creativepolicingleadership-blog

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Conclusion

Creativity, innovation and design... These words mean something very different to me now, than they did when i began this subject.

Previously i thought that they were simply art terminology.  However, now i see they are much more.  Creativity, innovation and design is about learning to be a meaningful actor in the world.  It is about how we should interact with other people in order to produce results.  And yet it should also inform our own internal processes, they way we think and feel.  This subject has taught me some lessons which i believe i will carry with me into the future

-Great leaders are not necessariy visionaries, rather, they are able to harness other peoples creative potential

-New ideas both need and deserve to be given a chance to develop before they are questioned

-Dreams pave the way for a better reality

-Stop watching TV and you will have time.  Learn and you won’t need money

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You cannot always control what goes on outside.  But you can always control what goes on inside

Wayne Dyer

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Money

A lack of money for many people is a limiting factor in achieving success.  Not having enough resources in order to fund your dreams is surely a barrier which blocks many people from being able to pursue their passions.  Arvins’ response to this, is that a lack of money is overcome through knowledge.  If you have extensive knowledge of the field you wish to excel in, this resource should outweigh financial resources.  By learning as much as possible, you can increase your chances of success.

Initially, i thought that this statement is outrageous.  Knowledge surely increases your chances of success, but still, it is still only a chance.  People with limited resources may only get one chance.   People who are very wealthy may have multiple attempts at for example, starting up a business, without any real fear of failure.

However, a person could become so knowledgeable in a field, that they were almost certainly correct.  A person with money could be foolish and loose it, however a wise person may only need one chance to break through and succeed.  Maybe.

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Time

Currently, I:

-Am a full time uni student (40 hours a week)

-Work a 25 hour week as a swimming instructor

-Do about 12 hours of sports training a week

-Try to spend time with fiancee, family etc

I am not a person who is working three jobs to provide for their family.  I feel uncomfortable complaining that I am under a lot of time pressure.  Regardless, i do genuinely feel as if i am stretched very thin, trying to make all of these commitments.

According to arvin, the average american spends 31.5 hours watching television and 23 hours online EVERY WEEK.  I do not think of myself as a person who spends a lot of time online or watching TV.  And yet, i probably would spend about 20 hours a week watching TV...however

I dont think it is enough to say that cutting out TV will solve my time shortage though.  At home after work, both my family and my fiancees’ tend to sit around together watching TV.  Cutting out TV time, really would mean cutting out family time.

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Time, Risk, Money

Overcoming barriers is explored by Arvin Lal in the Tedx seminar bellow.  Arvin is the owner founder of an enormous supplements company, which he started in his parents basement with a $3000 credit card.  Arvin identifies 3 major barriers which need to be overcome to achieve innovation and success: Time, Risk and Money.

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Barriers are Real

In the previous post, I concluded by questioning why it is that we do not believe we can achieve our goals, when the history is full of people who have made the impossible possible.  The context of the previous post implied that this was rhetorical, however I do not believe this is adequate.  The reality is that achieving success and innovation is hard.  Achieving success is not easy, and it requires much less effort to simply sit back.

Of course, hard does not mean possible.

I do not mean to take away from the previous post- it is possible to achieve our dreams.  However, isn’t it foolish to assume that simply believing that something is possible is enough to achieve it? Yes, it is essential, but a number of barriers still need to be overcome.

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How does dreaming lead to productivity?

This blog has already explored how the creative process must allow for ideas a chance to develop before they are labelled as unfeasible and cast aside.  The importance of this is clearly evident when examining how technology which was dreamt up by science fiction in the past has in more recent years become realised.  Below is a clip for the 1968 movie 2001 A Space Odyssey.  In the film clip, the characters are shown to be using devices which look very similar to the apple iPad.  This movie is 48 years old, whilst the iPad was released in 2010.

Another example of technology which could once only be dreamed of becoming a reality is the overboard.  The hover-board seen in the1989 movie Back to the Future 2 captivated multiple generations, all of whom desperately wished this technology could be developed.  Interestingly, in the fictional timeline of the movie, the year where the overboard being used is 2015.

This video published in late 2014 shows skateboarder Tony Hawk riding a overboard prototype.  Some people might complain it is not up to the standard of the overboard imagined in the movie, however i am personally amazed that this technology has been developed.

But what can we learn from this?  Firstly, it clearly shows that science fiction, which is so often dismissed as childish and geeky, has had a tremendous impact upon modern society, particularly with regards to improvements in communications technology.  But does it teach us a lesson beyond this?

I think this demonstrates that in any field where innovation is required, it is absolutely essential not to immediately dismiss fantastical ideas just because they do not seem realistic.  What is science fiction one day, is science the next.  We should always dare to dream of what could be, and then, maybe, one day this could be realised.

I think this has further implications for how we should treat ourselves.  When we imagine where we want to be in the future, why is it that we…(or I, perhaps you are different) find it difficult to believe that we can achieve our dreams.  Why is it so difficult to accept that we could have the power to shape our own lives enough, that we can flourish, overcome all our obstacles and be the best we can be?  After all, history has shown time and again, the impossible is possible.

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Bibliography of Initial Approach

Disney Brainstorming Method: Dreamer, Realist and Spoiler, 2015, viewed 31 March 2016, <http://www.idea-sandbox.com/blog/disney-brainstorming-method-dreamer-realist-and-spoiler/>

Hunting Louise 2016, 3 Simple Ways To Finding & Fueling Inner Creativity, Viewed 31 March 2016, <http://blogsociety.com/blog/finding-fueling-your-inner-creativity>

Design Thinking for Educators 2013, Week 01 IDEO, viewed 30 March 2016, <https://vimeo.com/46067111>

Gurteen D 1998 "Knowledge, Creativity and Innovation", Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 2 Iss: 1, pp.5 - 13

Hill, L 2014, How to manage for collective creativity, viewed 30 March 2016, <http://www.ted.com/talks/linda_hill_how_to_manage_for_collective_creativity>

Fallon N 2014, ‘Creativity Is Not Innovation (But You Need Both)’, Business News Daily, viewed 30 March 2016, <http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6848-creativity-vs-innovation.html>

Stevens K 2016, Creating Dance, University of Western Australia

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Unblocking Blocks

Of course, the process of innovation is sometimes difficult, and common blocks to creativity include: limiting paradigms; and infanticide (Gurteen 1998).  

A paradigm refers to the lens through which people unknowingly view the world.  Due to individual experiences, beliefs etc, everybody views the world from a different perspective (Gurteen 1998).  Sometimes, our perspectives may prevent us from being able to successfully innovate.  

Infanticide in this context refers to tearing apart ideas which are not fully formed yet (Gurteen 1998).  Too often, we focus on what could go wrong with an idea before we consider how it could actually work.  Thus , we may dismiss ideas which may have been fruitful, had we spent longer thinking about what is needed for it to be achieved (Gurteen 1998).  This reflects the three-stage creative process utilised by Walt Disney.

(Dialogue refers to the process of discussing issues with others, and is useful for breaking down limiting paradigms (Gurteen 1998).  Dialogue is effective in breaking down paradigms when people do not seek to argue their pre-conceived ideas, or “listen to respond”; rather they seek to learn from others who may point out where they have gone wrong, that is they “listen to understand”(Gurteen 1998).  As a person who is probably too argumentative, i feel this has serious implications for how I will need to change my behaviour should I wish to be a successful leader and innovator.

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Creative Method?

As discussed earlier, creativity is vital to any role which involves problem solving; thus, it is appropriate for individuals to learn about how they can boost their creative potential as individuals.  Until i started this unit, i was not a person who thought a lot about my own creativity; however now i see the relevance and benefits of boosting your own personal creativity.  This blog post will examine: a model for idea generation; common blocks to innovation; and how these blocks may be lifted.

Walt Disney, recognised as one of the most creative people of all time, utilised a three stage method in order to create ideas.  The first of these stages was ‘the dreamer’ stage, which involves wild fantasising without any filtering in order to generate new and exciting ideas.  The second of these stages was ‘the realist’ stage, which involves thinking about how the wild fantasies of the dreamer could become possible.  The final stage was that of ‘the spoiler’, which involves finding flaws in the ideas proposed by the realist.  (Disney Brainstorming Method: Dreamer, realist and Spoiler 2015)

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Group genius- a better way

Upon listening to Linda Hill’s Seminar, “How to manage for collective creativity”, it became apparent to me that innovative enterprises are not lead by a single visionary leader (Hill 2014).  Rather, they are managed by a leader who is able to harness the creative potential of others (Hill 2014). Fostering an environment of collective creativity where a group is able to create ideas collaboratively allows for a type of ‘group genius’ to emerge, resulting in better, more renewable innovation (Hill 2014).  Further evidence which demonstrates the benefits of the collaborative creativity comes from the work of Kate Stevens (Stevens 2016).  Stevens studied the creative process of modern dancers in both individual and group situations (Stevens 2016).  She did this by asking the dancers to improvise alone, with a partner, and in a trio (Stevens 2016).  She discovered that whilst duos and trios do not create double and triple the amount of material as a solo dancer respectively, there were other great benefits to the group process (Stevens 2016).  The more people who were involved together, the more the participants said they enjoyed the session (Stevens 2016).  Therefore, my views concerning how leaders can utilise creativity has been drastically changed: many of the best leaders don’t rely on their own vision, rather they are able to utilise the creative potential of others; and furthermore this group process results in more enjoyment than working in isolation.

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My individualistic interpretation of leadership

One day, i  hope to assume a leadership role within the NSW police force.  Until recently, i had not given due consideration towards the importance of creativity and innovation to effective leadership.  Much of my life experience has been fairly individualistic: my current occupation as a swimming teacher requires only basic co-operation with other staff; even my chosen sports of boxing and judo are individual. I believed that being a good leader involved using ones own judgement to plan a course of action, and being able to inspire others to follow your ideas