{"id":39497,"date":"2021-06-20T19:08:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-20T23:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=39497"},"modified":"2021-06-22T21:50:11","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T01:50:11","slug":"how-to-innovate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-innovate\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Innovate: 4 Principles for Creativity to Thrive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you know how to innovate<\/a> effectively? How can this skill lead to greater productivity and success?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Productive people know how to innovate. In Smarter Faster Better<\/em>, Charles Duhigg shares four principles that you can implement to create conditions for creativity and productive innovation to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more to learn how to innovate, the Smarter Faster Better <\/em>way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Productive People Know How to Innovate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You may not think of yourself as an innovator, but innovation is likely a crucial aspect of your job. If you make your creative process<\/a> more productive, you\u2019ll increase your overall productivity. But what does it actually mean to be innovative?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An innovator comes up with new and exciting ideas. A productive innovator does this relatively quickly while also maintaining a high standard of work. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be innovative, you need to be creative. This is a skill that in many ways can\u2019t be taught. After all, creativity is often spontaneous. It\u2019s hard to artificially trigger it by following a prescribed set of instructions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, you can <\/em>learn how to innovate. You can discover how to create the right conditions for creativity and productive innovation to thrive. There are four principles that you can implement to create the conditions to be innovative: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Combine old ideas in new ways.<\/li>
  2. Use your experiences and emotions to validate and generate ideas.<\/li>
  3. Embrace frustration and anxiety as a fuel for new ideas.<\/li>
  4. Remain open to alternative ideas.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Principle #1: Combine Old Ideas in New Ways<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This first principle centers on the fact that innovation doesn\u2019t have to be about creating something totally new. At the same time, simply rehashing somebody else\u2019s idea without putting your own spin on it isn\u2019t particularly productive. Instead, the most productive path forward is often the happy medium between these two approaches: finding new ways to combine tried and trusted concepts.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Combining old ideas rather than creating totally new ones can make you more productive by helping you to innovate faster. Not having to start from scratch will inevitably save you time and energy. At the same time, you\u2019re retaining your innovative spirit: even though you\u2019re starting with someone else\u2019s ideas, the way you\u2019re using them is original and creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is a method of driving innovation that\u2019s seen success in a range of industries and situations. For example, the bicycle helmet was invented when a designer took the durable design of a boat\u2019s hull and made it hat-shaped. Likewise, to create his best-selling baby book The Common Sense<\/a> Book of Baby and Child Care<\/em>, Benjamin Spock mixed existing childcare techniques with the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud. He knew how to innovate, and it led to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Principle #2: Use Your Experiences and Emotions to Validate and Generate Ideas <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    While drawing from old ideas can be powerful in speeding up innovation, you need to make sure that these old ideas are actually good. Combining two weak existing ideas in a new way won\u2019t necessarily create a good new idea. For instance, if you\u2019re embarking on a creative project such as a film or a play, you need to make sure that you don\u2019t fall into the trap of combining old clich\u00e9s.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Clich\u00e9s don\u2019t usually represent reality. They\u2019re a neat way to tie up a story, but they aren\u2019t authentic, and your audience will know that. So, if you choose to innovate by combining clich\u00e9s, you\u2019re going to end up with a new concept that doesn\u2019t feel realistic or true. People won\u2019t be able to fully connect to your creation emotionally. For this reason, it probably won\u2019t be successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How can you separate strong ideas from clich\u00e9s? By drawing on your personal experiences and emotions. You should ask yourself whether the concepts you\u2019re using feel <\/em>clich\u00e9d. Does the concept match up with how you\u2019ve experienced the world, and how those experiences made you feel? Does it feel <\/em>true? Or does the concept feel emotionally hollow, predictable, and unrealistic? Your answers to these questions will tell you whether the concept is authentic enough to pursue, or if it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 that needs to be abandoned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of course, if you choose to abandon your clich\u00e9d concepts, you\u2019ll need to find new ideas to replace them. In such situations, you can use your own life experiences and emotions as creative fodder. To take the example of creating a film or play, this may take the form of putting a little bit of yourself into your story \u2013 making your characters feel what you\u2019ve felt, or experience what you\u2019ve experienced. By doing this, you ensure your idea is rooted in reality and feels authentic. After all, it\u2019s based on your true experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example: West Side Story<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    West Side Story <\/em>is a wildly successful musical that combines the existing art forms of ballet, opera, and theater to create an entirely new kind of Broadway show. Part of the show\u2019s success is rooted in its innovative nature\u2014a nature that the show\u2019s creator, Jerome Robbins, took great pains to cultivate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    During the show\u2019s planning stages, Robbins was insistent that clich\u00e9d and predictable theatre techniques should be avoided. For instance, the play\u2019s opening scene was initially a traditional discussion between characters. Robbins scrapped this. To him, it felt boring and clich\u00e9d. Instead, he demanded an opening scene that was ambitious and different from anything that came before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The result of this demand was the creation of the iconic West Side Story<\/em> prologue, which expresses the tension between two rival gangs \u2013 the Jets and the Sharks \u2013 through dance. No words are spoken; instead, movement tells the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Robbins understood how to innovate. He encouraged his co-creators to pour their own emotions into the show to increase its authenticity. West Side Story<\/em> explores themes such as suffering from prejudice, being ambitious, and feeling like an outcast. The show\u2019s creators had all experienced these emotions. Channeling these feelings into their work allowed the creators to add authenticity and emotional resonance to the show. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Principle #3: Embrace Frustration and Anxiety as a Fuel for New Ideas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Anxiety and frustration are generally considered to be negative emotions. However, they can each have a positive impact on the process of innovation.<\/strong> They can push you to make breakthroughs that lead to productive innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Frustration<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    If you take the time to contemplate areas of your life that are making you feel frustrated, you may identify opportunities for innovation. You can look for creative solutions to your problems that will decrease your frustration and make your life easier<\/a>. In doing this, you might just come up with the next big idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example, the inventor of the Post-it note was an engineer who became frustrated when his bookmark wouldn\u2019t stay put in his church hymnal. He added an adhesive to the bookmark, thus innovating a solution that eventually evolved into a highly successful product. Likewise, cellophane was invented when a scientist, motivated by frustration, looked for a way to shield his tablecloth from spilled wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Anxiety <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Struggling to innovate new ideas quickly and effectively can push us into a state of stress and anxiety. This is especially true if there are time pressures involved and we need to innovate a new idea as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This anxiety can lead to a cognitive state that psychologists refer to as \u201ccreative desperation.\u201d When we experience creative desperation<\/a>, our anxiety drives us to desperately search for new and creative ways of looking at an issue. We might start formulating unusual combinations of old ideas, in the hope that one of these new approaches works. In our desperation, we may stumble upon an innovative idea that we would have otherwise ignored. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Studies have shown that creative desperation plays a large part in generating innovation. For example, research by psychologist Gary Klein suggests that this type of stress is a factor in around 20% of creative breakthroughs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Principle #4: Remain Open to Alternative Ideas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once you\u2019ve had a creative breakthrough, the relief can be immense\u2014especially if you were in a heightened state of anxiety beforehand. Unfortunately, this relief can hurt your ability to innovate and ultimately harm your productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once you\u2019ve finally come up with a good idea, you may become so happy that you\u2019ve reached this point that you become blind to other, even better possibilities. You don\u2019t want to relive the stress that you endured while searching for your innovative idea. Instead, you focus all of your attention on this one idea and refuse to consider alternatives. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This way of thinking is especially problematic if you\u2019re still midway through a large project, and need to continue to innovate to make it to the end. You can end up feeling stuck<\/a> and unable to move forward. You may go around and around in circles trying to push your existing idea further, rather than contemplating alternative approaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are a number of techniques that you can employ to avoid becoming closed off to new ideas. Firstly, you can maintain an awareness that this type of thinking can set in. If you stay vigilant, you can actively try to avoid falling into this cognitive trap. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Secondly, you should force yourself to re-examine your big ideas, no matter how much you want to avoid doing so. Don\u2019t let the fear of having to restart the creative process<\/a> stop you from honestly evaluating the success or effectiveness of your innovations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thirdly, keep some emotional distance from your ideas. That way, you\u2019re able to look at your innovations objectively and may recognize that there are superior alternative options out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, if you\u2019re innovating as part of a team, you can startle yourself and your colleagues out of this kind of innovative rut by disrupting the team dynamics<\/a>, even by a small amount. For instance, you could switch around people\u2019s roles within the team and give each member new responsibilities. Having a different role forces you to look at the team\u2019s ideas from a new perspective. You may spot possible areas for improvement or alternative approaches that you wouldn\u2019t have noticed in your old role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once you know how to innovate, the sky’s the limit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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