Managing Personal Creativity

safe ideas. Encourage risk among employees
and respond in ways that reward that risk.
Creative people have conscious and uncon-
scious strategies and ways of thinking that help
them access fresh ideas. The right half of the
spectrum—strategic creativity and ungoverned
thinking—represents those ways in which peo-
ple can more readily access original thought. In
the strategically creative mode of thought, peo-
ple let their minds wander. They walk away from
the problem, sleep on it, turn it upside down,
think in metaphors—all patterns of thought that
do not come naturally to those accustomed to
working in results-oriented business environ-
ments. The ungoverned end of the spectrum
Where Ideas
Come From
Barriers to
Getting Ideas
Thinking Governed
by Conditioning
Examples:
• Flight or fight
• Prejudice
• Beliefs
• . . . . . . . . . .
Thinking Directed
by Rationale
Examples:
• Logic
• Sequence
• Science
• . . . . . . . . . .
Strategic Creativity
Examples:
• Metaphor
• Absurdity
• Irrelevance
• . . . . . . . . . .
Ungroverned
Thinking
Examples:
• Prayer
• Accidents
• Insanity
• . . . . . . . . . .
Ideas that Form
in The Mind
Ideas that Get
Expressed or
Acted Upon
ACTION
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PREDICTABLE
DIRECTIONAL
SURPRISING
• Immediately usable
• Expertise
SPECIFIC
Self–Image
Self–Esteem
SELF–CENSOR
Self–Punishment
Figure 1. Framework for Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving

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works well for some, but only the boldest feel
comfortable exploring this domain where
chance and accident reign. Whether one explores
the farthest reaches of the spectrum or not, the
more the mind can range across the entire spec-
trum of thinking, the more fresh ideas will
spring forth.