Key Principles

for
Encouraging
Creativity

When in doubt, make a fool of

yourself.
There
is
a
microscopically
thin
line
between
being
brilliantly
creative and acting like the
most gigantic idiot on earth.
So what the hell, leap.
Cynthia Heimel, writer

Separate Idea Generation from

Evaluation

This is the most important creative

thinking principle. The reason is
simple: creative problem solving
requires
both
divergent
and
convergent thinking. Idea generation
is divergent; you want to get as
many ideas as possible. Idea
evaluation is convergentyou want
to narrow down the pool of ideas and
select the best ones. If you try to do

Exercise 1
Jot down as many ideas as you can to
increase the student intake of KBS.
The ideas must not increase the
expenses by more than 10% of the
present which can be presumed to be
1,00,000/- today
The idea must not include any major
loss or increase in manpower
The intake is to increase from the
present 90 to 180

Students Ideas
Group- 11
Online competition
Csr activity
Cash price (referrals)
Email marketing
Slogans & hashtags
Better placement (ex
student)
Website management
Awareness through
college fest
(intercollege)

Group- 10

Placement tie ups

IV discussions with others
Student exchange program
Certified programs for
specialised
Hostel & locker facility
Field trips with cos
Social media propagation
Interactive lounges
NGO training
Radio activity in college
Creativity centre
Entrprenuership cell

Students Ideas
Group-1

Group-2

Students as brand
ambassador
Commitment fulfillment
Part time mba
PGDM more specialisations
Business channel
sponsorship
Entrance kit
Culture building
Strict regulations(formals)
Corp tie ups

Referral (tap coaching

classes 45k
Social media (rebuilding of
kbs website, more user
friendly, shiksha.com
review 45k
Awareness (presentations
in graduation college,
relationship marketing
career guidance, aptitude
test and concession in
fees) 20k

Students Ideas
Group-3

Group-4

Online marketing through free lancing SEO

KPO and BPO PART TIME
Sending brouchers to
students (50-80 percentile)
Sending college marketing
students to colleges ( grad
college) for demo to save
cost and let marketing
student given as
assignment
Participation in conventions

College USP (parking, infra, ease of

travelling pickup & drop facility)
Pamphlets
Videos from students & lectures on you
tube
Forums
Tie up with kohinoor grp for promotions
Referrals
Social media, radio
Graduation college
Tie ups with coaching classes
Banners in western mumbai & strategic
locations, LED board on college
Partime mba & distance

Students Ideas
Group-5
Email marketing
Branding through
grads collg
Skill development of
existing students to
increase placement
Mimic top institutes
for studies
GD discussion of
issues

Group-6
Advertising grad students, career
guidance
Social media
Brand building & promo youtube
videos regarding swatch bharat,
intercollege competion for grad
students
Training for interviews rounds &
campus
Mouth 2 mouth publicity
Hostel tie ups
Improvement for grounds
News article discussions
Foundation courses
Misceleneous benchmark with
welingkar

Students Ideas
Group-7

Group-8

ID
Youtube - kbs
channel, lectures on
videos
Alumni promotion
Better fest

Awareness presentation
competitions
Outdoor mgmt activities
will create mouth 2
mouth promotion
Tie ups with coaching
classes
Campus co-ordination
Television in canteen
showing business news

Students Ideas
Group-9
App, portal for lecture
co-ordination & other
updates
Video library of
lectures
Alumni connect
through App & portals
advertisement

Group-

Everyday Assumptions
We cant be effective problem solvers unless
we know how to test assumptions. Every day
we act before thinking through what we are
doing or the possible consequences. In fact, we
make so many daily decisions that it is
impossible to test all the potential assumptions.
We must assume that the other person actually
heard what we said and understood us, that the
persons nonverbal reactions indicate what we
think they indicate, and that we can figure out
any hidden meanings or purposes

How to Test
Assumptions
Albert Einstein provides one answer:
The important thing is to never
stop questioning. Ask a lot of
questions about whatever problem
youre trying to resolve. The more
questions you ask, the better you
will understand your problems.

How to Test Assumptions

One way to enhance the questioning process is to
use the basic five w questions of who, what,
where, when, and why. These questions can help us
seek data more efficiently. For instance, you might
ask the following questions:
1.Who is the competition? Who are the customers?
2.What does our organization do? What is our
mission?
3.Where can we make improvements? Where can
we get data about our competition?
4.When should we enter a new market? When are
our customers most likely to buy our products?
5.Why do people buy our products? Why do we want
enter a new market?

Exercises 2
Of all the ideas that were listed please do
the following exercise for all:
How will the idea work
The input and human interface required
The assumptions made while developing
the idea
How many assumptions are based on
practical knowledge
What is the basis of the other
assumptions

Breakthrough Solutions
Another
reason
testing
assumptions is important is that it
can
yield
perceptual
breakthroughs.
Testing
assumptions can help us shift
perspectives and view problems in
a new light. The real voyage of
discovery consists not in seeking
new lands, but in seeking with new
eyes. The result often is a

EXERCISE 3
From exercise 2 work out the best 5 ideas
and find out solutions to these ideas.
How will the ideas result into solutions and
what are the solutions that you will achieve?
How will you test these solutions and their
validity on success?
Which of the listed ideas are very good on
paper but cannot be actually achieved and
why?
Which of the listed ideas are very simple but
will yield the desired result?

Avoid Patterned Thinking

Try this little exercise: Fold your arms the way you
normally would cross them. Note which hands are
on top of your arms. For instance, my left arm lies
under my right hand. Now quickly reverse this
position (in my case, my right arm should lie under
my left hand). Youll probably notice that the
second position is more difficult. Its not natural.
Heres another, similar exercise: Interlock your
fingers in the way most comfortable for you. Either
your right or left index finger should be on top.
Reverse your fingers so the opposite finger is on
top. Not so easy, is it? We all have certain patterns
of behaving and thinking which impede our
creative thinking

Habit-Bound Thinking
The very thought of doing something
different can be terrifying. Yet, creative
thinking frequently requires we do just
that.
First, repeat the word joke five times.
Now, quickly, what is the white of an egg
called?
What word is formed by adding one letter to
the following? __ANY.
Now, what word is formed by adding one
letter to the following? __ENY

Breaking Out of a Rut

We become so accustomed to doing things a
certain way that we may lose the ability to
break away.
So what can we do? Perhaps the most important
thing is to increase our awareness of how
everyone is a victim of patterned thinking.
Once we do this, well be more aware of when
we are caught in a rut. Beyond simple
awareness, however, we also can break away
with some practice.
Familiarity is the handmaiden of habit. We
sometimes become so familiar with things that
we arent even aware of .

Exercise
Write a line on a plain paper, then
mark all writing mistakes i.e. Ts not
ticked, Is not dotted etc.
Rewrite the same line trying to correct
all the mistakes
Write the same line 10 times. You fill
find that you are falling into a pattern
and again making the same mistakes
that you had made the first time you
wrote your sentence.

Create New Perspectives

When I have arranged a bouquet for
the purpose of painting it, I always
turn to the side I did not plan.
Pierre Auguste Renoir
To produce something new, we must
see something new. What we see may
be
some
previously
overlooked
element of a problem or a solution from
combining two previously un joined
problem elements or ideas.

Keeping Sight of the Big

Picture

We sometimes get so close to a problem

that we lose ourselves in it. In one respect,
becoming deeply involved with a problem
automatically increases our understanding
of it. This is good. We must understand
problems to deal with them. Too much
understanding, however, can be harmful
because it causes us to narrow our focus
and lose a broader perspective. This is bad.
Too much detailed problem awareness
causes us to lose sight of the big picture.

Minimize Negative
Thinking

Unless you are an exceptional person, you are a

natural critic. From an early age we have learned
to analyze and criticize anything new. Now that
we are adults, being critical is second nature. We
are experts at it.
Although there may be a few exceptions, most of
us come preprogrammed with the automatic no
response. Through conditioning in school and at
home, we have learned to criticize first and think
later. Its almost as if we have learned that it is
better to reject something new outright than even
to consider its potential value as a solution.

Develop Balanced Responses

To break out of the negative thinking groove, try to develop more
balanced responses to new ideas. There are a number of ways
to do this
1.Try viewing ideas as raw material; that is, initial ideas are the
fragile creatures we often transform into more workable
solutions. So be gentle. Support and cradle all new ideasthey
frequently can be modified or can help stimulate improved
versions.
2. Every time you hear a new idea, train yourself to think or say,
Whats good about it? What is at least one positive feature of
that idea? If you can think of one positive aspect, then you
will benefit from what may initially have appeared useless.
Moreover, the positive feature may stimulate a better idea.
3. Use a balanced response to evaluating new ideas. Say (or
think) what you like about the idea, what you find interesting
about it, and then what you dislike. This might help prevent the
negative climate in individuals and groups that often
accompanies responses to ideas.

Take Prudent Risks

A failure is an opportunity to start over
again, but more intelligently.
Henry Ford
Not all risks are equal. Some risks are
more serious than others. For
instance, the potential risks of idea
generation are much less serious
than the risks of implementation.

Creative Problem Solving (CPS): The

5Minute Guide
What is Creative Problem Solving?
CPS is a structured process for solving
problems or finding opportunities, used when
you want to go beyond conventional thinking
and arrive at creative (novel and useful)
solutions.
A key point: although the process is depicted
as linear, in practice it is more organic.
Depending on the situation, you may not use
all the stages, and may not use them in the
order shown.

Facilitate
Goal of this stage: at the beginning of
the process, to determine the problem
space you are working in; throughout
the process, to make
process decisions.
Description: a metaprocess step used
throughout CPS to make processrelated
decisions: where to enter, which tools to use,
and when to move to the next step. This
oversight is the responsibility of the
problem's owner and the CPS facilitator, who
is usually a neutral third party.
Useful
tools:
SWOT
(Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, Strengths), or

Imagine the Future

At the end of this stage: you will
have created a broad, brief,
beneficial statement beginning
with "I wish..." or "Wouldn't it be
great if...".
Description: this stage defines a
desired future condition, and sets the
stage for clarifying the problem.
Useful
tools:
Brainstorming,
Brainwriting, Web of Abstraction, and
Excursions for divergent thinking; Hits,
Clustering, and Restating Clusters

Find the Questions

At the end of this stage: you will have

identified one or more problems you wish
to work on, in the form of concise
problem statements
that begin with "How to...", "How
might...", "In what ways might...", and
"What might be all the....
Description: identify the problems that must
be solved if you are to realize the
goal/wish/challenge identified in previous
stage.
Useful tools: Brainstorming, Brainwriting,
Web of Abstraction, and Word Dance for

Generate Ideas
At the end of this stage: you will have
generated many ideas that would solve
the problems identified in the previous
stage, and you would have selected those
that are worth carrying forward.
Description:
imagine
many
solutions,
alternatives, and opportunities for the problem
statement you selected in the previous step.
Then, evaluate, judge, strengthen, and finally
decide which to carry forward.
Useful tools: Idea Box, Brainwriting,
Brainstorming, SCAMPER, Forced Connections,
Visual Connections, and Excursions for
divergent thinking; Hits, Clustering, and

Craft Solutions
At the end of this stage: you will have
refined and decided on the solution(s)
you will implement. One way: create a
solution
statement,
an
extended
description of what you plan to do, that
begins with: "What I see myself (us)
doing is...".
Description: After generating ideas in the
previous step, you will have one or more ideas
that you wish to pursue. In this step, you
select the ones you have the time are
resources to pursue, and you strengthen them
you make them better.
Useful tools: when strengthening, any

Explore Acceptance
At the end of this stage: you will have
identified those who will assist your
solution, those who will resist, and what
to do with each.
Description: Make a list of people and
groups who will assist you, then generate
ideas for how they can help you advance your
solution. Make
a list of people and groups who will resist your
solution, then generate ideas for how you can
overcome or mitigate the resistance.

Plan for Action

At the end of this stage: you will have
created an action plan that identifies
what is to be done, by when, and by
whom.
Description: create an action plan that
identifies the discrete and concrete steps you
will follow, and who is involved in the
implementation.
Useful tool: RACI chart, which lists the action
steps and, for each step, the person
Responsible to do it; the person who is
Accountable for it being done; the person(s)
who can be Consulted for help and guidance;