MAKING DISTINCTIONS: CREATIVITY vs INNOVATION IV

[continued from the Last Post.]

I take this opportunity to share the following easy-to-understand definitions from Gerald Haman, the creative brain behind the award-winning KnowBrainer & innovation tools:

[He is also the founder of SolutionPeople®, developer of the Chicago Thinkubator®, adjunct professor of innovation at Northwestern University, editor of InnovatorsDigest.com and creator of the InnovationToolofTheMonthClub.com. He is recognized by clients as “Solutionman”, because of his ability to quickly help people develop breakthrough solutions.]

"CREATIVITY

is developing

new, interesting, or different

IDEAS"

"INNOVATION

is the process of transforming creative ideas into

valuable or profitable

SOLUTIONS"

Creative Ideas Provide Energy for Innovative Solutions!

It appears that many people are more comfortable talking about innovation than creativity. Their discomfort in talking about creativity may be rooted in the perception that that creativity is just fun and games. However, creativity is necessary for innovation to occur.

Creative thinking yields the ideas that fill the pipeline of innovation. Innovation cannot happen without the energy generated by creativity.

Haman's definition also has makes a subtle, yet important distinction between IDEAS and SOLUTIONS.

Creativity produces the ideas and once they yield value or profit, they become solutions.

Below is Haman's other "creative" definition to help people define the relationship between creativity and innovation.

"Innovation is how people make money

or create value from creativity"

[to be continued in the Next Post.

Way back in the nineties, I had used the Pocket Innovator, the precursor to the KnowBrainer innovation tool, from Gerald Haman. In fact, I was also one of his retailers in this part of the world during that period. Naturally, I also own the first generation of the KnowBrainer, in addition to The Persuasive Advantage, a creative marketing planning tool.]