What Are the Six Steps to Innovation and Creativity?

TL;DR

The six steps to innovation and creativity are: 1) Define the problem clearly; 2) Borrow ideas from existing solutions; 3) Combine borrowed materials to create something new; 4) Incubate ideas in your subconscious; 5) Judge and refine ideas through positive and negative assessments; 6) Enhance ideas through trial and error. This process shows that creative ideas often stem from borrowing and evolving existing concepts.

Transcript

Welcome to Authors@Google and MarketingTalks@Google. Today, we're proud to present Dave Murray. He is a scientist and entrepreneur and all around a pretty cool guy who's come to share his insights. In the past, he's worked in marketing. He has worked as a rocket scientist and he's been the head of--innovation, excuse me, at Intuit. So, I'm proud... Read More

Key Insights

• 💡 Creative ideas are constructed from existing ideas and borrowed materials.
• 💡 The six steps to innovation include problem definition, borrowing from similar areas, combination of materials, incubation of ideas, judgment of ideas, and enhancement through trial and error.
• 🥺 Problem definition is essential for finding relevant solutions, and subtle changes in problem descriptions can lead to significant innovations.
• 🤯 Incubation, or giving ideas time to evolve in the subconscious mind, is a crucial step in the creative process.
• 💡 Judgment helps refine ideas and develop creative intuition, allowing for the identification of strong ideas.
• 👨‍💼 The creative process can be applied to various disciplines, from science to business, by adapting the problem definition and borrowing from related areas.
• ❓ Organizations can support the creative process by creating separate meetings for problem definition, borrowing, brainstorming, judgment, and enhancement.

Questions & Answers

Q: Can creativity be taught?

Murray believes that creativity can be taught, as creative ideas are constructed from existing ideas and borrowed materials.

Q: Is innovation a definable process?

Murray says that innovation can be seen as a process, although it may not be defined by a series of steps. The six steps to innovation provide a framework for approaching and evolving ideas.

Q: How can problem definition impact creative thinking?

Murray emphasizes the importance of defining a problem accurately, as different problem descriptions can lead to different solutions and innovations. By refining problem definitions, new ideas can emerge.

Q: What role does judgment play in the creative process?

Judgment is crucial in assessing the viability and effectiveness of ideas. Positive and negative judgments help refine ideas and develop creative intuition. Steve Jobs is cited as an example of someone with strong creative intuition.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Dave Murray, scientist and entrepreneur, explores the questions of whether creativity can be taught and whether innovation can be defined as a process.

• Murray explains that creative ideas are made from existing ideas and that brilliance is often borrowed.

• He introduces the six steps to innovation: problem, borrowing, combination, incubation, judgment, and enhancement.