Last week, Moore Australia was proud to host the WA-Singapore Business Council (WASBC), who arranged a masterclass on how to think and act creatively in your business, both for yourself and others in your organisation. The class was facilitated by University of Western Australia Professor Dr. Antoine Musu.
Importance of Creativity in a corporate setting
Dr. Musu is a specialist in entrepreneurship, including innovation theory, application and commercialisation studies. During the session he discussed creativity in an individual and organisational context. Being able to act creatively with agility is paramount in a business’ growth-cycle, as it fuels innovation.
Not all creativity is created equal
Dr. Masu explained, for example, that creativity isn’t always spontaneous or coming totally from the unconscious mind, it is, instead, a skill that is in constant need of development and exercising. In truth, Dr. Musu explained, within a business setting creativity “occurs when a manager has a new idea or sees an opportunity that is feasible and profitable for the company.” Ultimately, he clarified, creativity is a process and a skill that needs to be encouraged within your organisation.
To illustrate this, he discussed the three elements of creativity as being domain skills, creative thinking skills and talent hotbeds. These elements allow you to recognise within your own thinking and practices whether you are building or ‘killing’ ideas and recognising how to adjust perceptions to better utilise the creative process.
Being aware of your own processes and precognitions facilitates stronger innovation within your organisation and a wider conversion of opportunities into innovation.
To make further demonstrate this, he delved into the two different approaches to innovation:
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closed – generating new business ideas through people, knowledge and technology within the business boundaries – and;
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open – acquiring critical inputs from outside sources as well as utilising their internal resources.
What’s next: Using Managerial Skills to Implement Creativity
Dr. Musu concluded his masterclass with a key take away: Attendees learnt how to implement creativity by honing their managerial skills. He revealed the “ingredients for enhancing creation at work” are mentorship in creativity, incentives for creative employees and creative behaviour.