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Creativity Resources If solving a problem is a challenge, or you find yourself stuck coming up with the same old ideas, it may be time to give your creativity a jolt. The sites below not only cover best practices in business-related creativity, but offer easy-to-use creativity tools that let you approach a problem in a new way. International Center for Studies in Creativity (ICSC) www.buffalostate.edu/centers/creativity Buffalo State's International Center for Studies is a leading academic center for studying creativity, including programs that look into creative thinking, innovative leadership practices and problem solving techniques. ICSC, through the process of creative thought, enhances an individual's ability to imagine new ideas by learning to envision that which cannot immediately be seen. Creative Education Foundation (CEF) www.creativeeducationfoundation.org The Creative Education Foundation is a non-profit membership organization of leaders in the field of creativity theory and practice. Founded in 1954 by Alex Osborn, the "inventor" of brainstorming and co-founder of the ad firm BBDO, CEF focuses on the use of Applied Imagination, Osborn's process for developing new ideas, solving problems and implementing solutions. CEF is also the sponsor of the annual Creative Problem Solving Institute conference, which explores the practice of creativity in business, education and beyond. InnovationTools www.innovationtools.com The InnovationTools Web site provides a collection of tools, ideas and resources designed to help executives be more creative in their day-to-day work. This site has sections on people, software and quotations, and links to other creativity-related Web sites. Creative Think www.creativethink.com This is the site of creativity consultant Roger von Oech, author of several books, including A Whack on the Side of the Head. In addition to teaching about his methods (including how to use his "Whack Pack" card sets), the site features von Oech's blog, where he shares ideas to stimulate creativity. Idea Champions www.ideachampions.com The Web site of Idea Champions, a consulting and training company that specializes in creativity and innovation, contains online versions of some of the tools it uses in its sessions. "Jump Start" generates a list of random adjectives to help you generate fresh ideas and insights to solve a particular challenge. "Idea Lottery" is designed to help you make connections between seemingly unrelated topics to spark original ideas. Click on the "Tips and Tools" button to find them. Watizit www.du4.com/dave/watizit This is the online version of an idea-generating method used by consultant Dave Dufour during live seminars. Watizit uses ambiguous graphics to push the user to conceptualize visually, which is not a mode most of us use. Because the graphics are ambiguous, they encourage you to invent all kinds of possibilities to make sense of them. These freely-arrived-at identifications can then be used as triggers to a technique called "forced relationships," which can be used to develop new solutions for your challenges. |
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