Thinking Creatively

>> inaudible be talking with Deborah Neshore assumed spelling who helps business folk get creative, she's an adjunct faculty member

of the Australian Graduate School of Management where she teaches design thinking on the MBA and directs a 3 day program for executives

about creative strategy. Deb has had a career both as a designer and a lecturer at London's University of the Arts, we're gonna talk

about some straight forward steps to develop and nurture creativity, hello Deborah.

>> Deborah: Hello

>> Now Deborah I've been following your work for quite a while and one statement that I keep coming across is this line that you say

where in business we need to think increasingly the way that designers think, please explain.

>> Deborah: Well, designers are trained to be creative and they're trained to help companies get competitive advantage with their

products. And the way they do that can easily be mimicked by business for them to get a competitive advantage and come up with great

ideas.

>> Well, okay, so give me an example how -- I'm in business how can I start to think like a designer maybe a couple of tips as to how

I can start to do it in my work.

>> Deborah: Well, presumably you have a product or a service that you offer, --

>> Yeah

>> Deborah: and presumably you would like that product to be better than anybody else's.

>> Would be nice.

>> Deborah: Okay and how are you going about doing that? So a designer will help you identify what it is that's special about your

product and help you to be able to market that improve it, sell it, build on that.

>> Okay, so say I'm working, whether I'm working by myself or I'm working with a team I don't have a designer it's just little old us,

and we have this product or service which we're trying to develop and we want to start to change our thinking a little bit more like

a designer, build together in a room, what sort of things might we do to start that thinking?

>> Deborah: Well, there is a whole process involved that designers use and the first step would be to have a discussion and explore

amongst yourselves what it is that you do, what it is that you offer that's different or special. And brainstorming just discussing

together really digging deep and getting to --

>> Okay, so kind of just be prepared to pull everything apart and look at every aspect of our product or service?

>> Deborah: Yes, and I would also suggest looking at -- what else is out there, so looking at what other people are doing so that you

can learn to differentiate yourself so you don't want to mimic anybody else but you may learn from other products or services.

>> Okay, so do we -- I sort of imagine that we might -- you might say, well you got to sit cross-legged on the floor and you got to

have lots of colored markers and pieces of paper so it's not that literal it's just that we need to, you're saying, have a more sort

of expansive way of thinking about our work?

>> Deborah: It depends what you want to achieve so I think the first step would be to actually sit down and the first step is actually

very logical so it doesn't take and markers or any sort of crazy ideas. The first step is getting clarity about who you're about, what

you're doing, what it is that you offer and so that's some really rigorous soul searching and that stage needs to be done before you

can actually start to look at how you're going to improve or --

>> I guess when, in business, when we sort of think about creative people we tend to, ya know, there's certain stereo types of creative

people always just inaudible and work in a different sort of way but for people that are in business that maybe don't kind of use

that side of the brain so much, ya know, aren't that comfortable or that confident with, perhaps, getting in touch with their creative

side. Is it preferable to have somebody such as yourself or somebody else kind of facilitating this or do you honestly think that a

group of kind of straight laced business people can suddenly start to get this big kind of creative juices going? You're making it

sound quite easy.

>> Deborah: How does it happen that's the question?

>> Yeah

>> Deborah: Well, my own believe is that everybody has the potential to be creative and it's just about tapping into it but I do think

that most of the time in business we tend to be much more rational. And so, because we're usually operating in that mode we do need to make

some kind of concerted effort if you're going to have a session where you are trying to come up with ideas, a brainstorming session

as opposed to the session I was just talking about, which is slightly different. And I do think it's a good idea initially to, first

of all, create an environment and then to actually possibly use a few tools and techniques and I think at the beginning it's better to

get somebody else to come and help you to do that. But then, ya know, my objective is always when I leave and the team will carry on.

>> You change them they're transformed into inaudible, okay.

>> Deborah: Oh, absolutely.

>> So you talk about changing the environment, literally what do you mean, do you mean dressing an environment or do you mean going away

from sort of off site away from your office, is that?

>> Deborah: Remember we just saw that wonderful playroom over there with the beanbags in so I think it is useful to get people out of

their usual environment and it sort of signals, okay now we're going to do something different. So inaudible companies like Apple

will actually have areas and the whole office --

>> I increasingly see that, don't we?

>> Deborah: where they design around having a specific area where you can go and brainstorm and have ideas and --

>> What about if I'm a -- I know we're talking about a large business audience here but let's say a small business as well how would that

kind of translate for small business, ya know, somebody watching this working in their own kind of small business, small office and

they haven't got an area where they're gonna fill it with beanbags or do, what would you say to them?

>> Deborah: To help them to get into a creative mind space?

>> Yeah

>> Deborah: Well, if you're a soloist like I am, so if you're working on your own, I like to have colorful things in my office --

>> Okay

>> Deborah: I think they stimulate me. But if I am going to go and have a brainstorming session or if I get stuck, I think, actually,

getting up, moving and doing something different can be a useful tool.

>> Alright, so just creating some kind of physical change not necessarily a room full of beanbags but just getting out of your office

space out of your normal environment that sort of sends a signal that something different's going on around you.

>> Deborah: Yes, yeah.

>> You mentioned a few moments ago exercises that people can do I assuming you don't mean press-ups and sit-ups.

>> Deborah: You can if you like.

>> What sort of exercises if, again, you've got an individual or a group of people are sitting here thinking well, yeah, I'm just not

creative. What just might start to unleash some of that creativity, what sort of exercise might you do with a group?

>> Deborah: Well, ya know, if I've got 3 days with the group, which is my programs -- I will spend a whole afternoon exploring what

creativity is so we'll kind of have a whole exploration of that usually in a very playful way.

>> Okay, give me an example.

>> Deborah: I see, an example, well, we start off just exploring what it is so we write down words, so we start --

>> Okay

>> Deborah: we write down words --

>> But each individual writing their words?

>> Deborah: yeah, so with my programs that are doing groups we always work in teams because designers are usually working in a team.

>> Okay

>> Deborah: And you can harness a lot of energy --

>> So this is -- just to make sure I understand -- this is an individual inaudible what creativity means.

>> Deborah: Yes, and very quickly so I'll say, "Write down 10 words you associate with creativity."

>> Write down 10 words that you associate with creativity.

>> Deborah: And don't think too much.

>> And don't think too much, okay so you start there that kind of gets the juices going.

>> Deborah: Gets the juices going.

>> Okay

>> Deborah: And then if you get stuck we might do something like use a different hand to --

>> Oh, okay try using your other hand, right.

>> Deborah: Try using your other hand or you might use colors or we might draw something instead of writing it and so anything to kind

of speed up the process and just kind of unlock -- get loose.

>> Okay

>> Deborah: And then what we'll do is let's say we're working at a table of 4 people, they'll share ideas and then they'll produce a

big sheet with the top ten --

>> Okay

>> Deborah: words inaudible or they might draw what creativity is or --

>> Draw it, okay, alright, fine, so really challenging people to shift out of their non-creative kind of comfort zone --

>> Deborah: By doing something different. And my background is actually in visual design and so I use lots of visual techniques but

I don't do it because I want them to become Leonardo I do it because it's just a different way and because it's different it kind of

shocks your system.

>> Is that Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

>> Deborah: No, the one from Titanic.

>> Alright, some good exercises there so, again, this creative movement it is a real movement isn't it? I mean, we'll be seeing this

a lot across in the U.S. and it's kind of prolific in our industry in our market place as well. Is this a kind of worldwide movement

to be more creative?

>> Deborah: I think there's kind of a worldwide, well, not worldwide yet but there's certainly movement in the states and called

design thinking where companies are following the Apple example and seeing how embedding, thinking like a designer, thinking and acting

like a designers can actually be very profitable.

>> So, Apple you'd hold up as being a bit of a role model, who else would you?

>> Deborah: Google are one of the other great examples.

>> I guess with the whole Internet age there's a lot more, we have the ability now to kind of put things out there and see what people

make of it and in that sense I suppose that would freeze up people creatively somewhat, doesn't that?

>> Deborah: It speeds up the process, I think we're in a period of rapid change and businesses need to respond to that which is another

reason why they need to be creative and --

>> I know that because you told me before speaking that you've had a number of people from government and various corporate bodies that

sort of come to your courses that you run. What do you observe when you look and see over a large corporate or you've got somebody

maybe from an army background or some such thing, I mean there must, ya know, and you kind of bounce out there being all creative

and say write down 10 things about -- I mean how do they take it, do they --

>> Deborah: Well I lead people in gently so I don't bounce straight out and say here draw a picture. And so, we start off with a very

rational basis looking at what's happening in business today and why, ya know, standing still is not an option --

>> Right

>> Deborah: that you need to innovate just to stay, ya know, stay where you are never mind get ahead. So, we start off with a lot of

logic and then we will go into the first step of, ya know, the creativity cycle or, certainly, creative strategy cycle, which is really

looking at what you're doing and that's actually very logical. And so, then most executives are very comfortable in that space and then

we move slowly into --

>> Okay, you lead them gently.

>> Deborah: Yes

>> Okay, so let's just recap what we've -- some take away tools for today is to write down what you think creativity means, so kind of

10 words write them down quickly.

>> Deborah: That's just to get into creative mode though; this is just to, I mean the reason why I do exercises like that is to try and

create an environment which is playful. So it doesn't really matter what you do and that's not really a crucial step of a process of

having an idea, but what is a crucial step is if you're going to have an idea brainstorming type session is to create an environment

which is a different environment in which people will feel comfortable to be playful.

>> Okay, I guess that's also why so many people, ya know, I speak to so many people that come back from a holiday or a trip and they've

had a really kind of ah ha moment that's happened and invariably I feel that that's because they have changed their environment, circumstances

are different. Ya know, people who go to an opera or music performance, ya know, it's not uncommon for them to come back and say, ugh,

worked out what it is I need to do with my business or, ya know, again, that's kind of what you're talking about isn't it?

>> Deborah: It's about an understanding of how the creative cycle works and how we have our ideas and they don't just pop out from nowhere.

So this bit that we do at the beginning when we're looking at what we're doing or we're looking at what we're trying to achieve and

we're looking at what the competition's doing that's almost like an input stage of the cycle, that's the first stage of the cycle

you're inputting information. After that stage you then start to output and you may use some creative techniques like brainstorming

or mind mapping or in my case using visuals to try and come up with ideas often in a group. But you're probably not going to come up

with the best idea just like that --

>> No

>> Deborah: those first ideas that you come up with are usually the first ideas that everybody else comes up with and that's usually

quite a revelation --

>> Right

>> Deborah: on the program --

>> So you push a bit further.

>> Deborah: Yeah, and give it time, ya know, that's an absolutely crucial part of it, so don't think that you're going to come up with

the best idea in half an hour.

>> Right

>> Deborah: So if you know that you have a project that you need to come up with a great idea for and don't leave it 'til the last minute,

which is what we often do.

>> Right

>> Deborah: So, ya know, if you've got to have that great idea on the table for discussion by 3 o'clock on Thursday, 1 o'clock on Thursday's

not the best time to be starting.

>> Except creators often say they work at their best when the pressure's really on, but bit of a myth isn't it?

>> Deborah: Some pressure is good but mostly what you see in a design company that would be the first stage and then the whole 2 or 3

stages after that. And so, if you want to have a great idea you have to trust that there are processes that work which we're possibly

not conscious of, so we do the conscious work in inputting information and then we're actually outputting information by consciously

trying to have ideas and noting them and generating as many ideas as possible. But then, ya know, and we may have 2 of those spaced

over 2 or 3 days and then you need what's often termed and incubation phase, so a phase where you just get fed up with it, you forget

all about it, you go away --

>> So put it to one side.

>> Deborah: put it to one side. It is often said that, ya know, then going and doing something fun and enjoyable will actually help

that process along but it's kind of going along a subconscious level so it's kind of --

>> Okay, so you're gonna get the ideas down and then be prepared to kind of step away of it --

>> Deborah: Yeah

>> and let it kind of work --

>> Deborah: Yes, let it bubble away for a while.

>> Okay

>> Deborah: And that's why, I mean how many times do you have that great idea where you're in the shower or you're on the bus on the

way to work and you go, ah ha, that's it, and that is part of a process. You know, I mean we can't control that process but understanding

that there is a process --

>> And allowing it to happen.

>> Deborah: and allowing it to happen and allowing the time for that idea to pop up when you're on holiday, whenever.

>> Finally, if I may, recommended reading, what's -- if you had to buy a couple of books on this whole topic what would you do?

>> Deborah: Great book called How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci.

>> How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, okay, we'll put a link to that.

>> Deborah: And A Whole New Mind would be my number one.

>> A Whole New Mind --

>> Deborah: That doesn't actually really give you recommended techniques but it really outlines why creativity will be needed in the

years ahead in business.

>> And your own book is in progress.

>> Deborah: In the making at the moment.

>> Okay, well Deborah Neshore thank you so much for joining us today and we'll talk to you again I hope.

>> Deborah: Thank you.