A Definition Of Creativity

The Encarta Dictionary provides the following definition of creativity:

1. Being creative – The quality of being creative.
2. Imaginative ability – The ability to use the imagination to develop new and original ideas or things.

Creativity is a noun. It is the quality of being creative. In the concise Oxford dictionary, creative is defined as:

“creating; able to create; inventive, imaginative; showing imagination as well as routine skill”

People tend to confuse creativity with innovation; creativity is the getting of ideas, innovation is the implementation.

Creativity is inherently easier than innovation. What is often missing is not creativity in the idea-creating sense but innovation in terms of an action producing sense, i.e. bringing ideas to fruition.

Creativity is the driving force behind new knowledge creation and the generation of innovative outputs. Businesses that are able to effectively source and absorb knowledge and information are more likely to apply it creatively.

Being creative is thought to be much easier than the ability to actually implement ideas. Assumptions that creativity automatically leads to innovation are incorrect.

To be creative requires divergent thinking which is basically the generation of many unique ideas. After this process is complete, it then requires convergent thinking which is the process of combining those ideas into the best result.

It is about having a flow of energy and ideas and being open to accept that ideas can come from many of the experiences that life provides us with. Seeing existing things in a new, fresh and appealing manner.

“It comes from every direction, and very often, unexpected places. It can’t be measured, graphed, mathematically solved. It’s internal, instinctive, and insane.” – D West, A Kover, A Caruana

One of the most simple definitions of creativity is “the combination of two or more (often unrelated) items into something new.”