Since 1990, U.S. creativity has been in a downward spiral!Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Have you ever thought about whether creativity could be measured?  It seems that in 1958 E. Paul Torrance designed a series of creativity tasks to measure creativity.  He administered his test to 400 children in Minneapolis. 

I would question how accurate this creativity index would be in predicting creativity for adults.  I read a recent Newsweek article, The Creativity Crisis, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.   Apparently, Jonathan Plucker of Indiana University, validated a more than three times correlation to lifetime creative accomplishment with Torrance’s creativity index as contrasted to childhood IQ.

This year, Kyung Hee Kim at the College of William & Mary did a follow up study where he analyzed almost 300,000 Torrance scores of children and adults.  It appears that creativity scores steadily rose, just like IQ scores until 1990 and then creativity scores nosedived.  The decline is most significant from kindergarten through sixth grade.

In my prior blog post, I wrote about the CEO Survey of 1,500 CEOs who unequivocally identified creativity as the most important leadership competency for success in the future.  

What does this mean for the United States in terms of maintaining our leadership position in the world?  Our leaders understand that creativity is essential; yet at the same time our creativity scores are plummeting!

Stop and think about where we currently need creative solutions.  We are crying out for new ideas to solve our ongoing economic crisis.  We need new ideas to solve the issues of sustainability.  We need new ideas to support our changing demographics.

Creativity includes not only generating great ideas, but it also means being open to the ideas of others.  Through creative thinking we can generate solutions for a health care system as well as new thinking for moving towards a more peaceful world. We need new ideas to make our country more competitive and to identify new ways to measure success. 

Do you think creativity is important?

I am reading Tim Brown’s book, Change by Design, How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation.  IDEO is ranked among the ten most innovative companies in the world.  Tim is the CEO of IDEO. 

I was intrigued by the concepts of divergent and convergent thinking.  To experience design thinking, you must understand the difference between divergent and convergent thinking and how they can work together. 

With convergent thinking you are looking at a set of available choices in an existing world.  Divergent thinking is about creating new choices and seeing possibilities that no one else has seen.

When you begin with divergent thinking, you can maximize your choices.  As you increase the number of choices, your life will have become more complex.  However, as Tim Brown comments, “Divergent thinking is the route, not the obstacle, to innovation.”

With divergent thinking you multiply your options as you create choices.  You have more choices in regard to how you understand and apply consumer behavior in creating new products or new experiences. 

With convergent thinking, you head towards a solution.  In the convergent piece you eliminate options and focus on making the choices you wish to implement.

Why does understanding the difference between divergence and convergent thinking matter?  Westerners are taught to take inputs, analyze them against predefined criteria, and then converge upon a single answer.  Convergent thinking is not a good way to probe into the future and create new possibilities.  It is about finding the most expedient answer versus the right answer. 

Divergent thinking opens your mind to many possibilities.  These are two different phases that go together.  If you apply divergent thinking, you can create choices that have not existed before.  When you go into the convergent phase, you are well prepared to find the right answer.

I often use iMindMapping software and techniques to achieve divergent thinking.  What process or tools do you use to stimulate your mind to create new choices for your future?

Bala Kanayson, Whole Mind Success

How often have you wished you could silence the constant talking that is going on in your head? You are trying to be an effective leader and grow your business, yet all of this chatter is interfering with your productivity. I recently heard Bala Kanayson address this issue. His solution includes developing your inner creativity.

How would you like to be able to learn proven methods to increase your creativity and productivity? Imagine being able to use your left and right brain, your conscious mind, and your subconscious mind in a deliberate manner.

Bala Kanayson uses Whole Mind Success as a unique method of using the whole mind in both our business and personal lives. He uses recent developments in neuroscience and psychology, combined with methods of silencing the mind to reduce the constant “noise” in our heads.

Extensive neurological research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) demonstrates how you can actually change the internal structure of your brain. Bala Kanayson uses proven scientific techniques to build new neuronal circuits that enhance creativity and develop new skills.

I asked Bala, “Now what kinds of skills do you mean?” He outlined some of the crucial skills we all need to be exceptional performers in our lives such as:

• Becoming a more effective leader.
• Reducing stress in your life.
• Finding new ways to solve difficult problems.
• Using both sides of the brain for maximum productivity and creativity.
• Mastering the art of silencing your mind.
• Setting goals and empowering yourself to achieve them.
• Communicating effectively with others.
• Defining your path for success and achieving it.

I was astounded. It seems you can overcome decades of social conditioning and preconceptions. The outcome results in a more complete transformation of each individual’s thinking and behavior.

I asked Bala, “Do you mean I can have increased self-esteem, improved study skills, and become more effective with my business decision making ability?

“Absolutely, you are correct!” Bala responded.

Now think about the significance of the impact upon your life if you decide to develop your creative thinking by using both sides of the brain for maximum productivity and creativity! If you are an engineer you could create new engineering designs. If you are an artist you could develop more creative artwork. If you are an athlete you could improve your performance in sports.

Now, you must go to to listen to Paul Lawrence Vann’s interview of Bala Kanayson on The Wealthy Speaker Show on blogtalkradio.  You will be pleased you followed my recommendation.