"As a parent I would love to help my children to be creative and innovative. Perhaps, nurturing the young ones for innovation can begin at home. How do you reckon we can do this?"

"... You have to invoke curiosity in your children this is the source of all creativity. Start a questioning culture at home. Children are natural “question-askers”. Encourage them to ask, don't stop them.

Another thing is to let them experiment without imposing our paradigms on them. For example, there is no reason why an elephant cannot be purple, is there? So let them colour their elephants purple.

At a later stage, introduce critical thinking skills as a “reality check”... "

~ Datuk Dr Kamal Jit Singh, CEO, Unit Inovasi Khas, Prime Minister's Office of Malaysia;

[Source: The Star Online, Malaysia, 7th April 2012]

IF THERE ARE 3 SIMPLE THINGS WE CAN DO DAILY TO PROMPT OURSELVES TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

Begin by questioning all the assumptions you have taken for granted. Ask, “Why am I doing this? Isn't there a better way?”

Next, look for what others cannot see. Most of us look at an object or scenario and see the same thing. An innovator looks for what is present but not obvious to the masses. This is called “separating the signal from the noise.”

Finally, whenever you encounter a certain situation, ask yourself two questions: “What does this really mean?” and “How can I benefit from this?”

~ Datuk Dr Kamal Jit Singh, CEO, Unit Inovasi Khas, Prime Minister Office of Malaysia;

[Source: The Star Online, Malaysia, 7th April 2012]