The Human Side of Innovation

"I am not very creative", that's what most people say. In addition, most people relate creativity to outstanding geniuses i.e. Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo. However, creativity is not a privilege of a specific group. Everybody has creative talents. There are different ways of being creative and contributing to the innovation process. One can be creative by supporting a climate of mutual respect and to encourage a challenging atmosphere, by motivating others and supporting them or by solving conflicts in order to foster creativity. In the business context such as in a R&D department the role and the output of creativity can be very clearly defined (see figure 1). And questions answered like: Are you creative? And if yes, how creative do you rate yourself? Are you aware of your creative talents and are you aware of the creative talents of your colleagues?