Creativity is an act of thinking something new or creating new ideas through imaginations

and turning them to possibilities while Innovation is the introduction of something new which
is effective and has not yet been introduced into the market.
Creativity is the ability to conceive something unpredictable, original and unique. It must be
expressive, exciting and imaginative. It is the mirror of how beautifully a person can think in
any given circumstance.That something is not inherited but can be developed if someone
keeps on learning and understanding things with a rare and exclusive perception. Creativity
is a brainstorming and mind-blogging activity in which a person has to think beyond his
imagination for bringing something worthwhile. It is an activity of unveiling something which
was previously hidden.Factors that affect organizational creativityare the organizational
climate, leadership style, organizational culture, resources, skills and the structural systems
of an organization.
Innovation is an act of applying new ideas which create some value for a business
organization, government and society as well. Innovation is the better and smarter way of
doing anything or it is the process of doing something better for the first time, which was not
previously done by any othersuch as the introduction of:
 New technology.
 New product line or segment.
 A new method of production.
 An improvement on the existing product.
Innovation is closely tied to creativity because putting creative ideas into action is an
innovation, whose consequences should be positive. It can also be termed as a change
which can bring new advantage to the performance and productivity of the company.
Innovation is of two types i.e. evolutionary and revolutionary. Evolution refers to a slow and
gradual change whereas revolution refers to a sudden, dramatic and complete change.
Therefore, Creativity is related to ‘imagination’ whereas, innovation is related to
‘implementation’.
Key Differences between Creativity and Innovation
Creativity Innovation
1 The quality of thinking new ideas and The act of executing the creative ideas into
putting them into reality is creativity. practice is innovation.
2 Creativity is an imaginative process Innovation is a productive process.
3 Creativity can never be measured Innovation can be measured.
4 Creativity is related to the generation Innovation is related to introduce something
of ideas which are new and unique better into the market.
5 Creativity does not require money Innovation requires money.
6 There is no risk involved in creativity The risk is always attached to innovation.
Stages of creativity
Creativity does not just happen. It is a cognitive process that produces new ideas or
transforms old ideas into updated concepts. The Creative Process Model explains how an
individual can form seemingly random thoughts into an ideal combination or solution.
There are five stages of creativity as follows:
1.Preparation
2.Incubation
3.Insight (vision)
4.Evaluation
5.Implementation
Stage 1: The Preparation Step of the Creative Process Model
During the preparation step of the creative process model, an individual becomes curious
after encountering a problem. Examples of the problems can include a musician absorbing a
lot of the music that is inspiring him to create a new piece, a writer reading other writers in
this area, an artist looking at other artist’s work in the area that you are looking at creating
something in. If you are a scientist you are looking at all the background research and an
entrepreneur or a marketer looking at all the previous market research and what other
companies have done before. At this point, rather than searching for magic leaps of
understanding, your brain is using attention, reasoning, and planning to gather information.
So this stage is normally best carried out in a quiet environment because you are trying to
absorb as much information as possible and this information will go into your sub-
consciousness where it is very important for the second stage, or second level.
Stage 2: The Incubation Step of the Creative Process Model
This is when all the information that you have gathered in the PREPARATION stage starts to
mix in the back of your mind. This is an extremely important stage because sometimes it
can take days, or weeks, or months or sometimes even years. The idea that you’ll think
about writing about a book or piece of music, and you’re writing about it and you just leave
it to the side for a while and then you come back to it. Now the interesting thing about the
incubation stages it that to a certain extent it is not really under your control how long that
stage will take. It is something you cannot really rush because what it leads to is the third
stage.
Stage 3: The Insight Step of the Creative Process Model
As ideas begin to mature, the individual has an epiphany regarding how to piece his/her
thoughts together in a manner that makes sense. The word epiphany comes from a Greek
word that means “to manifest” or “to show,”
Insight can happen unexpectedly. For example, an individual with the task of putting
together an office party may have an idea for a theme while driving home from work.
Stage 4: The Evaluation Step of the Creative Process Model
After a solution reveals itself in an epiphany, the individual then evaluates whether the
insight is worth the chase. He may consult with peers or supervisors regarding his insights
during this step before pursuing it further. If he works with clients, he may seek a client’s
input and approval before moving on to the next step.
Stage 5: The Implementation Step of the Creative Process Model
This is when an individual begins the process of transforming his/her thoughts into a final
product. For example, during this step, a painter may begin outlining shapes on a canvas
with chalk before applying oil paint.
Characteristics of highly Creative People
1. They display a great deal of curiosity about many things. They are constantly
asking questions about anything and almost everything and have broad interests in
many unrelated areas.
2. They generate a large number of ideas or solutions to problems and
questions.They often offer unusual (“way out”), unique, clever responses.
3. They are sometimes radical and spirited in disagreement:Are unusually stubborn
or persistent while possessing an idea or project.
4. They are willing to take risks: are described as adventurous or speculative.
5. They exhibit intellectual playfulness: They may frequently be caught fantasizing,
daydreaming or imagining.
6. They manipulate ideas: They easily change, elaborate, adapt, improve or modify the
original idea or the ideas of others.
7. They exhibit emotional sensitivity: They May be very sensitive to beauty or creative
experiences.
8. They are frequently perceived as unusual: They can accept the disorder of chaotic
environments or situations and are frequently not interested in details or fear being
classified as “different.”
9. They criticize constructively: They are unwilling to accept authoritarian assertions
without excessively critical self-examination.
Characteristics of highly successful innovators
Innovators share some qualities of which some are as follows:
1. Insatiable curiosity: They have an essential curiosity that motivates them to ask,
“What happens if I put these two things together?” or “How can I get from A to Bmore
easily?”Successful innovators look at everything as though they’re viewing it for the first
time
2. They are team Players: A great innovator realizes that a team is involved, and does
his or her best to be a team player rather than being difficult individualists. Successful
innovators are team players who bring others along with them on implementing new
ideas.
3. Innovators connect and collaborate: Most people work alone but a majority of
breakthroughs happen in collaborative environments. Expect to work with others to
create breakthroughs.
4. Innovators value a culture of innovation: Day to day, great innovators encourage
risk-taking, teach others, collaborate and build teams, and much more.
5. Innovators value innovation: This might seem obvious, but it’s not. Many
organizations value stability and consistency more than innovation and change.
Innovators realize that innovation is the only way to remain truly competitive, and they
share that feeling with others. As a result, they value innovation and help others to do
the same.
6. Encouragement of risk taking: Innovators realize that taking risks is part of making
great discoveries and advancing society. Great innovators encourage risk taking in
others. In fact, 80% of great innovators encourage employees to be curious, and 76%
systematically encourage risk-taking. A culture of risk-taking means encouraging new
ideas and being gentle with failure, seeing it as an opportunity to learn rather than an
occasion of punishment.
7. Innovators teach others: Great innovators realize that new ideas and implementation
can’t end with them. They bring others along on the journey, training them how to think
in new ways. In this way, they build entire teams of forward-thinkers. When innovation
best practices and mindsets are shared widely, entire industries can benefit.
8. Start somewhere: Too many people feel like they can’t move forward with an idea until
they are sure that it’s the absolute best. Great innovators realize that they won’t know
what ideas are great until they try them. In fact, they’re not afraid of bad ideas because
they know that good ideas are usually close behind! To become an innovator, begin with
the idea you have and be open to learning more.
9. Staying positive: Innovators realize that if you do what you’ve always done, you get
what you’ve always gotten. Stay positive and you’ll see new ideas work out in surprising
ways!
10. Stamina: Innovative success is rarely sudden, and almost every innovator has the
unshakable perseverance of a long-distance runner.
11.Respect for other innovators: Part of great leadership and success is respecting other
people who can help bring an idea to completion.
Barriers to creative thinking
Lack of Direction: The first obstacle to creative thinking is the lack of clear goals and
objectives, unless written down, accompanied by detailed plans of action. When you become
very clear about what you want, and how you are going to achieve it, your creative mind
springs to life. You immediately begin to sparkle with ideas and insights that help you to
move forward and improve your problem solving skills for business success.
Fear of failure: Most people think that others will judge them negatively when trying
something unfamiliar and fear to look foolish or being laughed at when creating an elaborate
or unusual display.
Stress: An over-stressed person finds it difficult to think objectively. Stress reduces the
quality of all mental processes. It limits creative thinking because that requires inspiration
and exploration.Thinking outside the box requires a relaxed state of mind.
Following Rules: This hampers the creativity when you have a tendency to obey to
accepted patterns of belief or thought. The rules and limitations of the status quo restricts
one to stay on the safe side. You prevent yourself from being open to suggestions and ideas
that are new or not associated with your field of work.
Making Assumptions: Conscious and unconscious assumptions restrict creative thinking
such as that topic is taboo, religious reasons that a subject is touchy or feeling
uncomfortable tackling about an issue.
Over-reliance on Logic: Investing all your intellect into logical or analytical thinking
excludes imagination, instinct, emotion or humor. If something makes you smile it also
makes others smile. If it makes you happy it makes others happy.
Negative Attitude: The tendency to focus on the negative aspects of problems and
spending energy on worry.
Types of innovation
There are various types of innovation with regard to the object of innovation and the degree
of innovation, some of which are as follows:
1. Product innovation: Products concern both material products and intangible services
such as information and Data that meet customer needs and are thus acquired by the
customer. With product innovations, a company earns its money and tries to
differentiate itself from the competition.
2. Service innovation: service innovations are like product innovations when it comes to
selling them directly to the customer, e. g. insurance or management consultancy. Even
if services are not actively sold, as in the case of manufacturing companies, each
company still provides services to its customers, for example in logistics, complaints,
sales advice, etc., even if they are not actively sold. This is also where innovation comes
in when it comes to differentiation and customer enthusiasm.
3. Business model innovation: The business model is the way a company functions and
earns money. The business model innovation encompasses innovations in strategy,
marketing, supply chains, value creation, pricing or cost structures.
4. Process and technology innovation: As the name implies, these are technological
innovations, such as the creation of products and services. In principle, they are also
process innovations. These include, for example, production processes or IT technologies
for apps. Product innovations, quality improvements or cost savings often go hand in
hand with process and technology innovations.
5. Organizational innovation: Organizational innovations affect the process and
organizational structure. These can be organizational process innovations or
management innovations, e. g. new tools for measuring customer satisfaction or
optimizing delivery processes to reduce costs.
6. Social innovation: Social innovations are innovations where the benefit lies with
society and the purpose is not primarily profit. Examples include innovation in education,
poverty reduction, equal opportunities and health.
7. Environmental innovation: All innovations that contribute to improving the
environment are environmental innovations. This concerns for example environmentally
friendly products, contributions to environmental protection or the avoidance of
emissions.
An innovation can affect several innovation subjects at the same time. Logically, there is no
clear demarcation. For example, a product innovation can be a process and environmental
innovation at the same time. Or a business model innovation can bring with it a product and
organizational innovation.
Principles of Creativity
Creativity of every individual is composed of three main components and these are:
Expertise: This basically encompasses the knowledge of a person has in a specific field.
This means intellectual knowledge, procedural knowledge and technical knowledge all
combined together. Expertise and creativity are closely related because creativity generally
demands some level of expertise.
Creative Thinking Skills: Creative thinking is associated with how one approaches a
problem or a difficult situation. It involves finding a unique and creative solution to any
unanswered question or problem. It is basically “thinking outside the box”, having a new
perspective about something routine.
New ideas, intelligent solutions, unique collaborations and combinations all are a part of
creative thinking. It exhibits the flexibility and imagination power of a person. Creative
thinking is stimulated by both structured processes such as lateral thinking and unstructured
processes such as brainstorming.
Motivation: This is the driving force behind an individual. It is the desire that pushes a
person to initiate any action or behavior or sustain such behaviors as well. Motivation is a
very big part of any persons work environment because it defines the success of any
endeavor.
Barriers to creativity and innovation
Barriers Limiting beliefs Positive thinking
(Solutions)
Negative The tendency to focus on the negative aspects Seek the inherent
attitudes of problems and spending energy on worry. opportunities in the
situation
Fear of Failure is a necessary
failure Fear of looking foolish and being laughed at. condition and it’s a stepping
stone to success.
Stress An over-stressed person finds it difficult to Managing day-to-day
think objectively at all. Unwanted stress operations is important, as
reduces the quality of all mental processes. it will launch a business into
This is because of not having time to think new markets and enable
creatively. rapid growth, creating high
return on investment
Rules The rules have a tendency to conform to Some rules are necessary,
accepted patterns of belief or thought and but others encourage
limitations of the status quo that hampers mental laziness. "Every act
creative breakthrough. of creation is first of all an
act of destruction." – Pablo
Picasso
Making Identify and examine the
assumpti Both conscious and unconscious assumptions assumptions you are
ons restrict creative thinking. making to ensure they are
not excluding new ideas.
Challenge assumptions.
Over- Investing all your intellectual capital into logical "Innovation is not the
relaying or analytical thinking, the step-by-step product of logical thought,
on logic approach excludes imagination, instinct, although the result is tied to
feeling or humor. logical structure." – Albert
Einstein