Constraints Lead to Creativity!
On May 14th , during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Forum-Action Learning Team organized its first VALID—Virtual Action learning International Discussion-- The aim: to keep provide a forum for our community to continue in its learning and networking mode, and deepening our reflection on “The Future”.
Drew Boyd, our own “Mister Innovation”, launched us into our VALID discussion series with a session entitled “Creative Lessons from A Pandemic”. Listening to Drew is always a pure moment of entertainment, as he embeds profound lessons within a truly memorable story.
What is creativity? It is the sudden collision of two previously unrelated themes. With a few photos, Drew illustrated the definition, notably drawing our attention to the way in which the popular television show “MacGyver” served as an example of accessible creativity.
Three Key Principles of Creativity:
- The Principle of Constraints. You lack something and replace it with something else more readably available.
- The Principle of Fixedness. You become stuck in thinking about your available resources narrowly, even though many options are available to you. Go beyond the obvious and anticipate that the unusual can happen.
- The Closed World Principle. Prioritize the resources around you; proximity is the solution.
What a moment of self-awareness! Reflecting on a recent personal experience, compensating for the lack of availability of professional painters, I became painter. I painted the forged iron fences around my house. Because every gesture was new to me, I had to create and invent the best process for doing this work. I hesitated. I referred to the DIY manuals. I was out of my comfort zone, but I was so pleased to see the result.
What about you? How have you successfully used the principles of creativity?
