What do creativity managers do?

Replace the word management with the word optimisation.

That's what creativity managers do: they optimise the quality of the idea pool (creativity) and the implementation process (innovation).

There are many methods of optimisation and the creativity leader must be aware of all of them, in other words, he or she must synthesise them for optimal effect.

Areas [within creativity] that need managing include motivation, organisational culture, organisational structure, incremental versus radical effects and processes, knowledge mix, group structures, goals, process and valuation.

Areas [within innovation] that need managing include idea selection, development / prototyping and the art of commercialisation.

It is worth noting that 4000 good ideas result in 4 development programs, which in turn results in 1 winner.

Radical and Incremental creativity

Radical leaps are very much glamorised in our society. We are always looking for the radical leap, the disruptive technology, the big bang.

But radical breakthroughs are most likely to be achieved by making incremental improvements.

Small incremental shifts increase the distance between the original and final state. Groups of incremental shifts result in small radical shifts, until finally, groups of small radical shifts result in large leaps.

It is the compound result of incremental movements that significantly increases the distance between the original and the final result.

The focus on a radical leap also impacts on the type of processes that a firm must put in place and the experience of them. For example, disruptive shifts require far more investment, longer timelines, longer gaps between positive progression, higher rates of failure, larger failure spikes, smaller success spikes and more.

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