Developing Capacity for Innovation in Complex Systems

3 Creativity and ideas

Introduction

Creativity, the ability to create. To bring something out of seemingly nothing. What could be more God-like of our human qualities? Like Prometheus, who stole the fire and gave it to man, we have long been obsessed with finding out what can make us more creative. Creativity, creative people, creative processes, creativity management, and similar concepts all speak to the notion of creativity as vital to the individual, as well as organisational and societal life.

This chapter deals with creativity and ideas. It defines creativity and ideas in a way that is meaningful to innovation. Creativity permeates much of our everyday discourse and is often portrayed in media and organisational life as something attractive ...