Introduction to Creative Thinking: Tools for Success

Creativity concerns the development of new ideas. Throughout human history, the application of ideas has led to transformations of our daily lives and society. Modern business activity thrives on recently developed ideas, and it is through creativity that we address both challenges and opportunities. In this module, we will help you develop your implicit understanding and skills in creativity. You will be introduced to a series of creativity tools that can be used to augment the ideas you might come up with independently. Specifically, we will develop your skills in list, sticky-note, grid and alphabet brainstorming through an introduction to the principles of the tool, along with examples and an opportunity for you to have a go. A framework called the creativity diamond is used throughout the course to guide which approach to creativity to use and when. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN • The principal facets of creativity • Principles of creativity • A framework that can be used to guide which approach to creativity to use • Metrics that can be used in assessing creativity • The importance of managing our thinking • How to use and apply list, sticky note, grid and alphabet brainstorming SKILLS YOU WILL GAIN • Divergent and convergent creativity • Assessing creativity • Principles of brainstorming • List, sticky-note, grid and alphabet brainstorming