Creating An Environment For Creativity And Innovation

It is not uncommon to see people mistake the use of the words; "creativity" and "innovation" to mean the same thing. Well, it is understandable, though there are differences between them. Creativity simply talks about developing new ideas, which is something original. While the act of putting the new and original idea into practical implementation can be termed "innovation." So you see, both creativity and innovation work together in unity, which is among the bedrocks of success, progress, and growth. It is worthy to note that creativity and innovation do not just emerge out of the blues, there are conditions necessary for them, and we shall look at these conditions and requirements.

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The first condition necessary for creativity and innovation is curiosity. As a matter of fact, nothing fuels and propels creativity like curiosity. That is; first finding out why something is happening or not happening, then being eager to see it change. By encouraging curiosity, you will give room for exploration, questioning, and acquiring new experiences. More so, you tend to possess a different perspective from the rest when you have a curious mindset. When others see something and overlook it, you will tend to find out extra meaning from it, which will lead you to the discovery of new things.

There are many things which the invention can be attributed to the act of curiosity. I once read about the story of the invention of Penicillin. Sir Alexander Fleming left a particular culture mold in his lab after working and when he came back, he discovered that the mold had killed the bacteria around it. Being curious, he set out to discovered why the mold had the ability to kill bacteria and then he discovered it was the Penicillin that was responsible for it. This was what led him to discover the Penicillin antibiotics that has become useful even till now in the world of medicine. If not for curiosity, he would not even have noticed any change at all.

Another very important condition necessary for creativity and innovation is the quest and zeal to create new things. That is, breaking out from the norm and heralding something new and different from the old ways. That something has been done in the same way from the past should not mean that it has to continue in that way until the very far future. With the advances in the modern world, it will look somehow to be stuck at the old ways of doing things when you can actually create something new.

I am sure many of us know about the stethoscope; the device used by medical personnel to listen to the heartbeat. However, not many people may not about what led to the invention by René Laënnec. It was reported that the inventor of the device was a physician who got tired of following after the old ways of other doctors who would place their ears directly on the patient's chest to monitor their heartbeat. Apart from the fact that it is not accurate enough, it is also inconvenient. So this propelled him to create a new way of listening to heartbeats and that was what led him to the invention of the stethoscope.

Another condition necessary for creativity and innovation is to create room for collaboration. You have to understand that you need people to sharpen your mind.

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If you work together with people, you can exchange ideas, bring up new intelligent discussions, see the world from a new and different point of view, and also welcome each other's ideas. This can facilitate creativity and innovation. No wonder it has been said that "two good heads will provide better solution than one." When collaborating with wise people, you will also tap from their wealth of wisdom.

The last condition that can facilitate innovation and creativity that we will look at is your ability to take risks. You cannot claim that you want to start something new if you cannot move from where you are, and sometimes it may involve taking risky moves. There are some discoveries that would not have been possible if it was not for risk. You have to learn to take actions, be a doer, even if it means taking risks, in order to create room for innovation and creativity.

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