Building Leadership:Stimulating Creativity Through C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.
Building Leadership:Stimulating Creativity Through C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” Albert Einstein
Instructor: Suzanne Merritt An Infopeople Workshop Spring 2009
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This workshop is brought to you by the Infopeople Project.
This workshop is brought to you by the Infopeople Project.
Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries.
Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come first-serve basis.
For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the project go to the Infopeople website at infopeople.org. 2
Workshop Overview Workshop Overview
COLLECT Stories
CONNECT Library Challenge
CREATE Solutions
WELCOME Exercise #1Short Stories
WELCOME Exercise #1Short Stories
Introductions:Name LibraryPositionLife Stories
Hello! My name is...
OverviewLeaders are Curious About Creativity
OverviewLeaders are Curious About Creativity
Always curious about how to keep our creative edge.
Fresh ways of looking for new opportunities to innovate.
Overview
How can you use creativity to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges in order to provide the highest quality of library service to the people of California?
Your Leadership Challenge
Be Curious Today
Overview
From Curiosity to CreativityFrom Curiosity to Creativity
• Collect ideas from stories that attract your attention
• Make Connections others overlook through questions
• Create grounded growth opportunities and ideas
Overview
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Benefits of This ApproachBenefits of This Approach
Efficiency: requires less time than traditional brainstorming
Engagement: increases staff sense of meaning and participation
Excellence:improves quality of ideas implemented
Overview
1600’s Cabinets of Curiosity and Wonder: Collections of rarities from nature and man.1600’s Cabinets of Curiosity and Wonder:
Collections of rarities from nature and man.
Simple Cabinet
Entire Room
Whole House
Precursor of the Museum Shrine of Muses
Overview
Quest for KnowledgeMotivated CollectorsQuest for KnowledgeMotivated Collectors
Curiosity Cabinets
Princes, popes, merchants and scholars, hunted for curious treasures as they traveled the world.
Overview
Your C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. CabinetYour notebook as portable cabinet.
Your C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. CabinetYour notebook as portable cabinet.
Collect inspiring stories.
Microcosm of your ownlife and work experiences.
See something in the worldwith fresh eyes daily.
Overview
Keeping a VISUAL JOURNAL is a favorite tool of artist and scientists.
Get in the habit and see how fast ideas come to you too!
Overview
What’s the difference?
Visual Journal• words• images• colors• metaphor• shapes• sketches
Overview
Collect Use your C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. CABINET everyday
and great ideas will come your way.
Collect Use your C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. CABINET everyday
and great ideas will come your way.
Collect your stories and observations so you can use them as a source of inspiration.
• Sketch, doodle or clip
• Collect your questions
• Add inspiring quotes
• Capture beginning ideasOverview
Why Bother?Why Bother?
Source of inspiration for brainstorming sessions
Collecting moves you from passive to active
Connects your inner and outer experience
Overview
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Exercise #2Set up your Cabinet.
Exercise #2Set up your Cabinet.
Choose an image for the coveras a metaphor for creativity.
Write your definition of creativity in your journal.
Write down your creative work challenge and sketch it out.
Overview
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What is creativity ?
What are your creative challenges?
Exercise #3I see what you mean.
Overview
CREATE Solutions
CREATE Solutions
Grounded Growth©
For an idea to succeed it must be provoking enough to attract and sustain attention, familiar enough to relate to past experience and new enough to add value now.
FAMILIAR FRESH FIT
Overview
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What do you think?
What factors encourage creativity?
Overview
Creativity and Innovation!Creativity and Innovation!
Over 37,840 books on how to be more innovative.
• Get good at Connection Making. creative questions• Shift attention to Creative Seeing. see hidden
opportunities
Overview
What do you see?
Creative Seeing
Overview
Put the Quest in your Questions.Put the Quest in your Questions.
• Questions direct curiosity.
• Ask new questions if you want new answers.
• Creative questions invite imaginative thinking.
Connection Making
Overview
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Ask not...
Inspiring Questions...
Overview
First StepFirst Step
COLLECT Stories
COLLECT Stories
CONNECTLibrary Challenge
CREATE
Ideas
Collect CuriositiesCollect Curiositiesin the form of stories of innovation.
Inspiration & Exasperation
• World
• Industry
• Street
Collect
Why Stories?Why Stories?
• Research shows we learn 7.4% from presentations and 92.6% from narrative
• We can connect to the story, learn from it, and apply it to our own situation
• Creativity flourishes where leaders tell inspiring stories of innovation and possibility
Collect
Story Line/PlotStory Line/Plot
• In literature 7 basic plots like mystery, romance, hero….
• In innovation 9 basic plots C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.
• Today learn to recognize these in the stories you have collected, and how to use this as a source of ideas.
Collect
Distinctions that
help organize stories
in a fresh way so we can
create new connections.
C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.
Collect
C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.
C contradictionsU universalsR rulesI intersectionsO ordinaryS surprisesI invisibleT transformationsY your resources
Collect
ContradictionsRecognize the rub
ContradictionsRecognize the rub
Every great invention is the result of resolving a contradiction.
G.S. Altschuller
• Paradox
• Conflict
• Impossibility
• ClashCollect
UniversalsSee what stays the same.
UniversalsSee what stays the same.
Applicable to all situations
or purposes.
• Continuity• Interchangeable • Entity that remains
unchanged• Archetypes • Balance• One size fits all
Collect-Universals
RulesBreak the rules
RulesBreak the rules
Challenge all assumptions to change the game.
• Assumptions• Expectations • Beliefs • How we operate
Collect-Rules
IntersectionsWhere two things meet.
IntersectionsWhere two things meet.
Look at the relationships in time, space, function…
• Overlaps
• Combinations
• Alliances/Partnership
• In between
• Interactions
• Gaps/Hand offsCollect-Intersections
OrdinaryTake a second look.
OrdinaryTake a second look.
Extraordinary ideas can come from ordinary sources.
• Habits• Habits• Familiar• Plain view• Details• Routine
Collect-Ordinary
SurprisesExpect the unexpected.
SurprisesExpect the unexpected.
Watch for things that seem slightly off, odd,
or out of place.
• Anomalies• Disruptions• Unexpected• Sudden changes• Positive deviance
Collect-Surprise
InvisibleSee the unseen.
InvisibleSee the unseen.
Make the invisible visible so you can act on it.
• Time• Energy• Attitudes• Barriers • Future
Collect-Invisible
TransformationsNow you see it, now you don’t.
TransformationsNow you see it, now you don’t.
Look for ways to change or modify an object or action .
• Conversions• New use• Reverse• Make over• Trashformation
Collect-Transformation
YoursWhat are YOUR resources?
YoursWhat are YOUR resources?
Everything you can draw on from within the system to create opportunities or solve problems.
• Materials• Space• Functions• Information• Time
• Equipment Collect-Resources
C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y.
C contradictionsU universalsR rulesI intersectionsO ordinaryS surprisesI invisibleT transformationsY your resources
Collect
Exercise #4 Story Exchange Prepare to tell your story succinctly.
Exercise #4 Story Exchange Prepare to tell your story succinctly.
Four Sentences....
1. The situation
2. The action or creative solution
3. The result
4. The C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. connection.
(For me, this was a story about
Transformation…. because…)
Collect
Collect
NOW
COLLECT Stories
CONNECT Library Challenge
CREATE
Solutions
CONNECTLibrary Challenges
Virtually all discoveries & man-made creations come from our innate ability to make connections.
Cortina Kent
Connect
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Exercise # 5Ready-Set-Go
Small group activity
Collect
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Convergence SolutionResearch Findings
• Group one creative challenge
• Group two creative challenge and fortress story with instruction to make a connection
• Group three creative challenge and fortress story without instruction to make a connection
94Collect
Natural ConnectorsNatural Connectors
Collecting alone creates some new connections.
We only GET the connection 15% of the time.
Questions Increase Connections
Collect
To Train your brain! 75%
To make the connection ask the question.
Library Challenge Innovation Stories
Put the Quest in Your Questions.Put the Quest in Your Questions.
• Questions direct curiosity.
• Ask new questions if you want new answers.
• Creative questions invite imaginative thinking.
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Questions are tools to help us make new connections.
• Leaders ask inspiring questions.
• Questions expand possibility of making connections.
• The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative mind to spot wrong questions. Anthony Jay
Collect
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Exercise #6Tools and tips for putting the
Quest in your Questions.
Exercise #6Tools and tips for putting the
Quest in your Questions.
1. Flip It
2. Hair of the Dog
3. New Point of View
4. Mind Map Questwork in pairs
Collect
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1. Flip It• Reverse or flip your question to the complete
opposite way of thinking.
• Example:
How to find a publisher vs how to have a publisher find me.
• This activates an entirely new line of thinking.
Collect
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2. Hair of the Dog2. Hair of the Dog
The problem is the solution.Be fearless and go for the jugular.What is the tough question?
Collect
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3. Shift Point of View3. Shift Point of View
Your Question?
Collect
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4. Mind Map Quest4. Mind Map Quest
Collect
Last step...
COLLECT Stories
CONNECTLibrary Challenge
CREATESolutions
CREATE Solutions
CREATE Solutions
Grounded GrowthFor an idea to succeed it
must be provoking enough to attract and sustain attention, familiar enough to relate to past experience and new enough to add value now.
FAMILIAR FRESH FITCriteria
Create
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How?
Create
1. Introduce a process 2. Select some creative challenges3. Form small groups based on interest4. Brainstorm using C.U.R.I.O.S.I.T.Y. stories5. Report out to large group
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Generate then Judge
Divergent ThinkingNo judgmentBuild on ideasGo for quantity
Brainstorm with postitsOne idea perReadableCall out pass in
Convergent ThinkingConstructiveNot personalFocused
Grounded Growth Criteria will it...
Create
pause
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Creative Challenge Brief Description
Brainstorm with postits Connect to Story
Brainstorm with Postits
Apply CriteriaPick the hits
Creative SolutionPresentation
Collect beginning ideas
Create a Solution
Create
Wow! That’s a Great Idea.
Connect to CreateConnect to Create
Stories of InnovationSTORIES of introduction
STORIES in this presentation
STORIES from groups
Library Challenge
Choose a challenge and make a creative contribution today.
Create
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Exercise # 7Wow! That’s a great idea.
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Exercise #8Making it Happen
• What is the biggest barrier to implementation?
Flip it..
How to...
We could...
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Thank You!
Evaluations