Those who do not know this, are victims, not victors. The crucial variable in transforming knowledge into value is ‘creativity.’ Creativity ignites our audacity; it helps us convert pain into progress, and become what we are capable of being.
Incremental evolution has been trumped by quantum revolution. The workscapes of tomorrow have their genesis in the mindscapes of today. Corporate landscapes are littered with the charred remains of burnt-out executives. There is only one ultimatum: innovate or incinerate.
Too many organisations are obsessed with ‘best practices’ when what is needed are ‘revolutionary practices,’ ones that are radically different; the pace of change demands intellectual mutiny vis-à-vis past protocols. Previous success has become irrelevant in today’s fail-fast-leap-ahead quantum dance with competitive innovation.
Japan’s three most innovative companies - Honda, NTT DoCoMo, and Sony - are addressing a gargantuan social problem facing them, and also the world’s industrialized nations: the drop in the fertility rate, which has resulted in an escalating aging population. The problem will eventually hit developing nations, since the drop in fertility rates for countries like China and India will pose unheard-of challenges beyond the year 2050.
So will we witness the fruits of creativity in the guise of human-like robots? These three Japanese companies are working on this new species for our planet.
A goal for these robots is to be ready to challenge the winner of the FIFA World Cup to a soccer match in about 50 years. If they can play soccer, then they surely will be able to do a lot of things for you, both at home - like wash the dishes, vacuum the floor, baby-sit - and at work.We know that robots represent the future. We need to start preparing for them. The challenge facing humans is to make sure that these robots behave morally and ethically - something that we have a hard time doing ourselves.
Exercise:
Write down at least 3 ways in which you have demonstrated a good measure of creativity in the past month.
Say Keng's personal comments:
Frankly, taking a proactive part in personal change is by itself a very good exercise in personal creativity, especially where you work.
Constantly exploring & developing ways to enhance your personal productivity is another good exercise.
If you are in sales & marketing, constantly challenge the frontiers of knowledge, as well as your own assumptions, about your products, markets & customers.
In the same vein, constantly explore ways & means to enhance your company's leadership in its chosen products & services.
During my early years, & since then, as a knowledge explorer & technology explorer, I have always followed one superb mother idea from creativity guru William Miller, who wrote the classic, 'The Creative Edge: Fostering Innovation Where You Work':
Personal creativity can be expressed in several dimensions:
1) Material Works e.g. writing a report or coming up with a presentation; doing a painting or creating a play; better still, follow Dilip's footsteps - authoring a book;
2) Spontaneous Happenings e.g. preparing an impromptu speech or improvise something;
3) Events, Processes & Circumstances e.g. organising a social event or running a strategy discussion with outsiders;
4) Purposeful Groups e.g. assembling a project team or intelligent salon, or initiating a new business activity; on a lighter note, just hanging out with your buddies to pursue a pow wow for a purpose;
5) Relationship Building e.g. proposing a romantic evening with your spouse, or going for a defined networking spree;
6) Inner Experiences e.g. having a change of perspective about the world;
7) Ideas & Concepts e.g. exploring a new thought from a book or seminar, or developing a new understanding about a recurring problem;
[Excerpted from the 'Igniting Innovation' edition of The Braindancer Series of bookazines by Dilip Mukerjea. All the images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]
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