Fostering Creativity

Image: Trumpet's Flare by Wolfpix

Those who are near and dear to my heart know well that some of my deepest passions lie at the intersection between artists and entrepreneurs. I've had a dream for several years of developing a creative incubator that could bring together individuals from disparate industries to host a working dialogue about topics like innovation, sustainability, and design-thinking. While this is not presently the best forum to discuss a still-forming idea, I would like to share a piece i've been reading over the last few days that has been informing my views on this incubator idea.

In 2005, the National Center on Education and the Economy for the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce commissioned a piece to address the topics of innovation and creativity, more specifically a piece meant to discuss ways to foster innovation and creativity. I'm still reading through this rather long report and taking copious notes along the way, including knowledge dives into many of the cited resources. Once i've read the entire thing, you can expect several posts based loosely around some of the concepts teased out within it; the report itself is a gold mine of information for those interested in helping innovation and creativity flourish. Quotables from notable authors such as Dan Pink (A Whole New Mind), Peter Drucker (author of too many books to name on the topic of management, and coiner of the term "knowledge worker"), and many others grace the pages of this report. Questions raised in this fascinating paper include:[1]

• What are the sources of creativity and innovation in individuals?
• What educational and pedagogical techniques have proven effective in promoting innovation and creativity?
• How can creativity be assessed and what is the impact of assessment on creativity?
• What techniques stimulate creativity and innovation in the workplace?
• What contributes to the development of successful entrepreneurs?
• What is the nature of our culture, society and economy that makes our country creative and innovative?

Here's a notable quote from some of my reading thus far:[2]

"The extrinsically motivated person will take the shortest, most obvious path to get to the reward at the finish line. The intrinsically motivated person will explore various pathways and alternatives, taking his/her time and enjoying the process along the way. This exploration will lead to novel, alternative solutions, some of which will turn out to be more appropriate and successful than the original, obvious path."

---

[1] Adams, Karlyn. "The Sources of Innovation and Creativity." National Center on Education and the Economy for the New Commision on the Skills of the American Workforce, September 2005. Available online: http://www.skillscommission.org/pdf/commissioned_papers/Sources%20of%20Innovation%20and%20Creativity.pdf

[2] Ibid, 10.