to try something new at least in an experimental way to see if it might be better.

Are creative people unbalanced?

RAB
That is a narrow minded perspective and an example of black and white, polar, rigid thinking. Balance is one option in the universe of infinite possibilities.

Think about this...human beings are about the only form of life that seem to require that their environments be fixed, rigid, predictable most of the time.

The opposite narrow view to that one is "balanced people" are generally boring, placid, staid. If that works in your life, than do it. My only concern is, “What will happen when things change around you especially in the 21st century which is already showing us many examples of a rate of change in many professions, industries, businesses that is geometric in measure and rapid?”

There you go George.
Thanks for the great questions.
Alan


Robert Alan Black

BROKEN CRAYONS

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George Torok

Creative Facilitator

Creative Problem Solving Articles

Radio Show Host

Creativity: Interview with Alan Black

If you want to be more creative and innovative in your business you will enjoy part three of an intriguing interview with creativity guru, Robert Alan Black.

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Is creativity good for the bottom line?

RAB
I have been doing a "Meet the Pro" session for the National Speakers Association for several years with the title, "Do I have to be creative to be a professional speaker?"

The answer is....only if you want to be paid and asked back.

Yes there are companies who are "Me Too's" who copy the market leaders and succeed or have in the past. Yes there are companies who are creative for a short while and then ride their fame and brand for many years. But suddenly introduce true competition and the staid and true will flounder.

The history of business and industry is filled with examples of the creative wiping out the regular. Joel Arthur Barker in the 1980s became famous for his writing and talks about PARADIGM BUSTING and shared many, many examples of creative solutions that hurt established companies or even put them completely out of business.


What are the associated risks of creativity?

RAB
Possible failure, the loss of face, loss of security, fear of failure and/or fear of loss.


What are the differences between creativity, innovation and creative problem solving?

RAB
My working definitions are these:
Creativity equals the generation of new ideas or new combinations of old ideas.

Innovation is the improvement or advancement of existing things and ideas.
Some people define innovation as the practical application of creativity

Creative problem solving whether using simple single step tools to elaborate multi-stage, step or level processes is the application of a combination of open-ended (divergent) thinking and focused/narrowing/closed (convergent) thinking. Also it can include the willingness to try the unknown, to wander, to guess, to explore to go where no one has ever gone before.


How should a company encourage creativity?

RAB
I encourage my clients and audiences to begin a basic comprehensive system that is summed up in the acronym S.P.R.E.A.D. creative thinking.

Support creative thinking as often and in as many different ways as you can in all employees
Promote creative thinking everywhere in every department at least a percentage of the time (15%....3M is famous for ex CEO 1940s McKnight for this Rule).
Recognize and Reward people for their creative thinking whether successful or not.
Encourage all people to use creative thinking before the closed down on a workable solution. One way a supervisor or manager can begin to do this is to begin asking for 6 possible ideas every time until people automatically generate 6. Then move up to 12. Then repeat this until it is second nature and continually move the quantity up to 144 and more.
Apply creative thinking in meetings, in gatherings in casual discussions at lunch time at breaks. Deliberately take a percentage of every meeting and devote it to open ended creative thinking.

Develop creative thinking skills, styles and tools in people through books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, workshops, training programs often

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Learn more about Robert Alan Black


George Torok

Host of Business in Motion

Motivational Business Speaker

Creative Facilitation