How often do we hear this excuse? After reading the book it will be no more excuse! It will show that everybody can be creative…
Here the fourth preview, a part of the chapter “Creativity, concepting & designing”:
Within the MICE industry it becomes increasingly difficult to be distinguished from others. Fairs, meetings and conferences are very similar to each other and because people travel easily, it becomes increasingly difficult to be original and diverse in organising incentive trips.
In addition to this there are also technological developments through which it becomes in some cases easier to organise virtual meetings.
An important added value of the ‘live’ events are the ‘live’ meetings, it is increasingly important to create an added value for the visitor. This added value is especially reflected in the design of an event: the concept. A concept ensures that we all see the total picture of apparently unrelated loose elements.
When we talk about a concept within MICE events, we mean the elaborate design of the event. It is a way to predetermine the vision and realise the resulting objectives in a strategic way. Here the imagination and the emotional feelings of the MICE event visitors are addressed. It is important that the concept is creative allowing visitors to engage in something new, which will turn into a meaningful experience.
What is creativity?
According to the Cambridge Academic Content dictionary: ‘The ability to produce original and unusual ideas, or to make something new or imaginative.’
According to the business dictionary: ‘Mental characteristic that allows a person to think outside of the box, which results in innovative or different approaches to a particular task’.
When we compare these two definitions we can see the following clear similarities:
- It is about new concepts or ideas, different thinking, innovation and imagination.
- To be able to create a good concept, creative thinking is an important tool.
Creative thinking according to the business dictionary: ‘A way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). Creative thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking‘.
It is important to realize that ANYONE can think creatively. Children are accustomed to think of more than 60 new solutions per day in response to a problem. When we get older this diminishes to about 6 solutions per day. As a child we have to think creative to be able to survive.
When we go to school it is important that everyone fits in a system whereby solutions to many problems are dictated, so we no longer have to think of solutions ourselves. This decreases the routine in creative thinking, but as a basis we all possess the creative thinking ability.
By (re)development, practice and in particular by doing, the creative thinking ability is there for everyone.
Three components of creativity
Within every individual, creativity is a function of three components: expertise, creative-thinking skills and motivation. The creative process is a combination of these three components.
Adapted from Teresa m. Amabile, Harvard Business Review Oct 98
Expertise is in one word: knowledge. In this book: knowledge of the MICE industry and everything that is associated with it.
Not all motivation is created equal. An inner passion to solve the problem at hand leads to solutions far more creative than external rewards do, such as money. This component (intrinsic motivation) is the one that can be most immediately influenced by the personal environment.
Motivation is the reason for people’s actions.
Creative-thinking skills determine how flexibly and imaginatively people approach problems.
These three components can all be influenced or developed. In particular the creative-thinking skills are easy to learn. We give some examples in the book.
