Theory
In simple way, creativity means the ability to come up with new ideas. Innovation is about utilising these created new ideas and developing them into something useful and practical. Hence, creativity and innovation go hand in hand. Remember, innovation never happens without creative people. When we think different, we come up with something different.
Creativity is about creation. It is the capability or the act of conceiving something original or unusual. It is about harnessing the power of the mind to come up with new ideas, plans and strategies. Creativity could be a way of expression or it could be a way of problem solving. Creativity is about thinking outside the box, and coming up with something new and original.
Innovation is the implementation of something new that will realize value to others. Innovation is the act of putting things into practical reality, despite challenges and resistance. Innovation also brings in differences or improvements which may be in the form of new and improved products and processes. Products driven by innovation may disrupt the market and come up with huge value for customers.
Story
Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They were much smaller than the shops in the USA and therefore did not have room to waste. However, watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of their space. Most cultivators told the grocery stores that watermelons grew round here and there and there was nothing that they could do about it.
That was how majority of the people would respond. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. If the supermarkets wanted a square watermelon, they asked themselves, ‘How can we provide the square ones?’ It wasn’t long before they invented the square watermelon.
The solution to the problem of round watermelons was solved as the farmers did not assume it was impossible and simply asked how it could be done. They found out that if you put the watermelon in a square box when they are growing, the watermelon will take on the shape of the box and grow into a square fruit.
This made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the USA meaning that the growers could charge a premium price for them.
Activity
Give a brief about how you utilized your creativity and innovation to come out a real life problem.
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Quote
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
—–Albert Einstein
Takeaways
- Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way
- Changes call for innovation, and innovation leads to progress.
