Have you ever wondered why some people appear to be more creative than others at work? We tend to approach problems in one of two 
ways — sometimes we go after solutions analytically or logically. At other times we tend to look for that creative or "aha" moment.
Which of these two approaches describes your problem solving methods?
On this topic… John Kounios of Drexel, and Mark Jung-Beeman of Northwestern … along with a team of researchers have been looking inside volunteers’ brains to observe differences that occur just prior to an "aha" moment … and just before a more routine approach at work.
As you likely guessed … they found a big difference.
the researchers observed a separate characteristic of brain activity that was different.In other words… a person’s state of mind or brain preparedness … sort of dictated which sort of approach that person would use to solve a problem … even before the problem was presented.
What would change for more creativity bring to your workplace? Could creativity start with you?
Ellen, I read with great interest your earlier posts about the basil ganglia. Wouldn't we have to guard against falling back on our brain's schemata in the basil ganglia for routines and the way we normally approach things? For instance, if a boss in a "Lean" environment demands that a project be completed by the end of the week and a person is given very little time to do it, wouldn't she naturally fall into the analytic mode to solve it, if that has been her pattern over the years? Once people have certain patterns in their basil ganglia, and they are put under pressure, wouldn't this result in falling back to the analytic mode rather than the creative mode? How can folks develop this creative mindset when they are under great pressure?
Posted by: Robyn McMaster | July 22, 2006 8:00 AM | Permalink to Comment