Creativity in seven steps-Metaphor of the Creation

The creative process in seven steps (Metaphor creation or "Fiat lux")

Introduction

In the religious tradition, God created the world and the phrase "Fiat Lux" (Let there be light) is associated with this momentous event. In the contemporary world, the increasing demand for goods and services, and complexity of needs requires organizations of all types capabilities to change and stay in a permanent state of alert being as creative as a deity. Unlike to God that created the universe only once time, a firm must continually create goods and services, without pause, so the universe that is his "business environment", not to begins to destroy or return to chaos and disappear along with it.

The organization who is not alert can not identify the signals sent by the consumer,  and will not know whether the goods or services offered are insufficient and therefore can react sooner or insufficiently, and will certainly will have  market difficulties and challenges.

In the past, companies could produce a tangible good or service, and could offer more advanced models while inventory production was running in the context of orderly and predictable planning. When the next product was ready, he could successfully suggest changing consumer consumption patterns, they could create new expectations and start the process again. At present, it is consumers who have growing needs generated from the action of multiple suppliers of goods and services. What a company A proposed in relation to the goods or services that provides (the core business), can indirectly affect what the consumer demands about what the company B offers, and inversely.

Moreover, the supply of goods and services suitable to the new demand can not result from an immediate and mechanical reaction, but it express in a creative, slow, sometimes costly, timely and uninterrupted process,. The delayed reaction does not work, the reaction does take into account only last demand reference is ultimately useless and a waste of time and other resources. Reactive organizations have little space in this scenario; the advantage belong s to  preactive or proactive organizations.

Reference 1 states that

"For a new company to succeed, you need to offer something that meets the needs of future customers better than the competition does now ... Therefore, any developer with a good business idea needs to be able to answer the question: why a customer will stop buying competitors to purchase my product or service? This can only be achieved if the offer was made ​​is innovative. Innovation can be simple. The important thing is to provide something unique and valued customer for the future. A good method to identify innovative business ideas is to determine the reasons for complaints and customer dissatisfaction. Do not underestimate the resilience of the competition. "(1)

With this background, we propose seven steps to the creative process of a good or service

Step 1: Identify the problem,

The detection problem must act as a trigger, which puts in action the more flexible and creative elements of the organization. It is a warning sign that shows the possibility that something may go wrong if you do not act. It can be a false alarm, it can be a real danger, in any case we must act promptly.

Before we could find evidence in surveys, records of sales, operations reports: customers now have multiple channels to express their wishes and opinions, statements of satisfaction or dissatisfaction through social networks, to display an example. The enormous amount of data in the "cloud computing" reveals the companies must be prepared and know to look, facts and data showing greater accuracy and timeliness indicators that relate to their  products or services as well as expectations. The scheme of Big Data and the ability to exploit its potential is what distinguishes winning company from which become trapped in the past and inaction.

Step 2: Finding information

The search should be ongoing between various sources regarding our products or services, and which relate directly or indirectly to them. The bond or relationship, sometimes ignored or not foreseen, among services displays a reality that forces the firm to be more creative, more versatile. Our product or service is just not enough to satisfy the consumer, he needs more and more.

If the product or service a company is unique, with greater reason, creativity and constant alertness is required. There will be always someone waiting for the opportunity to build on the success, technology, know-how and a create market to imitate, improve and eventually become a competitor. Which is resting on its laurels, wakes up and faces a nightmare. He must always remember that is no longer alone in the market.

The collection of written material must be accompanied by observation; there is no shortage of data and information, or is it only takes little common sense to choose what is most convenient, useful, credible and fit for purpose or central business of the firma.

The first action shall be taken from internal sources or external sources directly accessible by themselves; just about to form an initial overview will. It is impossible to have everything on hand and what to do, but it's better to start something before waiting to act with full information. The information and data is incomplete but may be completed while advancing the solution of the problem; acting with complete information and details will only serve to show the incompetence and lack of vision or ability of those who chose this way.

A Spanish poet, Antonio Machado has a very suggestive line: "Traveler, there is no path, paths are made by walking (Caminante, no hay camino; se hace camino al andar" (2).

Step 3 Initial Solution

The initial design of the product or service, the outline of the key features, the model or prototype is made. No matter what the format or medium, the alternatives must be taken into account, although they are seemingly nonsensical or irrelevant. At the end there are no bad ideas, just ideas that do not conform to a specific problem; but is strongly required that you have a good initial design. In the case of a picture we can thought in a cartoon; seems a distortion but has the basic characteristics when it recognizes the character; step to formal portrait is simple. A good cartoon reveals the person, a good sketch or mockup shows the product or service that we need to develop.

Lateral thinking is useful because it allows to address the problem from improbable angles that reveal the essence of this problem. It should also avoid saturation or obsession with a solution, it is good truly think about other things, apparently not linked to our problem, as if the association of ideas to another problem was made. The subconscious will identify what is relevant to our case; only needs disposable material to search and anything to find.

Step 4 Catalyst

References 3 and 4 are detailed  the characteristics of a catalyst, a substance which is present in a chemical reaction in physical contact with the reactants, that accelerates, induces or promotes this reaction without acting on it; catalysts is a substance that makes it faster or slower the rate of a chemical reaction without participating in it. He also figuratively referred to people or things that fuel and give impetus to something, or that attract and grouped forces, ideas or feelings (Dictionary of the Spanish Language Manual Vox. © 2007 Larousse Editorial, SL)

Other media such as music, drawing even if you are not a professional artist help to explore the domain of the creative unconscious, thinking about issues that may be unrelated to the problem. If you know play an instrument, do it, if you can draw or paint, also do it; if you can not play music or draw, listen to the best music of your choice, review art catalogs, stroll through a museum or look on the Internet where it reaches the best world museums.

Step 5: More information

Further reading on the problem and related issues in other languages ​​also helps release ideas, you find unexpected relationships. Reading various topics such as poetry, help reduce unproductive mental stress and create a state of creative euphoria and the right hemisphere of the brain is stimulated.

Reading your favorite book, which you may read or young child, you could bring fond memories and feelings, enables the production of endorphins, so allows  more powerful and productive creative activity. May arise ideas that reinforce attributes or characteristics of the product  or service on which you think. All these activities are equivalent to additional exercises that allow the athlete to totally tone his body and be prepared for competition. And in a certain way, you are in competition: win who come first to market with a product or service that the consumer expects.

The new models of data generated by the world of information technology help to better understand market dynamics, trends, create competitive conditions, to advance advantage over competitors. Now we have to continually stay one step ahead as competitive advantages are precarious, unstable, temporary, mutable because are also changing market conditions.

In the early days of television and for many years, consumers were concerned with having reliable TVs that allow them to see a program without flawless picture and sound, with basic functions features. Now, technologically stabilized  these functions, image and sound, consumers demand and prefer products with more built-in functions. Product features and benefits not only change in quantity, but in structure and concept. And that demand must be understood from abundant data and information, but not easily accessible.

You need to have on hand customer information to know important details (what they want, how they want, where, when). The location of customers is important, because now they do not come to the company to sue the product or service; is the company you should look for, identify and approach them. Wessler (2013) states that

“Operating without a profile of your customers is obviously a path to failure. Demographic data has proven itself critical, and many demographic data sources available have been for years. However, one of the most important data attributes has-been historically overlooked due to technical challenges; fortunately, the use of geospatial data is now possible by everyone.

Geospatial intelligence tells you where your customers are, where they 'visit, where they' buy your products, and where competitors are located. Social media tags, data with geospatial processing and analytic tools: such as Alteryx Strategic Analytics take advantage of these tags to identify identity data and analyze this. Ensure that spatial intelligence is a part of any analytic processing toolset you utilize so that data will enhance critical decision making.” (Wessler, 2013, p. 41)

Step 6 Maturation

The aging of good wines is equivalent to leaving the brain to process the original idea and use information received or collected by various methods and from different sources. It leaves aside the issue completely, forget and do other things, it is helpful if this oversight is completed with the implementation of activities that are catalysts for the imagination. Let cobwebs settle on the idea (as in bottles wine cellar). After the appropriate time, after cleaning the bottle, you will enjoy a great drink; the same way you will have achieved a clear, well-defined, consistent and possible idea.

Every idea for a venture requires assuming some facts or situations. Some things consciously and many assume without thinking because they seem obvious. Roughly the ripening process seeks to validate as many of these assumptions, and when necessary helps make adjustments or improvements to the product or service idea. In reference 6 it is recommended to "mature the idea before the plunge", ie, although the first picture or sketch look perfect, keep in mind that at that time (step 3) still do not know all the facts or data referred to consumers. It is said that "at night all cats are gray", but at that point yet or know if it will be night or cats, you need to temper the initial enthusiasm.

Step 7 Epiphany and action

Epiphany means appearance, manifestation or phenomenon, and comes from the Greek epiphaneia. In the religious sense, in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, it is a manifestation or divine revelation.

Epiphany also be conceptualized in the philosophical sense, as a deep sense of fulfillment in the sense of understanding the essence of things. Is all that can be in the heart of things or people, ie, note that from now it feels like everything is resolved, solved, completed what was previously very difficult to achieve.

In more practical and broadly illustrated epiphany can be a thought, an inspiration that seems to be a thing of God, and that only He would think of such a thing. The British use this term much saying, "I just had an epiphany" , indicating that they have had an indescribable thought, unique. (References 7,8,9) How would you feel if you just found the solution to your problem market , when is well defined when the service or product that consumers need?

The idea is now clear. Only needs to correct details, add or remove items, at the initial sketch, now known to what functions designed the service or product, and you have the speech that present creation to consumer.

God rested on the seventh day, you will at the eighth step, when you notice that you left behind competitors, expand your  market, you has created or renewed competitive advantage and your profit curve in time moves forward the northeast

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References

1)    Maduración y selección de la idea de negocio

http://www.webyempresas.com/maduracion-y-seleccion-de-la-idea-de-negocio/

2)    Machado, Antonio, Poemas

3)    Catalizador

Tomado el 10/8/2014 de http://www.oni.escuelas.edu.ar/olimpi99/autos-y-polucion/cataliza.htm

4)    Catalizador

Tomado el 10/8/2014 de http://es.thefreedictionary.com/catalizador

5)    Wessler Michael, (2013) Big data analytics for dummies. A Wiley Brand

Alteryx .Special Edition
Disponible en  www.alteryx.com

6)    Madurando la idea antes de tirarse al agua

Tomado el 12/8/2014 de http://www.elobservador.com.uy/emprendedores/post/525/madurando-la-idea-antes-de-tirarse-al-agua/

7)    Epifanía

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epifan%C3%ADa

8)    Epifanía
Tomado el 12/8/2014  de http://www.significados.info/epifania/

9)    Epifanía

Tomado el 8/12/2014 de http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epifan%C3%ADa