Professional Development: Understanding Creativity and Problem Solving

This assignment delves into the multifaceted nature of creativity, defining it as both an ability and an attitude that involves embracing change and exploring new possibilities. It examines negative attitudes that stifle creativity, such as fear of problems, the belief that something can't be done, self-doubt, the dismissal of childlike wonder, fear of failure, and the misconception that one is not creative. The assignment then debunks common myths surrounding creative thinking, including the idea of a single solution, the belief that the best answers have already been found, the assumption that creative solutions must be technologically complex, and the notion that ideas either come or they don't. Furthermore, it identifies mental blocks to creative thinking, such as prejudice and functional fixation, and provides examples of how these blocks can hinder innovative solutions. Overall, the assignment aims to provide insights and techniques to cultivate a more creative mindset and approach problem-solving effectively.

MODULE – 5
CREATIVITY
WHAT IS CREATIVITY?
An Ability. A simple definition is that creativity is the ability to imagine or invent something n
will see below, creativity is not the ability to create out of nothing (only God can do that), but th
ability to generate new ideas by combining, changing, or reapplying existing ideas. Some creat
ideas are astonishing and brilliant, while others are just simple, good, practical ideas that no on
to have thought of yet.
An Attitude. Creativity is also an attitude: the ability to accept change and newness, a willing
play with ideas and possibilities, a flexibility of outlook, the habit of enjoying the good, while lo
for ways to improve it. We are socialized into accepting only a small number of permitted or no
things, like chocolate-covered strawberries, for example. The creative person realizes that ther
other possibilities, like peanut butter and banana sandwiches, or chocolate-covered prunes.
A Process. Creative people work hard and continually to improve ideas and solutions,
gradual alterations and refinements to their works. Contrary to the mythology surrounding crea
very, very few works of creative excellence are produced with a single stroke of brilliance or in
frenzy of rapid activity. Much closer to the real truth are the stories of companies who had to ta
invention away from the inventor in order to market it because the inventor would hav
tweaking it and fiddling with it, always trying to make it a little better.
The creative person knows that there is always room for improvement.
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES THAT BLOCK CREATIVITY
1. Oh no, a problem! The reaction to a problem is often a bigger problem than the problem it
Many people avoid or deny problems until it's too late, largely because these people h
learnedthe appropriateemotional,psychological,and practicalresponses.A problemis an
opportunity. The happiest people welcome and even seek out problems, meeting them as chal
and opportunities to improve things. Definition: a problem is (1) seeing the difference between
you have and what you want or (2) recognizing or believing that there is something better than
current situation or (3) an opportunity for a positive act. Seeking problems aggressively
confidence, increase happiness, and give you a better sense of control over your life.
2. It can't be done. This attitude is, in effect, surrendering before the battle. By assu
something cannot be done or a problem cannot be solved, a person gives the problem a power
strength it didn't have before. And giving up before starting is, of course, self fulfilling. But look
history of solutions and the accompanying skeptics: man will never fly, diseases will ne
conquered, rockets will never leave the atmosphere. Again, the appropriate attitude is summed
the statement, "The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer."
3. I can't do it. Or There's nothing I can do. Some people think, well maybe the prob
solved by some expert, but not by me because I'm not (a) smart enough, (b) an engineer, or (c
(whether educated, expert, etc.) Again, though, look at the history of problem solving.
Who were the Wright brothers that they could invent an airplane? Aviation engineers? No, they
bicycle mechanics. The ball point pen was invented by a printer's proofreader, Ladislao Biro, no
mechanical engineer. Major advances in submarine design were made by English clergyman G
Garrett and by Irish schoolmaster John P. Holland. The cotton gin was invented by that well kno

attorney and tutor, Eli Whitney. The fire extinguisher was invented by a captain of militia, Geor
Manby.
4. But I'm not creative. Everyone is creative to some extent. Most people are capable of ver
levels of creativity; just look at young children when they play and imagine. The problem is tha
creativity has been suppressed by education. All you need to do is let it come back to the surfa
will soon discover that you are surprisingly creative.
5. That's childish. In our effort to appear always mature and sophisticated, we often
creative, playful attitudes that marked our younger years. But if you solve a problem that save
marriage or gets you promoted or keeps your friend from suicide, do you care whether other p
describe your route to the solution as "childish?" Besides, isn't play a lot of fun? Reme
sometimes people laugh when something is actually funny, but often they laugh when th
imagination to understand the situation.
6. I might fail. Thomas Edison, in his search for the perfect filament for the incandescent lam
anything he could think of, including whiskers from a friend's beard. In all, he tried about 1800
After about 1000 attempts, someone asked him if he was frustrated at his lack of success. He s
something like, "I've gained a lot of knowledge--I now know a thousand things that won't work.
Fear of failure is one of the major obstacles to creativity and problem solving. The cure is to ch
your attitude about failure. Failures along the way should be expected and accepted; they are
learning tools that help focus the way toward success. Not only is there nothing wrong with fail
failing is a sign of action and struggle and attempt--much better than inaction. The go-with-the
types may never fail, but they are essentially useless to humanity, nor can they ever enjoy the
of accomplishment that comes after a long struggle.
Suppose you let your fear of failure guide your risk taking and your attempts. You try only three
in a year because you are sure of succeeding. At the end of the year the score is: Successes 3,
0. Now suppose the next year you don't worry about failing, so you try a hundred things. You fa
70 of them. At the end of the year the score is Successes 30, Failures 70. Which would you rath
have--three successes or 30--ten times as many? And imagine what 70 failures will have taugh
Proverb: Mistakes aren't fun, but they sure are educational.
MYTHS ABOUT CREATIVE THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVIN
1. Every problem has only one solution (or one right answer). The goal of proble
solve the problem, and most problems can be solved in any number of ways. If you discover a
that works, it is a good solution. There may be other solutions thought of by other people, but t
doesn't make your solution wrong. What is THE solution to putting words on paper? Fountain pe
point, pencil, marker, typewriter, printer, Xerox machine, printing press?
2. The best answer/solution/method has already been found. Look at the history of any
and you'll see that improvements, new solutions, new right answers, are always being found. W
the solution to human transportation? The ox or horse, the cart, the wagon, the train,
airplane, the jet, the SST? Is that the best and last? What about pneumatic tubes, hovercraft, e
Trek type beams?
3. Creativeanswersare complextechnologically.Only a few problemsrequirecomplex
technological solutions. Most problems you'll meet with require only a thoughtful solutio
personal action and perhaps a few simple tools. Even many problems that seem to req
technological solution can be addressed in other ways.

For example, what is the solution to the large percentage of packages ruined by the Post Office
the Post Office package handling method. Packages are tossed in bins when you send
solution, look at United Parcel. When you send a package, it is put on a shelf. The change from
shelf is not a complex or technological solution; it's just a good idea, using commonly available
As another example, when hot dogs were first invented, they were served to customers with gl
them. Unfortunately, the customers kept walking off with the gloves. The solution was not at al
serve the hot dog on a roll so that the customer's fingers were still insulated from the heat. The
be eaten along with the dog. No more worries about disappearing gloves. (Note by the way wh
example of changing direction this is. Instead of asking, "How can I keep the gloves from being
the hot dog server stopped thinking about gloves altogether.)
4. Ideas either come or they don't. Nothing will help. There are many successfu
stimulating idea generation. We will be discussing and applying them.
MENTAL BLOCKS TO CREATIVE THINKING AND PROBLEM S
1. Prejudice.The older we get, the more preconceivedideas we have about things.These
preconceptions often prevent us from seeing beyond what we already know or believe to be po
They inhibit us from accepting change and progress.
Example problem: How to connect sections of airplanes with more ease and strength than usin
modern solution is to use glue--glue the sections together. We probably wouldn't think
because of our prejudice about the word and idea of glue. But there are many kinds of glue, an
used to stick plane parts together makes a bond stronger than the metal of the parts themselv
Another problem: How can we make lighter weight bullet proof windows? Thicker glass
Answer: Use plastic. Again, we are prejudiced against plastic. But some plastics are not flimsy
are used in place of steel and in bullet proof windows.
Another problem: Make a ship's hull that won't rust or rot like steel or wood. Solution: Use conc
prejudice is that concrete is too heavy. Why not make lightweight concrete? That's what's done
Final example: How to divide a piece of cake equally between two kids so they won't complain
kid is preferred over the other: "You gave him the bigger piece; you like him better! Waaaah!"
Put the kids in charge of dividing the cake. Our prejudice is that immature, selfish kids can't do
the solution, one cuts the cake, the other has first choice of pieces, works very well.
2. Functional fixation. Sometimes we begin to see an object only in terms of its name rather
of what it can do. Thus, we see a mop only as a device for cleaning a floor, and do not think tha
might be useful for clearing cobwebs from the ceiling, washing the car, doing aerobic
propping a door open or closed, and so on. (Later on in the semester, we will be doing "uses fo
break out of this fixation.)
There is also a functional fixation of businesses. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth cent
railroads saw themselves as railroads. When automobiles and later airplanes began to come in
railroads didn't adapt. "That's not our business," they said. But if they had seen themselves as
people transportation business rather than in the railroad business, they could have capitalized
great opportunity.
Similarly, when the telephone began its rise, some of the telegraph companies said, "T
business; we're telegraph companies." But if they had said, "Hey, we're in the communication b
here's a new way to communicate," they would have grown rather than died. Compare Western
AT&T. And have you heard of those big calculator companies Dietzgen or Pickett? No? Well, the
among the biggest makers of slide rules. But when electronic calculators began to rise, they di
what business they were in. They thought they were in the slide rule business, when they were

calculator business. They didn't adapt, they didn't accept the challenge of change and opportu
they fell.
And there's a functional fixation of people, too. Think a minute how you react when yo
pastor mowing his lawn, or your auto mechanic on a television show promoting a book. Stereot
can even be a form of functional fixation--how many people would laugh at a blonde q
Aristotle? Too often we permit only a narrow range of attitudes and behaviors in other people,
on bias, prejudice, hasty generalization, or limited past experience. Think of those statements
can't believe he said that," or "Imagine her doing that," and so on. But recall the proverb, "The
my life is not to live down to your expectations."
3. Learned helplessness. This is the feeling that you don't have the tools, knowledge, mater
to do anything, so you might as well not try. We are trained to rely on other people
everything. We think small and limit ourselves. But the world can be interacted with.
If you are in need of information, there are libraries, bookstores, friends, professors, and, of cou
the Internet. And there are also city, county, and state government agencies with addresses an
numbers and web sites. There are thousands of government agencies that really exist and that
to you. Contact the EPA if you're working on air pollution or pesticides. Get some gove
publications. Call your state senator or federal congressman for help on bills, information, prob
Contact the manufacturer of a product to find out what you want to know about it.
If you are technologically poor, you can learn. Learn how to cook, use tools, make clot
computer. You can learn to do anything you really want to do. All you need is the motivation
commitment. You can learn to fly an airplane, drive a truck, scuba dive, fix a car--name it.
4. Psychological blocks. Some solutions are not considered or are rejected simply be
reaction to them is "Yuck." But icky solutions themselves may be useful or good if they solve a
well or save your life. Eating lizards and grasshoppers doesn't sound great, but if it keeps you a
the wilderness, it's a good solution.
Perhaps more importantly, what at first seem to be icky ideas may lead to better solutions--de-
analogues of the original. When doctors noted that some unsophisticated natives were using g
heads to suture wounds, they imitated this pincer-closing technique by inventing the surgical s
POSITIVE ATTITUDES FOR CREATIVITY
1. Curiosity. Creative people want to know things--all kinds of things-- just to know them. Kno
does not require a reason. The question, "Why do you want to know that?" seems stra
creative person, who is likely to respond, "Because I don't know the answer." Knowledge is enjo
and often useful in strange and unexpected ways.
For example, I was once attempting to repair something, without apparent success, wh
asked testily, "Do you know what you're doing?" I replied calmly, "No, that's why I'm doing it."
Next, knowledge, and especially wide ranging knowledge, is necessary for creativity to flourish
fullest. Much creativity arises from variations of a known or combinations of two knowns. The b
flow from a well equipped mind. Nothing can come from nothing.
2. Challenge. Curious people like to identify and challenge the assumptions behind ideas, pro
problems, beliefs, and statements. Many assumptions, of course, turn out to be quite nece
solid, but many others have been assumed unnecessarily, and in breaking out of those
often comes a new idea, a new path, a new solution.
For example, when we think of a college, we traditionally think of a physical campus with class
library, and some nice trees. But why must college be a place (with congregated students and
all? Thus, the electronic college now exists, where students "go" to college right at ho

Correspondence courses have existed for years, too, beginning with the challenging of
centralized-place idea.
When we think of an electric motor, we automatically think of a rotating shaft machine. But wh
that? Why can't an electric motor have a linear output, moving in a straight line rather than a c
With such a challenged assumption came the linear motor, able to power trains, elevators, slid
and so on.
Problem: We make brandy, and for this special edition of our finest kind, we want a fully-grown
one piece inside each bottle. The bottle is narrow necked. How can we do it? As you think, watc
assumptions you are making. Possible solutions (assuming fully grown pear): close the neck or
insertion, use a plastic bottle like heat-shrink tubing, change to a wide mouth bottle. If we do n
fully grown pear: grow the pear from a bud inside the bottle.
3. Constructive discontent. This is not a whining, griping kind of discontent, but the ability
need for improvement and to propose a method of making that improvement. Constructive dis
a positive, enthusiastic discontent, reflecting the thought, "Hey, I know a way to make that bet
Constructive discontent is necessary for a creative problem solver, for if you are happy with ev
the way it is, you won't want to change anything. Only when you become discontent with some
when you see a problem, will you want to solve the problem and improve the situation.
4. A belief that most problems can be solved. By faith at first and by experience
creative thinker believes that something can always be done to eliminate or help allev
every problem. Problems are solved by a commitment of time and energy, and where this com
is present, few things are impossible.
The belief in the solvability of problems is especially useful early on in attacking any problem, b
many problems at first seem utterly impossible and scare off the fainter hearted. Those who ta
the problem with confidence will be the ones most likely to think through or around the imposs
the problem.
5. The ability to suspend judgment and criticism. Many new ideas, because they
unfamiliar, seem strange, odd, bizarre, even repulsive. Only later do they become "obviously" g
Other ideas, in their original incarnations, are indeed weird, but they lead to practical,
elegant things. Thus, it is important for the creative thinker to be able to suspend judgment wh
ideas are arriving, to have an optimistic attitude toward ideas in general, and to avoid condem
them with the typical kinds of negative responses like, "That will never work; that's no good; w
idiotic idea; that's impossible," and so forth. Hospital sterilization and antiseptic procedures, te
radio, the Xerox machine, and stainless steel all met with ho-hums and even hostile rejection b
their persevering inventors finally sold someone on the ideas.
Some of our everyday tools that we now love and use daily, were opposed when they were ori
presented: Aluminum cookware? No one wants that. Teflon pans? They'll never sell. Erasers on
would only encourage carelessness. Computers? There's no market for more than a few
them?
Proverb: "A crank is a genius whose idea hasn't yet caught on."
6. Seeing the good in the bad. Creative thinkers, when faced with poor solutions, d
away. Instead, they ask, "What's good about it?" because there may be something useful even
worst ideas. And however little that good may be, it might be turned to good effect or made gr
Example problem: How can we get college students to learn grammar better? Solution:
bottoms with a hickory stick. This isn't a good solution, partly because it's probably illegal. But
just toss it out? Why not ask what's good about it? (1) it gives individual, attention to
performers, (2) it gives them public attention, (3) it motivates other students as well as the stu

spanked, (4) it's easy and costs nothing. The next question is, Can we adapt or incorporate som
good things into a more acceptable solution, whether derivative of the original or not?
7. Problems lead to improvements. The attitude of constructive discontent searches for pro
possible areas of improvement, but many times problems arrive on their own. But such unexpe
perhaps unwanted problems are not necessarily bad, because they often permit solutions that
the world better than before the problem arose.
For example, the first margarine was made from beef fat, milk, water, and chopped cow udder.
extremely tasty or healthy. Then about the turn of the century a shortage of beef fat created a
What to use? The margarine makers turned to vegetable fats from various plants and the soyb
and sunflower oils they used are still used today. The margarine is healthier and tastes better.
8. A problem can also be a solution. A fact that one person describes as a problem can som
be a solution for someone else. Above we noted that creative thinkers can find good ideas in ba
solutions. Creative thinkers also look at problems and ask, "Is there something good ab
problem?"
For example, soon after the advent of cyanoacrylate adhesives (super glue), it was not
weren't careful, you could glue your fingers together with it. This problem--a permanent skin bo
soon seen as a solution, also. Surgeons in Viet Nam began to use super glue to glue wounds to
Another example, also involving glue: 3M chemists were experimenting with adhesives and acc
came up with one that was so weak you could peel it right back off. Hold strength, shear streng
way below the minimum standards for any self-respecting adhesive. A glue that won't
problem. But this problem was also a solution, as you now see in Post-It Notes.
9. Problems are interesting and emotionally acceptable. Many people confront every pr
a shudder and a turn of the head. They don't even want to admit that a problem exists--with th
their spouse, their child, their job, their house, whatever. As a result, often the problem persist
drives them crazy or rises to a crisis and drives them crazy.
Creative people see problems as interesting challenges worth tackling. Problems are not fearfu
to be feared or loathed; they are worthy opponents to be jousted with and unhorsed. Problem s
is fun, educational, rewarding, ego building, helpful to society.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CREATIVE PERSON
 curious
 seeks problems
 enjoys challenge
 optimistic
 able to suspend judgment
 comfortable with imagination
 sees problems as opportunities
 sees problems as interesting
 problems are emotionally acceptable
 challenges assumptions
 doesn't give up easily: perseveres, works hard
ICEDIP MODEL:
Inspiration is described as the research phase. Most of us are already familiar with th
Geoffrey explains that the inspiration mindset is to be free, fearless and deeply engrossed. I en
stage because it is not a time to worry about structure and practicality. Let yourself be free of a
restrictions. Most creative’s are very self-critical and they don’t give themselves enough time b
inspired.
Clarification focuses on solving the problem, what are you trying to do? At times creative min
caught up on making something look good that they forget the actual problem. During this pha
not focus too much on beauty but a solution. Geoffrey explains that the clarification m
strategic, un-hurried and clear minded.
Evaluation is the phase where you will look back over your work in progress. What n
improved? What strengths can be enhanced and perfected? Let’s face it there is alway
improvement. Our mindset here as Petty describes should be critical, positive and willing to lea
Distillation decides what ideas to work on. Choose your best ideas and expand them,
choose a few and combine them. Our mindset here should be judgmental yet positive about wh
your ideas may take you. Do not choose ideas just because they are familiar, this will inhibit yo
intentions.
Incubation is described as leaving the work alone, yet leave it on the surface of your mind. W
bound to run into difficulties in coming up with solutions. Believe in yourself that you will mana
your way around those difficulties. Petty describes the incubation mindset as unhurried, trustin
forgetful.
Perspiration is where the work is done. Work persistently on your best ideas that you most lik
up with during the distillation and inspiration processes. Perspiration is the final result of many

developed throughout all of the phases. Our perspiration mindset needs to be uncritical, enthu
and responsive. Many creative minds struggle with this phase because they are too self-critical
tend to think that it is due to lack of talent rather than a need for more work.
SIX STEPS IN MANAGERIAL DECISION MAKING PROCESS