THE PAPER CLIP PROJECT ASSIGNMENT

PAPER CLIP PROJECT
HOW TO IMPROVE CREATIVE
THINKING

Introduction
Creativity is a journey which continuously seeks innovation and evolution of ideas to shift
perspective on a situation and bring about positive solutions. In the wake of globalisation the
competitions in the workplaces have become more intense which requires improvising the
creative thinking abilities constantly. Innovations are derived from creative thinking and can be
incremental, evolutionary, revolutionary or disruptive innovations. This innovation leads to
change which can be either reactive or proactive (Matthews & Brueggemann, 2015). In my
journey to seek ways to improve creative thinking in my workplace I encountered many ideas
which I implemented to help in building creative thinking. The enhancement of creative thinking
among the staff is one of the primary objects of modern organisations. Innovation is the process
assisting the entrepreneurs to convert opportunities into products which can be marketed.
Discussion
To begin my journey in analysing the ways in which creative thinking can be enhanced it was
important for me to take into consideration the creativity score which identifies my strength and
weaknesses to approach the problem and achieve creative solutions. In the process I realised the
persistence in my weakness and I need to motivate myself to try and derive valid solutions in
spite of other good ideas being around. I realised that complex tasks can be effectively managed
by me and I'm curious to achieve valid solutions for the problem. Being able to work in
contradictory situations and striving to reach for a solution is also one of my strengths.
It is always advisable to identify the source of innovative ideas which can be either trends,
changes in market and industry, process needs, concepts which are knowledge based or any
unexpected occurrence. It is to be revered that creativity leads to generating ideas which can
help in generation of effectiveness of systems and improving efficiency.

The change strategy must include planned efforts which can be utilised to bring about
evolutionary and revolutionary changes (Shin, Jeong & Bae, 2018). The resources need to be
optimally utilized since it is mandatory to bring desired changes in minimal resources. The
paper clip challenge focuses on rallying minimal resources which need to be employed to bring
creative solutions and add requisite values. The paperclip is considered a euphemism for
constraints of resources and applies approach which is minimalist and can be achieved through
innovation or change strategy.
My first step towards analysing the skills in creative thinking can be improved at the workplace
was strategy formulation. Strategy formulation can be successfully achieved only when
environmental analysis at both micro and macro level are conducted to determine technology,
social, political and economic changes along with core competencies, competitors and suppliers.
While determining the needs of my workplace, design thinking proved to be an innovative tool.
According to Brenner & Uebernickel, (2016), design thinking makes use of the sensibilities of
the designer and aligns with the needs of people taking into consideration technological
feasibility and devising strategies that can help in tapping the maker opportunity and courier
value. The design thinking tool focuses on innovation keeping the consumers in mind. Design
thinking is an effective tool for me as it helps in tackling complex problems which is my
strength. The complex problems involved in the process of improving creative thinking at the
workplace can be resolved through taking a focused and flexible approach. It is required to
empathise with needs of the people, refraining from the problem in a human centric way,
undertaking ideation sessions for creation of ideas, taking hands on approach in prototyping and
testing the solutions developed. The design thinking approach can be effectively applied to
strategy of job autonomy which will help in achieving increased creative thinking at the