RE-PLAY when thinking goes lateral M Spies and VDS Brink Published by Data Solve at Smashwords Copyright 2013 VDS Brink e-ISBN: 9781301194797 www.corvus.co.za www.datasolve.co.za LEGAL INFORMATION AND DISCLAIMER All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, mechanically, electronically, or by any other means including photocopying without the written permission of the publisher. Information within this article does not give legal, financial or similar professional advice. The buyer of this publication assumes full responsibility for the use of these materials and information. The Publisher and Author assume no liability whatsoever on behalf of the reader of this material. Please consult applicable laws and regulations and competent counsel to ensure your use of this material conforms with all applicable laws and regulation. . RE-PLAY when thinking goes lateral Data Solve Data Solve group work chronicles Compiled by Muriétte Spies and VDS Brink Table of Contents Preface Introduction The need for creativity The human mind Principles of creativity The role of the environment, people and place Creativity alone Creativity in groups Metaphors and stories Communicating one-on-one Communicating one-to-many It is all about personal change Managing creativity Data Solve: the road ahead Epilogue References and further reading The compilers Preface Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently - Henry Ford This book is the result of delightful work with the Hiscox group of Data Solve in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Many hours of sharing and application led to the content. Six years of MBA lecturing on Innovation and Creativity for the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK gave the valuable theoretical background. The trust of Herman Kriel, Hugo Snyman, Muriétte Spies to steer it to completion is priceless. Elaine Botha with advice from Thilo Otterpohl for the cover design and Elana Ehlers on editing and proofreading made all the difference. VDS Brink Pretoria, South Africa. Introduction It is not the strongest that survive, nor the smartest; it is those that are the quickest to change. - Charles Darwin We live in turbulent times: the world is slowly emerging from the worst economic decline in 80 years and it will take years to recover from the damage. A new generation with a new outlook on life is also currently gaining prominence. The impact of the internet and the shadows that lifted in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin wall changed the world. The current way of doing things will simply not work in the future. We can soar in life if we know that lots of data and information mean very little. Greatness and victory is ours if we can turn data into knowledge, then into insight and ultimately into wisdom. To do this, it is necessary to drown the mind with facts, discuss it with diverse people, test the water, burn some scars, emerge with humility and only then follow your head. All industries are in turmoil and stretching the abilities of their employees to the limit. Newcomers bring new challenges and the existing ones try to stay ahead. To be winners, we need to excel as creative thinkers and, most importantly, be able to work with people. Creativity is born into us all, but school wiped out 30% of it, our parents another 30% and the rest we did ourselves. The challenge is to make it resurface and this is done by understanding and following age-old processes. The Data Solve process follows the AIDA route: “A” stands for Awareness and Attention, “I” for Interest, “D” for a Desire to go further in life with the concepts and “A” for concrete Action. With this, we conveyed the concept that creativity is not on the screen and it is seldom to be found in the office. We emphasize the fact that there are several ways to enhance it individually, yet that the ultimate goal is how to work creatively as a group and get the very best from each of the members. In this book, we address the concepts of creativity and how to apply it in practice in the information technology environment. The need for creativity The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self. Whitney Young The world is changing faster than ever. Thirty years ago there were no personal computers, mobile phones, satellite television, cloned animals or instant written communication. To survive in this new world, organizations need to react quickly and add value to their services through innovation. Creativity exists within the human mind, in how it thinks and reacts and especially in how we interact with other people, the environment and the climate where creative thinking happens. Creativity is more than a means to produce a mere product: creativity especially lies in the way we think and do things differently from yesterday. To be a winner in the new millennium, we need interpersonal skills and also the ability to put ourselves in the shoes of others, more than ever before. In a few years from now, no more than ten, just about everything we know will change and organizations not on a creative path now will be swept aside. The world faces several challenges, such as food, lodging and clean drinking water for everyone, and the massive overpopulation experienced in metropolises around the world. Energy is at its negative tipping point with carbon-based systems nearing their end. In this changing world, information technology is the bread and butter, the grease that oils the road ahead, and it is faced by the overall and rapid changes of technology that are trying to balance the new and the existing. Every person in IT will need as much creativity as possible to be successful. The industry is riddled with fallout as the result of changing technology, for example, the demise of mainframes in the late twentieth century, with COBOL at the heart of it, left many professionals jobless and desperate. This kind of history will repeat itself over and over again, which means we need to be prepared. The human mind How little a thing can make us happy when we feel that we have earned it. - Mark Twain The human mind consists of several brains. The reptile brain, which is the size of a pea, does only two things: decides between fight and flight. It generates the chemicals adrenaline, which tells the mind to fight, and noradrenalin, which tells the mind to flee. These chemicals stay in the blood for hours. The mammal brain understands sound and images. It is the source of body language and the part of the mind that reacts to the body language of others. In the brain the left cortex sees the trees (the facts). The right cortex sees the wood (the bigger picture). The different brains interact through synapses and are fuelled by chemicals. The most critical of these is dopamine, closely related to morphine. High levels of dopamine are vital to the happiness of the audience and how they will experience the presentation. Drugs like morphine or bexadrine cause your brain to secrete dopamine, as does physical exercise and laughter. We as humans differ in how we accept a message and what our minds do with it. We each have a preference as to how we see facts and images: some of us prefer to hear it in a compelling way and some of us will build some form of emotion around it. [...]... applause We need to split the thinking and look at the forest and the trees separately De Bono’s six hats illustrate this principle: the left brain looks for meaning, while the right brain looks for connections and feelings Keep different thinking separate, never mix Metaphors are critical The right brain works at its best with stories, pictures and poems The right brain dies when it looks at a screen... right brain works at its best with stories, pictures and poems The right brain dies when it looks at a screen and rather finds its success in a park, at a party or especially in being alone Lateral thinking happens when the mind is prepared and drowned with facts Do this by reading whole books on different topics and by surrounding ourself with people who are different from you Find the place for insight... story Let animals talk, wild things happen Have a victim, a hero, a baddie Get to a happy ending • Wish: Dream your wildest dreams Creativity in groups When you want to go fast, go alone, when you want to go far go together – Old African proverb When we meet we will behave as a herd of wild deer Even at Grandma’s birthday we will act in five phases: 1 “I have no opinion.” The body language accompanying... In general creative thinking depends on: • The willingness to be open to new ideas and experiences It is a choice If we dare to do venture into the unknown, we will win! • Variety is the spice of life Comfort zones, doing things as done before, routine, relating to people as ourselves, listening to my type of music it kills the mind and dampening renewal • Creativity only possible when the unknown and... If we only work on logical material, the left cortex does all the work and potential of others remain neglected Edward de Bono coined the “six hats concept” to help us separate our thinking It is important to note that when we work in groups, the attacking of members’ ideas might lead to a “fight or flight” reaction in them and that the person might then withdraw from the group From this, the Creative... (spa, sauna, stretching, meditation) When done in moderation, it is an important creative stimulator Meditation is as simple as closing our eyes while breathing deeply and repeating a single word for a few minutes Principles of creativity Keep a diary and one day it will keep you Mae West Creativity begins with a challenge, a problem or a blockage We are at our best when we are painted into a corner,... here!” 4 “I have an opinion, but the group’s opinion is greater than mine.” This is accompanied by exuberance and hard work 5 Regret that it is all over When working with people in groups, always keep this in mind and take note of which phase they are in When they are in phases 1-3, focus on doing anonymous work as real collaboration is only possible in phase 4 Never just stop We all need a good ending... self satisfied person will never be creative To know that we do not know is critical • Do not fear failure Learning and new horizons depend on valuable failure lessons • Laugh! David Ogilvy, “Make your thinking as funny as possible” and Edward de Bono, “Humour is the most significant activity of the human mind” To laugh at ourselves, look at life from a different angle is music for the soul and the utmost... we need to solve?” Classify them in terms of difficulty and impact • Gather missing information focused on understanding it better Draw a full colour picture What does it tell you? Ask Why, What, Who, When and How? • Create new solutions Draw a full colour picture What does it tell you? Fill a large sheet of paper with concepts Sleep over it Take note of the dreams that you have while doing this • Focus... office frequently Walk around the block Sit in a church, an art gallery, feed the pigeons and sit on a bench in a park or any silent place With early judgement, we can dramatically influence creative thinking for the worst We are just human and sharing an open office has its limitations with personal irritators topping the list We are reluctant to talk about things that bother us, therefore a good . RE-PLAY when thinking goes lateral M Spies and VDS Brink Published by Data Solve at Smashwords Copyright. material conforms with all applicable laws and regulation. . RE-PLAY when thinking goes lateral Data Solve Data Solve group work chronicles Compiled