Chapter 4
Creativity and Innovation Are Not the Same

Creativity is part of innovation, but it is not by itself innovation. Innovation involves putting something novel into practice that improves a process or product. It's not just about coming up with imaginative ideas.

It isn’t an innovation until it is vetted and executed!  

 After defining what success will be and what you need the solution to achieve,
open your mind to think outside the box.  

Turn something “impossible” into something “executable”.  

Anyone can do it.

When Richard’s daughter, Camille, was about 8 years old, she helped devise an innovative solution to a wicked family problem. What made it “wicked”? Multiple stakeholders!  Everyone in the family was affected, as were some neighbors, and the most affected was “Smokey the Dog.”  

Background: Camille fell in love with a homeless dog, whom she named Smokey.  And because Camille is Richard’s princess, he said she could keep him. Mom went along with it until Smokey started chewing up the door frames to get outside. So, now it was time to get a doghouse. Richard bought him one of the popular Igloo styles. Smokey would not go in. He seemed afraid to be enclosed.       

Need:  Get Smokey a doghouse to protect him from the elements. One that he will feel safe using.

Camille: “I know, how about an invisible doghouse!”  

Dad: “How would we get an invisible doghouse?”

Camille: “I know, a glass doghouse!”

Dad: “Maybe, but it is hard to work with and could break.”

Camille: “I know, a plastic doghouse.”

Dad: “Hmm, that may work, let’s see what we can find.”

Think like a child!

Creativity & Resourcefulness

For particularly intractable problems, functions and forms don’t come easily, and a more creative and resourceful approach is needed

Creative

  • Let your inner child come out.
  • Question your biases.
  • Do ‘What-ifs’.
  • Generate a lot of impactful ideas (even if impractical or impossible).

Resourceful

  • Address barriers to making those ideas work.
  • Identify ‘add-on’ approaches to handle loose ends.

Alternate between creativity and resourcefulness until one has a viable functionality and solution.

Creativity

  • Brainstorm
  • Focus on baseline
  • Ignore your biases
  • Avoid “Can’t” & “Not”
  • Emphasize “Why not?”
  • Research/Experiment
  • Percolate

Resourcefulness

  • •Seek “Can’ts” & “Nots”
  • Consider extremes/exceptions
  • Challenge assumptions
  • Find substitutes
  • Find approximations
  • Research/Experiment
  • Obstacles are not constraints
  • Percolate

The Rest of the Story

On a trip to the hardware store, Camille and Dad found a sturdy plastic called Lexan that seemed workable. 
They built a prototype. 

An impossible, creative idea applied resourcefulness to obtain a feasible, practical, workable solution. 

Delivering innovation, Richard secured it to the deck and added a pad and heater to complete the doghouse. Smokey went in and had a home he loved!

The Prototype
Creativity is not Innovation until it is vetted and executed.
Group Innovation

For group projects, the best innovative solutions come from synergy between:

Leftover Burger Salad for Teens

(An Innovative Recipe to Accommodate a Surprise Visit of Hungry Teenagers)

When the early teens arrived, all we had in the refrigerator were leftovers of burgers and some veggies.  “What to do?”    “ I know, a burger salad! With some extra flavor and a little sweetness."

The Recipe as It Was Made

  • ·Make dressing by shaking in a jar:
  • ○
    ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 
  • ○
    1 tsp lime or lemon juice 
  • ○
    ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 
  • ○
    1 tsp maple syrup 
  • ○
    1 tsp Dijon mustard 
  • ○
    ¼ tsp sea salt or to taste 
  • ○
    ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • Prepare tomatoes:  
  • ○
    Chop sweet tomatoes (like Sugar Bombs) 
  • ○
    Add a generous amount of dressing
  • Steam to cook or just heat leftovers:
  • ○
    1 serving green beans (20 mns) or just heat if leftovers 
  • ○
    ½ Corn on the cob (15mn) or warm leftover or canned corn
  • Sauté in olive oil and ghee or butter until soft (about 5 mns):
  • ○
     1/2 small onion, sliced 
  • ○
     1/4  bell pepper, sliced 
  • ○
     1 tsp granulated garlic 
  • ○
     Salt to taste  
  •   Add & cook until fragrant (about 3 mns):  
  • ○
     1 tsp cumin 
  • ○
     1 tsp turmeric 
  • ○
     1 tsp smoked paprika 
  • ○
     1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce  
  •   Add the meat:  
  • ○
    Crumble leftover burger (meat or plant-based)  
  • ○
    Heat until warm
  •   Add the veggies:  
  • ○
    Add beans and corn and mix 
  • ○
    Add pepper to taste  
  •   Prepare Spinach  
  • ○
    Add spinach to a bowl if preparing several, or on a serving plate for one or two 
  • ○
    Lightly salt 
  • ○
    Add a small amount of dressing and toss to very lightly coat  
  •   Build the dish and serve  
  • ○
    Place spinach on the plate 
  • ○
    Place the meat, veggies, and seasonings on spinach
  • ○
    Top with tomatoes 
  • ○
    Serve immediately