Unleashing your Creative Potential
With Elvin Box University of Surrey Management School, Guildford
26th April 2007
Elvin Box started by giving a short background of his career. He had started out in life as a failed footballer and spent several years in the building industry before deciding to go it alone as a freelance consultant.
He made it clear from the outset that he was going to enjoy giving the presentation, and by the end he had certainly given us plenty to think about in how we can perhaps be a bit more creative in our daily lives, whether at work or play
After a brief discussion about what is creativity, Elvin showed us how to understand our own personal creative style and how important it is to have a good mix of different styles in any team. He then went on to look at ways of harnessing and nurturing creativity, including the following useful suggestions:
- Experience new - suspend judgement
- Openly seek new experiences, break routines, do things differently
- Master new skills, interact with others
- Record what you see, hear and feel that excites you
- Prepare for your next brilliant idea, be receptive to the environment
- And finally, relax and daydream - apparently the most creative people are very good at this!
Elvin went on to describe 12 precepts, which he grouped into four clusters (Curiosity, Forgiveness, Love and Sense of Direction) and Rhodes' 4 P’s Of 'Collective Creativity' - The Basis of Innovation (People, Place, Process and Product).
Throughout the presentation Elvin ensured a good interactivity with the audience which continued through into the question session at the end. The feedback forms also showed that this presentation was well received - thank you Elvin.
By Rosemary Morgan