This 2-day workshop has been conducted in more than 50 U.S. organizations and in 8 foreign countries.

NEED:

"The U.S. has forgotten how to innovate." Fortune

"America has lost its instinct for innovation." Newsweek

"People can be taught to be more creative. Many companies are applying the new techniques -- with surprising good results." Business Week

"Creativity ... is America's reaction to global competition and runaway technology. Nearly one company in three now offers creativity training to its employees." U.S. News and World Report

OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP:

This 2 day workshop is designed to provide participants with specific, practical techniques to improve their personal creativity and help others in their work-group to improve their creativity.

In an era of heightened competition ( both nationally and internationally) innovative, productive approaches to all aspects of work are required. This workshop reviews proven ways to generate both new and higher quality ideas and to find innovative ways to implement them.

The workshop is a fast moving, high energy approach which keeps participants involved throughout the day. By actually applying the techniques being taught, participants emerge from the workshop with specific skills that they can apply the week they return to their jobs.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

The workshop is appropriate for both managers and non-managerial personnel who desire to improve their personal creativity and/or the creativity of their work-group.

DELIVERABLES:

• Personal improvement in creativity. The research has shown that all persons can improve their creativity, contrary to previous views that only a few persons are inherently creative.
  
• Ability to help others in your work-group become more creative. There are special approaches to facilitate creativity for a group and to encourage team members to be more creative.
  
• A plan for implementing a creativity improvement program for yourself and your work-unit.
  
• Through the workshop exercises, experience in the use of creativity improvement techniques. Twelve creativity improvement techniques are explained and demonstrated.

TAKEHOME MATERIALS:

Dr. Couger's books, Creative Problem Solving and Opportunity Finding, 1995 and Creativity & Innovation in Information System Organizations, 1996 are the key handouts for the course. Copies of the transparencies are also included.

J. Daniel Couger

Dr. Couger is Director for the Center for Research on Creativity at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He has written a number of articles on the subject of creativity and innovation techniques. He also holds the title Distinguished Professor of Information Systems and Management Science at the University of Colorado. He has lectured in more than 60 countries on six continents. He is the author of 18 books and more than 190 papers. Prior to his academic appointment he served as a manager in industry. He has served as a consultant to more than 100 companies, ranging in size from 25 employees to Fortune 500 firms. Dr. Couger is a Fellow of the Institute of Decision Sciences and is listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in the World.

WORKSHOP CONTENTS

Background on creativity and innovation

• Definitions/concepts
• CPS (Creative Problem Solving) Methodology

Components of creativity

• The creative individual
• The creative process
• The creative product

Techniques for improving creativity

• Enhancing the environment for creativity
• Techniques for individual creativity improvement
• Techniques for group creativity improvement
• Analytical techniques and intuitive techniques

Applying CPS (Creative Problem Solving) Methodology

• Clarifying the problem statement
• Identifying opportunities
• Generating creative ideas to solve problems and meet opportunities
• Evaluating and prioritizing ideas
• Follow-up to get ideas implemented

Review of successful cases of creativity improvement

• Examples of high return-on-investment cases for teams
• Examples of significant creativity improvements for the individual

Implementing

• Guidelines for a creativity improvement program, at both the work unit level and departmental level

Practice

• Throughout both days participants can apply the techniques to specific problems and opportunities that individuals and teams are facing and demonstrate the value of the techniques to everyday work activities.

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