Creativity in the Imagination Age: Theories, Practice and Application 3030986462, 9783030986469

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Creativity in the Imagination Age Theories, Practice and Application

S M A Moin

Creativity in the Imagination Age “In his latest cross-disciplinary book, Dr Moin, who is already renowned for his inspiring and mould-breaking work in brand storytelling, takes readers into a new realm through his scholarly insights on creativity and imagination. This book leads the reader on a stimulating journey through the fourth industrial revolutions with a deep dive into imagination, creativity, innovation, and culture of the innovative companies whilst applying a profound philosophical lens.” —Professor Justin O’Brien, Executive Director for Postgraduate Programmes, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK “The unprecedented advancement in science coupled with emerging technologies and digital culture is taking humanity into a different world, which according to the author, was first created in our minds through employing the power of our imagination. This book opens the doors for the readers to join a conversation about the possibilities and challenges humanity will face in the mysterious future while gaining invaluable insights into imagination, creativity, and innovation that differentiate us from other species.” —Professor Heidi Winklhofer, Head of the Marketing Division, Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, UK and Associate Editor for the Journal of Services Marketing “In this book, Dr Moin has taken the readers on a journey to explore the possibilities of the imagination age. The current era of technology combined with a networked humanity has provided both opportunities and challenges for digital and social marketers. To excel, we need to put our imagination and creativity into practice; at the same time keeping our identities as humans whilst shaping and responding to technological breakthroughs. Readers will gain critical insights about creativity and its link to imagination and innovation and how these three concepts have empowered humans to advance the world over the ages. I highly recommend this book for both academics and practitioners.” —Professor Linda Brennan, School of Media & Communication, RMIT University, Australia “This book is creative, innovative, clear, imaginative and able to open pathways to new ideas. It also delivers the most practical examples I have ever read.” —Professor Babak Taheri, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, UK

“We don’t know where technology and humans will meet in the future, but Dr Moin in this book offers a compelling account of the era of imagination brought by the advanced technologies. While unravelling the mysteries, the author provides a critical and philosophical perspective of imagination, creativity and innovation drawn from interdisciplinary research. This is a valuable guide for the professionals willing to contribute towards an inclusive world.” —Enamul Haque, Director, Cloud Infrastructure Services, Capgemini UK Plc., UK “Creativity is a powerful force in life and business. It can add joy and surprise, and it is the vital ingredient of great marketing campaigns. Creativity helps make the world look fresh, and it can help to shape our attention. This Book provides a lively and cleverly structured understanding of how to foster creative thinking, it should be read by anyone who wants to know how to make an impact on other people.” —Dr J Graham Spickett-Jones, Head of Department for Marketing, Fashion, Hospitality and Tourism (MFHT), Coventry University London, UK “Imagination, creativity and innovation have been at the core of human development over the ages. This book unveils the inextricable link between these three concepts from a philosophical perspective. Drawing on interdisciplinary research and critical approaches to creativity, the author takes the readers on a journey to explore the enormous opportunities, challenges, and ethical dilemmas of industry 4.0.” —Dr Georgy Petrov, Senior Lecturer in Management, and Director of Skills and Employer Engagement, School of Business and Management, Queen Mary University of London, UK “Bringing art and science together, as a creative method for innovation and application, has become an essential skill within an increasing number of sectors. This book explores the intersection between complimentary and clashing disciplines in a new and fresh way.” —Professor Jonathan A.J. Wilson, Professor of Brand Strategy & Culture, Regent’s University London, UK “A valuable guide for individuals and organisations highlighting how we can all free our minds up to think in new and exciting ways.” —Emeritus Professor Alan Wilson, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, UK “In this book, Dr. Moin has given critical insights about creativity and innovation in the context of the fourth industrial revolution which brings unprecedented opportunities and challenges. A great source for leaders and innovators to take mankind through the imagination age.” —Mohammad Shahin Ahsan, Principal Product Engineer, Broadcom Inc., California, USA “Our capacity to solve everyday problems through the power of imagination and possibility thinking has become ever more important in the age of 4IR. This book will come in handy for the academics, practitioners and innovators alike in relating contemporary theories with practice to innovate faster and better in keeping with the demand of the hour.” —Sabbir Ahmed, Growth Strategy Consultant, Aerospace and Defence Technology, London, UK

S M A Moin

Creativity in the Imagination Age Theories, Practice and Application

S M A Moin School of Business and Management Mile End Rd, Bethnal Green Queen Mary University of London London, UK

ISBN 978-3-030-98646-9    ISBN 978-3-030-98647-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98647-6 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the ­publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and ­institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

This book is dedicated to Professor Sameer Hosany, Jonathan Groucutt and Dr Svetla Stoyanova-Bozhkova for their invaluable support during my transition into academia.

Foreword

The book you have just opened can change your perception of the incredible power of our imagination and creativity while joining a critical but interesting and timely conversation. It is not the strength of our muscles but the imagination of our minds that has changed our identity from a tribe of hunters to a generation of dreamers, who have not just landed on the moon but exploring the possibility of venturing to Mars with a quest to create a multi-planetary species. The advancements in science and the fusion of technologies blur the boundaries between our physical, digital and biological spheres. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, The Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Blockchains, Cloud & Edge Computing, Robots & Cobots, Autonomous Vehicles, The 5G Network, Genomics & Gene Editing, and Quantum Computing are going to change radically the way we live and relate with each other. For example, the first 3D-printed vertebra was implanted in the human body in 2014. IBM Watson software can identify cancer and many other diseases and provide legal advice. Mark Zuckerberg and his team at Meta is on a mission to create a metaverse that will take us into a different world of augmented experience. Soon you will be able to control everything around you through The Internet of Things, creating your own world of fantasy. Things that were science fiction a couple of years before are today’s scientific facts. The future is not in the future—it has already come. We are standing at the crossroads of the imagination age, where new realities are unfolding like magic at the intersection of science, technology, innovation, art and aesthetic fuelled by our imagination and creativity. Through the seven vii

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chapters in this book, Dr Moin will take you on a journey through the unfolding magic and mysteries of the imagination age. In Chap. 1, the author will take you through the narrative of human progression over the ages. Our ancient ancestors had ruled the age of foraging. Their successors have ruled the agricultural age by leveraging the strengths of their backs and muscles. Their heirs had enslaved the machines, leading the industrial age. Then came a tribe of information workers who had dominated capitalising on the power of information. But we are now living in the imagination age triggered by the fourth industrial revolution, where our minds play with science, art and technology. The magic of the imagination age is not the tricks of science and technology alone but happens when technology is married with our imagination, employing our creativity and unlocking the horizon of possibilities. However, as the author contends, the real magic happens when our creative pursuit results in innovation. As you come to Chap. 2, he will let you deep-dive into your imaginary world. Imagination allows us to envision the unknown that we cannot see by using logic, the author asserts. Furthermore, imagination is the source of ideas, which are the currencies in the imagination age. Chapter 3 unfolds the mystery around creativity, which is the secret ingenuity that makes us humans and differentiates us from other species. Sir Ken Robinson once said: “Other creatures sing. But they don’t write operas. Other creatures are agile, but they don’t form Olympic committees. They communicate, but they don’t have festivals of theatre. They have structures, but they don’t build buildings and furnish them. We are unique in this capacity. Capacitors produce the most extraordinary diversity of human culture.” Innovation, as the author states, is the art and science to turn our imagination captured as ideas into tangible products, services, and processes that enchant our hearts and enhance our lives. In Chap. 4, the author demystifies the dilemmas around innovation, explaining it from multiple angles and how organisations play the competitive game amid disruptive change. Then wearing a philosophical hat, you will unveil the inextricable link between imagination, creativity and innovation (Chap. 5). But the question remains: how can we flood our organisations with imagination and creativity? The answer is simple—by creating a culture of innovation. This takes you to deconstruct organisational culture using an interdisciplinary lens, critically understanding strategy to foster creativity (Chap. 6).

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As you are equipped with the knowledge of imagination, creativity, innovation and the unfolding magic of the imagination age, creating a fantasy world in your mind through your power of imagination, I call your attention to another part of the world, where human lives are not fairytales. The advancements of science and technology and the magic of the imagination age could not remove the misery from their lives, making their tales a never-ending tragedy. When some people are preparing for the metaverse, they dream of food and a roof over their heads. Unfortunately, the benefits of the previous industrial revolutions have not been distributed properly. We do not know if the fourth industrial revolution can eradicate hunger and poverty, solve the unemployment problems and other major issues the world faces today. Therefore, Dr Moin finally invites you to join a conversation (Chap. 7) on our response to the evolving opportunities, challenges, changes and ethical dilemmas and how to create an inclusive world for all in the imagination age. Finally, some words of disclaimer. For someone to write a foreword of a book, reading it—cover-to-cover—is a necessity. But knowing the author, seeing him grow from childhood to adulthood as his own brother, put me in a tactically advantageous position not only to comment on what is in the book but also about the world view of the author developed through diverse experience gained setting himself on multiple career challenges. In “Creativity in the Imagination Age: Theories, Practice and Application”, Dr Moin brings his original thinking grounded from his background not only as a researcher and academic but also from his experience of working in multiple industries, including the military (Navy), media, and financial services sector, as well as working as a management consultant. Moreover, firsthand experience of living and working in a developing country in the first half of his career has helped him deeply understand the struggles and challenges of people in the developing world. But his education, followed by a career in the western world, has helped him comprehend the power of emerging technologies when they are married to human creativity and imagination. Therefore, as you read through the pages of this book, I am sure you will find a different perspective that is novel in its own way that will help you tap into the power of your imagination and unlock your creativity. Enjoy the reading and join the conversation. While shaping the future in the imagination age, world leaders need to hear your ideas and opinions. So let’s play a part in the quest to create an inclusive world and a sustainable future for all. Stockholm, Sweden

M. A. Zaman

Acknowledgement

First, my sincere gratitude to God for creating me as a human and blessing me with the power of imagination and creativity. Then my heartfelt thanks to my wife and two sons for their heart-­ melting love and generous support during the quest of writing this book. I would also like to thank my other family members, friends, and fellow academic colleagues for their encouragement and interest in my research. Finally, I would like to thank my students over the years who have provided lively debate and enriching discussions on imagination, creativity, innovation and the imagination age.

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Contents

1 The  Magic and Mystery of the Imagination Age: Where Human Mind Meets Science and Technology  1 2 Creating  a World Out of Our Minds: A Philosophical Perspective of Imagination 25 3 The  Mysterious Ingenuity that Makes Us Humans: Deciphering Creativity Through the Lens of Philosophy and Divinity 41 4 Putting  Creative Minds into Play: Innovation at the Intersection of Science, Art and Technology 65 5 Connecting  the Dots: The Inextricable Link Between Imagination, Creativity and Innovation 99 6 Ideation  to Impact: The Organisational Culture That Transforms Caterpillars into Butterflies113 7 Navigating  Through the Imagination Age: Set the Moral Gyro and Put Humanity at the Helm143 Index157 xiii

List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Fig. 2.1 Fig. 2.2 Fig. 3.1 Fig. 4.1 Fig. 4.2 Fig. 4.3 Fig. 5.1 Fig. 6.1 Fig. 6.2 Fig. 6.3 Fig. 7.1

A roadmap of “Creativity in the Imagination Age: Theories, Practice and Application” 21 The relationships between curiosity, engagement, experience, imagination and envision. (Source: Developed from Seeling (2015)) 28 Conceptualising simple and complex perception 31 Ten pairs of personality traits through which the creative people bounce. (Source: Adapted from Csikszentmihalyi (2013)) 55 Nineteen types of innovation classified into six categories 74 The innovation continuum classifying three types of innovation 74 S-Curve: How technology cycle impacts innovation. (Source: Adapted from Utterback (1994)) 89 An integrative dynamic model of imagination, creativity and innovation109 Different etymological routes of culture. (Source: Redesigned from Baldwin, Faulkner, Hecht, and Lindsley (2006a, p. 5)) 119 A model of creativity and innovation 134 Technology foundations, innovation accelerators and disruptive scenarios. (Source: Adapted from Diana (2015)) 138 A leadership model for the imagination age 146

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List of Tables

Table 1.1 Table 1.2 Table 1.3 Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 3.1 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 5.1 Table 6.1 Table 6.2 Table 6.3 Table 6.4

The different ages of human development 5 Six high-concept, high-touch senses 13 Deep shift brought by the fourth industrial revolution and digital connectivity 16 Twelve ways of conceptualising imagination 32 Various types of imagination 36 Qualities and attributes that promote and inhibit creativity 54 The role of innovation in organisational effectiveness 67 Invention vs commercialisation 70 Links between imagination, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship104 An interdisciplinary perspective of culture 117 Thoughts on organisational culture 120 The seven contemporary themes of definitions of culture 122 Categories of organisational culture 124

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CHAPTER 1

The Magic and Mystery of the Imagination Age: Where Human Mind Meets Science and Technology

Abstract  The power of imagination has empowered us to survive and thrive through different ages: farmers dominated the agricultural age, factory workers led the industrial age and knowledge workers conquered the information age. Triggered by the fourth industrial revolution, the imagination age belongs to dreamers, creators, innovators, and meaning makers, bringing a renascence of imagination, creativity, and innovation at the intersection of human minds and disruptive technologies that are blurring the physical, digital and biological spheres. However, despite these ground-breaking advancements, the world still faces rising inequality, climate change leading to environmental fragilities, trust deficit and many more challenges. This chapter takes you on a journey to unveil the opportunities, challenges and ethical dilemmas of the imagination age. Thus, it sets the context before diving into imagination and creativity, leading to innovation, through which humans will shape the imagination age. Keywords  Agrarian age • Industrial age • Information age • Imagination age • Fourth industrial revolution

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S M A Moin, Creativity in the Imagination Age, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98647-6_1

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“It is important to remember that we all have magic inside us.” ~ J. K. Rowling

Welcome to the imagination age where our phantasm can meet reality, and we are just as big as the size of our dreams. Every reality that fascinates us today was once created in the minds of the dreamers. Human imagination and creativity have brought breakthrough innovations such as the steam engine, electricity, computer and so on, which have been at the core of human progression over the ages. The unprecedented advancements in science and technologies and innovations through putting our imagination and creativity into play have brought us into the imagination age. Innovators put their imagination into practice and turn their dreams and fantasies into realities. “Curiosity, creativity and innovation have empowered humankind to achieve things that were once unthinkable” (Moin, 2020, p. IX). Creating things that enchant our hearts and enhance our lives was never as easy as science and technologies today are fuelling our minds and making this world a fertile ground for innovation. The imagination age brings a renascence of imagination, creativity, and innovation at the intersection of human minds, scientific & artistic development, and “fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres” (Schwab, 2016, np). In all ages, imagination has helped us navigate through the terrains of our struggles into places that were once dreamlands. Today, advancement in all branches of science, the emerging technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, social media and digital revolutions have empowered many people—particularly those with access to these technologies—to be creators and share their arts and creations with others on the digital canvas. YouTube videos, Instagram stories, Facebook posts and memorabilia, and Twitter messages are breaking the boundaries, fostering collaboration and democratising the power of communication. The power of the imagination age has transformed our lives and empowered our creative minds. Not just governments, institutions and large multinational corporations are making an impact; disruptive forces enable the start-ups and individuals to make a significant difference in society. For example, a New York-­based small charity, Pencil of Promise, started with only $25 deposit, has already built more than 550 schools worldwide, enlightening children through the power of education (Pencil of Promise Official Site, 2021). Likewise, another Vancouver-based company, Awecademy, is working to bring a sense of awe and wonder to education, inspiring learners to prepare for the radically different world brought by the rise of the imagination age. “Through an online

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platform and offline programs, Awecademy offers interdisciplinary programs that equip learners and educators with the new competencies, future fluencies, and powerful values for them to have a positive impact on humanity. These include big-picture thinking, radical creativity, moonshot thinking, empathy and compassion, self-­ transcendence, intelligent optimism, ethical use of technologies, existential studies, and much more” (Awecademy Official Site, 2021). What the previous and current generation of dreamers have achieved has extended the horizon of imagination for the next generation of dreamers. It is difficult to predict what they are going to accomplish as Richard Branson, during his Virgin Galactic Space Flight in 2021, says: “I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I’m an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do.” So far, the term ‘imagination age’ has been used very limitedly, and there is no consensus or broader agreement in terms of its definition or conceptualisation. Conceptual age, the term used by Daniel H. Pink in his book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, points towards the same age, although there is not much agreement that the ‘imagination age’ and the ‘conceptual age’ are identical. Although there are fewer conversations about the imagination and conceptual age, the fourth digital revolution, mentioned by the World Economic Forum, has become the focal point of discussion, receiving the attention of academics, leaders and policymakers in the corporate, government and third sectors. The power of the fourth industrial revolution has enhanced the horizon of our imagination than any time in human history. Before exploring the imagination age, it is sensible to get a brief overview of the other ages humans have come through.

The Innovation Revolutions and the Pace of Human Development Humans have always found novel ways to see the unseen in their quest to create a better future. Our imagination and creativity have resulted in new technologies, innovations and new ways of living. This has helped humankind write their stories of evolutions and revolutions over the ages, bringing us into the fourth industrial revolution. The two publications—The Fourth Industrial Revolution by Schwab (2017) and Shaping the Future of Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Guide to Building a Better World by Schwab and Davis (2018)—have given a vivid account of various revolutions in human history: the agrarian revolution followed by first, second,

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third and fourth industrial revolutions. Pink (2008) gave a slightly different narrative through a ‘three-act drama’ that has helped humankind progress from the agricultural age to three distinctive ages: industrial age, information age and conceptual age. Table 1.1 provides a summary of five different eras of human development. The Age of Foraging In ancient times, the lives of humans were very hard. Foraging was the means for their survival, making them a tribe or society of hunters and gatherers. Their survival depended on their physical strength and aptitude for hunting, manifested through their creativity in finding numerous approaches to defeat the animals stronger than themselves. Throughout the day, they were involved in hunting and gathering for the supply of their food. But after the sunset, it was a moment to pass wisdom acquired from the harsh realities of life. So they gathered around the fire to tell stories of daytime adventure and tactics to survive wild animals’ attacks (Gallo, 2016; Moin, 2020). The Agrarian Age Then, around 10,000  years ago, their imagination and creativity found them to shift their way of living from foraging to farming through the domestication of animals (Schwab, 2017). Over time, distinct socio-­ economic improvement was seen as human efforts combined with animal strengths resulted in increased food production, population growth, better communication and larger human settlement. It can be argued that increased food production during the agrarian revolution was due to the development of farm equipment, especially in the UK. The agrarian age helped humans evolve from a tribe/society of hunters to a society of farmers, resulting in an economy through leveraging their backs and muscles (Pink, 2008). Although farming started approximately 10,000 years ago, agriculture dominated the economy in the seventeenth century and extended to the eighteenth century. Therefore, this period is known as the agrarian or agricultural age. The physical strength of humans was the key criterion to succeed in this era as Pink (2008) commented that it brought an economy built on humans’ backs and the condition of their muscles. Then mechanised farming resulted in more food production, and many people, mainly those who were not the landowners, left the agricultural age for a better living.

Seventeenth to eighteenth century (time of agricultural revolution) The Industrial The second Age half of the eighteenth century Late nineteenth century to early twentieth century The 1960s to 1990s Information Age

Before 10,000 years ago

The Age of Foraging

The Agrarian Age

Timeline

The Ages

Capabilities/Core activities

Invention of electricity and assembly line

Mainframe computing (1960s), personal computing (1970s and 1980s), internet (1990s)

Second Industrial Revolution

Third Industrial Revolution

Logical, linear, analytical and left-brain directed thinking

Mass production

Invention of steam Mechanical engine and the production construction of railroads

First Industrial Revolution

Farming

The use of domestic animals in agriculture

Unconventional ways of Hunting hunting

Triggers

Control over domestic animals

Fire, iron, stones etc.

Driven by

Table 1.1  The different ages of human development

Ability to use information through managing computer/ digital technologies

Mechanical and electrical power

Mechanical power

Ability to hunt and adapt with the adversities Muscle power and the strength of our back

Economy built on

(continued)

The society of knowledge workers (also known as the network society)

The society of factory workers (also known as the industrial society) The society of factory workers (also known as the industrial society)

The society of hunters and gatherers  The society of farmers 

Known as

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The emerging technologies of the fourth industrial revolution such as ubiquitous and mobile internet, smaller and more powerful sensors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc.

Triggers Innovation, triggered by imagination and creativity. Inventive, empathic, ability to see the big-picture, use of the whole brain. Ability to use the power of technology and mind

Capabilities/Core activities Scientific advancements and the fusion of technologies blurring the boundaries between our physical, digital and biological spheres

Economy built on

The society of technologists, innovators, artists, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers (as the imagination age can be seen as an extension of the information age, it is still called the network society or the information society)

Known as

Source: Developed from Magee (1993), Castells (2005), Pink (2008), King (2016), Cox and Alm (2016–2017), Schwab (2016), Schwab (2017), Schwab and Davis (2018), and Teer (2020)

Built on digital Fourth revolution of Industrial twenty-first Revolution century

The Imagination/ Conceptual Age

Driven by

Timeline

The Ages

Table 1.1 (continued)

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The Industrial Age The industrial age is usually known as the time of the first and second industrial revolutions. In the mid-eighteen century, the mechanical process of spinning and weaving marked the beginning of the first industrial revolution in Britain’s textile industry, then spreading into many industries and creating new sectors (Schwab & Davis, 2018). A transition from muscle power to mechanical power, the invention of the steam engine and the construction of the railroads was the critical enabler of the first industrial revolution. However, the other enabling factors were the mining of coal that helped the steam engines, followed by the development of iron foundries and shipbuilding industries. This helped spread colonialism, but technology played a part in the overall economic development across some countries of the world. Until the middle of the nineteenth century, the first industrial revolution also created the foundations for the next paradigm shift. Triggered by the invention of electricity and assembly lines, the second industrial revolution took place between 1870 and 1930, enabling mass production and compounding growth brought forth by the first industrial revolution through interrelated technologies (Schwab, 2017; Schwab & Davis, 2018). The impact of the second industrial revolution dramatically changed the way people lived and worked. The transformative power of electricity coupled with interrelated technologies contributed immensely to bringing several revolutionary products, including electric lighting, home appliances, radio, the  internal combustion engine and television. In addition, the internal combustion engine advanced the economy with automobiles, favouring the creation of aeroplanes. This dramatically revolutionised the transportation system. Pink (2008) called the era of the first and second industrial revolutions as the industrial age when the economy was primarily built on people’s left-brain, and our identity changed from a society of farmers to a community of factory workers. It is also known as the industrial society (Castells, 2005). Arguably the time between the 1930s and 1960s, due  to necessity, was a very productive age, using imagination, creativity and innovation. For example, the invention of the jet engine by Frank Whittle in 1937 and Hans von Ohain in 1939 (Science Focus: Online) facilitated the way for the use of computing (both in the UK and the US) in the 1940s developments of engines and production techniques. Then we saw the development of nuclear physics through the 1930s and 1940s. The early work on jet engines paved the way for passenger aircraft and space flight.

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The Information Age The 1960s saw the beginning of the third industrial revolution, catalysed by a series of inventions in the field of computing: semiconductor and mainframe computing in the 1960s, personal computing in the 1970s and the 1980s and the internet in the 1990s. While Schwab (2017) called it the computer or digital revolution, Pink (2008) and many others call it the information age, also known as the period of the knowledge economy. The information age, dominated by knowledge and information, fuelled the economies of the developed world. Although the revolutionary breakthroughs in information technologies played a part, Schwab and Davis (2018) argue, “the third industrial revolution was not due to the existence of digital technologies, but to the ways in which they changed the structure of our economic and social system. The ability to store, process and transmit information in digital form reformed almost every industry, and dramatically changed the working and social lives of billions of people” (p. 10). Overall, this changed our identity from a society of factory workers to society of knowledge workers (Pink, 2008). The information age or the post-industrial era can also be explained by using the  concept of the network society. The Norwegian Sociologist Stein Broten coined the term network society in 1981, calling it a society powered by network information and communication technology. Later, the term came into discussion through Jan van Dijk’s book,  De Netwerkmaatschappij (The Network Society). However, Manuel Castells’ continued works have contributed considerably to popularising the concept of the network society. Therefore, before moving into the imagination age, it is worth providing a brief review of Castell’s thoughts on network society. The network society is defined by Castells (2005) as “a social structure based on networks operated by information and communication technologies based in microelectronics and digital computer networks that generate, process, and distribute information on the basis of the knowledge accumulated in the nodes of the networks” (p. 7). It can be argued that the implications of globalisation and information communication technologies have resulted in a network society. The theory of the network society helps us understand the changes in the information age, triggered by information and communication technologies that organise individuals and groups around digital information networks.  Castells (2005) argues that information communication technologies create and sustain far-flung networks where new social relationships emerge, and the power is exercised through the control or influence over communication.

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Whereas the industrial societies were hierarchical, formal and centred, the network society allows information, communication and people to move freely within and across nodes (representing people working groups, teams, institutions, states, and countries) and are connected through links (representing ties, connections, and relationships). Castells (2005) mentions that four things played a significant role in the rise of network societies: (a) the rise of an open economy, (b) the civil rights movement, (c) the feminist movement and (d) the revolution in information and communication technologies. In the information age of the network society, firms with the ability to change and adapt quickly became the role models. Therefore, the organisations trump flexibility by associating nodes that vary from project to project. The early social theories conceptualised space using the notion of nation states that are demarked by strictly defined boundaries, borders, territories and maps. The network society theorises space as flow, where networks are established through the flow of information, materials, money, and people. The network society also promotes the idea of timeless time. Therefore, the notion of the Internet, the world wide web, and social networking platforms challenge the concept of the bounded system of nation states, which are self-contained entities: they make their rules and regulations and govern themselves and where  borders and bounders work as enablers to put control over people. The emergence of the platform economy is another aspect of the network society. The platform economy is more expansive, broader, and transcends space and time, having the ability to be shared from different parts of the world, bringing the imagination of the global village into reality. Many people think that this is phenomenal – like a eutopia because everything that was disconnected before is connected worldwide under the notion of network society, allowing us to rethink organisational culture, labour, leisure and life, all of which have been reconfigured and recalibrated in this information age. When Castells popularised the network society in the 1990s, there was hardly any emphasis on the concept of  the data empire or data giant linked to the platform economy.  However, following the bubble burst, Silicon Valley scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs developed web 2.0, which is participatory, multimedia-driven and supported by convergent technology, a new kind of capitalism on the web, called data capitalism, started based on the ideology of user-generated content (UGC). “Data capitalism is, at its core, a system in which the commoditisation of our data enables a redistribution of power in the information age. If communication and information are historically a key source of power (Castells, 2007), data capitalism results in a distribution of power that is

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asymmetrical and weighted toward the actors who have access and the capability to make sense of data. This uneven distribution is enacted through capitalism and justified by the association of networked technologies with the political and social benefits of online community, drawing upon narratives that generally fall within the rubric of technological utopianism.” (West, 2019, p. 23). However, today we know that the data giants are becoming more powerful than the governments. Accordingly, there is an endeavour to counteract this power, to manage them through regulation and competition law. In the information age, therefore, the emphasis is no longer on hefty machinery  and mass production of goods and services for sale; instead, the value is underpinned by traded, transacted, and reproduced information. The trading information is the underpinning criteria of this new networked economy because the erosion of national and geographic boundaries and time and space are built into this post-industrial society where mass media with standardised products have been replaced by the proliferating multimedia of narrowcasting, the many-to-many communications of the Internet, and the blurring of distinctions between producers and consumers of media content. In one way, this is empowerment, but on the other way, this means that our private lives and intimate emotional expressions in the form of labour are filling the web. Then these are not only monetised but also turning us into posthuman, as Ibrahim says (2021, p. 1): “Neither completely human nor entirely machine, this hybridised posthuman as a conflicted being is in a perpetual state of transcendence, of space, of materiality, of memory and of consciousness. In a state of being incessantly altered and reworked yet dis-embodied and affectively configured through the substrates of the technical (visible and invisible). Combining the autonomous subject with automaticity, the posthuman binds human vulnerabilities with non-human agencies of the machine.” Thus, our private life is continuously negotiated, making us vulnerable, yet we do not understand this vulnerability as Ibrahim (2021) metaphorically says we are dancing with the data in the digital economy. Therefore, the information age and the network society have also brought us from the industrial capitalism to the age of surveillance capitalism, as Zuboff (2019, p. 53) says, “Surveillance capitalism commandeered the wonders of the digital world to meet our needs for effective life, promising the magic of unlimited information and a thousand ways to anticipate our needs and ease the complexities of our harried lives. We welcomed it into our hearts and homes with our own rituals of hospitality. As we shall

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explore in detail throughout the coming chapters, thanks to surveillance capitalism the resources for effective life that we seek in the digital realm now come encumbered with a new breed of menace. Under this new regime, the precise moment at which our needs are met is also the precise moment at which our lives are plundered for behavioral data, and all for the sake of others’ gain. The result is a perverse amalgam of empowerment inextricably layered with diminishment. In the absenceof a decisive societal response that constrains or outlaws this logic of accumulation, surveillance capitalism appears poised to become the dominant form of capitalism in our time.” Thus, the information age has brought enormous prosperity and possibilities that welcome a new era—the imagination age; but at the cost of loss of privacy, increased vulnerability, and another layer of complexity creating new inequalities. In many ways, we are now living in the empires of the data giants. However, the information age has extended into a different period due to the twin revolutions in information technology and biotechnology and the waves of the fourth industrial revolution.

The Imagination Age: Stepping into a New Era There is a dilemma regarding the age at which we are living currently. There are opinions that the information age is over, and we are now living in the imagination age (King, 2016), conceptual age (Pink, 2008) or in the time of the fourth industrial revolution (Schwab, 2017). However, there is scant academic research on the imagination age because it is used as a metaphor to explain the power of human imagination and creativity harnessed with the power of modern-day technologies that can achieve many things the human mind can imagine. Mostly, the contribution has come from a few blogs, conference proceedings, and TED Talks where a small number of authors and futurists have metaphorically used the term. In this age, the primary economic value is created through leveraging the power of imagination and creativity, differentiating the imagination age from the information age, which is a more widely discussed and accepted term, representing the time of the third industrial revolution built on the core activities involving analysis and thinking. Charlie Magee mentioned the term ‘imagination age’ in 1993  in an essay titled “The Age of Imagination: Coming Soon the Civilization Near You”. Magee (1993) identified communication as the denominator to shape human civilisation—in other words, the most advanced communication systems was possessed by the most developed nations, which enabled them to collaborate and effectively turn information into knowledge.

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In 2007, Rita J. King, a Co-Director of Science House in New York, mentioned the imagination age in her essay “The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age”. King (2007) argues that empowered by connected technologies, people form more meaningful relationships with strangers in a connected world, which was never possible before. She further contends that organisations irrespective of industries and sectors are using industrial-age-thinking in intelligence-age-problems as our brains make sense of tangible things better, but these are the components of industrial-era-thinking. However, in the intelligence era, the future, in her opinion, involves fewer tangibles: code, analytics and so on. Therefore, King (2016, online) suggests that we need a “transition period between the Industrial Era and the Intelligence Era”, known as the imagination age, which she describes as “a navigation system for charting a dynamic path in a nebulous environment”. However, there is an argument that code and analytics are part of the third industrial revolution that marks the information age. For instance, Pink (2008) claims that we have passed the agrarian, industrial and information age. He argues that the conceptual age is no more ruled by lawyers, MBAs or computer programmers instead by artists, innovators, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, and big picture thinkers, who particularly excel in “High Concept” and “High Touch” skills. High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathise with others, to understand the substance of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and stress beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning. (Pink, 2008, pp. 2–3)

Although it is clear that Pink (2008) hints about the imagination age, he coined it as “Conceptual Age”. Drawing on the research in neuroscience, he asserts that the world has moved from an economy dominated by left-brain directed sequential, logical and linear thinking to an economy that values non-linear, intuitive and empathic ability to see the big picture. Therefore, in the new age, left-brain thinking is necessary but not enough as people are not satisfied by fulfilling their materialistic needs and started to pursue their deeply rooted intrinsic motivations. This is why Pink (2008) promotes the idea of the “whole new mind” and suggests six high-­ concept, high-touch senses—design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning (see Table 1.2 for further explanation of the six senses).

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Table 1.2  Six high-concept, high-touch senses Six senses

Brief explanation

Design

Today’s customers are no longer satisfied by the functionality of products, services and experiences. Instead, they seek a lot more out of the products, services, and experiences they consume and pursue a lifestyle that demands beautifully designed and emotionally engaging products and services. For example, many items now used in the kitchen, such as washing machines, toasters, micro ovens etc., are used only for a short time—the rest of the time, these items work as showpieces and add aesthetic beauty to where we live. As we are moving into the concept of smart homes and optimising the use of space, this kind of design can make a real difference. Story We are now living in a time of information overload. Every day we are exposed to numerous brand and product messages: “By the time a person today reaches 65, they will have seen over 2 million commercials. That’s the equivalent of watching advertising 7 days a week, 8 hours a day for 6 straight years” (Subramanian (2015, p. 310)). Consumers mostly ignore the traditional advertisements based on only logic (McKee & Gerace, 2018). Therefore, brands need to provide intriguing, authentic, and involving stories (Aaker, 2018) to connect with customers’ hearts and minds. Symphony Pink (2008) argues that focus and specialisation had paramount importance during the information age. He further argues that many jobs involving focus, analysis and cognitive thinking are outsourced to Asia and done by computers. The conceptual age demands the ability to see the big picture, where synthesising is more critical than analysing. He has coined it as “symphony”. Empathy In the Age of AI, where highly sophisticated machines run on logical programming will do most things. However, the real difference will come from the “human edge” (Orme, 2019) and the ability to empathise. Play Life in the conceptual age will flourish when, besides seriousness, a significant part of our lives will be ‘play’. This is why creative companies such as Facebook, Google, Pixar, Apple and many more are investing in human-centric and playful environments and habitats. Meaning People are no longer happy with material possessions, and more and more are looking for higher meaning in their lives, seeking to find purpose and spiritual fulfilment. Many billionaires are now donating most of their wealth to charity and finding ways to serve humanity. Source: Adapted from Pink (2008, pp. 65–67)

Things needed to make a difference Not only function but also design

Not only argument but also story

Not only focus but also symphony

Not only logic but also empathy Not only seriousness but also play

Not only accumulation but also meaning

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Teer (2020) argues that ‘the age of imagination’ has not come yet; instead, it is on the way. Teer (2020) further says that the imagination age will ultimately influence our lives when plenty of produce by machines free up humans’ time. This will allow humans to do things that will unlock their imagination and nurture their creativity. Imagine a time when machines generate incredible wealth to be shared among everyone. We will still work, but we will do so because we want to, not because we need to. We will do things that stimulate and challenge us. We will do things we enjoy and we will do many different things… We will give more time to others, our kids, our communities and to ourselves. When we have time to give, our imagination comes into play. (Teer, 2020, p. 1)

However, consensus is building about the imagination age. During an interview with the author of this book, Professor Monika Petraite1 opines that we are definitely living in the age of imagination and ideas. She has called this time the age of collective imagination when our imagination is no more the function of a single person’s observation, creativity, and thinking, rather more like a collective act of an enormously rapid exchange of ideas with others at different parts of the world through multiple mediums of communication. This has been possible due to the proliferation of emerging technologies of the fourth industrial revolution. Professor Petraite argues that as humans are social animals, they need to connect with others to explore and enhance their imagination. Innovation, a widely discussed topic from universities to corporations to parliaments, triggers the role of imagination, she thinks. She also says that the desire to innovate drives imagination and creativity. So this is an amazing time because a new way of collective imagination and creativity will help us achieve much more. She also talks about various industries where the power to imagine is highly regarded, and companies such as those in the gaming industry, expect that university graduates, besides pursuing a degree in their major disciplines, should play music, understand arts, and create some kinds of crafts to be more imaginative. This is also transforming the way we design education today. Professor Petraite believes that we have so much more artefacts of imagination around us in our everyday lives that we can definitely call it an age of imagination when our focus of attention 1  With a prolonged experience of researching innovation for a long time, Professor Monika is currently the Head of the Department of Strategic Management at the School of Economics and Business at the Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania.

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goes much more to the power of imagination to create new meanings for new products and new technologies. A Preview Through the Lens of the Fourth Industrial Revolution So what really has brought us into the imagination age? To answer this question, we need to look into the disruptive paradigm shift the world has witnessed since the turn of the twenty-first century. Many people call it the digital revolution as the emerging digital technologies started to change all aspects of our lives: economic, social and cultural that can eventually change how we live as humans. However, following the call of Professor  Klaus Schwab through his two books and other initiatives of the World Economic Forum, the concept of ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ got attention, ushering a new era the world was stepping into, mainly due to the unprecedented breakthroughs in science and technology. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution builds upon the rapid exchange of information made possible by the data-centric foundations of the Third Industrial Revolution’s digital technologies, which in turn relied on the electricity and telecommunication systems at the heart of the Second Industrial Revolution” (Philbeck and Davis, 2019, p. 18). Thus, we can call it the imagination age because of the ‘magic’—a metaphor used in this book to explain the enormous possibilities brought by the unprecedented power of the breakthrough emerging digital technologies and their integration with the revolutionary advancements in other branches of science, creating new realities that were previously possible only in our imaginary world created out of our minds. Philbeck and Davis (2019, p.  20) explain this scenario as “pure science fiction only a decade ago”. Furthermore, a survey of the 800 business leaders by the World Economic Forum Agenda Council has (Deep Shift—Technology Tipping Points and Impact 2015, Schwab, 2017) identified 23 shifts in technological inventions due to the advancement in all branches of science that can reinvent our lives completely in the areas of physical, digital and biological worlds (see Table 1.3). By now, the tipping points have been moved from the ones shown in 2016. The integration of technologies is no longer working as tools but a system, providing benefits to individuals, corporations and nations that we could not imagine before. The fourth industrial revolution has connected the three worlds: the physical world, the digital world and the biological world, which indeed are the reflections of another world, the imaginary world that we constructed in our minds long before its manifestation as

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Table 1.3  Deep shift brought by the fourth industrial revolution and digital connectivity Shifts

The tipping point (2016)

Shift 1: Implementable Technologies Shift 2: Our Digital Presence Shift 3: Vision as the New Interface

The first implementable mobile phone available commercially 80% of people with digital presence on the internet 10% of the reading glasses connected to the internet 10% of people wearing clothes connected to the internet 90% of the population with regular access to the internet 90% of the population using smartphones

Shift 4: Wearable Internet Shift 5: Ubiquitous Computing Shift 6: A Supercomputer in Your Pocket Shift 7: Storage for All

90% of the people having unlimited and free (advertising-supported) storage Shift 8: The Internet of Things 1 trillion sensors connected to the internet Shift 9: The Connected Home Over 50% of internet traffic delivered to homes for appliances and devices (not for entertainment) Shift 10: Smart Cities The first city with more than 50,000 inhabitants and no traffic lights Shift 11: Big Data for Decisions The first government to replace its census with big-data sources Shift 12: Driverless Cars Driverless cars equalling 10% of all cars on US roads Shift 13: Artificial Intelligence and The first artificial intelligence (AI) machine used by Decision Making corporate board of directors Shift 14: AI and White-Collar Jobs 30% of corporate audits performed by AI Shift 15: Robotics and Services The first robotic pharmacist in the US Shift 16: Bitcoin and the Blockchain 10% of global gross domestic product (GDP) stored on blockchain technology Shift 17: Sharing Economy Globally more trips/ journeys via car sharing than in the private cars Shift 18: Government and the Tax collected for the first time by a government via Blockchain a blockchain Shift 19: 3D Printing and The first 3D-printed car in production Manufacturing Shift 20: 3D Printing and Human The first transplant of a 3D-printed liver Health Shift 21: 3D Printing and 5% of consumer products printed in 3D Consumer Products Shift 22: Designer Beings The first human whose genome was directly and deliberately edited is born Shift 23: Neurotechnologies The first human with fully artificial memory implanted in the brain Source: Adapted from Schwab (2017)

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reality. For example, the connection between our physical and digital world has been possible by fusing machine-learning algorithms, low-cost sensors and advanced actuators. The advances in imaging, signal processing, and gene-editing and their fusing ability with each other will achieve incredible power to influence us physiologically and cognitively. Drawing on the research conducted by the world economic forum, Schwab (2017) has identified several technological drivers that can reinvent our lives entirely (see Table 1.3). The integration of technologies is no longer working as tools but a system, providing benefits to individuals, corporations and nations that we could not imagine before. The fourth industrial revolution has connected the three worlds: physical, digital and biological, which are the reflections of another world, the imaginary world that we constructed in our minds long before its manifestation as reality. For example, the connection between our physical and digital world has been possible by fusing machine-learning algorithms, low-cost sensors and advanced actuators. The advances in imaging, signal processing and gene-­ editing with their ability to merge with each other will significantly influence us physiologically and cognitively. Furthermore, the advancement in digital technology is taking humans to a new height: from desktop to the web to phones—and from texts to photos to videos. However, as Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced through the keynote at the launch of Meta, the advancement in virtual and augmented reality will completely change our digital experience and connection with people in the digital space through the capabilities of the next-generation internet. Humans will be the active players, having the experience rather than just looking through the computer or phone screen. The Facebook founder calls this the metaverse. Following are the extracts from his keynote that narrate the vivid experiences that metaverse, the future of technology and connection, will offer: And you’re going to be able to do almost anything you can imagine, get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create…We believe the metaverse will be the successor to the mobile internet. We’ll be able to feel present like we’re right there with people no matter how far apart we actually are. We’ll be able to express ourselves in new, joyful, completely immersive ways and that’s to unlock a lot of amazing new experiences…This isn’t about spending more time on screens. It’s about making the time that we already spend better. Screens just can’t convey the full range of human expression and connection. They can’t deliver that deep feeling of presence, but the next version of the internet can. Mark Zuckerberg

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It is like a renaissance of the rebirth of the internet and a new kind of digital revolution that has the potential of creating our very own advanced version of digital word of fantasy at the intersection of our minds and advanced virtual, augmented and mixed reality. This will be your kingdom, and you will be the monarch; as Mark Zuckerberg said, “Privacy and safety need to be built into the metaverse from day one.” So, you will have the authority to decide who get in or stay out of your metaverse, the augmented world you will have created. In this augmented world, you will be able to make many of your avatars; they will be able to wear anything they want. You can also visit another person’s digital world when invited. If you cannot attend a meeting physically, you can send your avatar into that meeting, allowing your colleagues or friends to have a much higher experience than in a virtual meeting. A shift from virtual reality to augmented and mixed reality is going to redefine our digital experiences and connections with people. Thousands of coders are coding, putting their imagination and creativity into play to empower you with the technologies you need to bring your fantasy into your augmented world. As you travel between physical and augmented worlds, your minds will have more opportunities to put your imagination into play. Thus, the fourth industrial revolution technologies are not magic, but their powers are no less than magical, impacting all aspects of our lives. However, there is mystery amid the magic of the imagination age, and we cannot overlook those uncertainties. Along with multiple opportunities, the imagination age brings enormous challenges for us. The benefits of the previous industrial revolutions have not yet reached many people. While some are ready for space tourism, billions of people cannot eat three meals a day and are living without a roof over their heads. Humanity is at a crossroads, and the world is approaching an unprecedented disruptive change. How we are going to write the next chapter of human history is a mystery. Will this world be manmade heaven for all, everyone having the opportunities to put their imagination and creativity into play and pursue what nurtures their souls? Or will it be a manmade hell, where people will cry for equality amidst the magic of the imagination age, but their cry will remain unheard, and tears unseen? The following three significant challenges that World Economic Forum is calling for everyone’s attention cannot be overlooked (Schwab & Davis, 2018):

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 air Distribution of Benefits F The first challenge is to ensure equality by fair distribution of the benefits. It is not about taking some of us into the metaverse and leaving others without the basic necessities of life. That will not be ethically fair. Schwab and Davis (2018, p. 13) report, “While inequality between countries has reduced considerably since the 1970s due to the rapid development of emerging market nations, inequality within countries is rising.” According to UNICEF and the World Health Organization report on 18 June 2019, about 2.2  billion people worldwide cannot have safe drinking water, 4.2 billion people do not have safe sanitation, and 3 billion do not have basic handwashing facilities. The magical benefits of the imagination age that the fourth industrial revolution brings are still beyond imagination of many people. The focus should be on how these advancements in science and technology can reduce inequality and create a world where not just humans but all species are safe, and the world we leave for the future generation is worthy of living. Managing the Externalities Managing the externalities in terms of risks and harm that  the fourth industrial revolution creates is the second challenge. Previous irresponsible behaviour has accelerated severe climate change and sustainability problems as consequences of the previous industrial revolutions. During the recent COP26 summit in Glasgow, the protest from different groups showed that nations mainly causing climate change are not taking adequate actions, and promises are not being delivered adequately. Moreover, the externalities of the fourth industrial revolution can be detrimental to our social and environmental system: (a) risk to irreversible damage to the biosphere as a negative consequence of geo-engineering, (b) the goal oriented-­AI can create a detrimental effect on the future of employment, increasing the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’, (c) risks to privacy and enhancement of online harassment due to quantum computing and massive advancement of virtual and augmented reality. Human-centric Development The third significant challenge is to leverage the advancement of the fourth industrial revolution for the benefit of humanity as a whole and not just for the financial gains of the ones in control of this change. In several speeches and interviews, Professor Yuval Noah Harari, who has been highly popularised on the world stage for his three books—Sapiens: A

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Brief History of Humankind, Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century—has argued that some companies and countries will have the power to hack human through combining the power of computing, big data and advancement in biotechnology. Following are some of his responses while being interviewed by ALJAZEERA (2018, np): “When you combine our increasing understanding of biology, especially brain science, with the enormous computing power that machine learning and AI is giving us, what you get from that combination is the ability to hack humans, which means to predict their choices, to understand their feelings, to manipulate them and also to replace them. If you can hack something you can also replace it….The big danger is the job market and that AI will serve to empower a small number of people and create a digital dictatorship. I think it’s highly unlikely that in the near, or even medium, future AI will gain consciousness and start having feelings and desires of its own and start killing people. That is science fiction. I really like science fiction but I think the worst service that it has done over the last few years is to distract people from the real dangers of AI, and focus them on unrealistic scenarios. There is absolutely no indication that AI and computers are anywhere on the road to becoming conscious. I’m not against giving more authority to AI, but the question is, who is the master of AI? Does it serve a small elite or big corporations? Does it serve dictatorial governments? Or does it serve me? You can use AI to create a total surveillance regime of the government, controlling the population. And you can use AI for the citizens to survey the government and make sure there’s no corruption. The same technology can go both ways.” In a nutshell, Professor Harari has told ALJAZEERA that “New technologies are the biggest challenges facing humanity.” The opinion about World Economic Forum founder Professor Klaus Schwab is quite synonymous with the view of Professor Harari: … they can intrude into the hitherto private space of our minds, reading our thoughts and influencing our behaviour. They can assess and make decisions based on data that no human can process, and in way no human can understands. They can alter the building blocks of life itself, including human beings yet to be born. And, via digital networks, they will spread far more quickly than any previous phase of technological development. (Schwab & Davis, 2018, p. 14)

However, we can still see the beacons of hope at the intersection of imagination, creativity and innovation. There was no better time in the

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history of humanity than now when humans had more resources, capabilities and scientific knowhow. It will be a terribly missed opportunity if we cannot find sustainable solutions to the problems humanity is currently facing—e.g., inequality, poverty, hunger, poor health and wellbeing, climate change and so on—while managing the opportunities and challenges of the fourth industrial revolution to make an inclusive world, where: • No one will live without food • Everyone will have roof over their heads • Everyone will have the opportunity to put their imaginative mind and creativity into play so that they too can contribute and leave a mark in the world.

The Roadmap of the Book To help navigate through different chapters of the book, a roadmap (Fig. 1.1) will come in handy. This will help you find the links between the topics covered in this manuscript. As you navigate through the chapters, you will develop a critical understanding of creativity and its link to imagination and innovation.

Fig. 1.1  A roadmap of “Creativity in the Imagination Age: Theories, Practice and Application”

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The Magic and Mystery of the Imagination Age: Where Human Mind Meets Science and Technology (Chap. 1) takes you on a journey to unveil the advancement of science and technology in the imagination age, bringing a renascence of imagination, creativity and innovation, which are the core topics of the next three chapters. While giving a narrative of the previous ages and past industrial revolutions, this chapter sets the context for the book by inviting discussions and  debates about  the opportunities, challenges and ethical dilemmas of the imagination age. Creating a World Out of Our Minds: A Philosophical Perspective of Imagination (Chap. 2) gives a deep dive into imagination using a philosophical lens, enabling us to see what cannot be seen using logic. You will also unveil that today’s world reflects the world we had first created out of our minds and how our imaginations shape our future. The Mysterious Ingenuity that Makes Us Humans: Deciphering Creativity Through the Lens of Philosophy and Divinity (Chap. 3) gives you a further deep dive into the philosophical perspective of creativity that makes us humans, and differentiates human creativity from the divine creativity. This chapter will also help us join the debate on creativity by critically analysing the seminal works while using the lens of philosophy and divinity. Putting Creative Minds into Play: Innovation at the Intersection of Science, Art and Technology (Chap. 4) provides critical insights about innovation that helps organisations play the competitive game amidst disruptive change. We  will conceptualise 19 types of innovation under six different categories with real-life examples. In addition, drawing on industry practices, several case studies will help you understand innovation theories, the role of new technologies and how their adaptation shapes the innovation strategy. Connecting the Dots: The Inextricable Link Between Imagination, Creativity and Innovation (Chap. 5) sets the context by providing the link between imagination, creativity and innovation drawing on philosophical traditions. Ideation to Impact: The Organisational Culture that Transforms Caterpillars into Butterflies (Chap. 6) unveils the transformative power of ideation that sparks innovation. We  will also conceptualise organisational culture using an interdisciplinary lens and critically understand its role in fostering imagination, creativity and innovation. The chapter also introduces a new creativity model grounded from the creativity literature and three previous chapters.

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Navigating Through the Imagination Age: Set the Moral Gyro and Put Humanity at the Helm (Chap. 7) will let us join the debate on how to approach the evolving opportunities, challenges, changes and ethical dilemmas brought by the fourth industrial revolution to create an inclusive world for all in the imagination age.

References Aaker, D. (2018). Creating Signature Stories. Strategic Messaging that Energies, Persuades and Inspire. Morgan James Publishing. ALJAZEERA. (2018). Hackable Humans and Digital Dictators: Q&A with Yuval Noah Harari, New Technologies Are the Biggest Challenges Facing Humanity Says the Best-Selling Sapiens and Homo Deus Author, 24 August 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2021, from https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2018/8/24/ hackable-­humans-­and-­digital-­dictators-­qa-­with-­yuval-­noah-­harari Awecademy Official Website. (2021). Retrieved November 19, 2021, from https://www.awecademy.org/ Branson, R. (2021). Flying to Space Onboard Virgin Galactic. Retrieved July 18, 2021, from https://www.virgin.com/branson-­family/richard-­branson-­blog/ flying-­t o-­s pace-­o nboard-­v irgin-­g alactic?utm_medium=social&utm_ source=twitter&utm_author=richard&utm_type=editorial Castells, M. (2005). The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy (Chapter 1). In M. Castells & G. Cardoso (Eds.), The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy. Johns Hopkins Center for Transatlantic Relations. Castells, M. (2007). Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society. International Journal of Communication, 1, 238–266. Cox, W. M., & Alm, R. (2017). The Imagination Age: America’s Fourth Wave of Economic Progress, in 2016–17 Annual Report, William J. O’Neil Center for Global Markets and Freedom, SMU Cox School of Business. Retrieved December 5, 2020, from https://www.smu.edu/-­/media/Site/Cox/Centers AndInstitutes/ONeilCenter/Research/AnnualReports/2017AnnualReport. ashx?la=en Gallo, C. (2016). The Storyteller’s Secret: How TED Speakers and Inspirational Leaders Turn Their Passion into Performance. Macmillan. Who Really Invented the Jet Engine? Flying High, Frank Whittle and Hans von Ohain Dreamt of the Skies, Science Focus: The Home of BBC Science Focus Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://www.sciencefocus. com/science/who-­really-­invented-­the-­jet-­engine/ Deep Shift Technology Tipping Points and Societal Impact, Global Agenda Council on the Future of Software & Society, World Economic Forum, Published in September 2015. Retrieved November 21, from https://www3. wefor um.org/docs/WEF_GAC15_Technological_Tipping_Points_ report_2015.pdf

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Ibrahim, Y. (2021). Posthuman Capitalism: Dancing with Data in the Digital Economy. Routledge. King, R. J. (2007). The Emergence of a New Global Culture in the Imagination Age. Published in British Council Essays. Retrieved January 1, 2022, from http://archive.is/20120722122948/www.britishcouncil.org/tn2020research-findings-authorsking.htm King, R. S. (2016). The Origin of the Imagination Age. Retrieved March 17, 2020, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/origin-­imagination-­age-­rita-­j-­king Magee, C. (1993). The Age of Imagination: Coming Soon to a Civilization Near You. Retrieved March 17, 2020, from http://www.signaldesign.net/Age%20 of%20Imagination.pdf McKee, R., & Gerace, T. (2018). Storynomics: Story-Driven Marketing in the Post-­ Advertising World. Methuen. Moin, S. M. A. (2020). Brand Storytelling in the Digital Age: Theories, Practice and Application. Palgrave Macmillan. Orme, G. (2019). The Human Edge: How Curiosity and Creativity Are Your Superpowers in the Digital Economy. Pearson Education Limited. Pencil of Promise Official Website. (2021). Retrieved November 19, 2021, from https://pencilsofpromise.org/ Philbeck, T., and Davis, N. (2019). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Journal of International Affairs, 72 (1), 17–22. Pink, D. H. (2008). A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future (New ed.). Marshall Cavendish Business. Professor Monika Petraite: An Interview on Zoom with the Author. Schwab, K. (2016). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What It Means, and How to Respond, World Economic Forum. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-­f ourth-­i ndustrial-­ revolution-­what-­it-­means-­and-­how-­to-­respond/ Schwab, K. (2017). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Portfolio Penguin. Schwab, K., & Davis, N. (2018). Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Guide to Building a Better World. Portfolio Penguin. Subramanian, K.  R. (2015). Advertising Clutter and Consumer Apathy, GE-International. Journal of Management Research, 3(6), 309–322. Teer, P. (2020). The Coming Age of Imagination: How Universal Basic Income Will Lead to An Explosion of Creativity. Unbound. UNICEF, WHO Press Release: 1 in 3 People Globally Do Not Have Access to Safe Drinking Water, 18 June 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2021, from https://www.unicef.org.uk/press-­r eleases/1-­in-­3-­people-­globally-­do-­not­have-­access-­to-­safe-­drinking-­water-­unicef-­who/ West, S. M. (2019). Data Capitalism: Redefining the Logics of Surveillance and Privacy. Business & Society 2019, 58(1), 20–41. Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Profile Books.

CHAPTER 2

Creating a World Out of Our Minds: A Philosophical Perspective of Imagination

Abstract  Richard Branson’s recent space flight was not just a scientific advancement in space. It is the result of a dream or a fantasy to experience life beyond gravity created in his mind and in the minds of others when they were children. Through creative pursuit their imaginations have become new realities, opening the doors of space tourism. That is to say, creativity starts with imagination but results in innovation, empowering us to rewrite human stories. Imagination lets us envision what we cannot see using logic. It empowers us to create a different world out of our minds; as Einstein says, “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” This chapter critically addresses the seminal theories and literature of imagination, deciphering the principal thoughts and concepts from a philosophical perspective, taking you on a journey into the facets of imagination and unveiling its magical role to spark creativity. Keywords  Imagination • Fantasy • Imaging • Thoughts • Ideation • Impression “I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I’m an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do.” —Richard Branson, from his Virgin Galactic Space Flight on 11 July 2021 © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S M A Moin, Creativity in the Imagination Age, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98647-6_2

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Imagine the lives of people in the eighteenth century. How far could an ordinary person of that time travel? With the constraints on speed, having a tour around the world was beyond comprehension for many people. But, some people lived within their unlimited world of fantasy by harnessing the power of their imagination. Possibly, while seeing birds flying in the sky, many of them asked: why not us? So some people let their kites fly in the sky, while a few took it further. In 1896, the stories of flying machines filled the headlines of the newspapers, which fascinated the two brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, from Dayton, Ohio. While running their bicycle shop, they learnt how to balance the bicycle and curiously noticed the primitive aircraft did not have a suitable control system. They were passionate to solve this problem. Triggered by their imagination, their consistent efforts became a reality one day as the Wright brothers built a flying craft, having the facility to control in the air. Then on 17 December 1903, people saw a man flying in the sky. This invention caught people’s attention by awe and changed the way we now view the world. Before flight became part of our lives, travelling was limited in two dimensions—north and south, east and west— through land and sea. Seeing the world through eagles’ eyes, men conquered the distances with the power of speed. With a three-­dimensional vision, they rediscovered a more interconnected world with enormous possibilities. But it all started with the imagination: like birds, humans can fly too. That is the power of imagination, which allows us to fantasise, envision and create a new world out of our minds. This chapter unveils the power of imagination while engaging the readers with critical theories and concepts, drawing on different philosophical and academic traditions. The chapter also discusses various types of imagination while highlighting its role in ideating, envisioning the future, and driving creativity and innovation.

A World Out of Our Minds: How Imagination Creates the Future We often hear that imagination is for children and as we grow up, our families, schools and societies, directly and indirectly, teach us to be realistic. This inspires us to flee from a world of fantasy where nothing is impossible to the real world, where we impose many constraints upon us using logical thinking. However, imagination is for children is a myth. In fact, it is our power of imagination that makes us human.

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The power of our imagination has helped us create the modern world where we live with enormous facilities today. Famous British author, most viewed TED speaker and a campaigner to transform the education system to promote creativity, Sir Ken Robinson (1950–2020) has explained the role of imagination with compelling words: We live in a world that’s shaped by the ideas, beliefs and values of human imagination and culture. The human world is created out of our minds as much as from the natural environment. Thinking and feeling are not simply about seeing the world as it is, but having ideas about it, and interpreting experience to give it meaning. Different communities live differently according to the ideas they have and the meaning they experience. In a literal sense, we create the world we live in. We can also re-create them. The great revolutions in human history have often been brought about by new ideas: by new ways of seeing that have shattered old certainties. (Robinson, 2017, p. xvi)

Thus, imagination empowers us to see things we cannot see using logic and rational thinking. Imagination extends our horizons, allowing us to seek out-of-the-box solutions and turn our fantasy into possibility and possibility into reality. According to Seeling (2015), imagination lets us envision things that have not existed through employing curiosity and engagement. Imagination plays a vital role in giving us the ability to conceive ideas in our minds drawing on our real and fictional experiences. She has also identified two core activities—engaging and envisioning—to bring the essence of imagination to life (see Fig. 2.1). Engaging with the world around us helps us unfold many opportunities that would have never surfaced if we sat down and expected something to happen magically. Engagement gives us experience, which also helps us find our passion. Without exploring many things and exposing ourselves to various experiences, we cannot discover what we are passionate about— it is impossible to get the experience without engagement. Curiosity triggers many questions in our minds, unlocking our imagination and helping in finding ideas. Seeling (2015) explains how working as a waiter can help someone unfold numerous opportunities to use curiosity to the imagination and find one’s passion. This also allows someone to envision his future while setting the course to pursue their dreams. For example, while working as a waiter, someone may find his passion in customer service: want to open a restaurant or become a famous customer

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Curiosity

Engagement

Envision

Imagination

Experience

Fig. 2.1  The relationships between curiosity, engagement, experience, imagination and envision. (Source: Developed from Seeling (2015))

service consultant. However, in the absence of this experience, he may not have discovered his passion for customer service. Curiosity and experiments also drive imagination. For example, Albert Einstein used to conduct thought experiments. The secret behind his success was the curiosity of his mind. It led to the imagination, which according to him, is more important than knowledge. I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Albert Einstein

Since his childhood, Einstein used to ask loads of questions, contemplating and visualising things in a novel way. Liu and Noppe–Brandon (2009) have given an account of Einstein’s curiosity that led to the development of the theory of relativity: “What would it be like, he asked himself, if you could run alongside a wave of light? What if you were in an enclosed elevator accelerating up through space? By starting with such questions and playing with them, instead of accepting the ‘givens’ of the normal science, Einstein was able to take his already prodigious mind and open it even more. And thus was birthed his theory of relativity” (p. 12).

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A Philosophical Perspective of Imagination In simple terms, imagination is defined as the ability to think of something, which does not exist in the real world (Robinson, 2017). Imagination is the mind’s unlimited power that allows us to live in a world with no constraint and limitation, created first in our mind. Imagination is the mind’s eye that makes our hearts enchant while thinking of things that do not exist in the real world. It has the power to break the barriers imposed in our minds by logic and rational thinking; as Einstein said, “Logic will get you from A to B.  Imagination will take you everywhere.” Samuel Johnson (Rambler, no. 125, 28 May 1751) defined imagination as “a licentious and vagrant faculty, unsusceptible of limitations and impatient of restraint, has always endeavoured to baffle the logician, to perplex the confines of distinction, and burst the enclosures of regularity” (quoted by Beaney, 2005, p. 1). The philosophical perspective of imagination is not quite simple. Imagination has received the attention of famous scientists (e.g. Albert Einstein) and philosophers from ancient times to today. Beaney (2005) provides an account of how three different philosophers—Aristotle (384 BC–322 BC), Descartes (1596–650) and Kant (1724–1804)—have conceptualised imagination: For Aristotle, the imagination—or phantasia—was a kind of bridge between sensation and thought, supplying the images or ‘phantasms’ without which thought could not occur. Descartes argued that the imagination was not an essential part of the mind, since it deals with images in the brain whose existence—unlike that of mind—could be doubted. Kant, on the other hand, held that the imagination was fundamental to the human mind, not only bringing together our sensory and intellectual faculties but also acting in creative ways, a conception that was to blossom in Romanticism and find poetic expressions in the work of Coleridge and Wordsworth. (Beaney, 2005, p. 1)

Thought Experiment Do you remember your childhood stories when you had been living in a world of fantasy? How were those days? What were your childhood dreams? Were there any limits to your dreams? What was the most audacious vision you had as a child? Have you fulfilled that vision or abandoned it along the way? If fulfilled, how was the journey? If not, why?

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While calling it ‘phantasia’, Aristotle argued that imagination not only lets us think of something but also provides us with thoughts and images, thus enabling us to sense and feel about something using the power of our minds. On the other hand, Descartes opined that imagination only provides us with images in our brains. Thus, Descartes’ philosophy of imagination focused on sensory imagination, dealing with images in the brain. These bring some obvious questions: (a) What role does imagination play in producing thought? (b) Does thought need any images to occur? The idea is defined by Descartes as “whatever is immediately perceived by mind” (Beaney, 2005, p. 81), which aligns with the empiricist view of mental activity that leads to the operation of the idea. As per Descartes’ final position, images are not necessary for thoughts as he differentiated imagining from conceiving, where the latter links to thoughts. David Hume’s approach to imagination gives us further understanding to reconcile the tension between images and thoughts. Hume used ‘perception’ as a basis to explain things related to the mind. To understand his philosophy of imagination, it is helpful to know how Hume viewed three constructs/ concepts: (a) Impressions versus ideas, (b) Simple perception versus complex perceptions, and (c) his Copy Principle, in his book, Treatise of Human Nature.1 According to Hume, having impressions is like having the feeling or first-hand experience, including sensations, passions and emotions. Ideas have been compared with thinking. Hume argued that thinking about something involves forming an idea about it. Impressions have deeper experiential states than ideas, which Hume expressed regarding the degree of force and liveliness, or force and vivacity, that is the feeling of pain is different from thinking of pain. Perceptions, according to Hume, are categorised into (a) simple perception and (b) complex perceptions—where complex perceptions consist of different parts, but simple perceptions are not subject to further divisions. For example, the complex perception of an apple offers a profound experience that includes the sensation of shape, colour, smell, taste, texture and so on. 1  Treatise of Human Nature: Book 1, Part 1, Section 1; paragraphs 5–7 of Hume’s “Abstract” of the Treatise; and Section 2 of An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.

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Complex Impression

Simple Impression

Simple Perception

Complex Perception

Experience

Simple Idea

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Complex Idea

Fig. 2.2  Conceptualising simple and complex perception

A simple perception of the apple will not give us so much more profound experience. In other words, while seeing impressions and ideas through the lens of perception on a scale of ‘higher experience’ and ‘lower experience’, ‘complex impression’ should go on to the highest end of ‘complex perception’ and ‘simple ideas’ should go on the ‘lowest end’ of simple perception (Fig. 2.2). Hume held that an idea is a copy of an impression, and our perception of ideas is caused by the type of impressions we previously had, which explains his Copy Principle. Hume argued that imagination is a faculty of thought that forms images of sensations, passions and emotions. Hume believed that imagination accounts for ideas and impressions, and it can develop images by employing principles of association, which is a natural tendency of the mind. Kant’s view of imagination reinforced Aristotle’s position, seeing imagination as a fundamental activity of the human mind that puts our sensory and intellectual faculties into action and acts creatively. Like Aristotle’s views that conceptualise imagination as the bridge between sensation and thought, Kant opined that images or sensory representations are needed for genuine thoughts. Stevenson’s Different Meanings of Imagination Philosophers over the ages have conceptualised imagination in multiple ways. Drawing on their works, Leslie Stevenson has given a comprehensive account of imagination. His (2003) seminal work has conceptualised imagination by deciphering its 12 different meanings (Table 2.1).

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Table 2.1  Twelve ways of conceptualising imagination Stevenson’s conception of imagination

Outputs in the mind

Nature of conception/ perception/ appreciation

  (1) The ability to think of something not presently perceived, but spatio-temporally real.   (2) The ability to think of whatever one acknowledges as possible in the spatio-temporal world.   (3) The liability to think of something that the subject believes to be real, but which is not.   (4) The ability to think of things that one conceives of as fictional.   (5)  The ability to entertain mental images.    (6)  The ability to think of anything at all.   (7) The non-rational operations of the mind, that is, those explicable in terms of causes rather than reasons.   (8) The ability to form perceptual beliefs about public objects in space and time.   (9) The ability to sensuously appreciate works of art or objects of natural beauty without classifying them under concepts or thinking of them as useful.  (10) The ability to create works of art that encourage such sensuous appreciation.  (11) The ability to appreciate things that are expressive or revelatory of the meaning of human life.  (12) The ability to create works of art that express something deep about the meaning of life.

Thoughts

Cognitive conception

Thoughts Thoughts and beliefs Thoughts Images Thoughts Thoughts, images

Sense perception

Beliefs Aesthetics

Aesthetics appreciation and creation

Aesthetics Thoughts A piece of art

Source: Adapted from Stevenson (2003, p. 238) and Beaney (2005, pp. 7–9)

The analysis of Stevenson’s (2003) 12 concepts reveals that imagination involves the cognitive conception, sensory perception, aesthetic appreciation and creation (creative imagination) and its outputs are registered in our mind/ brain as thoughts, images and conceptual art. The first conception refers to an imagination that enables us to see (through our minds) something that is not in front of us. An example may be the imagination of novelists about how their readers will feel or what will be their facial expressions when they read their novels. It could be for a myriad of reasons—their reaction to characters, character development, plot lines and so on. Thus, imagination helps novelists create plots or develop the character of the characters in the novel.

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The second conception can be compared with an artist’s imagination about how the paintings will look if she adds more shades of colour. Imagination guides artists to add every bit of colour to make the picture they conceive in their minds before bringing it to life. The third conception of imagination is something believed to be real but not real indeed and coined as a liability rather than ability by Stevenson. For example, we may be frightened while watching a horror movie, imagining/thinking that the incidents in the movie are actual, although they are not. The fourth conception of imagination is about imagining fictional things. This may be the imagination of readers about how they perceive the characters in their minds while they read a novel. Thus, reading the same story can create different feelings in the minds of different readers— someone will cry while someone may laugh, calling it bogus. The fifth conception of imagination is to form images in our brain. This may be how children will portray a picture of a monster when they listen to a fairytale. Their imagination will create a different world in their minds, which can boost their curiosity. The sixth conception is the ability to think of anything, that is to produce thoughts about something. This sounds like idea generation and imagination of anything that has advanced the world. This implies bringing into the mind some ideas first before pursuing them. For example, artists, scientists and innovators have created many things by following their imagination. The seventh conception of imagination is more like fantasy or using the mind in a non-rational way. This can be the image/ thoughts created in customers’ minds by commercials about a product. For example, a commercial for a face cream can make people believe that it can lighten the colour of their skin, which may not be the case in reality. The eighth conception of imagination relates to our belief about any object or thing in the public space and time, possibly due to our previous impression, the concept used by Hume in his Treatise of Human Nature. An example could be our belief that the moon is still there in complete form, although we often see it partially and often do not see it. The ninth conception of imagination relates to our ability to appreciate arts or artistic crafts and designs. When we look at the night sky full of stars, many of us can imagine God’s greatness through His unique design and artisanship. Here a statement of Einstein, mentioned by Jammer (1999), is worth noting:

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Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in point of fact, religious. (pp. 39–40)

Possibly, Einstein was using a kind of imagination that relates to this. This tenth conception of imagination is the ability to create artistic concepts in one’s mind. The image/ thought in the minds of artists, songwriters, or music directors before or while they create artworks is an example of this. The eleventh conception of imagination is our ability to form perception in our mind or appreciate someone’s artistic ability by seeing their artworks. For example, if we see ten paintings of an artist, we may imagine their subsequent work. Finally, the twelfth conception of imagination is our ability to create in our mind—that is employing creative imagination—arts with beauty and meaning that can explain some aspects of the inner meaning of life. The ability of Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) to write the famous poem, “If”, which communicates the profound sense of life, can be an example of this. Following is the first paragraph of this poem, which often serves as a metaphor to explain the qualities of a leader or man who lives a meaningful life. If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: (Kipling, 1895: Online, np)

Types of Imagination Stevenson (2003) has deduced 12 different concepts of imagination. However, these are not regarded as 12 types of imagination. Although the thoughts of philosophers over the ages—including Aristotle, Descartes, Hume and Kant—have covered a lot about imagination, their quest was not mainly focused on identifying the types of imagination. Nonetheless,

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Hunter (2013) has identified eight types of imagination, which practitioners can use to foster their teams’ imagination and creativity. Table  2.2 briefly explains these eight types of imagination. In simple words, we can say that imagination empowers us with the tremendous power of our mind to: ( 1) Think of something that does not exist. (2) Think of something that exists but with a different perspective or in a novel way. (3) Form images in the brain while thinking or not thinking of something. (4) Associate things and make novel combinations while perceiving something. Imagination not only uses the mind’s capacity but also substantiates how powerful the human mind is. For example, Chance (2015, p. 153) has used an excellent analogy to explain the unlimited power of the human brain, which London Business School Professor Greg Orme has mentioned in his book, The Human Edge: How Curiosity and Creativity Are Your Superpowers in the Digital Economy. To understand your brain’s complexity, imagine this: you hand every inhabitant of London a thousand pieces of wire and tell them to hand the other ends of each of the wires to a thousand more inhabitants. You then shoot two hundred electrical signals per second through every wire. Now multiply this imaginary megacity by a factor of ten thousand. That’s a model of your brain. (Orme, 2019, p. 5)

Finally, we understand the several roles of imagination in our lives. Imagination is the source of ideas, which keeps enhancing our lives and keeps our economy running through envisioning a better future. Imagination lets us see what we cannot see with our actual eyes. It gives our minds the wings to wander and look for possibilities, keeping our creativity flowing, making our world a better place while advancing the civilisation. Mentioned in different sources that when the then president of IBM, Thomas J. Watson, realised the need for only five computers, (e.g. “I think there’s a world market for maybe five computers.”—the quote mainly attributed to him), Steve Jobs and Bill Gates could imagine that every desk in the world needs a computer. Later, Steve Jobs’ imagination

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Table 2.2  Various types of imagination Types of imagination

Brief explanation

Example/used for

Effectuative imagination

Effectuative imagination involves flexibility in thinking and synthesising to develop new ideas or concepts by combining various information. For example, the reflection of previous experiences and thoughts can spark effectuative imagination. As the name goes, intellectual imagination employs intellectual thinking to deal with philosophical, management and disciplinary problems. While taking a more extended period to get new insights, intellectual imaginations often turn into different types of imagination. Used mainly by artists, writers, dancers, and musicians, imaginative fantasy conceptualises arts such as stories, pictures, poems etc. Empathy is the ability to imagine oneself in other’s situations and having a realisation of how others feel in those situations. It is the ability to see the world from others’ frames of mind (Berger, 1987). Empathy can be of two types: the ability to realise others’ emotional feelings represents affective empathy, whereas the ability to appreciate others’ points of view and reasoning is known as cognitive empathy (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012).

Managers can use effectuative imagination in critical planning and strategy development to leverage resources, unlock potentials and explore opportunities. They can also employ effectuative imagination for ideation, concept development and scenario planning.

Intellectual (or Constructive) imagination

Imaginative fantasy

Empathy

Intellectual imagination is highly effective in the research, helping the researchers develop hypotheses and conduct scenario planning.

Imaginative fantasy can help writers in creating characters and developing plots within a novel or short story. It can also be effective in designing marketing campaigns. While understanding customers’ needs and problems, empathy can be very helpful in designing new products and services. Therefore, it is equally essential in commercials to promote the features and benefits. In addition, marketers use empathy in brand communication to reflect customers’ emotions, aspirations and ways of thinking. Empathy is also helpful in transformational leadership, allowing leaders to understand their peoples’ feelings, emotions, pains and points of view (Lampert, 2005). (continued)

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Table 2.2 (continued) Types of imagination

Brief explanation

Example/used for

Strategic imagination

Strategic imagination is the ability to envision the future. It is about developing the insight to predict the future based on experiences and trends. Visionary leaders can forecast the trends, see the alternative scenarios and explore the opportunities using the appropriate strategies.

Emotional imagination

Slightly different from empathy, emotional imagination puts emotional dispositions into practice in situations demanding an emotional response.

Dreams

A dream, consisting of images, ideas, emotions and sensations, is a type of imagination happening in an unconscious state of a person during sleep. It is also argued that dreams are conscious thinking and feeling reflected in the subconscious level. From a philosophical perspective, dreaming can help in finding creative solutions. Memory reconstruction is the kind of imagination that brings into mind something not currently present in our senses but existed previously.

Strategic imagination is essential in leadership and entrepreneurship, enabling the leaders and entrepreneurs to envision possibilities before others can spot the opportunities. It involves exploring and exploiting opportunities, using strategic thinking and creativity, experimenting and scenario planning. Emotional imagination has a more significant influence on us through influencing our thinking processes. Therefore, leaders use this while leading their people through situations when the outcome of a mission is uncertain. Dreams are the invisible roots of our consciousness (Jung, 1964) and connect us to our unconscious, and often help us solve critical problems. For example, while writing Principia Mathematica, Bertrand Russell woke up several times with solutions in the morning that he failed to solve with a lot of effort using his conscious mind (Beaney, 2005).

Memory reconstruction

Source: Adapted from Hunter (2013)

Memory reconstruction helps us use our valuable experiences as insight to deal with a current issue.

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even empowered him to envision everyone carrying a pocket computer in the form of a smartphone. Thus, imagination creates a new reality that was once fiction. In a TedTalk, entitled ‘Imagination, Creativity and Innovation’, Professor Monika Petraite from the Kaunas University of Technology has given some excellent analogies, showing the power of imagination linked to fairytales. She argues that fairytales from The Arabian Nights have sourced many ideas, which have become popular innovations after being connected with technologies: What is important to understand how these ideas are being formed? Where they are coming from? And that is the question we all wonder every time we see a new piece of technology. And I will ask you for a moment, for a while, to close your eyes, and to remember the most beloved fairytale of your childhood—the one that was most fascinating to you. The miracles that were driving your fantasy day after day. I do believe every one of us has one or two, or more… (Petraite, 2016: TedTalk)

In her talk, Professor Monika Petraite explains how technology inspired by the magic table from the fairytales has enhanced today’s restaurant service; how the fairytales’ flying carpet inspired the creation of aeroplanes; how the open sesame in the fairytales has inspired the invention of automatic sliding doors; and how fairytales’ life and death water links to today’s advanced surgery and treatment. All these arguments promote the infinite power of imagination that separates us from all other species as Sir Ken Robinson says: “In one respect at least, human beings are radically different from rest of the life on earth. We have the ability to imagine. As a result we have unlimited power of creativity” (Robinson, 2017, p. 120). Speaking in the same way, Standford Professor Tina Seeling further celebrates the power of human imagination: “Without imaginers who engage with the world and envision alternatives, there won’t be compelling opportunities to address. Without creators who are motivated to address a challenge and to experiment to find a solution, routine problems won’t get solved. Without innovators who focus on challenging assumptions and reframing problems, there won’t be fresh ideas. And without entrepreneurs who are persistent and inspire others, innovation will sit on the shelf” (Seeling 2015, p. 16). Although it all starts in our mind, the magic happens when we put our imagination into practice to unlock our creativity and start thinking of novel ways of problem-solving. That brings us to the next chapter to explore creativity.

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References Beaney, M. (2005). Imagination and Creativity. The Open University. Berger, D. M. (1987). Clinical Empathy. Jason Aronson, Inc. Chance, C. (2015). Surviving AI: The Promise and Peril of Artificial Intelligence. Three Cs Publishing, Kindle Edition. Hunter, M. (2013). Imagination May Be More Important Than Knowledge: The Eight Types of Imagination We Use. Review of Contemporary Philosophy, 12, 113–120. Jammer, M. (1999). Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology. Princeton University Press. Jung, C.  G. (1964). Man and His Symbols. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Kipling, R. (1895). If. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if%2D%2D-­ Lampert, K. (2005). Traditions of Compassion: From Religious Duty to Social Activism. Palgrave Macmillan. Liu, E., and Noppe-Brandon, S. (2009). Imagination First: Unlocking the power of possibility. Jossey-Bass. Orme, G. (2019). The Human Edge: How curiosity and creativity are your superpowers in the digital economy. Pearson Education Limited. Petraite, M. (2016). Imagination, Creativity and Innovation, TEDxBocconiU. Retrieved February 1, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgJejeDkZ9w Robinson, K. (2017). Out of Our Minds: The Power of Being Creative (3rd ed., Fully updated). John, Wiley and Sons. Seeling, T. (2015). Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World. HarperCollins. Stevenson, L. (2003). Twelve Conceptions of Imagination. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 43(3), 238–259. Wai, M., & Tiliopoulos, N. (2012). The Affective and Cognitive Empathic Nature of the Dark Triad of Personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 794–799.

CHAPTER 3

The Mysterious Ingenuity that Makes Us Humans: Deciphering Creativity Through the Lens of Philosophy and Divinity

Abstract  A divine gift of God, creativity is the ingenuity that makes us humans. It is not just an attribute of artists and scientists but all humans, giving us the ability to create. Nonetheless, we need to find our ‘element’, the medium where all of us can excel. This chapter provides a critical account of creativity, drawing on different philosophical, scientific and academic traditions. A systematic critical analysis of the seminal thoughts will take you through the mysterious, complex and ambiguous territories of creativity. Finally, the difference between divine and human creativity has been grounded drawing on divinity. Keywords  Psychological and historical creativity • Conceptual space • Combinational and transformational creativity • System thinking • Creative medium • Divine creativity Creativity is intelligence having fun! ―Albert Einstein

Once upon a time, a group of humans started to live in a dense forest on earth. Their initial mission was to survive as they had encountered many challenges life can offer. It may sound fictional, but the journey of humans on planet earth was not much different: “At night, ancient people used to © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S M A Moin, Creativity in the Imagination Age, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98647-6_3

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gather around the fire to share their adventure of hunting and the tactics they employed for their survival from the wild attacks through the art of storytelling” (Moin, 2020, p.  2). In their quest, humans not just survived—they have thrived. Once, life on earth was a story of struggle, but today, life is more like a fairytale for many people. It is true that many people still simply survive both in developing and developed nations. However, this is not because of the shortage of resources. We have a lot more to apply our creativity and leadership to make an equitable world for all. While compared to other species, humans have conquered many dimensions of life. On land, they can move faster than any species in the world. The speed of Shinkansen trains is about 500 kilometres per hour, beating the cheetah easily. In water, Kawasaki’s flagship model jet ski moves way faster than sailfish, swordfish, black marlin, yellowfin and bluefin tuna, pilot whale, mako shark, flying fish and killer whale. With a speed of Mach 3.3, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the king of the sky. In comparison, the fastest bird, the peregrine, only makes up 200 mph. These are some of the things of human creations. It is the creativity that differentiates humans from all other species in the world.

Criteria, Types and Process: A Review of Boden’s Theories of Creativity Since the last half of the 1980s, Margaret A. Boden has published several books and articles on creativity, contributing immensely to creativity literature. First, her concept of creativity has triggered huge academic discussions and debates, deepening our understanding of creativity. Second, while conceptualising this complex construct/ phenomenon, she has identified several fundamental criteria of creativity. Third, her works have also explained some core concepts that have helped understand the types and processes of creativity. Therefore, a critical account of Boden’s conception and theories of creativity is a logical place to start. Criteria of Creativity Dawson and Andriopoulos (2017) have defined creativity as the process of generating new and useful ideas. However, new ideas are just the beginning of creativity, as arguably new and useful ideas are not new and useful things. Things are the realisation of ideas. Thus, creativity cannot be

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limited to generating novel ideas; rather, it should encompass creating valuable things through the manifestation of ideas. This also delineates the boundary between imagination and creativity, where imagination is about bringing into our minds what does not exist, and creativity is about putting imagination into practice (Robinson, 2017). Although the word ‘idea(s)’ is often used to define both imagination and creativity, it has different meanings depending on where it is used. In her book, The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms, Boden (2004) makes it clear: Creativity is the ability to come up with ideas or artefacts that are new, surprising, and valuable. ‘Ideas’ here includes concepts, poems, musical compositions, scientific theories, cooking recipes, choreography, jokes—and so on, and on. ‘Artefacts’ include paintings, sculptures, steam-engines, vacuum cleaners, pottery, origami, penny whistles—and many other things you can name. (p. 1)

Although looking simple, this clarifies the confusion arising from the use of ‘ideas’ while defining creativity. Boden’s (2004) definition identifies three criteria of creativity: originality (newess), surprise  and valuable. However, Beaney (2005) has mentioned another criterion, which is intentionality. Originality While referring to newness, different authors use words such as original, originality, new and novelty synonymously. For instance, Gaut (2003) used the word ‘original’ by which he meant “saliently new” (Beaney, 2005). In general, originality is a more accepted term used academically, which refers to the ability to create something new in the context of creativity. However, there is debate around newness as this is relative, and the perspective of newness or originality varies from person to person. There is also a question of whether new to the person or new to the world. Boden (1994, 2004) has resolved this dilemma through categorising psychological and historical creativity. Psychological creativity: When a valuable idea is new to whom it has occurred, this is known as psychological creativity (in short, P-­creativity). Therefore, an idea or things can be new to someone and not to others. Historical creativity: On the other hand, when an idea or thing comes into reality for the first time in history, it is known as historical creativity (in short, H-creativity). Thus, according to Boden (1994), while work-

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ing apart, when two persons come up with the same idea at a different time, the first person will command priority in historical creativity, but both are psychologically creative. Thus, according to Boden, new in the context of creativity has two meanings: new to the individual (e.g. P-creativity) and new in the history of humankind (e.g. H-creativity). Boden stressed the importance of P-creativity in understanding the psychology of creativity that focuses on how creativity occurs. We will discuss this while explaining the process of creativity. Surprise In the context of creativity, Boden (2004) unveils three meanings of surprise. Although the most agreed criteria are original (or new) and valuable. However, the first meaning of surprise is the unlikeliness that goes against statistics. The second meaning is about the realisation that the unexpected idea comes within an established way of thinking. The element of surprise comes, as it was not realised before. The third meaning is the feeling of astonishment coming up with such a novel idea, which is apparently impossible. Valuable Valuable as a criterion of creativity means the outcomes of creativity (e.g. products and services) need to be valuable as there is broad agreement that creativity demands bringing not just original ideas and artefacts, but they need to be valuable as well (Boden, 2004; Gaut, 2003; Kant, 1790). Thus, although originality commands some value within it, the perception of value represents more than that. Beaney (2005) cites an excellent example, relating this value with the artistic merit in the case of painting: When we talk of creativity exhibited by Picasso and Braque in their Cubist painting, for example, we have in mind not just the originality but also the artistic merit of the paintings. (p. 173)

However, the perception of value differs from person to person and culture to culture. Thus, there is tension around the degree of perceived value. In simple understanding, there may be a tendency to relate the level of value with creativity. In other words, someone is regarded as more creative if their creations are perceived as more valuable to others.

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The conceptualisation of creativity is not complete with ‘original’ (which also covers a ‘surprise’ element) and ‘valuable’ criteria only as Beany argues that there is a need for the third criterion, which becomes prominent in Gaut’s (2003) and Kant’s (1790, translated by Pluhar in 1987) writing: As the comparison of Gaut’s, Kant’s and Boden’s account of creativity suggests, creativity is typically defined in terms of originality, value, and something else—‘flair’ (Gaut), ‘exemplariness’ (Kant) or ‘radical originality’ (Boden). (Beaney, 2005, p. 191)

Drawing on the above discussions, we can deduce the following equations of creativity. Creativity = Originality (Radical) + Value + Surprise (Boden). Creativity = Originality + Value + Flair (Gaut). Creativity = Originality (Exemplary) + Value (Kant). Although flair is a criterion mentioned by Gaut (2003), it has not been explained clearly as a term, Beaney (2005) suggests. While defining ‘exemplary originality’, Kant (1790) introduced a genius as a person who demonstrates exceptional creativity. On the other hand, Boden’s (2004) radical originality has been defined as something novel (i.e. it was impossible before) without any generative system. We will discuss the ‘generative system’ later under the process of creativity. However, another question remains: Whether something is created intentionally and non-­mechanically? This brings us to the other criteria in the literature, that is intentionality. However, Beaney (2005) further argues that it is more than just intention and includes a feeling that can only be obtained by manifesting creativity. Intentionality Another significant criterion of creativity mentioned in the literature is intentionality (Beaney, 2005). This means, by accident, one may create something new and valuable, but that does not necessarily represent creativity. For example, one may make a stunning painting by accidentally spilling a bottle of paint on a piece of canvas, but that does not demonstrate one’s creativity. If one spills the same bottle of paint again, there is no guarantee of creating a similar painting. However, some artists can create beautiful artwork by throwing paint on the wall, and they can do

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similar artwork whenever they want. As creativity is the ability to create novel and valuable things with intention, a creative person develops the ability so that when there is an intention, it is possible to create similar items. From these discussions, a comprehensive definition of creativity and a new equation of creativity have been developed as follows: Creativity is the ability to create something original (i.e. novel) and valuable through the intention of a genius where the manifestation of flair leaves the creator with a sense of surprise, and an intrinsic extraordinary feeling. Creativity = Originality1 + Value2 + Intentionality3+ Flair4+ Surprise5+ Feeling6. Where: 1 and 2 = Attributes of outputs developed through creative endeavours (i.e. arts, crafts, products, services etc.) 3 = Attributes of the creative person (known as genius according to Kant): intention/ willingness to create. 4 = Undefined 5 = Surprise (in a positive way), that is awe (feeling of those witnessing creativity) 6 = Creator’s intrinsic feeling coming as a result of creation

Process of Creativity While explaining psychological creativity (P-creativity), Boden (1994, 2004) has also introduced three categories of creativity, which relates to the process of creativity. Combinational Creativity As it means, combinational creativity involves combining known or familiar ideas in a way not done before. To put it in Boden’s (2004) word, it “involves making unfamiliar combination of familiar ideas. Examples include poetic imagery, collage in printing or textile art, and analogies. These new combinations can be generated either deliberately or, often, unconsciously” (p.  3). Knowledge of a person plays a vital role to enhance his ability to imagine. Stanford Professor Tina Seeling has found an inextricable link between knowledge and imagination in her ‘innovation engine’, introduced through her book, InGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. Knowledge in any domain, from minerals to music to mushrooms to math, is the fuel for your imagination. That is, the more you know about a particular topic, the more raw materials you have to work with. For example, if you

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want to design an inventive solar car or to find a cure for cancer, you need to begin with a base of knowledge about engineering or biology, respectively. (Seeling, 2012, p. 185)

For example, the idea of a unicorn combining two familiar but seemingly unrelated ideas of horse and horn in a way that was unfamiliar before. Or, a flying horse where the concept of horse and birds’ wings is combined in a way not done before. In her 2016 TED Talk entitled “Imagination, creativity and innovation”, Professor Monika Petraite argues that many of today’s innovations come from the inspiration of The Arabian Nights (also known as One Thousand and One Nights), which compiled a collection of Arabian folktales during the Islamic Golden Age. These magnificent tales were known to be told by Sultana Scheherazade to entertain her murderous husband so that she could be alive. The ancient fairytale’s magic table is available in the service business today; the flying carpet is today’s aircraft; the ancient open sesame is today’s electronic sliding doors—these are just a few examples. Thus, combinational creativity can come from creatively using our imagination and knowledge. While understanding combinational creativity, a quote from Steve Jobs1 can trigger inspiration in combining familiar ideas in a novel way: “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” However, another Jobs’ quote also substantiates the importance of the knowledge we already have and how to use it in unlocking combinational creativity. You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something—your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life—Steve Jobs.

However, Boden (1994) has identified three shortcomings of combinational creativity. First, combinational creativity, in her opinion, ignores the value requirement; second, it cannot explain the way or process of 1  The 14 Best Steve Jobs Quotes to Inspire Your Inner Creative Genius: Some of the Apple icon’s best statements on creativity, passion, and design, Inc.com, available on https://www. inc.com/business-insider/14-most-inspiring-steve-jobs-quotes.html (accessed on 13 June 2021).

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generating the novel ideas; and third, it completely disregards the radical originality (Beaney, 2005). Boden (1994) claims that combinational creativity can explain a novel idea that might not have happened before but cannot claim for certainty that something cannot have occurred previously as it does not address the ‘generative system’, in the absence of which some particular things cannot be created. For example, today’s social media was not present before the invention of the internet. Thus, the concept of ‘conceptual space’ or ‘generative system’ leads to Boden’s next type of creativity. Explorational Creativity Explorational creativity, as the name goes, is the creativity that involves exploring the ‘conceptual space’ or ‘generative system’. Boden (2004, p. 4) defines conceptual spaces as “structured styles of thought” culturally accepted as disciplined or established rules employed in prose, poetry, sculpture, painting, music, theories, choreography and even cuisine. One who comes up with a new idea or artefact through employing the established disciplined ways of the conceptual space or generative system is creative according to exploratory sense. Boden (1990, 2004) argues that explorational creativity can empower us to see possibilities within the conceptual space rather than seeing its constraints. Metaphorically, it is within-­ the-­box creative thinking. Nevertheless, some people may find limitations within a conceptual space, which leads to Boden’s next type of creativity. Transformational Creativity Transformational creativity involves transforming the conceptual space. This means breaking some of the constituent rules and principles of the conceptual space/ generative system. Metaphorically, it is out-of-the-box creative thinking. For example, non-Euclidean geometry abandoned the ‘parallel postulate’ (i.e. Euclid’s fifth axiom). Boden’s (2004) words narrate it beautifully: “The deepest cases of creativity involve someone’s thinking something which, with respect to the conceptual spaces in their minds, they couldn’t have thought before. The supposedly impossible idea can come about only if the creator changes the pre-existing style in some way” (p. 6). Creativity through the transformation of the conceptual space in music and geometry fields has received special attention in her account. While differentiating transformational creativity from explorational creativity, Boden also asserts that radical originality demands transformation of the conceptual space. However, she thinks the transformation

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of the conceptual space and creating a new generative system require exploration of the conceptual space and exhausting all possibilities. Thus transformational creativity demands identification of the constraints within the conceptual space or generative system that need to be broken. However, this has received some criticisms, particularly Novitz’s critique is worth mentioning.

Novitz’s Critiques on Boden’s Perception of Creativity Boden’s account of creativity argues that although a novel combination of old and familiar thoughts can manifest creativity in some forms, genuine creativity requires exploring and transforming conceptual space, considering the generative system as the point of reference in understanding creativity (Beaney, 2005). Boden’s (2004, 1994) concept of radical creativity required the transformation of conceptual space, to which Novitz (1999) objects. Novitz’s (1999) account challenges Boden’s idea of transforming the conceptual space. Providing several examples, Novitz attempts to nullify Boden’s theory, claiming transformation of a conceptual space is not a pre-condition for creativity, particularly for radical creativity. Sometimes a chance remark, an image, a shape, a dream, encourage people to entertain new possibilities that cut across domains of knowledge and expertise that they have not fully explored; sometimes, too, the weight of those domains, the pressure of orthodoxy, prevent them from noticing new possibilities, new ways of doing and conceiving. Close acquaintance with conceptual spaces may actually inhibit P-creativity. Novitz (1999, p. 72)

The System Model, Creative Personality and Flow: A Review of Csikszentmihalyi’s Account of Creativity Drawing on four years of systematic research, studying how creative individuals work and live, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention, has given a critical account of creativity by perceiving it as a process within a system rather than as an individual phenomenon. Csikszentmihalyi’s (2013) study reveals the following: Creativity “arises from the synergy of many sources and not only from the mind of a single person.” (p. 1)

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This brings a new debate where the focus is no longer on creative individuals who apparently make it happen but also includes environmental conditions, routines, and rituals that contribute to creative thinking. Genuine creative accomplishments come after years of hard work rather than by a sudden insight: not a “lightbulb flashing in the dark” (p. 1), a metaphor used by him. Csikszentmihalyi’s (2013) study unveils several aspects essential to having a critical understanding of creativity, but our primary focus is on the ‘system model’ that helps to understand genuine creativity and a state of mind called flow, achieved through creative endeavours. The System Model of Creativity Csikszentmihalyi (2013) conceptualised creativity using a system model consisting of three major components: culture, person and experts. This has helped to conceptualise creativity beyond an individual phenomenon. In other words, creativity involves a complex interaction between the subject and the context: “creativity does not happen in people’s heads, but in the interaction between a person’s thought and a sociocultural context” (Csikszentmihalyi, 2013, p. 23), where the person is the one who brings the novelty into the world. However, it is not regarded as creativity unless culture—with its own symbolic rules, norms and rituals—embraces and passes it onto the next generations. Nonetheless, the experts need to validate the innovation. Thus, as a systematic phenomenon, while creativity acts as a force to change the symbolic domain in a culture, diverse and flexible culture can serve as the breeding grounds for creativity: It also seems true that centres of creativity tend to be at the intersection of different cultures, where beliefs, lifestyles, and knowledge mingle and allow individuals to see new combinations of ideas with greater ease. In cultures that are uniform and rigid, it takes greater investment of attention to achieve new ways of thinking. In other words, creativity is more likely in place where new ideas require less effort to be perceived. (Csikszentmihalyi, 2013, p. 9)

Csikszentmihalyi also covers the perception of ‘novelty/ newness’ and the perceived meaning of the term ‘valuable’, where the individual perception is at one end, and the social milieu is on the other end. Thus, based on the approach taken to define novelty and value(able), the resulting definition of creativity can vary. When novelty is seen from an individual’s

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(creator) perspective, creativity is defined as a ‘subjective phenomenon’; thereby, the inner assurance of the creator is enough. However, this way of defining creativity contradicts Csikszentmihalyi’s (2013) definition of originality/ novel: “…to bring into existence something genuinely new that is valued enough to be added into the culture” (p. 25). Nonetheless, as the establishment of originality/ novelty requires social and cultural recognition, the conceptualisation of creativity demands its understanding within a system model—Csikszentmihalyi (2013) argues. The system model explains how creativity starts with ‘C’ (capital letter) instead of ‘c’ (small letter) using three elements: domain, field and person. Domain Domain relates to a particular area. While mathematics is an example of the domain, algebra or trigonometry is an example of a sub-domain. Every domain and sub-domain have their symbolic or specified rules and procedures to govern/ measure originality/ novelty. Revealed in Csikszentmihalyi’s (2013) research, a domain has an essential role to either boost or to hinder creativity depending on (a) clarity of structure, (b) centrality within the culture and (c) accessibility—the more flexible, the easier for creativity to flourish. Field The field refers to specially qualified people who are the gatekeepers of the domain, such as the reviewers and editors of top journals in the respective domain. For example, unless its reviewers and editors view that a particular article makes a valuable contribution, it will not be published in that journal that advances knowledge in a specific domain. However, the reviewers and editors also follow the specified criteria of the domain, although often they set these rules. The field also plays a vital role in boosting or hindering creativity depending on whether they are (a) proactive or reactive, (b) using a narrow or broader filter, (c) connected with the rest of the system. An example is a recent response to the coronavirus from different stakeholders. In this case, the fields such as governments, universities, research institutions, medicine companies and other key stakeholders were proactive and keen to find a solution. This has made the invention of several COVID 19 vaccines so quickly.

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Person Last but not least is the person who is the creator of the novel ideas or products—in other words, the owner of the novel creation. Most of the studies on creativity have put the spotlight on the person, defining the ‘person’ from different angles: creative person, the personality of creative people, their behaviour, elements of personal creativity and so on. There is no single or a few specific attributes or characteristics that can undoubtedly sketch the profile of a creative person. However, some characteristics can foster creative endeavour. Coining the phrase, ‘being lucky’, Csikszentmihalyi (2013) stresses the importance of being ‘in the right place’ at the ‘right time’. However, it is often difficult to spot the right place and right time. Thus, creativity needs a lifelong quest where creative endeavours make the creative people lucky. Knowledge, curiosity and interest, and ability to adapt have received particular attention in his research. Knowledge of the domain, curiosity and interest pay ‘leftover attention’ to constantly look for novelty and adapting to all situations advance the creative endeavour. Csikszentmihalyi (2013) has identified three types of creative people: brilliant, personally creative and creative. Brilliant People The brilliant are unusually bright people who come up with unusual, interesting, and stimulating thoughts. Although these people have creative minds, varied interests, and the ability to foster engaging conversation, Csikszentmihalyi (2013) does not count them as creative people, for they have not made any significant contribution (except the exceptions) that has been validated by the field to be incorporated in the domain.  ersonally Creative People P Personally creative people possess creative minds and use fresh and insightful perceptions while seeing the world in a novel way. Only they know of their discoveries (if any). The fields have not validated their contribution, and thus they have not been included in the domain. Creative People Creative people are the ones who have made significant contributions, and these have not only been included in the domain but have also been widely publicised. Leonardo Da Vinci, Edison, Picasso, and Einstein belong to this group whose contributions have advanced the domain and enchanted the hearts and minds of people over the ages.

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Csikszentmihalyi (2013) argues that these three categories of people are not separated by the degree of creativity; instead, they are creative in different ways. For example, due to their brilliance and charismatic behaviour, brilliant people may be regarded as exceptionally creative in the eyes of others but may not have any trace of their accomplishments. As a result, this group may be popular with their known ones but can no longer be part of the pages of history. Likewise, the creative people who have made the most significant accomplishments might not have shown any originality unless their contributions in the domain are unveiled in front of the world. But once their contributions come to light, they become part of history. Thus, creativity viewed within a system model is a complex phenomenon created by a ‘person’, accepted by the experts (‘field’), and included in the ‘domain’. Csikszentmihalyi (2013) puts it in the following way: Creativity occurs when a person, using the symbols of a given domain such as music, engineering, business, or mathematics, has a new idea or sees a new pattern, and when this novelty is selected by appropriate field for inclusion into the relevant domain. (p. 28)

However, besides novelty being included in a relevant domain, a new domain often can be established based on the nature and magnitude of creativity. Moreover, because the fields’ and domain’s perception of originality can change, the co-creations of creativity by domains, fields, and persons are subjected to construction, deconstruction and reconstruction from time to time.

Personal and Team Creativity: Skills and Qualities Drawing on research, Amabile (1988) has identified the qualities that promote and inhibit creativity (Table 3.1). In another article, Amabile (1998) has summarised the qualities of creative problem solvers through three components of individual creativity such as expertise, creative thinking and motivation, which have also been referred to by Katz (2003). Expertise covers technical, procedural and intellectual knowledge, creativity skill reflects a person’s flexibility and ability to imagine while approaching problems, and motivation refers to inner passion and intrinsic motivation (Amabile, 1998; Katz, 2003). Although external motivators such as higher salary, promotional opportunities and other external factors

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Table 3.1  Qualities and attributes that promote and inhibit creativity Qualities of problem solvers that promote creativity

% of R&D Attributes of scientist problem solvers that mentioned inhibit creativity

Personality traits such as persistence, curiosity, energy and intellectual honesty Self-motivation Special cognitive abilities Risk-orientation Expertise in the area, which covers talent, experience and acquired knowledge in the field of expertise Qualities of the group coming from the intellectual, personal and social qualities of the project team, which create synergy Diverse experience Social skills Brilliance Naïveté

% of R&D scientist mentioned

41

Unmotivated

30

40 38 34 33

Externally motivated Inflexible – Unskilled

14 22  – 24

– Socially unskilled – –

 –  7  –  –

30

18 17 13 13

Source: Adapted from Amabile (1988, pp. 128–129)

motivate people, creative people are mainly motivated to solve problems and make a difference in the world. For example, Steve Jobs once said: “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me…Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful … that’s what matters to me”, which has been published in Wall Street Journal on 25 May 1993. Csikszentmihalyi (2013) argues that it is challenging to identify creative people with a particular character or attribute as they often demonstrate different behaviours. His research unveils ten pairs of personality traits between which creative people move freely rather than holding on to a specific attribute (Fig. 3.1). Thus, creative personality is loosely defined where creative people demonstrate different behaviours and characters that are pole apart: quiet and restful versus highly energetic, naïve versus smart, playful versus disciplined, realistic versus imaginative, introverted versus extroverted, proud versus humble, feminine versus masculine, independent versus rebellious, objective versus passionate, and prone to sufferings and pain versus open and sensitive.

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Quiet and restful Naive Playful

Highly energetic Smart Disciplined

Realistic

Imaginative

Introverted

Extroverted

Proud

Humble

Feminine

Masculine

Independent

Rebellious

Objective Prone to sufferings and pain

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Passionate Open and sensitive

Fig. 3.1  Ten pairs of personality traits through which the creative people bounce. (Source: Adapted from Csikszentmihalyi (2013))

While we find many qualities and characteristics that promote or unlock personal creativity, diversity appears to be one of the most critical attributes of team creativity. Katz (2003, p. 84) argues that diversity within a group has several benefits coming from individual differences, such as (a) creative friction, which sparks new ideas, (b) safeguarding against groupthink and (c) opportunity for more good ideas. Flow and Creativity Both Robinson (2017) and Csikszentmihalyi (2013) opine that creative people love what they do. However, extensive research conducted by

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Csikszentmihalyi (2013) on creative people from diverse fields identified that they love their works for a different reason. They do not love their jobs or are attracted to them because of fame or monetary benefits/ rewards. What drives them is the enjoyment they experience while doing their works so that they are engrossed in a way that they forget about time. Csikszentmihalyi (2013) further asserts that while doing what people love, they can enjoy the optimum experience where their skills are at per with the challenges they face. He coined this experience as flow. In other words, when people are in a state of flow, they feel optimum experience, which gives them a real sense of happiness and pleasure that cannot be comparable to the feelings and experiences coming from having money, fame, power and other materialistic things. In his book, Flow: The Psychology of Happiness and Optimum Experience, Csikszentmihalyi (1990) has given some vivid examples of optimum experience that makes people forget about anything else but what they are doing: It is what the sailor holding a tight course feels when the wind whips through her hair, when the boat lunges through the waves like a colt—sails, hull, wind, and sea humming a harmony that vibrates in the sailor’s veins. It is what a painter feels when the colors on the canvas begin to set up a magnetic tension with each other, and a new thing, a living form, takes shape in front of the astonished creator. Or it is the feeling a father has when his child for the first time responds to his smile. Such events do not occur only when the external conditions are favorable, however: people who have survived concentration camps or who have lived through near-fatal physical dangers often recall that in the midst of their ordeal they experienced extraordinarily rich epiphanies in response to such simple events as hearing the song of a bird in the forest, completing a hard task, or sharing a crust of bread with a friend. (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 3)

However, there remains a question: how creativity creates this kind of optimum experience or the link between creativity and optimum pleasure, called flow. In another book entitled Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Csikszentmihalyi (2013) unveiled that the urge for discovery or production of novelty allows creative people to enjoy the kind of experience they have in a state of flow. He explained that by evolution, our brains are programmed with two opposing sets of instructions:

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(a) Creative peoples’ nervous system works a little differently than most of the common ones. The urge to create novelty, that is discovery-­ driven behaviour, stimulates the pleasure centres of their brains. (b) Contrary to this, when people are comfortable, a genetic survival mechanism generates pleasure. This is known as ‘entropy’. This is known as a survival mechanism as this is why we rest and relax; otherwise, we might have run out all our energies by continuously doing things and end up dying. Thus, the creative works that we engage with can find us the optimum pleasure and seek true happiness. However, the creative works could be different for different people. For example, a dancer is unlikely to be creative in singing and vice versa. So the question is, how we can find our sweet spot where our creativity flows. Sir Ken Robinson (2017) has researched it and proposed a concept called ‘The Element’, which is worth exploring in finding the answer.

Perception, Medium and Process: A Review of Robinson’s Account on Creativity According to Sir Ken Robinson (2017), every human being lives in two worlds. One is the natural world that existed before we were born and will exist after our death. However, the second world reflects our minds, which only exists so long we are alive. This world is the creation of our minds by employing the power of our imagination. Taking imagination as the source of creativity, he considers creativity as the next step—an extension—of imagination. Imagination empowers us to open the doors to possibilities with the ability, as Robinson (2017) states, “to bring to mind things that are not present to our senses” (p.  128), whereas creativity is “putting imagination to work” (p. 128) or “process of having original ideas that have values” (p. 129). In other words, creativity is the art of pursuing our imagination through experimenting. As we can imagine what existed, what exists and what does not exist, he used three words: imaginative, imaginal and imaginary to explain imagination. What exists or existed are imaginal but what does not exist are imaginative or imaginary. Thus, imaginative or imaginary ideas are the sources of infinite possibilities. Humans can pursue these possibilities through creativity by finding

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original and valuable ideas (Robinson, 2017). Robinson also argues that creativity involves doing something, making people creative in a specific medium, for example, mathematics, engineering, writing, music, business, and so on and so forth. He used ‘medium’ and ‘The Element’ as key underlying concepts in conceptualising creativity. The Element Someway, comparable to Csikszentmihalyi’s flow concept, Robinson defined ‘element’ as the point where a person’s talent and passion meet together. Talent and passion are the two dimensions of personal creativity, which comes from our love and relationships with a particular medium; as Robinson (2017) says, “A sculptor will feel inspired by the shape of a piece of wood or the texture of stone; musicians love the sound they make and the feel of the instruments. Mathematicians love the art of mathematics just as dancers love the move; writers may feel inspired by a love of the expressive power of words; and painters by the potential of a black canvas and their colour palette” (p.  140). For some, discovering the suitable medium may happen relatively quickly, whereas, for others, it may take years of quest in exploring as many mediums as possible to understand. However, the discovery is like a moment of epiphany or eureka. Robinson (2017) called it the ‘tidal moment’ on one’s creative life. That is why we should not control the curiosity that we all had when we were a child and keep exploring mediums to find the one that resonates with our passion and enchants our hearts. As we grow up, however, the social institutions, including families, schools, and society, want to control our curiosity, trying to navigate us on a standard course as if there are only a few options to succeed in life: become either an engineer, doctor, lawyer or failure is a known saying in many cultures. When I was a primary school student, I came across this saying many times. However, while going through routes towards success defined by our families, schools, and societies, we often ignore how finding the medium at which we are good can unlock our creative potentials. We often fail to realise that finding our element can redefine our identity, helping us find our optimum version to not just survive but thrive. Possibly, the famous Greek Philosopher Socrates highlighted the importance of finding our medium by saying, “Know Thyself”. Robinson strongly criticises the current educational system: his TED talk entitled “Do School Kill Creativity?” has long been held as the highest viewed TED talk of all times.

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Have you ever imagined what would happen if Shakespeare was asked to become an engineer, Pablo Ruiz Picasso a singer or Michelangelo a dancer? Although we cannot comment about their performance and legacy as an engineer, a singer and a dancer with certainty, we can undoubtedly say that the world would have missed the craft they have left behind through their respective mediums. Creativity flourishes through the suitable medium, and that is different for different people as Robinson (2017, p. 137) further added: “Trying to appreciate equations if you do not speak mathematics is like trying to appreciate a musical score if you do not read music. Non-musicians see a puzzle, musicians see a symphony.” The suitable medium resonates with one’s passion and nurtures one’s skill and talent to reach its optimum, allowing creativity to surface with original outputs: ideas and artefacts. While originality has been widely accepted as one of the criteria of creativity, Robinson (2017) brings a new criterion called ‘aesthetic’, connected to feeling. It is the elegance and beauty of the creative works that enchant our hearts and enhance our lives. Since creativity is not limited to arts but encompasses every domain of life, its aesthetic beauty is also reflected in every domain. Once, Robinson asked a professor of mathematics about how he assessed the PhDs in pure mathematics, to which he mentioned two criteria: originality and aesthetic. What the professor said to explain the aesthetic component was overwhelmingly impressive: …mathematicians believe that mathematics is one of the purest ways we have of understanding the truths of nature. Since nature is inherently beautiful there’s an assumption that the more elegant the proof, the more likely it is to correspond to the beauty of nature and to be true. (Robinson, 2017, p. 144)

Thus, creative people and their works make a lasting impact where their work’s originality enchants our minds and its aesthetic moves our hearts.

The Source of Human Creativity Many species, such as lions, tigers, crocodiles and so on cannot create things that humans can, although they are stronger than humans. Humans have created a wide range of things, advancing their way of living. Silicon Valley, Wall Street, Disney, Hollywood, the Great Chinese Wall, City of London, Paris and Rome, and today’s Dubai are just a few examples. There are plenty of examples like these that tell the stories of human

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creativity. This also differentiates humans from all other species. By leveraging their creativity, humans are going into space and exploring the bottom of the seabed. But the question remains, among all the species, why humans are so creative. Is it not a mystery? Science and arts can answer only so much with its limitation about the mystery of the sources of human creativity. Then what can unfold this mystery? Despite all our abilities and the advancement of science and technology, we turn to God for answers when we feel helpless. Therefore, let us turn to the divine book of guidance to unveil this mystery.

A Gift of God to Humankind: Divine Creativity Versus Human Creativity Human creativity has played a significant role in all fields, including science and arts, and is widely accepted as an essential contributing factor for human civilisation. However, Boden (1994) views creativity as mysterious and paradoxical: “Creativity is a puzzle, a paradox, some say a mystery. Investors, scientists, and artists rarely know how their original ideas arise. They mention intuition, but cannot say how it works. Most psychologists cannot tell us much about it, either. What’s more, many people assume that there will never be a scientific theory of creativity—for how could science possibly explain fundamental novelties? As if all these were not daunting enough, the apparent unpredictability of creativity seems to outlaw any systematic explanation, whether scientific or historical” (Boden, 1994, p. 75). Thus, creativity is a term with different meanings to different people and across disciplines: innovation in education, entrepreneurship in business, problem-solving in mathematics, performance or composition in music (Reid & Petocz, 2004). While searching for a definition of creativity, there is a tendency to start with the word ‘create’, whose dictionary meanings include ‘bring into existence’, ‘give rise to’ or ‘originate’ (Beaney, 2005). While Boden (1994) sees creativity as the ability to create, and the literature primarily defines creativity as the ability to create something new and valuable, there remains an obvious question: Does creativity mean creating something out of nothing or creating by transforming the existing things into new things? Boden (1994) further argues that the dictionary definition of ‘creation’ makes creativity more mysterious, not conceivable by science, putting it into the domain of theology. Here is what Boden (1994) says:

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If we take seriously the dictionary definition of creation. ‘to bring into being or from out of nothing,’ creativity seems to be not only beyond any scientific understanding, but even impossible. It is hardly surprising, then, that some people have ‘explained’ it in terms of divine inspiration, and many others in terms of some romantic intuition, or insight. (p. 75)

To make sense of creativity as bringing into being (something) out of nothing, we need to understand creativity through the lens of theology or take theologians’ perspectives about God’s creation. This is because zero plus zero equals zero, which is an established fact in science and other disciplines. We can rephrase this as nothing (zero) plus nothing (zero) is equal to nothing (zero). The Qur’an or the Bible can be a good place to start the quest  of understanding creativity as creating something out of noting. Let us only analyse a few verses of the Qur’an, which unveils creativity as a divine gift of God to humankind that differentiates humans from other species. In the Qur’an, one of the ways God has introduced Himself is through His attributes that are reflected through His 99 names, known as the Al Asma Ul Husna, meaning the most beautiful names belong to God. One of these 99 names is Khaliq, which means Creator. But how God creates things is entirely different from how humans create things. God existed when noting was created: “He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things” (Qur’an 57:3).2 This verse says that God was always there and always will be, and logically points that it is He who created the universe. The next verse, however, makes it clear by saying that God created the heavens and the earth in six days: “He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of Authority)…” (Qur’an 57:4). In explaining the creation of the universe, drawing on the big bang theory science can go back up to the point of singularity when the big explosion happened, and the universe and everything within was created, but fails to explain who caused the explosion. This is answered in the Qur’an, which says God had separated the heaven and the earth: “Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before We clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” (Qur’an: 21:30). However, in another verse, God has revealed His art of 2

 The Holy Qur’an: Chapter 57, Verse 3–4.

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creation of things other than the living things: “Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, ‘be’, and it is!” (Qur’an 36:82). This verse explains how God creates things from nothing: Commands ‘be’ and ‘it is created’. However, what is the mystery of humans’ creativity? Robinson (2017, p. 3) argues that being human makes us creative: “everyone has huge creative capacities as a natural result of human being.” The question is, why does being human automatically make us creative? This mystery is unfolded in other verses of the Qur’an. God (Khaliq or Creator) told the angels that He wanted to send His vicegerent (Khalifa)—the conversations go as follows: Behold, your Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said: “Will You place in it one who will make mischief in it and shed blood?—Whilst we do celebrate Your praises and glorify Your holy (name)?” He said: “I know what you know not.” And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: “Tell me the nature of these if you are right.” They said: “Glory to You: of knowledge we have none, save what You have taught us: in truth it is You who are perfect in knowledge and wisdom.” He said: “O Adam! Tell them their names.” When he had told them, Allah said: “Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?” And behold, We said to the angels: “Bow down to Adam” and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject faith. (Qur’an 2:30–34)3

That is the divine story of the creation of humans, which unveils that as God’s vicegerent humans were given a divine gift—the ability to create— and God Himself taught Adam the names (referring to various concepts), which further enhanced his ability to think (imagine) and to create. This means every human is creative and creativity is not for the exceptionally talented or genius people only. Boden (2004, p. 1) supports this opinion: “… creativity enters into virtually every aspect of life. It’s not a special ‘faculty’ but an aspect of human intelligence in general: in other words, it’s grounded in everyday abilities such as conceptual thinking, perception, memory, and reflective self-criticism. So it isn’t confined to a tiny elite: every one of us is creative, to a degree.” However, human creativity is in no way comparable to God’s creativity. Humans can only create things out of

3

 The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 2, Verse 30–34.

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something. Beaney, 2005, p. 171) says, “…in its ordinary use, it just means the production of something new or original out of existing material.” So, in a nutshell, we can argue that the source of human creativity comes from divine creativity, which relates to creating things out of nothing and only possible by God. On the contrary, human creativity relates to developing novel and useful things out of something that already exists. It mainly happens by connecting things in novel ways; as Steve Jobs says, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” Therefore, sparked by our imagination, creativity paves the way to innovation, where we match the seeds with the needs and solve real-life problems. This is how imagination and creativity are brought to life through developing products, services and processes that enhance people’s lives and advance the world. This brings us to the next chapter to explore the art and science of innovation.

References Amabile, T. M. (1988). A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations. In B. M. Staw & L. L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in Organisational Behavior (Vol. 10, pp. 123–167). JAI Press. Amabile, T.  M. (1998, September). How to Kill Creativity. Harvard Business Review, pp. 77–87. Beaney, M. (2005). Imagination and Creativity. The Open University. Boden, M.  A. (1990). The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. Boden, M. A. (1994). What Is Creativity? In M. A. Boden (Ed.), Dimensions of creativity (pp. 75–117). The MIT Press. Boden, M.  A. (2004). The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms (2nd ed.). Routledge. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013). Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Harper Perennial. Dawson, P., & Andriopoulos, C. (2017). Managing Change, Creativity & Innovation (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd.

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Gaut, B. (2003). Creativity and Imagination. In B. Gaut & P. Livingston (Eds.), The Creation of Art: New Essays in Philosophical Aesthetics (pp.  148–173). Cambridge University Press. Kant, I. (1790). Critique of Judgment (S.  Werner, Trans.). Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Katz, R. (2003). Managing Creativity and Innovation: Practical Strategies to Encourage Creativity. Harvard Business Press. Moin, S. M. A. (2020). Brand Storytelling in the Digital Age: Theories, Practice and Application. Palgrave Macmillan. Novitz, D. (1999). Creativity and Constraint. Australian Journal of Philosophy, 77(1), 67–82. Petraite, M. (2016). Imagination, Creativity and Innovation, TEDxBocconiU. Retrieved June 13, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=HgJejeDkZ9w Reid, A., & Petocz, P. (2004). Learning Domains and the Process of Creativity. The Australian Education Researcher, 31(12), 45–62. Robinson, K. (2017). Out of Our Minds: The Power of Being Creative (3rd ed., Fully Updated). John, Wiley and Sons. Seeling, T. (2012). InGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. HarperCollins.

CHAPTER 4

Putting Creative Minds into Play: Innovation at the Intersection of Science, Art and Technology

Abstract  In this hyper-competitive and rapidly changing imagination age, what makes businesses and organisations survive and thrive is their ability to think creatively and innovate, providing value to consumers. Through the application of creativity and the commercialisation of inventions, innovation helps organisations maintain their competitive edge and enhance their consumers’ lives. Innovation is not just a scientific endeavour but the magic created at the intersection of science, art, and technology resulting from putting creative minds into play. Steve Jobs put it in compelling words: “… it’s technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities, that yields us the results that make our heart sing.” This chapter provides critical insights into the conceptualisation of innovation through debating different perspectives and explains 19 types of innovation arranged under six different categories with real-life examples and several case studies. You will also be able to comprehend the role of new technologies and how their adaptation shapes innovation strategies for the organisations to play the competitive game amidst disruptive change. Keywords  Invention • Commercialisation • Innovation categories • s-curve and technology adaptation • Dual transformation “Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” —Theodore Levitt © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S M A Moin, Creativity in the Imagination Age, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98647-6_4

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Innovation has played a critical role in the continuous development of human civilisation. It has become one of the most important catalysts of the postmodern world, where human imaginations become realities through innovation. During a talk for the EMC Global Partner Summit, Hal Gregersen, the Executive Director of MIT Leadership Center, said: “Innovation is the lifeblood of accomplishment in professional and personal endeavours” (Gregersen, 2015, np). As we are in the imagination age, innovation has become the talk of the town: from parliament to boardroom, laboratory to a factory, from the government to business organisations and charities. Innovation has been coined as “new technology” (Valéry, 1998) and “industrial religion” (Valéry, 1998; Westland, 2017). A company’s ability to innovate often decides whether it will stay in business. The ability to innovate has become one of the critical components of corporate and business strategies and competitive advantage for the organisations (Porter, 1990; Hamel, 2006). Thus, innovation is also a differentiating factor that separates leaders from others. Steve Jobs says: “Innovation distinguishes between leaders and followers.” This has been echoed by Van de Van (1986), who reported that “managing innovation has become a central concern of CEOs” (Cropley & Cropley, 2015, p. 1). A wide range of studies also support the essential roles of innovation in promoting organisational effectiveness (Table 4.1).

Conceptualising Innovation Innovation is a widely studied topic with its root in different disciplines: economics, engineering, business, science, sociology (O’Sullivan & Dooley, 2008), social science, management, leadership and strategy. Nonetheless, it has often been confused with related concepts such as invention, exploitation, creativity, design and change (O’Sullivan & Dooley, 2008). As a result, many studies on innovation have blurred the boundaries between innovation and related terms. There are also many definitions of innovation, each covering one or a few aspects of innovation. Drawing on a critical approach, O’Sullivan and Dooley (2008) have provided a comprehensive definition of innovation: Innovation is the process of making changes, large and small, radical and incremental, to products, process, and services that result in the introduction of something new for the organisation that adds value to customers and contributes to the knowledge store of the organisation. (O’Sullivan & Dooley, 2008, p. 5)

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Table 4.1  The role of innovation in organisational effectiveness Author and year of publication

How innovation influences organisational effectiveness

Miller (1983) Yamin, Gunasekaran and Mavondo (1999) Kleinknecht and Mohnen (2002) Amabile, Schatzel, Moneta and Kramer (2004) Mumford, Bedell-Avers and Hunter (2008) Cohen (2010)

Innovation helps in beating the competitors. Innovation contributes to greater profitability.

Adhikari (2011) Anderson, Potočnik and Zhou (2004) Rosenbusch, Brinckmann and Bausch (2011)

Mumford et al. (2012)

Steele and Murray (2004)

Innovation provides organisations with a competitive advantage. Innovation contributes to the intrinsic motivation of the workforce. Innovation improves the organisational planning process.  • Innovation provides competitive advantage to organisations.  • Innovation helps in increasing revenues. Innovation can help organisations in bringing a paradigm shift in the marketplace Innovation provides competitive advantage to organisations. Innovation provides both tangible and intangible benefits:   • Introduction of new products and services   • Improvement of processes   • Increase of productivity   • Employee satisfaction   • Employee commitment   • Reducing employee turnover   • Attracting the potential investors Innovation enhances:   • Organisational ability to respond to crisis   • Teamwork   • Collaboration and organisational citizenship; and also mediate the bottom line performance of the organisation Innovation offers financial growth and increases profits.

If we deconstruct this definition by applying logical partitioning (Hunt, 2015), we can find several aspects needed for a comprehensive understanding of innovation. Innovation Is a Process of Making Change There is a tendency to relate these changes to new products. However, the above definition suggests that these changes are not limited to products; rather encompass products, processes and services of the organisation.

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Innovation Involves Novel Organisational Change According to this definition, these changes are manifested by introducing something new for the organisations. However, it does not limit the size and types of the organisation and relates to both large organisations and small start-ups with even a single entrepreneur; and also includes both government and business organisations and the not-for-profit organisations in the third sector. Innovation Includes Both Radical and Incremental Change Many people think that innovation involves only breakthrough inventions. However, this comprehensive definition determines the scope of the change brought by innovation and  covers both radical and incremental changes. Innovation Needs to Create Value for Customers and Be Commercially Viable The changes created through innovation need to add value for the customers. It is widely agreed that a change in products, processes or services has to add value to customers’ lives to be called innovation. Furthermore, customers should recognise the values created for them and be willing to pay to acquire them. In other words, the radical or incremental change needs to be commercially exploited so that customers are interested in buying them to improve their lives. This provides another way of defining innovation, suggesting that innovation has two significant components: invention and exploitation (Martin, 1994; Roberts, 1988; Westland, 2017): “Innovation = Invention + Exploitation” (O’Sullivan & Dooley, 2008, p. 7)

Bacon and Butler (1998) assert that innovation involves turning an idea (i.e. creative discovery) into invention followed by commercial exploitation to fulfil an unmet customer’s need. This definitional equation of innovation emphasises two things: (a) invention and (b) exploitation of that invention. Understanding these two terms is essential to understanding innovation. So, what do invention and exploitation mean?

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Invention The first item on the right side of the equation—has a connotation with novelty or originality, coming from imagination and creativity, which are the antecedents of innovation. The New Oxford Dictionary of English defines ‘invention’ as “Creating something new that has never existed before” (p. 60). Thus, the term, invention, is about creating something novel or original but not involving exploitation or making it commercially valuable in the marketplace (O’Sullivan & Dooley, 2008). This is why many inventions have not seen the lights of the world as they were not exploited but stayed within laboratories. On the other hand, exploitation, the second item on the right side of the equation, means commercialisation in the context of innovation. This is also reflected in the equation proposed by Westland (2017): “Innovation = Invention + Commercialization” (Westland, 2017, p. 12)

Thus, innovation is about creating novel products and/or services and commercialising them through an exchange process so that customers get value and the innovators or innovating organisations are commercially benefitted. However, the non-commercial organisations may be helped differently. In simple terms, ‘invention’ relates to creating something new, whereas ‘commercialisation’ means fruitful exploitation of the invention. This can be metaphorically expressed as “matching needs and seeds”1 to explain the process of commercialising the invention to meet the customers’ needs. The process could follow different paths: • The invention of a new seed (i.e. new technology) can be exploited by finding its application to solve some needs (i.e. customers’ problems) • Or a new application of existing technologies (seeds) to solve some needs (i.e. customers’ problems).

1   Professor Vish Krishnan, Jacobs Family Chair in Management and Engineering Leadership Rady School of Management, University of California San Diego, mentioned the idea of matching needs and seeds in the Technology Entrepreneurship: Lab to Market course offered by HarvardX.  In promoting this idea, he also discussed needs-driven and seeds-­ driven innovation.

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• Or some needs (i.e. customers’ problems) can be identified, and then solutions can be found through the application of technologies or other means by applying creativity. In all cases, the matching of seeds and needs involves the application of creativity and imagination. Table 4.2 summarises the difference between invention and commercialisation when used as two significant components of innovation. However, there is a debate whether novelty is necessary for ‘invention’ to be an innovation. For instance, existing technologies are often used in process or service innovations. It can be argued that since these technologies already exist, the resulting process cannot be called innovation due to the absence of originality. Nonetheless, the opposite point of view is, although these technologies exist, they are new to organisations using them (O’Sullivan & Dooley, 2008). The other way of seeing is whether the applications, that is the uses of the technologies, are new. However, another way is to see innovation through the lens of strategy (Porter, 1990; Tidd & Bessant, 2013, 2014): • Innovation is an integral part of an organisation’s strategic intent • It gives an organisation the competitive advantage Table 4.2  Invention vs commercialisation Invention

Commercialisation

• Inventing something new through realising the idea(s) • Solving a real problem by creating a product or service or changing a system or process or new way of doing things etc. • A response to a problem or opportunity • Usually done by inventors: scientists, technologists, engineers etc. • Traditionally developed in the labs • A novel option: faster, better, cheaper • Creating solution (value) • A core technology or idea

• Fruitful commercial exploitation of the invention • Usually done by entrepreneurs • The art of selling the values and benefits of the solutions (products, services, processes, system, change) to the customers/ relevant stakeholders • Telling compelling, emotional and relatable stories to the customers • Commercialising the created values • Making the idea commercially viable

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• Innovation also links to an organisation’s long-term vision as a way of coping with change • It is defined as a novel way of doing things and commercialising them Porter’s view of innovation widens the scope of innovation from creating new products, services or processes to a novel way of doing things in the organisation and coping with the speed of change in the external micro and macro environment (Westland, 2017). Another concept equally emphasises both the components—invention and commercialisation—of innovation, arguing that there is no innovation if one of them is absent. Thus, there is a need for reviewing the above innovation equations by O’Sullivan and Dooley (2008) and Westland (2017). “Innovation = Invention*Commercialization” (MIT OpenCourseWare, 2014)

Although we know, if there is no invention, there is nothing to commercialise, and there is a tendency to give far more importance to invention than commercialisation. In contrast, this equation re-emphasises the role of commercialisation within innovation. Commercialisation is not easy, rather very difficult. There are plenty of examples where the originator of the idea/invention failed to commercialise. An example is Apple’s Mac. We are often bewildered by the Apple computer—Mac, but the underlying invention (windows, icon, mouse, pointer) that made the commercialisation of Mac possible happened in the Xerox PARC. However, Apple commercialised this invention through Mac, bringing value to the customers. These values were also viable in the marketplace. Likewise, another product, the iPod—that helped Apple to come back in the game after surviving from the brink of bankruptcy—was invented by Fraunhofer. In summary, innovation is about the art and science of applying creativity in finding novel solutions to challenging problems that involve thinking both within and out of the box and converting ideas into inventions and then commercialising those inventions to solve the problems, that is meeting customers’ needs. The solutions are generally the new products, services, experiences and in case of organisation development of new processes.

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Case Study 4.1  Two Steves, One Apple and a Different World

Two Steves were behind one great Apple that contributed immensely in making our lives better by bringing many great products into markets. One is Steve Jobs, and the other is Steve Wozniak. It all started with a dream. A dream to empower humanity by making computer power accessible to anyone. The dream was born in the graze of Steve Jobs’ father. Then, two Steves and their teams dedicated their lives on a mission to make the personal computer a reality. Steve Jobs was the visionary who could envision a different world with Apple personal computer. Steve Wozniak was the engineer who designed some of the earliest personal computers in human history—Apple 1 and Apple 2. So, one was a genius and creator who can make great inventions that can change our lives, but the other was an entrepreneur who could tell the stories to access into customers’ hearts and minds: how these inventions will enhance our lives and make this world a better place. Both Steves played a significant role in the success of Apple. However, Steve Jobs was in the limelight because of his ability to commercialise great inventions. In addition, he could capture peoples’ hearts through his vision and philosophy: “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me”, said Steve Jobs. Not only that, he dared to hire the best professionals to work for him. During the same time when Steve Jobs was envisioning a new world, Pepsi President John Sculley was a marketing genius. The legendary Pepsi Challenge marketing campaign of 1983 was his idea. Its success helped Pepsi to capture a considerable market share from Coca Cola. This caught the attention of Steve Jobs, who could feel the importance of marketing for Apple’s future. In his mind, he desired Scully to help him to build the Apple brand. So the 27-year-old entrepreneur used his charisma: turned up before John Sculley and asked: “Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?” Surprisingly Sculley accepted the offer. This was the beginning of the end of Steve Jobs’ tenure at Apple. Steve Jobs was fired eventually. Starting a new, he could buy Pixer, one of the best animation companies of that time. In Pixar, he sharpened his storytelling skill. Apple was slowly dying without its visionary founder. But in a dramatic (continued)

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Case Study 4.1  (continued)

turnaround, Apple acquired Pixar and Steve Jobs was placed on the helm of Apple. He got the responsibility to save the company that was close to bankruptcy. Since the return of Steve Jobs, Apple started to launch life-­ changing products one after another. The inventions in Apple were incomparable to others, but it was not the inventions and the idea that made the magic. The real magic was about finding the applications of inventions to bring value to the market that can change customers’ lives. The process is not easy—it was not about taking the risk but also finding the proper applications where the seeds resonate with the needs. Moreover, the art of storytelling that Steve Jobs mastered while in Pixar was a significant factor in the successful commercialisation process. Steve Jobs’ exceptional ability to tell compelling stories created a worldwide Apple community soon after launching the product on the stage. Reflective Questions . How would you define innovation? 1 2. How is innovation different from invention? 3. Think about Apple and the two Steves: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Who is an inventor and who is an innovator, and why?

Categories of Innovation Innovation can be seen from different perspectives, which makes its categorisation quite complex. Therefore, various criteria have been used to classify different kinds of innovation. This section provides a comprehensive account of different types of innovation, organising them under multiple categories. In so doing, we have used O’Sullivan and Dooley’s (2008, p. 5) definition of innovation as “the process of making changes” and have conceptualised these changes against six criteria. This has resulted in classifying innovation into 19 types under six categories: scale, medium, space, scope, strategic focus, and approach to innovation (Fig. 4.1).

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INNOVATION

SCALE

MEDIUM

SPACE

APPROACH

SCOPE

STRATEGIC

Incremental Innovation

Product Innovation

Product/ Service Innovation

Open Innovation

Management Innovation

Sustaining Innovation

Modular Innovation

Service Innovation

Position Innovation

Close Innovation

Corporate Innovation

Disruptive Innovation

Radical Innovation

Process Innovation

Process Innovation

Frugal Innovation

Social Innovation

Business Model Innovation

Paradigm Innovation

Keys:

Categories

Technological Innovation

Types

Fig. 4.1  Nineteen types of innovation classified into six categories

Change

Incremental Innovation

Modular Innovation

Radical Innovation

Incremental

Moderate

Transformational

Fig. 4.2  The innovation continuum classifying three types of innovation

Scale Using the scale of change—small, medium and significant/ large scale/ transformational—to products, services or processes, innovation can be classified into three categories: incremental, modular and radical. While the small change (representing incremental innovation) and the transformational change (referring to radical innovation) remain on two different ends, the medium change (denoting modular innovation) sits at the middle of an innovation continuum (Fig. 4.2).

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Incremental Innovation As the name goes, incremental innovation involves gradual improvement by leveraging existing resources, competencies and technologies. It is about improving what the company is already doing through the use of “established knowledge and existing organizational capabilities” (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017, p. 50). It improves current products or services or reconfigures current technologies for other purposes, also known as innovation at the margin (Katz, 2003) or marginal innovation. For example, the improvement of iPad 1 to iPad 2 is an incremental innovation as it used the same technology, but there were few changes in the design. As a result, iPad 2 was thinner than iPad 1, and the quality of the camera was better. However, often incremental innovations are used as a competitive strategy in the short-term with the perception that customers will use their rational brain and carefully evaluate the quality and price of the products and services before making a buying decision. But it can be detrimental for a company’s long-term business, mentioned by one of the founders of Google, Larry Page, during an interview by Steven Levy. I worry that something has gone seriously wrong with the way we run companies. If you read the media coverage of our company, or of the technology industry in general, it’s always about the competition. The stories are written as if they are covering a sporting event. But it’s hard to find actual examples of really amazing things that happened solely due to competition. How exciting is it to come to work if the best you can do is trounce some other company that does roughly the same thing? That’s why most companies decay slowly over time. They tend to do approximately what they did before, with a few minor changes. It’s natural for people to want to work on things that they know aren’t going to fail. But incremental improvement is guaranteed to be obsolete over time. Especially in technology, where you know there’s going to be non-incremental change. So a big part of my job is to get people focused on things that are not just incremental. Take Gmail. When we released that, we were a search company—it was a leap for us to put out an email product, let alone one that gave users 100 times as much storage as they could get anywhere else. That is not something that would have happened naturally if we had been focusing on incremental improvements. (Levy, 2013, np)

Radical Innovation Radical innovation involves a clear departure from the existing technology, methods, products and services. It is about bringing something new

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to the world and “typically occurs when current knowledge and capabilities become obsolete, and new knowledge is required to exploit uncharted opportunities” (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017, p. 50). Radical innovation usually brings breakthrough products and services into the world, often also known as breakthrough innovation. It was also called leapfrog innovation by Steve Jobs during his iPhone launch keynote speech in 2007. Radical innovation uses technologies that often create a new market or change the existing business model and give the innovating organisations a competitive advantage or competitive edge. One of the vital differences between disruptive and radical innovation is that radical innovation brings the best products and services in the marketplace. In contrast, disruptive innovation introduces cheaper and simpler products and services. Modular Innovation There is also a third kind of innovation. It fits in the middle of the incremental and radical innovation continuum, known as modular innovation. The changes modular innovation makes are more significant than simple product improvements by incremental innovation but less significant than radical innovation (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017). Changing from black and white camera to colour camera or from black and white television to colour television are examples of modular innovation. The shift from black and white to colour camera or television does not radically change the existing technology or methods but still makes a considerable difference for people to see the world differently, which is the same but more colourful. Medium According to O’Sullivan and Dooley (2008), innovation is about changes applied to different mediums, such as products, services and processes. This results in three categories of innovation: product, service and process innovation, respectively. Product Innovation Product innovation involves developing new products or improving existing products and can be incremental, modular, or radical product innovation based on scale and scope of change. For example, when Apple introduced iPad to fill the gap between iPhone and MacBook, that was a product innovation. While some people may call this innovation more like

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a modular innovation, others may argue it is radical. However, the subsequent improvements of the iPad or iPhone can be categorised as incremental innovation. A good example of radical product innovation is James Dyson’s first bag-less vacuum cleaner that was also the world’s first bag-­ less vacuum cleaner, and it changed the way vacuum cleaner functions. Service Innovation Like product innovation, service innovation involves developing new services or improving existing services. Service innovation can be incremental, modular, or radical based on the scale and scope of change while creating new services or improving existing services. For example, Hotmail was a radical service innovation as it transformed the way of communication from writing letters and sending them through the post to electronic means of communication. In addition, it was unprecedently faster with the  ability to track conversations. In today’s world, we cannot think of personal and official communications without email. Process Innovation Process innovation involves improving the process or system rather than changing the products or services (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017). Thus, this has a significant impact on how organisations do things, develop products and deliver services. An example of process innovation is the use of robots in car manufacturing. Using robots, Tesla has improved productivity and decreased the number of accidents. The other example is Netflix moving from dispatching DVDs to using live streaming that disrupted the industry leader, Blockbuster. However, this also helped to change their business model, reduce cost and increase the quality of service and customer satisfaction. Some people may call it business model innovation because there is a change in the business model. Nonetheless, the shift in business model was possible through a radical change in the process. Space Application of changes—small (incremental) to significant/ transformational (radical)—can be applied in the innovation space. Francis and Bessant (2005) and Tidd and Bessant (2013) have divided the innovation space into four quadrants using four-axis, denoting product (or service), process, position and paradigm. These four types of innovation are named as the four dimensions of innovation within the innovation space and defined by Tidd and Bessant (2014, p. 24) as follows:

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• ‘product innovation’—changes in the things (products/ services) that an organisation offers; • ‘process innovation’—changes in the ways of how the products/ services are created and delivered; • ‘position innovation’—changes in the context in which the products/ services are introduced; • ‘paradigm innovation’—changes in the underlying mental models that frame what the organisation does. The first two dimensions of innovation—product (and service) and process overlap with three types of innovation classified using changes to different mediums, discussed above. However, the position innovation, also known as market innovation, focuses on creating new markets (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017). It involves changing the product and service offerings to target new groups of customers. In this regard, this also links to or overlaps with product and process innovation and is sometimes delivered by disruptive innovation to attract the highly served customers or new customers through its two variants. Sometimes this also involves telling a different story to target other customers and to reposition the brand. Context/ Objective Furthermore, innovation can also be classified based on which context/ objective the changes are applied to or leveraged, resulting in mainly three types: management, corporate and social innovation. Management Innovation Management innovation involves the application of new approaches to management problems. Hamel (2006, p. 4) defined management innovation as a “marked departure from traditional management principles, processes, and practices or a departure from customary organizational forms that significantly alters the way the work of management is performed”. Management innovation gives managers a new perspective into what they do and how they do it. Therefore, the scope of management innovation is to transform management processes such as planning, budgeting, project management, hiring and promotion, employee assessment, executive development, internal communications, knowledge management and so on. Management innovation is manifested through turning new approaches

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to management into everyday practice, establishing the principles, culture and rituals that govern the work of managers. Rather than focusing on the organisations’ operational activities such as procurement, logistics, and customer support, which are the scope of operational innovation, management innovation improves the management processes of the organisations. An example of management innovation can be Google’s thinking time, allowing their employees to spend 20% of their working hours (one day per week) thinking of new ideas. This brought the majority of innovation to the company. Corporate Innovation Corporate innovation is an umbrella term that refers to innovations implemented by the enterprise or business organisations. As opposed to social innovation, where the main motive is to bring social wellbeing, “Corporate innovation means having out-of-the-box thinking as a strategy within your business. Corporate innovation can refer to product innovation, division innovation or business model innovation” (Rafi, 2020, np). In the period of rapid technological advancement and changing customer behaviour, where established companies are continually being disrupted by more dynamic and creative start-ups, corporate innovation emphasises the importance of innovation for large companies to stay in business. In other words, it also suggests large-scale innovation involving large budgets. Social Innovation Rather than providing advantages to corporations and individuals, social innovation starts by responding to social problems and providing innovative solutions effectively, efficiently and sustainably (Zu, 2013). Thus, the beneficiaries of social innovation are people in the society as a whole, as it enhances their welfare and wellbeing (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017). The Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business has defined social innovation as follows: Social innovation is the process of developing and deploying effective solutions to challenging and often systemic social and environmental issues in support of social progress. Social innovation is not the prerogative or privilege of any organisational form or legal structure. Solutions often require the active collaboration of constituents across government, business, and the nonprofit world.—Sarah A. Soule, Neil Malhotra, Bernadette Clavier

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The difference between corporate and social innovation is in their primary motive, where the former is driven by commercial gains or profits (Saul, 2011) while the latter is driven by the urge to contribute to social wellbeing (Ellis, 2010). As the motive is not commercial gains, government and not-for-profit organisations are the leading players of social innovation who mainly explore solutions to problems in the areas of water, energy, education, poverty, health and human rights. However, there are responsible businesses that are also involved in social innovation. UN Sustainable Development Goals have identified 17 significant problems the world is facing presently. Exploration of these goals can bring opportunities for social entrepreneurs to impact society through social innovation. Approach Innovation can also be classified based on how we approach innovation or the perspectives we use while implementing changes. In this category, the mentionable ones are open and close, juggad and frugal innovations. Close and Open Innovation In the last one and a half decades, open innovation has attracted attention following the publication of “Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology” by Chesbrough (2006). Innovation used to be the job of people working in the R&D lab and was subject to tight organisational control to maintain secrecy. As innovation within the firms was taken up to gain competitive advantage, the perception was to keep it secret from their competitors, thereby taking the lead while launching new products, services or incorporating some novel process that brings consumer values. However, Chesbrough (2003) showed the shift from the mindset of doing innovation within the organisational boundaries as more and more companies changed their philosophy and approaches to innovation, embracing the new philosophy of open innovation. Chesbrough (2006, p. 1) defined open innovation as “the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation, and expand the markets for external use of innovation, respectively”. Thus open innovation involves maintaining knowledge distribution channels that facilitate the flows of knowledge across the organisational boundaries. As innovation

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involves the fruitful commercialisation of inventions, companies need to diversify their innovation processes. To be effective and efficient, the search for new technologies and ideas should go beyond the firm’s boundaries involving cooperation with suppliers and competitors. Chesbrough (2003) has identified several factors contributing to the attrition of closed innovation. Furthermore, nowadays, valuable sources of knowledge are available outside the companies as a good number of highly educated people are working for independent research bodies, consultancy companies and universities. Many highly knowledgeable people are also self-employed. Knowledge further moves out of the company when employees change their jobs. Furthermore, ideas are anyway shared as small firms or individuals need support from the venture capitalists. Therefore, open innovation has flourished as communication and coordination have been far more effective than before due to the digital revolution. Jugaad Innovation The Hindi word, Jugaad, comes from India and is known as Indians’ ingenuity to tackle their usual problems. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, it means “involving the use of skill and imagination to find an easy solution to a problem or to fix or make something using cheap, basic items”. The concept of Jugaad was being practised in some parts of the world for many years, but it attracted scholars and practitioners working in the field of innovation since Radjou, Prabhu, and Ahuja published their HBR article and book on Jugaad. Jugaad can be seen as an art of finding improvised solutions to life problems using creativity and human ingenuity that emerges in severe resource constraints to survive the imminent threat of loss. According to Radjou et al. (2011), np), Jugaad innovators are “faster, cheaper, better, highly adaptable, and inclusive”, who learn from the brutal reality of life how to “transmute adversity into opportunity, and in so doing create value for their organizations and communities”. Jugaad offers good enough solutions. However, it does not provide highquality or sophisticated solutions that are provided by frugal innovation. Frugal innovations are low-cost, high-quality, affordable, sustainable, and scalable innovations, which is not possible in the case of Jugaad. Therefore, it is difficult for Jugaad to be a reverse innovation and a market disruptor. The focus of reverse innovation is to learn from developing markets and

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apply this knowledge to serve new market segments and improve efficiency in home markets. The scope of Jugaad is more about finding improvised solutions. It works more like a culture of thinking that supports frugality and ingenuity. Therefore, Jugaad is also seen as a mindset that inspires the thinking needed for frugal innovation. Frugal Innovation While mainstream innovation has been traditionally dominated mainly by developed countries (McCloskey, 2010), in recent years, the innovation model of developing countries has brought new insights to the innovation process. Frugal innovation has originated from developing countries and become popular in recent times. Like Jugaad, it is also based on the principle of more for less, but it is not just a quick and temporary solution. Unlike Jugaad, frugal can be disruptive as it is long-term oriented, sustainable and scalable. When embraced properly, frugal innovation has the potential to reduce the R&D of big companies. Hossain et al. (2016) have given a comprehensive definition of frugal innovation.  Frugal innovation is defined as “a resource scarce solution (i.e., product, service, process, or business model) that is designed and implemented despite financial, technological, material or other resource constraints, whereby the final outcome is significantly cheaper than competitive offerings (if available) and is good enough to meet the basic needs of customers who would otherwise remain un(der)served.” (Hossain et al., 2016, p. 133)

An example of frugal innovation is a clay fridge invented by a school dropout named Mansukhbhai Prajapati from Gujarat in India (Radjou & Prabhu, 2015). It was called a Mitticool fridge, costing less than US$100 but can keep vegetables and related food items fresh for several days. The fridge can run without electricity, and this innovation serves the need of low-income customers but is more suitable in areas where electricity has not reached yet. There are many areas in developing countries where people live without electricity, and these kinds of products can make a huge difference in their lives. Therefore, frugal innovation is not only effective in developing countries; it has also been welcomed by developed countries (Zedtwitz et  al., 2015). In their comprehensive research, Rosca et  al. (2017) have studied the business model for sustainable innovation, identifying the following with respect to frugal innovation:

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• Frugal innovation meets the unmet needs in developing countries while addressing social, economic and ecological concerns. • It provides valuable insights into business models of industrialised economies. • It maximises values for customers, shareholders and society. • It reduces developing countries’ financial and natural resources to a large extent. • It helps in tackling developed countries’ sustainability challenges by providing effective and cost-efficient solutions by finding ways to reverse innovations of frugal products and services to industrialised countries and create new market segments. • Frugal products and services help the companies create economic, social and environmental value by effectively managing the business models. Frugal innovation involves finding indigenous solutions to problems: resources and capital constraints of developing countries force the innovators to think of creative and cost-effective solutions, which eventually become more affordable, scalable and sustainable. In the end, it brings some invaluable benefits to society. Often frugal innovators are the members of specific communities who experience certain problems first-hand and figure out indigenous approaches to do more with less. In their book, Frugal Innovation: How to Do More with Less, Radjou and Prabhu (2015) have defined frugal innovation as a strategy even for Western companies: Western companies are facing growing pressure from cost-conscious and eco-aware customers, employees and governments, who are demanding affordable, sustainable and high-quality products. Frugal innovation is therefore a game-changing business strategy. But more than a strategy: it denotes a new frame of mind, one that sees resource constraints as an opportunity, not a liability. (Radjou & Prabhu, 2015, p. xvii)

Strategic Innovation is often seen as a strategy for organisations to achieve competitive advantage (Porter, 1990; Tidd & Bessant, 2013, 2014). Thus, using strategic focus is an essential category of classifying innovation. The most discussed in the innovation literature are sustaining, disruptive and business model innovations.

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Sustaining and Disruptive Innovation Battles are not just fought on the battlefields between armed forces. There are battles in the industries as well. These are competitive battles—a battle to win the customers while increasing the market share and profitability. Christensen (1997) and Christensen and Raynor (2003) have explained competitive rivalry around innovation and new technologies through sustaining and disruptive innovation. These are popular topics in the literature intersecting innovation and strategy. In simple words, sustaining innovation is employed when the established and large firms offer products with better performance than products previously available in the market. Christensen and Raynor (2003) argue that this usually happens in two ways: (1) through year-by-year improvements and (2) leapfrog-beyond-the-competition products. As sustaining innovation is about developing high-performance products, the established competitors always win in the battles that involve leveraging the sustaining technologies. Thus, their target customers are more demanding customers, who are usually never satisfied and keep demanding more. The sustaining innovation battle is typically fought between market leaders and competitors who are large firms with enormous resources. That poses the question: what option is left for newcomers and small start-ups to compete and beat the giants? The answer is given by Christensen (1997) in his book, The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. It is disruptive innovation. Disruptive innovation is defined as the process where small companies with fewer resources disrupt established firms with enormous resources in two ways: • The disruptors target less demanding or overly served customers by offering relatively inferior products and services than what is available in the market. • The disruptors also create new markets by targeting customers who are not using the high-end and sophisticated existing products. According to Christensen and Raynor (2003, p. 34), disruptive innovations “don’t attempt to bring better products to established customers in existing markets. Rather, they disrupt and redefine that trajectory by introducing products and services that are not as good as currently available products. But disruptive technologies offer other benefits—typically,

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they are simpler, more convenient and less expensive products that appeal to new or less-demanding customers.” Why is disruptive innovation more applicable for newcomers and small companies such as start-ups? Christensen and Raynor (2003) explain that start-ups usually do not have the resources and expensive sustaining technologies to make high-performance products than the existing ones. Thus, they cannot develop products for high-end customers who are hardly satisfied and always demand more. In contrast, the over-served and less-­ demanding customers need simple and less expensive products. Thus, newcomers in the industry use disruptive technologies and not-so-good products and services than the existing ones in the market. As these products are less expensive, a new market is also created with customers who did not use the products or services available before. As these customers are not targeted by the established firms, they do not retaliate to the newcomers in the industry. However, soon after the newcomers bring their products into the markets, the improvement begins. Once the disruptive product gains a foothold in new or low-end markets, the improvement cycle begins. And because the pace of technological progress outstrips customers’ abilities to use it, the previously not good enough technology eventually improves enough to intersect with the needs of more demanding customers. When that happens, the disruptors are on a path that will ultimately crush the incumbents. (Christensen & Raynor, 2003, p. 34)

Business Model Innovation To survive in today’s continuously changing competitive business landscape, companies need to innovate constantly. However, sometimes highly successful companies lose their competitive advantage and fail to stay in the market despite having the right resources: experience, R&D facilities, human capital, brand reputation and market knowledge. Often resources are deployed to explore new ideas, embed new technologies and innovate new products, services and processes while ignoring the need to transform the business models. However, the business model is critical for success as Chesbrough (2010, p.  354) argues that “the same idea or technology taken to market through two different business models will yield two different economic outcomes. So it makes good business sense for companies to develop the capability to innovate their business models.” This is where business model innovation has its implication. Chesbrough (2010, p. 354)

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further adds: “a mediocre technology pursued within a great business model may be more valuable than a great technology exploited via a mediocre business model.” Business model innovation—according to Boston Consulting Group—“is the art of enhancing advantage and value creation by making simultaneous—and mutually supportive—changes both to an organization’s value proposition to customers and to its underlying operating model.” Business model innovation deals with two essential aspects of business: the value proposition and the operating model.

While value proposition deals with offerings, target customers, and the revenue model, the operating model deals with how the offering can be delivered considering the value chain, cost model and organisation. Simply explaining, business model innovation involves changing the essential elements of value proposition and operating model to enhance customer perception of the value they are getting and increase its profitability. For instance, Ikea has developed a business model that has changed how people buy and use furniture. It provides low-cost products for customers who love to assemble their furniture. Customers also find a different environment in Ikea showrooms: they can see a whole room full of carefully selected furniture instead of random furniture lying around. Gillette also developed a creative business model where Razors are sold at a lower price, but the margins are gained from selling its blades at a higher price. Nespresso has adopted the same model, selling cheap coffee machines but expensive coffee tubes. Case Study 4.2  Disruption of the Resale Market Through Technological Innovation—A Case Story of StockX

[Credit to: Ranjit Thind1] Launched in February 2016 by Josh Luber and Dan Gilbert, StockX (https://stockx.com) is a multi-billion dollar e-commerce firm based in Detroit, Michigan, that has disrupted the resale market. Through providing a best-in-class online platform it has reimaged how millennial and Gen Z consumers search, purchase and sell coveted limited edition and sold out items in over 200 countries and territories around the world.2 Initially, the peer-to-peer marketplace focused on sneakers as its first offering, and has since expanded into (continued)

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Case Study 4.2  (continued)

new categories such as fashion, watches, bags and electronics. StockX’s asset-light operating model currently relies on premium brands such as Nike and Supreme to frequently retail limited edition and collectable goods termed ‘drops’ through their own direct-to-­ consumer channels. Enthusiasts purchase the products, often using bots (automated computer software) with the intention to resell the items for a profit termed ‘flipping’. Individuals then list their new and unworn purchases (except for watches) on the StockX platform and pay a flat 3% processing fee and a variable transaction charge ranging from 8 to 9% when the items are resold. Before the items are sent to the buyer, the seller sends the goods to StockX’s authentication centre where it is verified within 24–48 hours, and if validated then sent onto the buyer. The brand’s competitive advantage is twofold. Firstly, StockX’s proprietary multi-step machine learning and human verification process guarantees that all products sold are genuine, which other sites such as eBay or Instagram do not offer. Acting as an intermediary allows StockX to leverage its patented technology to maintain trust between buyers and sellers, which increases network effects and reduces transaction costs. Secondly, similar to the stock market, product prices are dynamic and determined by supply and demand. Its real-time transparent pricing model allows sellers to set the price they desire and allows buyers to place bids. Once a bid is achieved, it cannot be cancelled and this ensures integrity in the marketplace through every offer being real, active and dependable. To gauge the value of a product down to the colour and size level, each item has a ‘ticker’, for example, AJ1H-TS is a pair of Nike Jordan 1 Retro High Travis Scott sneakers.3 Akin to firms trading on the stock exchange, analytics shows the 52-week high and low, 12-month trade range, volatility percentage, number of sales and the price premium over the original retail price. StockX has innovated how the market is structured, and dismantled the opaqueness of the traditional resale market. Through their unique authentication process, they have created a consistent buying experience for shoppers, and less work for sellers. Their creativity in using the stock exchange as a platform to trade products that are (continued)

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Case Study 4.2  (continued)

culturally current has meant they have gone from niche to mainstream. This success has attracted more customers, but this could also cause StockX to lose its cult appeal amongst its target audience. Therefore, to remain competitive and solve the ever-changing needs of its customers—imagination, creativity and innovation will continue to be central to its success. Reflective Questions 1. Apply the theories of business model innovation and reflect on how StockX’s innovative operating platform and processes can be used in different industries? 2. What are the potential barriers to adoption? Notes 1 Ranjit Thind is an academic and industry consultant with extensive international experience in the fashion, lifestyle and luxury goods sectors. 2 StockX Official Website: https://stockx.com/about/how-­it-­ works/ 3 StockX Official Website: https://stockx.com/air-­jordan-­1­retro-­high-­travis-­scott

The S-Curve: How Technology Cycle Impacts Innovation Strategy Technology plays a vital part in innovation. Chapter 1 has already discussed some of the emerging technology trends of the fourth industrial revolution that has transformed the way organisations can innovate and solve problems today. Nonetheless, there is a dilemma when to invest in new technologies and how long an established technology should be exploited. S-curve explains this dilemma. In the context of innovation, S-curve relates to the technology cycle of innovation (Fig. 4.3), which begins when a technology is first introduced and replaced with new and better technology. As a pattern, the technology cycle from beginning to

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Performance/ Scale and Scope of improvement

Resource allocation over the time

Phase I

Phase IV

Phase III

Phase II

C3 B3

A3 C2

A2

B2 C1

A1

B1

Established Technology

New Technology

New Technology

Investment in technology over the time

Fig. 4.3  S-Curve: How technology cycle impacts innovation. (Source: Adapted from Utterback (1994))

end looks like an S-curve, which has profound significance for leaders and managers making strategic decisions related to innovation. The question is when to allocate resources for new technology to make the innovation more effective. Figure 4.3 shows how the S-curve works. First, the technology is introduced at point A1 in phase 1, which is still in the early stage and emerging. Then, with continued investment, the technology gets better at a higher speed between A1 and A2 and improves the performance of the products and services. However, during the time between A2 and A3, the rate of advancement is modest, and possibly at point A3, it reaches its optimum potential. Then, the new technology is introduced in Phase II, which has higher potential but is not distinctly better initially (Point B1) with many issues unresolved. But with time and investment, it starts to get better and

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deliver approximately equal performance at the end of Phase II.  In Fig. 4.3, you can notice that at the intersection of points A3 and B2, the performance of the established and new technology is almost equal, but at Point B3, the new technology reaches its full potential. A similar pattern follows, and another new technology comes, as shown by the C1-C2-C3 curve. The early desktop computer models in the 1960s (Phase I) were not of very high quality and user friendly, yet those were very expensive. But, these computers started to become popular and widely adopted after the advancement of technology in the 1980s and 1990s (Phase II and Phase III). As exploitation and improvement of this technology came to an optimum level and matured, the industry saw a shift in focus. Companies wanted to make smaller, lighter, more powerful and handier computers that marked the beginning of laptop technology, bringing laptops in the market. Therefore, when technology reaches its full potential, the new technology enters the market and drives innovation, trying to replace the old ones. The tablet computers with the latest technology having more sophisticated and user-friendly performance began as the laptop computers reached the peak of development. However, it takes some time for the old technology and innovation to be replaced entirely. Therefore, both technologies and innovations co-exist for a certain period. This depends on the type of products, the pace of technological changes and changes in consumer behaviour. Although desktop, laptop and tablet computers are still available, the desktop computers have already started seeing a diminishing return and performance improvement. Now the question is, who brings the new technology? Is it the same company that is the market leader, an established player or another player in the industry? Usually, the established technology is used by the established player, and the new technology is introduced by the new player or another company. However, due to the initial weaknesses of the latest technology, the established player neither embraces it nor responds to it (Katz, 2003). Through examining different technologies in different industries, Katz (2003) draws the following three lessons related to technology lifecycle (pp. 25–26): 1. Defenders face difficult choices for how they should react to the appearance of new technology. 2. Leaders in one generation of technology are seldom leaders in the next.

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3. Attackers enjoy essential advantages over established rivals due to an undivided focus and ability to attract talent, freedom from the ‘tyranny of service markets’, little bureaucracy, and no need to protect investment in unrelated skills and assets. Thus, this is a dilemma for the established player in the industry whether to adopt the new technology or exploit the existing one they own. However, there are many instances where the established players bring new technology, abandon the old technology but often maintain both technologies and create new product lines or offer various products to serve different segments of consumers. This is a complex issue and needs to be dealt with strategic thinking. Making wrong decisions and failing to adapt to the change often saw the market leaders lose their position and/ or leave the industry. Therefore, in the technology lifecycle, one of the challenges faced by the managers is to position products appropriately to target the right customers, which is part of the innovation strategy. Pisano (2015, np) suggests that firms’ inability to innovate mostly comes from “failure to articulate an innovation strategy that aligns innovation efforts with the overall business strategy”. Without an innovation strategy, companies will struggle to support their business strategy. An innovation strategy also helps in aligning different departments of the organisation. An innovation strategy must articulate (a) the way to create value for potential customers, (b) the way to capture a share of that value, (c) the types of innovation to be pursued, (d) the right strategy depends on the company’s unique position, (e) strategy should be subject to continuous review and adaptation (Pisano, 2015). Drawing on IDEO, Orton (2017) mentioned that the sweet spot for innovation happens at the intersection of desirability, viability and feasibility. Often innovators also ask three questions: (a) Is it desirable to users (customers)? (b) Is it viable in the marketplace? (c) Is it feasible or possible with technology? However, Orton (2017) relates desirability with the right pain points, the viability with the organisation’s long-term growth and the feasibility with core operational strengths. Therefore, organisations should conduct comprehensive research through all available sources to find the answers to these questions before making a strategic decision.

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Dual Transformation: Strategy for Transition The disruptive shock waves of today’s volatile industry landscape are very similar to the battleground where Goliath faced David. Tiny David defeated giant Goliath not because Goliath was weak, but he failed to utilise his strengths purposefully. David did not have vast resources to beat the giant but had a better strategy, and he did not deviate from his plan. Instead of confronting Goliath in a traditional sword fight, David used a different method: throwing stones from a distance. The stone hit Goliath’s forehead before he could understand anything, and he fell down with his massive armour. Eventually, David won the battle. Like Goliath’s size and armour restricted his movement, often the industry leaders fail to embrace new technologies and innovation, staying with their own strategy that brought them to their current situation. “Lumbering giants move too slowly, toppling under their own weight” (Anthony, Gilbert and Johnson (2017, p.  5)). On the other hand, like David, relatively small competitors are more dynamic, agile, and ready to embrace new technology and adapt to changes. Anthony et al. (2017) go on to say: “Innovative upstarts, run by young, charismatic entrepreneurs, embrace the newness of the technology, creating new business models and indeed new organizational forms” (p. 5). However, the ‘disruptive shock’ is unavoidable that changes industry typography, leaving the incumbent industry leaders with only two choices: either adapt to changes or die gradually. We have seen the dramas after dramas in multiple industries where the disruptive shock waves have wiped out the giants in the sectors. The giants face a similar problem that Goliath faced while confronting David. Many giants have fallen by disruptive shock in the industry— Kodak, Blockbuster, Research in Motion, Nokia, just a few to mention. The competitive rivalry in the face of disruptive change that we have seen in the printing, media and phone industries over the past two decades shows the fall of the heroes, the leaders with higher market share. The giant competitors had strategies, resources, and innovation capabilities that strengthened their market position but failed to respond to the disruptive shock waves that changed the industry’s typography.

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Case Study 4.3  Dual Transformation in the Media Industry

[Credit to: Shadman A. Moin1] As the disruption of the internet rattled the foundations of the newspaper industry, the circumstances of Deseret Media were no different. One of the oldest newspapers in the US, the wave of online media had resulted in the turn for Deseret Media’s fortune which saw its print display advertising revenue shrink by 30% and print classified revenue slashed by 70% between the years of 2008 and 2010 (Anthony, Gilbert and Johnson, 2017). After this financial downturn, in 2010 Clarke Gilbert was made president of the Deseret Media. An individual who played a role in the company’s entry into digital media, Gilbert sought to combine its legacy business with its new growth venture to complement one another rather than to displace each other. To do this he separated the two to functions as independent companies except in name. This is what Gilbert called ‘Dual Transformation’. These two transformations occurred simultaneously. This meant cutting costs and getting smaller but better at their core business. As for the other second transformation, it would seek out new markets and opportunities separate from the legacy half of the company (e.g. interactivity, user-generated stories, SEO-optimised selections etc. to grow the digital arm). The ‘dual’ aspect of this transformation is keeping the two independent from each  other by  ensuring not to share resources. Here management discipline should foster innovation and drive natural competition between the two halves of the organisation.  Within five years, Deseret Media was able to create a print business with a strong readership and nation-leading. At the same time their digital initiatives were able to outgrow its legacy business and generate over 50% of the company’s revenues, moving it well into new media. Although the industry was losing profitability, Deseret Media was able to grow its net income by nearly 25% from 2010 onwards. Note 1 Shadman A. Moin is currently a product owner at Sky. Previously, he was  a financial product manager at SWIFT with experience in fintech used by global financial institutions. Reference Anthony, S. D., Gilbert, C. G. and Johnson, M. W. (2017). Dual Transformation: How to Reposition Today’s Business While Creating the Future, Boston: Harvard Business Review Press

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In his book, Capitalism, Socialism and Demography, Joseph Schumpeter called it a “gale of creative destruction” that tears apart the established institutions. However, many examples show how to survive this disruptive change and thrive with a strategy developed through strategic and creative thinking and innovation. This strategy is coined as “dual transformation” by Anthony, Gilbert and Johnson (2017), who defined ‘transformation’ as two parallel change efforts—(a) repositioning the traditional core organisation and (b) creating the future with a new growth engine—that can sustain and thrive against the attacks by the disruptive shock waves. Anthony, Gilbert and Johnson (2017) described this transformation using good metaphors: “A piece of the old, of not the essence, remains, but what emerges is clearly different in material ways. It is a liquid becoming gas. A caterpillar becomes a butterfly” (p. 10). Drawing on practical experience as practitioner and adviser as well as comprehensive research on the companies that sustained the disruptive storm, Anthony, Gilbert and Johnson (2017, p.  12) have deduced the equation of Dual transformation as A+B+C= Δ, where A represents repositioning of today’s business to maximise its resilience; B means creating a separate new growth engine; and C represents the capabilities link. Thus, innovation is not just how we develop new products, services or transform processes; it is also a strategy to survive against disruptive attacks of the competitors  (Christensen et  al., 2004). Taken in the right way, innovation is the strategy and operational art of manifesting scientific and technological advancements in the service of humanity while delivering on companies’ bottom lines. Having explored innovation in this chapter and imagination and creativity in the previous two chapters, it is time to investigate the link between them. In the next chapter, we will explore this link.

References Adhikari, B. (2011). Innovation: Tools to Create Competitive Advantage for Business, SSRN. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1874666. Anderson, N., Potočnik, K. & Zhou, J. (2004). Innovation and Creativity in Organizations: A State-of-the-Science Review, Prospective Commentary, and Guiding Framework. Journal of Management, 40(5), 1297–1333. Anthony, S. D., Gilbert, C. G., & Johnson, M. W. (2017). Dual Transformation: How to Reposition Today’s Business While Creating the Future. Harvard Business Review Press. Amabile, T. M., Schatzel, E. A., Moneta, G. B., & Kramer, S. J. (2004). Leader Behaviors and the Work Environment for Creativity: Perceived Leader Support. The Leadership Quarterly, 15, 5–32.

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Bacon, F., & Butler, T. (1998). Achieving Planned Innovation, 3rd Press. The Free Press. Chesbrough, H. (2003). Open Innovation: The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press. Chesbrough, H. (2010). Business Model Innovation: Opportunities and Barriers. Long Range Planning, 43, 354–363. Chesbrough, H.  W. (2006). Open Innovation: The New Imperative and for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press. Christensen, C.  M. (1997). The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harvard Business School Press. Christensen, C. M., Anthony, S. D., & Roth, E. A. (2004). Seeing What’s Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. Harvard Business School Press. Christensen, M. C., & Raynor, M. E. (2003). The Innovator’s Solution: Creating and Sustaining Sustainable Growth. Harvard Business School Press. Cohen, W. M. (2010). Fifty Years of Empirical Studies of Innovative Activity and Performance. In B. H. Hall & N. Rosenberg (Eds.), Handbook of the Economics of Innovation (Vol. 1, pp. 129–213). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S0169-7218(10)01004-X Cropley, D.  H., & Cropley, A.  J. (2015). The Psychology of Innovation in Organisations. Cambridge University Press. Dawson, P., & Andriopoulos, C. (2017). Managing Change, Creativity & Innovation (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications Ltd. Ellis, T. (2010). The New Pioneers: Sustainable Business Success Through Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. John Wiley & Sons. Francis, D., & Bessant, J. (2005). Targeting Innovation and Implications for Capability Development. Technovation, 25(3), 171–183. Gregersen, H. (2015). How Innovators Transform Industries: Mastering the Skills of Disruptive Innovation, Talk for the EMC Global Partner Summit, MIT Leadership Centre. Retrieved April 23, 2021, from https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=rV0dTPBHmV4 Hamel, G. (2006). The Why, What and How of Management Innovation, Harvard Business Review, February, 1–12. Hossain, M., Simula, H., & Halme, M. (2016). Can Frugal Go Global? Diffusion Patterns of Frugal Innovations. Technology in Society, 46, 132–139. https://image-­s rc.bcg.com/Images/BCG_Business_Model_Innovation_ Dec_09_tcm81-­121706.pdf Business Model Innovation, Innovation Strategy and Delivery, Boston Consulting Group. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://www.bcg.com/en-­gb/ capabilities/innovation-­strategy-­delivery/business-­model-­innovation Definition of Social Innovation by Sarah A.  Soule, Neil Malhotra, Bernadette Clavier at the The Center for Social Innovation at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Retrieved September 5, 2021, from https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-­research/centers-­initiatives/csi/defining-­social-­innovation

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Hunt, S.  D. (2015). Marketing Theory: Foundations, Controversy, Strategy, Resource-Advantage Theory. Routledge. Katz, R. (2003). Managing Creativity and Innovation: Practical Strategies to Encourage Creativity. Harvard Business Press. Kleinknecht, A. & Mohnen, P. (2002). Innovation and Firm Performance: Econometric Explorations of Survey Data. Palgrave. Levy, S. (2013). Google’s Larry Page on Why Moon Shots Matter, WIRED.  Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.wired. com/2013/01/ff-­qa-­larry-­page/ Martin, M. J. C. (1994). Managing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Technology Based Firms. Wiley. McCloskey, D.  N. (2010). Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can’t Explain the Modern World. University of Chicago Press. Miller, D. (1983). The Correlates of Entrepreneurship in Three Types of Firms. Management Science, 29(7), 770–792. Mumford, M. D., Bedell-Avers, K. E., & Hunter, S. T. (2008). Planning for Innovation: A Multi-level Perspective. In M. D. Mumford, S. T. Hunter, & K. E. Bedell-Avers (Eds.), Research in Multi-level Issues (Vol. VII, pp. 17–34). Elsevier. Mumford, M. D., Hester, K. S., Robledo, I. C., Peterson, D. R., Day, E. A., Hougen, D. F., & Barrett, J. D. (2012). Mental Models and Creative ProblemSolving: The Relationship of Objective and Subjective Model Attributes. Creativity Research Journal, 24(4), 311–330. O’Sullivan, D., & Dooley, L. (2008). Applying Innovation. SAGE Publication, Inc. Orton, K. (2017). Desirability, Feasibility, Viability: The Sweet Spot for Innovation, Inceodia (http://www.inceodia.com). Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://medium.com/innovation-­sweet-­spot/desirability-­feasibility-­viability-­ the-­sweet-­spot-­for-­innovation-­d7946de2183c Pisano, G. P. (2015). You Need an Innovation Strategy: It’s the Only Way to Make Sound Trade-Off Decisions and Choose the Right Practices. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved September 15, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2015/06/ you-­need-­an-­innovation-­strategy Porter, M. E. (1990). Competitive Advantage of Nations. Free Press. Radjou, N., & Prabhu, J. (2015). Frugal Innovation: How to Do More with Less. Profile Books Ltd. Radjou, N., Prabhu, J., & Ahuja, S. (2011). Use Jugaad to Innovate Faster, Cheaper, Better. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2011/12/ think-­like-­an-­indian-­entrepren Rafi, T. (2020). Why Corporate Innovation Is Essential Today, Forbes. Retrieved September 6, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ forbesbusinesscouncil/2020/07/01/why-­c orporate-­i nnovation-­i s­essential-­today/?sh=b751d5f5b6c5

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Roberts, F. M. (1988). Managing Invention and Innovation. Research-Technology Management, 31(1), 11–29. Rosca, E., Arnold, M., & Bendul, J. C. (2017). Business Models for Sustainable Innovation – An Empirical Analysis of Frugal Products and Services. Journal of Cleaner Production, 162, S133–S145. Rosenbusch, N., Brinckmann, J., & Bausch, A. (2011). Is Innovation Always Beneficial? A Meta Analysis of the Relationship Between Innovation and Performance in SMEs. Journal of Business Venturing, 26(4), 441–457. Saul, J. (2011). Social Innovation Inc. Jossey-Bass. Steele, J., & Murray, M. (2004). Creating, Supporting and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 11(5), 316–322. Tidd, J., & Bessant, J. (2013). Managing Innovation: Integrating Technological, Market and Organizational Change. John Willey & Sons. Tidd, J., & Bessant, J. (2014). Strategic Innovation Management. John Wiley & Sons. Utterback, J. M. (1994). Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation. Harvard Business School Press. Valéry, N. (1998). Industry Gets Religion. The Economist. Retrieved April 2, 2021, from https://www.economist.com/special-­report/1999/02/18/industry­gets-­religion Van de Van, A. H. (1986). Central Problem in the Management of Innovation. Management Science, 32, 590–607. Westland, J. C. (2017). Global Innovation Management. Palgrave Macmillan. What Is Innovation, MIT OpenCourseWare. (2014). Retrieved June 2, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD7X3KvJAVk Yamin, S., Gunasekaran, A., & Mavondo, F. T. (1999). Relationship Between Generic Strategies, Competitive Advantage and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Analysis. Technovation, 9(8), 507–518. Zedtwitz, M., Corsi, S., Søberg, P. V., & Frega, R. (2015). A Typology of Reverse Innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 32(1), 12–28. Zu, L. (2013). Social Innovation. In S. O. Idowu, N. Capaldi, L. Zu, & A. D. Gupta (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer. https://doi. org/10.1007/978-­3-­642-­28036-­8_252

CHAPTER 5

Connecting the Dots: The Inextricable Link Between Imagination, Creativity and Innovation

Abstract  The journey began with ancient people gathering around a night fire, sharing their pearls of wisdom wrapped in stories about their tactics of foraging and defence against the attack of the wild animals. Today, their heirs spend most of their time in a virtual world, telling stories on social media using smartphones. Yesterday’s science fictions and fairytales are today’s astounding realities, boosting the magic of innovation through breakthrough scientific discoveries. But the story of innovation and the scientific quest starts with a profound art—the art of creating an imaginary world out of our minds, putting our creativity into play. Using philosophy as a lens, this chapter investigates the relationships between imagination, creativity and innovations and why they matter. A model is also introduced to explain human progression, where imagination triggers creativity, creativity fuels innovation, and innovation extends the horizon of imagination further, keeping the cycle of human development rolling. Keywords  Imagination • Creativity • Innovation • Creative destruction • Display model • Search model • Conceptual model

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S M A Moin, Creativity in the Imagination Age, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98647-6_5

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“Creativity is just connecting things.” —Steve Jobs

Creativity is vital to organisations as they adapt to changing macro-­ environmental situations. Therefore, the demand for a creative mindset is increasing. Organisations are increasingly looking for creativity as a valuable skill for their employees. The World Economic Forum has listed the top ten skills to thrive during the fourth industrial revolution, ranking creativity tenth in 2015 while predicting third in 2020 (Gray, 2016; also see WEF Future of Jobs Report, 2016). However, Forbes Magazine has ranked creativity at the top among the top ten vital skills needed to work in the future (Marr, 2019). The other two essential skills, such as emotional intelligence (ranked second) and active learning with a growth mindset (ranked fourth), are also linked to creativity. This highlights the importance of creativity, particularly in the imagination age. However, creativity is just one dot. The other associated dots are imagination and innovation. While imagination is the front-end of creativity, innovation is its rear-end. We can reap the full benefits of our creativity when connecting these three dots. While many people suspect that AI-driven robots may surpass humans, Orme (2019) argues that our power of imagination and our ability to feel and think creatively make us different from robots in the age of AI, and humans will continue to decide what robots will do (Orme, 2019). This chapter explains the relationships between imagination, creativity and innovation and introduces an interdisciplinary model to conceptualise how imagination and creativity together bring innovation to life, extending the horizon of imagination further.

Why Imagination, Creativity and Innovation Matter At the outset, we need to answer a question: why should we bother about imagination, creativity and innovation? This is often asked by people and organisations, particularly those who are resistant to change. The answer is simple: winter is coming. It is coming unprecedentedly. Here, winter is a metaphor for change that can disrupt industry typographies, causing the leading companies in the industry to lose their competitive positions. Often disruptive changes are so fast that companies, nations and societies hardly get any time to prepare for them. Let us think about the coronavirus issue for a moment. Could even the most developed countries in the

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world think of the adverse impact of COVID 19 before it locked down the nations and the scale and scope of its effects on their citizen and the global economy? Dealing with change is the most critical problem societies, organisations and governments face today (Knapper & Cropley, 2000). Organisations are confronted by discontinuous change in many domains, including but going beyond the technological. Among other things, changes are affecting production, distribution, and marketing; are reducing the length of product lifestyle; are causing new and intensified demands from customers, increasing competition and threat of becoming uncompetitive; expanding unstable economic condition; challenging supply chain; increasing the urgency of calls for sustainable production; accelerating degradation of the environment; leading to diversification of the workforce; and raising pressure for fair and equitable working condition. (Cropley & Cropley, 2015, p. 2)

What happens when change and disruption hit the industry and companies stop being genuinely innovative? We can consider the example of Kodak, which was one of the most creative organisations and the most prominent film companies in the world. It was the pioneer in family photography, touching our lives by giving us the means to preserve our precious memories. Failing to imagine how the internet, social media and digital technologies can shape the future of photography, Kodak was disrupted by the digital revolution, although they invented the first digital camera. As a result, Kodak lost its competitive position in the industry and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012. Kodak failed to realise that the nature of taking pictures was changing, and they were reluctant to do the creative destruction of their dominant business model, which helped them maintain their market leader position for a long time. Kodak was busy playing its own game on its own terms when the nature of competition in the photography business was changing by the proliferation of new technologies and changing consumer behaviour. Kodak had the resources and experience to rewrite the history of digital photography. However, the lack of imagination that stagnates their creativity and innovation has written a different story for Kodak. Not just Kodak, there are many more examples of companies who have either lost the competitive age or been disrupted completely—Nokia, Sony, Blackberry and Blockbuster are good case studies for explaining this phenomenon. They all have lost their strong industry position because

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they failed to imagine, create, innovate and respond to change. We all know the story of Sony Digital Walkman. It became prevalent soon after its launch, attracting teenagers interested in dancing with the rhythm of the music, and Sony Digital Walkman fulfilled their desires. However, Sony did not want to realise the troubles with the disks and the size of the Walkman. There was news that Sony even developed a prototype of an iPod-like product but did not want to commercialise it, fearing that it would challenge their Digital Walkman business. The company did not consider the creative destruction that could open the doors of new possibilities. Nevertheless, disruption came, and one day Steve Jobs took the stage and launched Apple iPod, bringing 1000 songs into the pockets of their consumers. Then a few years later, he launched the iPhone that allowed us to enjoy music, watch videos and brought the rest of the world in our palms through the option of browsing the internet. These products won customers hearts and minds and disrupted many companies across many industries. So what is the secret behind Apple’s success? This is where creativity and innovation come into play, but all start with imagination as Steve Jobs once said: Some people say, “Give the customers what they want.” But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, “If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, ‘A faster horse!’” People don’t know what they want until you show it to them. That’s why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.

In fact, imagination, creativity and innovation are the most essential tactics to survive in the competitive landscape, whether you are a professional or entrepreneur and operating within a business, charity or government organisation. Often companies need to imagine a future that their customers cannot and bring products and services that enrich their lives and enchant their hearts. Imagination lets us envision what we cannot see using logic. However, while imagination can help us visualise what is unseen in reality, creativity and innovation allow us to create a new reality. Imagination fuels creativity and creativity keeps innovation rolling.

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Link Between Imagination, Creativity and Innovation Things first happen in our minds before they come into reality. Although creativity, innovation, science, and technology have empowered humans to fulfil many of their dreams, their imaginations started while living in fairytales. Human creativity provides the necessary fuels for innovation and turns fairytales into reality. Not long ago, some tribes who tasted life in the hardships of the Arabian Desert, who lived in tents and used camel as a means of transportation have built one of the most modern countries in the world. Today, United Arab Emirates is attracting people from all parts of the world. The advancement of science and technology is not the only reason behind the new United Arab Emirates—human imagination also played a vital role, empowering them to dream of a new reality. However, they did not leave their imagination in the pages of fairytales; instead, they put it into experiments and explored opportunities to create the future by rewriting new realities. Thus, when imagination, creativity and innovation are connected, the combined effect can turn fantasy into reality. The innovation literature usually focuses on invention and commercialisation while giving moderate to little attention to creativity but mostly ignoring imagination. For mysterious reasons, imagination has often been less covered by other disciplines as well as Beaney (2005, p.  2) argues, “Despite the important role that is often accorded to the imagination in our mental activities, the topic has been somehow marginalised in the philosophical literature, particularly (and perhaps surprisingly) in contemporary philosophy of mind.” Again, the literature associated with imagination usually extends to creativity but hardly encompasses innovation. Furthermore, the creativity literature mainly focuses on psychological and historical creativity, creative people and their attributes, and organisational creativity. Yet, its link to innovation and imagination receives comparatively little attention. In this book, we will try to address this gap through discussions on imagination, creativity and innovation in one place, enabling you to comprehend the combined power of these three concepts that have changed the course of human history and the way we live today, which is remarkably different from the lives of our ancient ancestors. Robinson (2017) has defined these three terms while establishing the links between them. According to him, imagination is “the process of bringing to mind things that are not present to our senses”; creativity is “the process of developing original ideas that have values” and innovation

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is “the process of putting new ideas into practice” (Robinson, 2017). Therefore, imagination is seen as the first step to creativity and innovation. For example, the advancement of human civilisation has been possible because our mind could imagine a world that did not exist. Therefore, it first brought that world into our minds by employing our imaginations. Then our creative endeavours let our imaginations go through several experiments, tests, and trials to get original ideas that can potentially create new solutions (invention), advancing us towards new realities. Finally, these inventions are commercialised through innovation by finding numerous applications of those inventions to solve human problems. Usually, these happen by creating new products, new services and new processes to enhance our lives (Table 5.1). These are further scaled up by Table 5.1 Links entrepreneurship

between

imagination,

Concepts

Definitions (Seeling, Attitudes/skills/ 2015, p. 9) actions involved (Seeling, 2015, p. 14)

Imagination

Envisioning things that do not exist.

creativity,

innovation

and

Why important (Seeling, 2015, p. 16)

Engagement and Without imaginers who the ability to engage with the world and envision alternatives. envision alternatives, there won’t be compelling opportunities to address. Creativity Applying Motivation and Without creators who are imagination to experimentation to motivated to address a address a challenge. address a challenge. challenge and to experiment to find a solution, routine problems won’t get solved. Innovation Applying creativity Focusing and Without innovators who to generate unique reframing to focus on challenging solutions. generate unique assumptions and reframing solutions. problems, there won’t be fresh ideas. Entrepreneurship Applying Persistence and the And without entrepreneurs innovation, scaling ability to inspire who are persistent and ideas and thereby others. inspire others, innovation inspiring others’ will sit on the shelf. imagination.

Source: Adapted from Seeling (2015)

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entrepreneurship (Seeling, 2015). More about invention, commercialisation and innovation have been discussed in Chap. 4. Role of Imagination in Creativity Gaut (2003) provides a comprehensive account of the role of imagination in creativity by introducing two models of creativity, namely the ‘display model’ and the ‘search model’. However, Beaney (2005) also proposed another model, known as the ‘connection model’. Display Model According to the display model, the role of imagination is to display the results of creativity, allowing creative persons to see the outcomes of their creative endeavours. While explaining the display model, Gaut (2003) discusses two types of creativity: passive and active. In passive creativity, people are unaware of the creative process, but the idea(s)—known to be creative—suddenly pops into their minds in the form of imagination. In other words, imagination makes them register the solutions to the problem they were eagerly looking for, but they are not quite aware of its process: how they land into the idea. Thus, the ideas are viewed as imagination, not belief. Csikszentmihalyi (2013) argues that creativity mainly occurs when people are relaxed: walking, swimming, taking a bath and so on, as these activities allow automatic lateral rather than linear thinking in the subject’s subconscious mind: solution comes from finding the links between things or ideas, which are not usually connected. This also promotes out-of-box thinking. In these scenarios, Gaut (2003) acknowledged imagination’s role in displaying creative outcomes. One of the examples he cites is the case of Bertrand Russel, who often failed to find solutions to complex problems while writing his Principia of Mathematica, but the ideas as solutions came to his mind the following morning after a night of sleep. Drawing on this and other examples, Gaut (2003) shows the role of imagination in displaying creativity because there was no imagination during sleep. However, we often dream about what we think deeply. Therefore, the results of active thinking can be captured in the subconscious mind while sleeping. Search Model During active creativity, the creative person is aware of the processes they go through as it involves exploring various approaches and reaching a

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solution where imagination plays a vital role and is regarded as the locus of the creative process. Gaut (2003) claims that active creativity is more important than passive creativity, especially in art, citing the example that an initial idea about a painting can be dramatically changed with the continuous imagination and scrutiny of the artwork by the painter as it keeps on emerging. In Gaut’s (2003) search model, imagination has a more crucial role in creativity, where a new idea or an object is the result of exploring all the possibilities in the logical space, and the subject usually can imagine more deeply and widely than others do. Gaut (2003) argues that scanning the logical space and developing appropriate solutions exploring all possibilities is the ‘hallmark’ of the creative process. However, he recognises some criticisms of the search model as he compares Deep Blue chess software to which Kasparov was defeated in 1997. This comes from the perception that computers can explore all possibilities, which may be comprehensive in generating solutions but not quite creative. In contrast, Kasparov played more creatively by exploring the options rather than just conducting a computer-like search and evaluating all possibilities. The argument is Kasparov used more imagination, whereas Deep Blue used more computing power and searchability. This does not mean that Deep Blue does not have imagination, but there is a difference in using imagination where Kasparov was more creative while Deep Blue used programmes coded by programmers. In other words, Deep Blue’s imagination comes from programmers’ imagination that was used while writing the programmes. We can also argue that the programmers of Deep Blue used imagination and creativity as both are attributes of humans, but these have given enormous cognitive and computing power to Deep Blue. Another aspect is the presence of consciousness in Kasparov that differentiates him from Deep Blue. This makes Gaut (2003) conclude that imagination can be both the vehicle for and source of creativity. Connection Model Through critical evaluation of Gaut’s (2003) display and search models to further highlight imagination’s role in creativity, Beaney (2005) realises the need for a new model, naming it the ‘connection model’. He argues that imagination itself is creative as it connects ideas and scenarios previously experienced or thought. “The imagination may have both a reproductive role, in recalling and displaying previous ideas or results, and a productive or creative role, in selecting and connecting some of those ideas or results” (Beaney, 2005, p. 202). Thus, imagination helps us to

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bring into mind ideas and thoughts drawing from our previous experiences and knowledge, and then also find the creative links between those ideas in finding creative solutions. To explain it further, what Steve Jobs said about creativity is worth mentioning: Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.

Role of Creativity in Innovation While imagination boosts creativity in multiple ways, creativity also fosters innovation in numerous ways. Researchers have often considered the idea as a unit to understand the relationship between creativity and innovation: “Ideas sit at the nexus between creativity and innovation, the point where one research stream has traditionally ended, and the other begun” (Gilson & Litchfield, 2017, p. 1). While creativity is about producing novel/ original and valuable ideas, innovation is about implementing these ideas to enhance the lives of people (Amabile, 1988; Gilson & Litchfield, 2017; Robinson, 2017). Amabile (1988) asserts that innovation is fundamentally based on creative ideas, thus establishing the link between creativity and innovation. If creativity and innovation can be metaphorically compared with a relay, the baton is handed over to innovation teams after creating the ideas (Amabile, 1988). Furthermore, Amabile and Pratt (2016) have developed a dynamic computational model of creativity and innovation in the organisational context, establishing the link between creativity and innovation. Their model shows that while individual and group creativity feeds into organisational innovation, the corporate work environment impacts both individual and group creativity. Their model also provides valuable insights by explaining the links between various organisational components such as

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motivation to innovate, resources in the task domain, skills in innovation management. Furthermore, the model explains relations between the individual or small group creativity components such as intrinsic and synergistic extrinsic motivation, skills in the task domain, creativity-relevant process along various stages of innovation and creativity. In other research, Sarooghi et al. (2015) conducted a meta-analysis of organisational, cultural, and environmental factors to examine the relationship between creativity and innovation and validated a comprehensive creativity-innovation model through hypothesis testing. Their study, comprising 10,538 observations under 5252 empirical samples, unveiled the nature of the relationship between creativity and innovation on different levels. At the individual level, the study found strong positive relationships between creativity and innovation. Amongst other findings, the empirical study revealed intriguing moderating effects: the creativity-­ innovation relationship is stronger for large firms, process innovations, and low-tech industries in comparison to small firms, product innovations and hightech industries.

A Model of Imagination, Creativity and Innovation Grounded from the interdisciplinary literature on imagination, creativity and innovation, an integrative model has been developed (Fig. 2.1). This model shows that ideas are units and remain at the heart of imagination, creativity and innovation, which is similar to the argument of Gilson and Litchfield (2017). In other words, when valuable ideas sourced through imagination and creativity are implemented, innovation takes off. Thus, the essential elements within a creative process are imagination, creativity and innovation, which are also reflected in the model’s name. While considering imagination, creativity and innovation as activities, they can be the stages of a dynamic creative process (Fig. 5.1). This model demonstrates that there is an inextricable linkage between imagination, creativity and innovation. Imagination lets our minds wander and find as many ideas as possible. In other words, imagination sources the initial pool of ideas. These initial ideas are the raw materials for innovation that are refined by putting our creativity into play, helping us produce novel and valuable ideas needed for innovation. Creativity also helps find solutions to a problem by thinking in a novel way or finding connections between the ideas that were unknown previously. Innovation realises those valuable and novel ideas into new products, services and processes that

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In

Creativity

it y t iv ea

Innovation

Cr

Innovation: Implementing original and valuable ideas to solve problem(s) and enhance lives

Creativity

Innovation

IDEA

Imagination

Imagination Creativity: Creating original and valuable ideas as basis for innovation

io at v no

n

Imagination: Capturing cues for idea generation, which can be source of creativity

Imagination Fig. 5.1  An integrative dynamic model of imagination, creativity and innovation

transform the systems. Thus, innovation develops creative solutions to challenging problems. Together imagination, creativity and innovation bring our imagination (the fictional world our minds created before) into life, solve our problems and enhance our lives. Our imagination is the first step to source ideas that provide sparks and ignite our creativity. Then creativity paves the way to find novel solutions (often also referred to as novel ideas), paving the ways for innovation. Finally, innovation delivers tangible outputs that make the difference. The cycle does not stop here; instead, once innovation turns our imaginations into new realities, the new realities extend the horizon of our imaginations. We can imagine what we could not previously imagine. New realities give us a new basis for furthering our imagination. Our imaginations also intensify through the experience and knowledge gathered during the creativity and innovation stages. Thus, every creative thought and innovation triggered by imagination can extend the scope and scale for the subsequent imaginations. The process continues. As the horizon of our imagination is broadening over time,

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the world is advancing further. The knowledge we acquire through applying our imagination (i.e. creativity) and implementing the valuable ideas resulting from creativity (i.e. innovation) empowers us to imagine more. For example, our imagination that machines can improve productivity was translated into the steam engine through our creative pursuit. This not only created factories but also transformed transportation. This innovation enhanced our horizon of imagination. Eventually, electricity and computer came and extended the boundary further. The digital revolutions have allowed us to imagine the fusion of technologies to blur the lines between our physical, digital and biological worlds. Thus, what we can imagine today our ancestors could not imagine in their times, but their imagination, creativity and innovation have widened the horizon of our imagination, and upon their innovation we have developed many of our innovations. Imagination opens up new possibilities and facilitates the production of original and valuable ideas. Therefore, we need more imaginative people to solve our problems in a novel way. Beaney (2005, p. 5) defines an imaginative person as “someone who can think up new possibilities, offer fresh perspectives on what is familiar, make fruitful connections between apparently disparate ideas, elaborate original ways of seeing or doing things, project themselves into unusual situations, and so on. In short, someone who is imaginative is someone who is creative”. The cycle of imagination, creativity and innovation keeps extending our horizon for further imagination. But how can we foster more imagination, creativity and innovation within the organisations? Studies on innovative companies reveal that culture plays an essential role in promoting creativity that facilitates innovation within the organisations. So, the next chapter calls you to explore the organisational culture and how innovative companies develop theirs to transform caterpillars into butterflies.

References Amabile, T. M. (1988). A Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organisation. Research in Organisational Behaviour, 10, 123–167. Amabile, T. M., & Pratt, M. G. (2016). The Dynamic Componential Model of Creativity and Innovation in Organizations: Making Progress, Making Meaning. Research in Organisational Behaviour, 36, 157–183. Beaney, M. (2005). Imagination and Creativity. The Open University. Cropley, D.  H., & Cropley, A.  J. (2015). The Psychology of Innovation in Organisations. Cambridge University Press.

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Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2013). Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention. Harper Perennial. Future of Jobs Report. (2016). World Economic Forum. Retrieved July 11, 2021, from http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs.pdf Gaut, B. (2003). Creativity and Imagination. In B. Gaut & P. Livingston (Eds.), The Creation of Art: New Essays in Philosophical Aesthetics (pp.  148–173). Cambridge University Press. Gilson, L.  L., & Litchfield, R.  C. (2017). Idea Collections: A Link Between Creativity and Innovation. Innovation: Organisation and Management, 19(1), 80–85. Gray, A. (2016). The 10 Vital Skills You Will Need for the Future of Work. World Economic Forum. Retrieved July 11, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/ sites/bernardmarr/2019/04/29/the-­10-­vital-­skills-­you-­will-­need-­for-­the-­ future-­of-­work/?sh=24aaf1d43f5b Knapper, C., & Cropley, A. J. (2000). Lifelong Learning and Higher Education. Kogan Page. Marr, B. (2019). The 10 Vital Skills You Will Need for The Future of Work. Forbes. Retrieved July 11, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmar r/2019/04/29/the-­1 0-­v ital-­s kills-­y ou-­w ill-­n eed-­f or-­t he-­ future-­of-­work/#618fe5623f5b Orme, G. (2019). The Human Edge: How Curiosity and Creativity Are Your Superpowers in the Digital Economy. Pearson Education Limited. Robinson, K. (2017). Out of Our Minds: The Power of Being Creative (3rd ed.). John, Wiley and Sons. Sarooghi, H., Libaers, D., & Burkemper, A. (2015). Examining the Relationship Between Creativity and Innovation: A Meta-Analysis of Organizational, Cultural, and Environmental Factors. Journal of Business Venturing, 30, 714–731. Seeling, T. (2015). Creativity Rules: Get Ideas Out of Your Head and Into the World. HarperCollins.

CHAPTER 6

Ideation to Impact: The Organisational Culture That Transforms Caterpillars into Butterflies

Abstract  Ideas are the currency in the imagination age we are living in today. While ideas are free, ideation needs a supportive culture to thrive. A culture of creativity and innovation breeds ideas by inspiring people to imagine, experiment and take intelligent risks. This chapter begins by discussing the power of ideas sourced from human imagination in promoting innovation that has changed the course of human civilisation over the ages. This follows a critical account of organisational culture drawing on interdisciplinary literature. Seeing culture as the breeding ground for ideas, this chapter explains how culture empowers people, mobilises resources, and sparks creativity and innovation. Finally, a new creativity model is grounded from the discussions of the previous chapters and drawing on the creativity literature. Keywords  Ideation • Organisational culture • Innovation DNA • Creativity model Culture eats strategy for breakfast. ―Peter Drucker

When Thomas A. Edison invented the light bulb, he took the world by surprise. It was a miraculous solution to lightening up the world by conquering the darkness of the nights. However, while experimenting and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 S M A Moin, Creativity in the Imagination Age, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98647-6_6

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failing one after another, Edison’s creative pursuit taught him an enlightening lesson in understanding how genius people over the ages have succeeded and written the stories of innovations to enhance our lives. Here is what Edison said about his failures that brought him success: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Breakthrough innovations do not happen by chance. It requires a passionate quest to pursue an idea that has the power to solve a big problem and make a significant impact on our lives. Possibly, it started by looking at the full moon in the sky, nurturing imagination and coming up with the idea that there is a better solution other than an oil lamp or candle to lighten up homes, offices and our environments soon after the sunset. His ideas went through thousands of experiments (i.e. creativity seen as applied imagination), resulting in an invention that was a milestone in the history of human civilisation. The invention then commercialised into a breakthrough innovation, bringing human fantasy into reality! Nonetheless, if we compare the initial idea of the light bulb with a caterpillar, the invention of the electric light bulb can be seen as the transformation of the idea into a butterfly. This transformation happened through thousand of creative experiments. This is just one story—and there are a thousand others. When a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, it gets the wing to fly. Likewise, when one innovation succeeds, peoples’ horizons of imagination continue to extend. Metaphorically Edison has created a moon to light every home with access to electricity and other power sources. Indeed, his invention has done more than that. It has possibly inspired others to fly into space and land on the surface of the moon. On 25 May 1961, John F. Kennedy stood in front of the US Congress and delivered his famous speech. We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too. John F. Kennedy

President Kennedy’s imagination framed the idea of putting a man on the moon. Although he did not know how to turn this idea into a reality, the nation believed in his imagination. The creative pursuit of the astronauts and scientists made this a history. On 16 July 1969, Apollo 11 landed humans on the moon. A caterpillar (an idea) turned into a butterfly

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(innovation)—‘thoughts’ became ‘things’—making a paradigm shift in the history of human civilisation. A new kingdom was discovered in the space by imagination, creativity and innovation nurtured by humans on earth. Many years later, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are making space tourism a new reality. Not just this, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Apple—all were once ideas (i.e. caterpillars), but now they are new realities (i.e. butterflies). So to get more butterflies, we need more caterpillars. Indeed ideas are the keys to the kingdom, and human imagination is the main asset that distinguishes them from other species. “Ideas are not just cheap—they are free”, said Stanford University Professor Tina Seeling. But they are the starting point of great innovations and the currency in the imagination age when science & technology and arts and humanity have advanced so much that turning ideas into currencies was never so easy at any other time than now. But how can we get ideas? Do we need good ideas, bad ideas or more ideas? Case Study 6.1  We Need Bad Ideas

There are two fictional companies—‘good Inc.’ and ‘bad Inc.’—in a fictional city named ‘Creaticity’, famously known for its creativity. Good Inc. has a culture that invites only good ideas from its employees. In contrast, ‘bad Inc.’ has a culture that welcomes bad ideas from its employees. Which company do you think is more creative? People who work for ‘the good Inc.’ have many ideas, but they are not sure whether those are good. Therefore, they are not sure whether to share them. This makes ‘good Inc.’ always run short of ideas, let alone finding good ones. With fewer ideas, there are fewer experiments and hardly any breakthrough innovation. Things are pretty different for ‘bad Inc.’. A culture of welcoming bad ideas encourages its employees to share any idea they come up with, resulting in many ideas flooded in ‘bad Inc.’. As there are always many ideas available, it is practically easy for the employees and managers of the company to identify promising ones. ‘Bad Inc.’ pursues those ideas through loads of creative experiments. Failure is not avoided; instead treated as an opportunity to learn. The result is terrific: It brings many innovations in the marketplace—some are incremental while others are breakthrough. (continued)

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Case Study 6.1  (continued)

Culture in the organisation plays an essential role in setting the bedrock for idea generation and influences whether a company welcomes good ideas, bad ideas or many ideas. The legendary management consultant and writer Peter Drucker once said, “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The essence of this quote is not to undermine the role of strategy—instead, it underscores the importance of culture for organisational success. Therefore, strategy is unlikely to take off in the absence of a supportive culture. Reflective Question Should organisations invite good ideas or bad ideas? Put your arguments, critically debating them in the context of the city you live in.

This chapter discusses the importance of a culture of innovation, drawing on literature intersecting culture, creativity and innovation. First, we briefly conceptualise culture by exploring its root in the interdisciplinary literature before addressing its role in the organisational context. Next, we focus on organisational culture, conceptualising it through analysing several definitions from multidisciplinary literature. We then explore how culture influences creativity and innovation, how creative companies welcome idea generations and experimentation, and how innovative leaders develop a culture to foster creativity and spark innovation.

An Interdisciplinary Perspective of Culture The study of culture spans in the interdisciplinary literature and the predominant thoughts and concepts stem from anthropology, sociology, organisational behaviour and management (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017). Extensively studied in anthropology, culture has emerged as a phenomenon with multiple meanings, which mainly contributed to the divergent perspectives of culture. Anthropology views culture as ‘values’ or ‘guiding principles’, influencing how an organisation operates and how people perceive things and relate to each other (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952). Sociologists view it as a ‘norm’, that is the ways of thinking or doing things (Jaques, 1951). If we consider anthropologists’ views of ‘culture’ as a noun, sociologists’ views can be a verb. Table 6.1 provides an interdisciplinary perspective

• Culture is viewed as norm: Way of thinking and doing things • Shared between members • Members should learn to fit into the organisation • The concept was first known to academic entities at the end of the nineteenth century

• Culture is viewed as values that guide the way people work and interact • It includes ideas and patterns • Abstract • Expressed symbolically • Historical and can be learned • The concept was first known to academic entities at the end of the nineteenth century

Source: Adapted from Dawson and Andriopoulos (2017)

Perspectives of sociologists

Perspectives of anthropologists

Table 6.1  An interdisciplinary perspective of culture

• Culture is viewed as a metaphor to study organisations (i.e. ‘what organisation is’) • Organisations are viewed as mini societies • They have distinct cultural traits • Social interactions construct the meaning • Popularised in the middle of the 1970s

Perspectives of organisational sociologists

• Culture is viewed as an organisational variable (i.e. what an organisation has) • It provides organisations’ competitive effectiveness • Attracted the attention of the management scholars and practitioners at the beginning of the 1980s

Perspectives of management scholars and practitioners

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of culture from the viewpoints of  anthropologists, sociologists, organisational sociologists, and management scholars and practitioners. Understanding organisations through their cultures interested the organisational sociologists in the middle of the 1970s and the management scholars at the beginning of the 1980s (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017): Organisational sociologists view organisations as mini-societies and culture as an organisational identity (i.e. what an organisation is) developed over a period by the social interactions of its members. Management scholars view culture as an organisational variable (i.e. what an organisation has or how an organisation is unique) that provides competitive effectiveness.

However, conceptualising culture is not simple due to its diverse meaning. Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952) have identified at least 164 meanings and divided the wide range of definitions of culture into six groups (Baldwin, Faulkner, & Hecht, 2006b, p. 8): . Enumeratively descriptive (a list of contents) 1 2. Historical (emphasis on social heritage, tradition etc.) 3. Normative (focus on ideals or ideals plus behaviour) 4. Psychological (learning, habit, adjustment, problem-solving device etc.) 5. Structural (focus on the pattern or organisation) 6. Genetic (symbols, ideas, artefacts etc.) Thus, there are many ways of defining culture in the literature with different people using it to explain slightly different phenomena (Škerlavaja et al., 2010). With a comprehensive review of the interdisciplinary literature, Baldwin, Faulkner, Hecht, and Lindsley (2006a) gave a rich account of culture, identifying culture as a moving target and unveiling its derivations (English words) coming through different etymological routes (Fig. 6.1). Therefore, it is reasonable to say that no universal definition of culture has been accepted widely (Rollinson & Broadfield, 2002). However, this does not mean culture is ambiguous; instead, different definitions and explanations have enriched our understanding of culture. Here we are particularly interested in comprehending the meaning of culture in the organisational context. In other words, our aim is to understand what organisational culture is and what types of culture promote creativity and innovation. Table 6.2 summarises various thoughts about organisational culture, deduced from the definitions mentioned in books and academic journals.

LATIN [Cultus: to care for, develop, worship]

FRENCH [Culture: tilling of the ground]

GERMAN [Kultur : agricultural development]

FRENCH [Culte: homage to deity, worship]

MID ENG [Cultura: tilling of the ground]

GERMAN [Kultur: mode of human existence (as Geist became the word for intellectual enlightenment

ENGLISH [Cult: system of religious worship]

ENGLISH [Culture: a system of values and behaviours (American anth. of the 1920s)] Culture: a system of ideas, beliefs, etc. (Anthropological definition post-1850)

ENGLISH [Culture: products, consequences of the action of symbolic activity (British anth. of the 1920s)]

ENGLISH [Culture: group of people who hold a share system of ideas, beliefs, norms, etc. (British anth.)]

ENGLISH [refinement of plans or people (early English definitions, e.g., Arnold, 1869, 1882]

Fig. 6.1  Different etymological routes of culture. (Source: Redesigned from Baldwin, Faulkner, Hecht, and Lindsley (2006a, p. 5))

LATIN [Colere: to till the ground]

LATIN [Cultuvare: prepare the ground for crops]

ENGLISH [Cultivate: to till the ground, to care for, bring up]

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Table 6.2  Thoughts on organisational culture Authors (year)

Journal/ Book

Perceptions about organisational culture

Jaques (1951)

The Changing Culture of a Factory

• Traditional way of doing things within the organisation. • Shared by all members on a different degree. • Learnt/ accepted by the new members. • Ideologies, beliefs and deep-set of values of the firms. • Used to set the ways of working within the organisations. • Dominant and coherent set of shared values. • Conveyed by symbols, stories, myths, legends, slogans, anecdotes and fairytales.

Harrison (1972) Harvard Business Review

Peters and Waterman (1982) Wiener (1988)

In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-run Companies The Academy of Management Review

Deal and Corporate Culture: Kennedy (1982) The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life Schein (1991) Organizational Culture and Leadership

Kostova (1999)

Academy of Management Review

Van den Berg and Wilderom (2004)

Applied Psychology: An International Review

• Mostly the values shared by the members. • Shared values reside at the heart of organisations. The way of doing things in the organisations.

• Pattern of basic assumptions. • Invented, discovered or developed by the people of the organisation as they adapt with external challenges and integrate with internal environment. • Ways/ practices of conducting organisational functions evolved over time. • Reflected by shared knowledge. • Perception of organisational competence. • Provides the basis (glue) to keep the organisation together. • Stimulates employee commitment.

Drawing on several studies mentioned in the table above, we can deduce the following definition: Organisation culture is the sum of ideologies, beliefs, and shared values or knowledge that determines how an organisation functions and its people work, collaborate and take risks. It determines how the managers and employees get along, how they are controlled or given freedom, and how

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they respond to challenges and opportunities. People are at the heart of organisational culture, but culture determines the organisation’s system through which it functions.

Faulkner et al. (2006) further investigated the definitions from different disciplines and divided them into seven different types or themes of definitions (see Table 6.3). Denison and Spreitzer (1991) have identified four types of organisational cultures (a brief summary is presented in Table 6.4) through a competing values framework (CVF) that has also been used in other studies (McDermott & Stock, 1999; Prajogo & McDermott, 2005; Škerlavaja et al., 2010; Büschgens et al., 2013). Group culture focuses on the internal organisation with a flexible approach. The values that define the group culture are concern, commitment, morale, discussion, participation and openness. However, the values of the developmental culture have an external focus and include insight, innovation, adaptation, external support, resource acquisition and growth. With a degree of control and external focus, the rational culture promotes values such as accomplishment, productivity, profit/impact, goal clarification, direction and decisiveness. Entirely opposite of developmental culture, the hierarchical culture focused on internal organisation and control. However, organisation culture is not fixed. Culture changes based on situations and mindsets of the people in the organisation and the leaders at the helm. This model has a particular implication for organisations. Using this model, leaders and managers can evaluate their organisational culture and develop strategies to change it if necessary. The students and researchers can also use this model to do a cultural analysis of organisations. Johnson et al. (2014) have developed another model, known as ‘The Cultural Web’, which “shows the behavioural, physical and symbolic manifestations of a culture” (p. 155) and can be used to analyse or understand the culture of an organisation. At the heart of the model is ‘paradigm’, which Johnson et  al. (2014, p.  155) have defined as ‘very basic’, ‘quite likely’ and ‘taken-for-granted’ assumption within an organisation, such as “a common problem in technology and engineering firm is the propensity of people to focus on the technical excellence of products rather than customer-perceived needs” (p.  155). The other six components of the cultural web are stories, symbols, power structure, organisational structure, control system, and routines and rituals.

Examples • Whole way of life: Total accumulation of [element list] lifestyle; “more than the sum of the traits” • Cognitive structure: Thoughts, beliefs, assumptions, meanings, attitudes, preferences, values, standards; expression of unconscious processes, interpretations. • Structure of behaviour: Behaviour, “normative glue”, patterns of rules, techniques, dispositions, customs, set of skills, patterns of behaviour, habits, actions, concrete practices, ceremonies, rituals. • Structures of signification: Symbol systems, language, discourse and communication processes, system of transferring of thoughts, feelings, behaviours. • Relational structure: Relationships with others, orientational system. • Social organisation: Organisational forms, political institutions, legal institutions (e.g. laws, crime and punishment), religion as institution. • Process of learning, adaptation to the world, survival. • Shared sense of identity/belonging, or of difference from other groups. • Value expression (expressive purpose). • Stereotyping function (evaluative purpose). • Means of control over other individuals and groups. • Differentiating one group from another. • Sense making, producing group-based meaning, giving life meaning and form. • Handling “raw materials of life”, dealing with social world. • Relating to others. • Dominating, structuring power. • Transmitting of a way of life.

Themes of definition Scope of meaning

Definitions that look at culture in terms of a system or framework of elements (e.g. ideas, behaviour, symbols, or any combination of these or other elements).

Definitions that see culture as a means to an end.

Definitions that focus on the ongoing social construction of culture.

Structure/Pattern

Function

Process: Practice, etc., a “verb” as well as a noun

Table 6.3  The seven contemporary themes of definitions of culture

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Source: Adapted from Faulkner et al. (2006, pp. 29–31)

Definitions that focus on group-­ based power (including postmodern and postcolonial definitions). Group-­membership Definitions that speak of culture in terms of a place or group of people, or that focus on belonging to such a place or group.

Definitions that frame culture as a sense of individual or group cultivation to higher intellect or morality.

Refinement/ “cultivation”

Power or ideology

Definitions of culture in terms of artefacts (with or without deliberate symbolic intent).

Product

• Country. • Social variations among components of contemporary pluralistic society; identity.

• Product of meaningful activity [more broad than representation]: art, architecture. • Product of representation/signification: artefacts, cultural “texts” mediated and otherwise, etc. • Moral progress: Stage of development that divides civilised from savage; study of perfection, civilisation. • Instruction: Care given to development of the mind; refinement (e.g. of a person). • Unique human efforts from any of the aforementioned categories that distinguish humans from other species. • Political and ideological dominance: Dominant or hegemonic culture [critical definitions]. • Fragmentation of elements [postmodern definitions].

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Flexibility and internal focus Flexibility and external focus

Group culture

Control and internal focus

Hierarchical culture

Concern, commitment, morale, discussion, participation, openness Insight, innovation, adaptation, external support, resource acquisition, growth Accomplishment, productivity, profit/ impact, goal clarification, direction, decisiveness Measurement, documentation, information management, stability, control and continuity

Defining criteria/ values

Information management and communication

Planning and goal setting

Flexibility and readiness

Cohesion and morals

Means

Source: Adapted from Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983), Quinn and Spreitzer (1991) and Büschgens et al. (2013)

Control and external focus

Rational culture

Developmental culture

Key orientation

Categories

Table 6.4  Categories of organisational culture

Stability and control

Human resource development Growth and resource acquisition Productivity and efficiency

Ends

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Routines and Rituals Organisational routines reflect on how managers and employees do things in organisations. On the other hand, rituals include the special activities important within the organisational culture. Routines and rituals help in setting the working style. Routines are the standard ways of doing work or managing particular situations that have been practised over a period and have been part of organisational history. Johnson et  al. (2014, p.  156) argue that “routines lubricate the working of the organisation, and may provide a basis for distinctive organisational capabilities … can also represent a taken-for grantedness about how things should happen…”. Stories As a medium, stories are highly effective to convey the culture of organisations. People usually pass the core beliefs and assumptions of the organisations from one to another by telling stories, formally and informally. Organisational stories have inner meaning that works as glue to bind people within the organisations and the customers. For example, the story of Howard Shultz visiting Millan and experiencing an unforgettable coffee culture that he wanted to bring back to Seattle is at the heart of Starbucks cultural DNA. This story is also known as the strategic story or signature story of the organisation. This story helped Howard Shultz clarify Starbucks’ mission and reposition it as a people-centric organisation and connect with employees, customers and other stakeholders. We are not in the coffee business serving people; we are in the people business serving coffee. (Howard Shultz)

There is also a story that the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, takes customers’ calls from the Amazon call centre twice a year, which shows how the company has developed a customer-centric culture. These also inspire other employees to go the extra mile to make their customers happy.  However, there are some stories about how badly the company dealt with the fulfilment store staff during the recent pandemic. The company needs to address this with care to maintain its reputation.  Symbols Symbols and logos are also powerful instruments to shape and convey the culture of organisations. Organisations often use particular objects and

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symbols to differentiate themselves from others. The symbols also play a role in communicating organisational history—why they were founded and what makes them distinct from others—and eventually become a part of the cultural fabric of an organisation. A great example of this is Amazon’s logo. The leader of online shopping, Amazon, sends a clear message about its business through its logo. The directional curve of the yellow arrow— that connects a and z—has a significant meaning, implying that Amazon sells everything. Customers can get them through a few clicks, and Amazon continually invests in enhancing the customers’ shopping experience. The up-ward curved arrow also represents a smile, signifying Amazon strives to make its customers smile and be happy. Power Structures Power structures define how power is distributed among different levels within organisations: senior managers, managers, supervisors and first-line employees. Johnson et al. (2014, p. 157) have defined power as “the ability of individuals or groups to persuade, induce or coerce others into following certain courses of action”. The highly distributed power structure inspires people within the organisations to take risks and carry out more experiments that foster creativity and innovation. Organisational Structures Organisational structures explain how the power structures within the organisations are manifested through defining roles and responsibilities, tasks allocation and reporting relationships between various roles. It helps in the coordination between the departments and in the functioning of the organisation. Cosh et al.’ (2012) research has identified the relationship between organisation structure and innovation performance within smalland medium-sized enterprises in the UK. They found that formal structure and written plans that promote decentralised decision-making effectively support firms’ ability to innovate than other structures. However, their research also revealed that informal structures play a more critical role in supporting innovation within the young firms in high technology sectors. Control System Control systems are the means by which peoples’ performances are monitored within the organisations. They include both formal and informal

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systems. Control systems also impact the creativity and innovation ability of the organisations. For example, an organisation that rewards its employees for the number of meaningful experiments conducted irrespective of their outcomes may be more likely to promote creativity and innovation initiatives than an organisation that rewards only success.

Case Study 6.2  Turning Followers into Leaders: The Art Changing Culture Through Empowering People                    

Captain L. David Marquet of the US navy had an authoritarian leadership style. He loved giving orders and getting the job done, which he confessed during one of his TED talks. His leadership style was more aligned with the masculine, industrial and structural approaches: Hierarchical relationship and achievement orientations through leveraging his position and power. He was more interested in results. Nonetheless, he was one of the brightest officers, preparing to assume the command of USS Olympia (SSN-717), one of the Los Angelesclass nuclear powered fast attack submarines of the US navy. He studied everything about USS Olympia. However, in a last-­ minute change in the plan, he was posted as the commanding officer of USS Santa Fe (SSN-763), another Los Angeles-class submarine. USS Santa Fe had a track record of several accidents and low crew morals. Nevertheless, he managed to adjust himself and prepared the submarine for the sea trial. When USS Santa Fe dived into the blue water, he changed the control into emergency power mode (EPM). As a newly joined commanding officer, he wanted to check the speed of his submarine. He asked the navigating offer to give “ahead-two-­ third” on the EPM, which was instantly repeated by the officer who was just standing beside him. But the helm’s man controlling the engine throttle did not take any action. He was surprised and became angry to see that the captain’s order had not been carried out. The captain walked up to the helm’s man and asked: “Why haven’t you carried out the order?” The helm’s man replied in fear: “There is no ahead-two-third on the EPM in this submarine, captain.” “That’s good; you passed the test”, replied the captain. Thus, somehow managed the situation. Then he took the navigating officer in the corner of the bridge and asked: “Didn’t you know that there is no ahead-two-third on EPM in this submarine?” (continued)

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Case Study 6.2  (continued)

Surprising him, the navigating officer replied: “Yes, I know, but you asked me to do so.” There was a moment of silence in the bridge of Santa Fe as it was breaking through the water. The silence put the captain in reflection. He discovered that all the authorities were at the top and information at the bottom. He realised that it was impossible to pass all the information at the top. Again it was not feasible for someone to deal with all the information. So what’s the solution—He asked himself. Yes, he can undoubtedly channel down some of the authorities to the bottom to deal with the information, he thought. But how can he do so? This was his mission for the next couple of days. Then he came up with a fascinating idea to channel down all the authorities except the authority to fire the nuclear weapons. He introduced a phrase: “I INTEND TO”. During critical decision-­ making, people need to say to their superiors, “I intend to do so and so because of so and so.” This inspired everyone to seek more knowledge and practise their freedom to make decisions. Soon, Captain Marquet’s style changed from transactional to transformational leadership, and Santa Fe turned into a knowledge hub. Creativity and innovation flourished by the new cultural norm created by a new leadership style that changed leader-follower relationships into leader-leader relationships. Eventually, several officers from Santa Fe became commanding officer and assumed the command of other submarines. In short, that was the story of how Captain Marquet turned his followers into leaders. Reflective Question How can leaders create a culture of creativity and innovation where people are inspired to learn, grow and experiment? Note: For details of this transformational change of leadership of Captain Marquet, read his book, Turn The Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders; and watch his TED talk, “How Great Leaders Serve Others: David Marquet at TEDxScottAFB”, available on https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=DLRH5J_93LQ (accessed on 01 June 2020)

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Developing and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation Developing and sustaining a culture of innovation is essential but a challenging task for the leaders, and this is one of the significant criteria that differentiates the innovative companies from the rest. However, this is more challenging for the established companies who often have reached the peak of their innovation journey, and their norms have become their rules so that they have fewer leeway to manoeuvre while compared with the more dynamic start-ups who are in a state of developing their culture and experimenting everything. Buckler and Zien (1996) have put it well: Sooner or later, most established companies face a mid-life crisis. Just like many people, these companies somehow lose the drive, the excitement, and the enthusiasm of their youth. Rather than continue to push the envelope, these companies focus on their core competencies and try to maintain order through a proliferation of policies and procedures. On the other hand, some companies (and some people) manage to sustain their innovative, entrepreneurial spirit. (p. 391)

The question is, while many companies fail to develop and sustain their ability to create, how do the very few innovative companies create a culture of innovation and continue to stay creative. Zien and Buckler (1997) studied how mature companies stay innovative and reinvigorate their innovative spirit. Their team of cross-functional researchers conducted more than 140 in-depth interviews with the personnel of 12 leading companies from the US, Europe and Japan known for staying at the forefront of innovation. Among them were Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Club Med, Polaroid and so on. This research is significant because it was conducted in the early 1990s/ late 1980s, before the turn of the new century, and when the internet was about to come—in other words, it was the information age. Nevertheless, their research revealed a consistent model explaining how these companies developed and sustained a culture of innovation, maintaining their drive, excitement, and enthusiasm to experiment and create innovative products. What we found was strikingly consistent model of how companies craft and sustain a culture in which innovation is not only tolerated but nurtured, rewarded, and even demanded. We learned about mavericks and champions, corporate storytelling, the Fuzzy Front End—and most critical of all, the role of Top Management. (Zien & Buckler, 1997, p. 274)

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Their research unveiled seven principles at the core of innovative companies’ culture irrespective of the industries they operate and their geographical location: Principle 1: Sustain faith and treasure identity as an innovative company. Principle 2: Truly experimental in all functions, especially in the front end. Principle 3: Structure ‘really real’ relationships between marketing and technical people. Principle 4: Generate customer intimacy. Principle 5: Engage the whole organisation. Principle 6: Never forget the individual. Principle 7: Tell and embody powerful and purposeful stories. According to them, these seven principles shape the culture of innovative companies. Moreover, these seven principles highlight these companies’ characteristics, qualities, and behaviours that help them manage three micro cultures throughout the enterprise: Fuzzy Front End, Product Development Process and Business Operations (Zien & Buckler, 1997). Thus, while everyone in the organisation is part of creating the culture that supports innovation, leaders of these organisations—coined by Zien and Buckler (1997) as “innovative and transformational leaders”—are the ones who “create the context” and “craft a culture for continuous innovation”; and they also believe that “innovation is the core of all value creation in business organizations” (p. 276). Over two decades have passed, and we have entered into the imagination age with the internet, social media, and immersive technologies influencing the consumers’ lives and business operations. However, the cultural fabric of innovative companies and the mindset of their leaders have not changed. This was revealed by another research conducted by three scholars and experts in the field of innovation, including the legendary innovation guru Harvard Professor Clayton Christensen, which led to the publication of their book, The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators. Analysing organisational practices and interviewing the founding and top-level leaders of some of the top innovative companies in the world such as Amazon, Apple, Google, P&G, Salesforce. com; Intuitive Surgical; Hindustan Lever; Reckitt Benckiser and so on, Dayer et al. (2019) have grounded the DNA of disruptive organisations. They mainly focused on people, process and philosophy (in short, 3Ps) to explain the organisational culture of innovative companies.

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People People are one of the core elements of innovative companies. Dayer et al. (2019) research identified some interesting findings that explain how innovative leaders choose their workforce. The key results of their study concerning people are as follows: The founders and leaders of these companies excel at discovery skills with a discovery quotient greater than 75%. The senior executives lead the innovative change in the organisation. Maintain people with a higher discovery quotient in all management levels, functional areas and decision-making stages of the innovation process. Maintain a balance of discovery-driven and delivery-driven people and mobilise them in all stages of the innovation process. The senior-level people focus on innovation. Far more people in other roles excelled at the five discovery skills. While choosing leaders, the innovative organisations look for a track record of strong discovery skills, deep expertise in at least one knowledge area and breadth of knowledge in a few others. The leaders should also have a passion for changing the world and making an impact. People in those organisations are driven by the meaning organisations create in the lives of people they serve or do business with. A quote by Steve Jobs in his 20s explains it metaphorically: “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.” Processes Dayer et al.’s (2019) research identified that innovative companies have processes that foster discovery skills, inspiring and encouraging people to practise five skills—associate, question, observe, network, and experiment to promote creativity and innovation. The processes of innovative companies help in hiring, training, rewarding and promoting people who are discovery-driven rather than delivery-driven. The culture of these companies also reflects the personality and behaviours of the leaders. For example, Apple’s motto—think different—inspires managers and employees to question the status quo: what if, why, why not are popular questions

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within these organisations. Dayer et al.’s (2019) study identified that some great leaders such as Lafley of P&G, Benioff of Salesforce.com and Bezos of Amazon have transmitted their own personal discovery behaviour while developing processes and shaping the DNA of their organisations. Philosophy Dayer et al. (2019) have identified several philosophies of the innovative companies that spark innovation. First of all, within these organisations, not just the R&D people but everyone is responsible for innovation. This gives an organisation-wide momentum for innovation. These companies also consider disruption as part of their portfolio. They also develop and deploy small innovation project teams, and these teams are effective to lead innovation. Finally, the organisation also inspires its people to take smart and calculated risks to pursue innovation. The above discussions highlight the role of culture in promoting creativity and innovation within organisations. It is also evident that creative leaders are like catalysts to develop a culture that fosters creativity and innovation. However, there remains a question: what should be done when a company’s culture does not facilitate creativity rather stand in its way. The answer is simple—change the culture—but the task is not simple and straightforward. Culture change is difficult. Often a change of habits can be an excellent way to stir up a culture change. Katz (2003) recommends a company should change its culture when (1) it is inwardly focused, (2) punishing the risk-takers (if failed), (3) have an unwelcoming attitude to new ideas and creative people, (4) don’t reward creative acts; instead, place excessive bureaucracy while dealing with new ideas and finally (5) too satisfied or complacent with its current success. He contents culture change as the most challenging change and needs wholehearted participation of all and should be the responsibility of the senior leaders.

Ideation to Impact: A Model of Creativity and Innovation Although ideas are the currency of the imagination age, the real impact is created by turning them into innovative products and services that meet customers’ needs and enhance their lives. There are different models to guide creativity and innovation in organisations. The emergence of

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process theory shifted the attention from creative personalities to the creative process (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017). The process models mainly focus on developing creative approaches to find innovative solutions to problems, usually known as problem-solving processes and methods. For example, Wallas (1926) developed four-stage creative process: preparation, incubation, illumination and validation. Basadur et al. (1982) proposed a three-stage problem-solving model: problem-finding, problem-­solving and solution implementation. Another model has five stages: problem or task presentation triggered by external or internal stimuli and positively affected by intrinsic motivation, preparation, response generation, response validation and outcome (Amabile, 1983, 1998). However, drawing on the creativity and innovation literature and our discussions in the three previous chapters, we introduce a new creativity model (Fig. 6.2) to find ideas for innovation. The objective of this model is to highlight different stages of the creative process to find ideas and solve specific problems by creating innovative products and services. This model also highlights the organisational culture that sparks new ideas to trigger creativity and inspire innovation. Finally, the model also covers the attributes of the individuals involved in the creative process in pursuing innovation. There are six stages to this model. Problem Recognition The first stage is problem recognition, where a specific problem is identified. The problem works like a compass, guiding people to look for ideas and find out-of-the-box solutions. While imagination and curiosity let our minds wander and look for ideas, understanding the problems gives us a course to focus on, helping us find not just ideas but relevant ideas that contribute more to creative solutions. Looking for problems can also inspire people to find ideas, particularly those who think they are not creative. Ideas can come from anywhere, and anyone can find them by actively looking for them. Problem identification is the first stage as ideas are solutions or at least the beginning of the resolution of the problems. For example, the idea of Virgin Atlantic was born when one of Richard Branson’s flights to Puerto Rico was cancelled (John, 2016). He chartered a flight and sold tickets to the other passengers to solve this problem, making some profits in the end. As Richard Branson continued to work on this idea, Virgin Atlantic was born, becoming one of the major businesses of the Virgin brand.

Stages Processes

Organisational culture

Fig. 6.2  A model of creativity and innovation

Keys

Strategic vision

• Imagination • Curiosity

• Divergent thinking • Research • Brainstorming

• Design thinking • Research • Use of different perspectives

Passion

Idea Generation

Problem Recognition

Organisational culture, norms, structure and systems

• Knowledge • Technical skills • Analytical skill

Experimenting

Idea Testing

Idea Screening

Convergent thinking

Personal Attributes

Organisational culture, norms, structure and systems

Imagination Creativity Knowledge Expertise and technical skill • Problem solving skill • Intrinsic motivation

• • • •

• Creative Thinking • Associative thinking

Developing Solution

Organisational Attributes

Organisational culture, norms, structure and systems

• Curiosity • Creativity • Research skills

Feedback

Validation

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However, different people can see the same problems differently using different perspectives. Often seeing the problems differently allows people to find more creative solutions. Empathising—the first stage of design thinking—with the customers or major stakeholders enables us to see the problem from their perspectives. Interviewing the customers or doing role play can be very effective as customers can help generate plenty of relevant ideas. Empathy helps us understand customers’ pain better. It is essential to understand customers’ life stories, such as the problems they are facing, their pain points, the products they are using and so on. Empathy allows us to relate with them and deeply understand their challenges. Following these processes helps us understand and define the problems better, taking customers’ perspectives into account. Using different perspectives allows us to see the issues in new lights and gain new insights. The problems switch on the lights and stimulate our imagination and creativity to find ideas. Personal passion plays a role in engaging with the problem identification process as not everyone is interested or passionate about the same problem. For example, someone can be highly passionate about solving environmental issues while others are motivated to spread education to underdeveloped communities. For example, the passion of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in the personal computer had set Apple and Microsoft on a race to bring a personal computer on every desk, in every home. Likewise, not every organisation is interested in solving the same kinds of problems as they are also operating in different industries and running different types of businesses. Strategic vision guides an organisation in pursuing the appropriate problems. This also helps in strategic resource planning, providing guidelines for resource allocation to particular areas. Aligning peoples’ passion with the organisations’ strategic vision can create momentum in the problem identification process. When a company or an individual is uncertain about which problems to solve, it may be helpful to consult the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which cover a wide range of problems the world is facing currently, and many countries and institutions have signed into these goals. The 17 goals—(1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reduced Inequalities, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life on Land, (16) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and (17) Partnership for the Goals

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(https://sdgs.un.org/goals)—can provide inspiration to the organisations and individuals to find specific problems. Solving these problems is essential in reducing inequality and giving everyone a decent life. Idea Generation Ideas are the keys to creative solutions. The more ideas are available, the higher the possibilities to find more appropriate solutions to the problems. Therefore, organisations should welcome a range of ideas from people with different backgrounds. Idea generation is also a part of the ideation process, which is a step of design thinking. Most companies use divergent thinking (Cropley & Cropley, 2015) to facilitate idea generation. The other popular method primarily used in idea generation is brainstorming. In this stage, the focus is the number of ideas rather than their qualities. There are many popular methods used in idea generation. Herring et al. (2009) have mentioned 19 techniques used for idea generation by creative professionals such as role-playing, active search, attribute list, brainstorming, collaborating, concrete stimuli, critiquing, documenting, expert opinion, empathy/user research, encompass, forced analogy, incubate, passive searching, prototyping, reflecting, sketching, socialising and storyboards. In his TED talk, John (2016) has shared four simple ways to find excellent ideas: focus on the problem, listen, look around and write down the ideas. Imagination and curiosity of the employees within the organisation influence the idea generation process. While imagination allows them to think of what’s not present, an attitude to be continuously curious (Arad et  al., 1997) helps them to explore more. Besides attitude, employees’ knowledge also plays a significant role in the generation of ideas; as Seeling (2012, p. 185) says, “Knowledge in any domain, from minerals to music to mushrooms to math, is the fuel for your imagination. That is, the more you know about a particular topic, the more raw materials you have to work with.” However, managers can play an essential role in encouraging employees to engage in the idea generation process by creating a continuous learning culture (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017). Martins and Terblanche (2003) recommended open communication and forums for organisational debates to encourage more employee engagement, facilitating idea generation. For example, Google had a thinking day for all of their employees when they used to think of ideas, and it is reported that most of Googles ideas came from this culture. “Google engineers are

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expected to devote up to one day a week working on projects that are not necessarily in their job descriptions. Engineers, there, may use the time to develop something new, or if they see something that requires improvement, they can use the time to work on refinements” (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017, p. 588). A workforce with a diverse background can better contribute to the idea generation drawing on their ability to think differently. Consumers’ insights also play a role in the idea generation process, and market research is crucial both in the definition of problem and idea generation. Many companies also see opportunities in customers’ complaints in finding new ideas. Thus, an organisational culture that promotes open discussions allows constructive conflicts and evaluates and processes thoughts faster without bureaucracy, positively impacting the idea generation process (Amabile, 1998; Kanter, 2002). While some companies may think this is the job of marketing and R&D departments, others may consider it the job of everyone in the organisation. While generating ideas, companies can reflect on the innovation accelerators, technology foundations and disruptive scenarios, as shown in Fig. 6.3. Idea Screening Once many ideas are generated, the next step is to screen them when relevant ideas are separated from those not pertinent to the problems at hand. In this stage, the focus shifts from quantity to quality, giving ideas some meaning, and convergent thinking is more effective (Cropley & Cropley, 2015). Convergent thinking can start with developing criteria for idea screening. Then cluster the ideas into several groups, putting similar ideas in one group so that new and better ideas can also be generated through looking for associations. Colour tags or labels can be used to facilitate the process while clustering these into different categories. Finally, the relevant ideas are selected for testing through debate and discussions between the team members. While individual analytical and critical thinking skills can be advantageous in screening the ideas, creative thinking can help create new ideas. This also involves associative thinking. Managers should encourage debates and critical discussions while reviewing each concept. Employee’s knowledge also plays a vital role to accomplish the objectives efficiently: “if you want to design a solar car or find a cure for cancer, you need to begin with a base of knowledge about engineering or biology, respectively” (Seeling, 2012, p. 185). Organisational norms help select the criteria used in screening the best ideas.

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DISRUPTIVE SCENARIOS Healthy life extensions

Artificial super intelligence

Sharing economy

Logistic internet Radical life extension

Next generation automation Next generation education

Maker economy Connected healthcare

Connected car Smart homes Smart cities Smart grid

Autonomous vehicles TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION Internet of Things

Cognitive systems

Renewable energy 3D printing

Circular economy

Nano Technology

INNOVATION ACCELERATORS

Energy internet

Robotics

Big data analytics Social media Cloud

Mobile

Internet

Fig. 6.3  Technology foundations, innovation accelerators and disruptive scenarios. (Source: Adapted from Diana (2015))

Idea Testing At this stage, several experiments should be conducted to test each idea screened in the previous step. The technical people who will use these ideas to develop solutions can participate in these experiments. The customers can also be involved in bringing in their perspectives. The aim is to find the most appropriate solution that addresses the problem effectively and efficiently. Peoples’ analytical ability is a desired skill for conducting successful experiments. However, their curiosity and creative thinking also help design experiments with the potentials to find suitable solutions. Like idea screening, idea testing is also influenced by organisational culture,

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norms, structure and systems. Some organisational cultures encouraging open innovation may seek public opinion on their ideas to develop the most customer-centric solutions. Developing Solution Idea screening and idea testing lead to the development of a solution that involves the manifestation of creativity and associative thinking by connecting the dots in a novel way. ‘Matching seeds with the needs’ is often recommended as a process of finding the most appropriate solution to the problem. This means finding the right technology to solve genuine problems customers are facing. Therefore, consulting the technology trends, changing customer behaviour trends and various types of innovation can open the doors to developing creative solutions. Peoples’ technical knowledge is also critical to succeed in this stage. An organisational culture that promotes risk-taking encourages experimentation (Dawson & Andriopoulos, 2017) to find the best solution. Martins and Terblanche (2003) argue that risk-taking should be an essential part of creative culture. A culture of micromanagement through applying too many controls is counterproductive. Dawson and Andriopoulos (2017) argue that too many controls can impede creative flow by inhibiting experimentation, and creative culture should accommodate tolerance to mistakes. People’s ability to move between the imaginative and real worlds also helps develop innovative solutions. In deducing the solution, it is also better to put the initial solutions in incubation and approach them with a fresh perspective after a few days. The incubation period allows people to think more, challenge their own assumptions and eventually help improve the solution. Validation Validation is the final stage to get the user’s perspective about the solutions. The following questions can be helpful to validate the solution: (a) Will the customers desire the solutions? (b) Are the solutions viable in the market or regions? (c) Can we deliver it by the available technology? (d) Is it relieving the customers’ pain? (e) Is it faster, better and cheaper than the available solutions?

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Usually, small-scale solutions or prototypes can be prepared to allow customers/ users to test and comment. Through test marketing, customers’ feedback can be received. Both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews are conducted to get customers’/users’ feedback. Collecting authentic feedback is very important to further improve the solution. This is an iterative process, and every stage can lead to the next or previous stage. So with that, we are also coming to the last chapter of the book. When you had opened the book, you started the journey by unveiling the magic and mystery of the imagination age (Chap. 1). Along the way, you have been equipped with the knowledge of imagination (Chap. 2), creativity (Chap. 3), innovation (Chap. 4), the inextricable link between them (Chap. 5) and the art of creating a culture where ideas are turned into innovation through our creative endeavour (Chap. 6). However, we need to use the power of our imagination, creativity and innovation to build a world not just for a few but for all humans. Therefore, the next chapter provides some final thoughts on navigating through the imagination age, putting humanity at the helm so that we can use the moral compass while facing the challenges and ethical dilemmas and explore and utilise the opportunities to protect the planet and serve its people.

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Katz, R. (2003). Managing Creativity and Innovation: Practical Strategies to Encourage Creativity. Harvard Business Press. Kostova, T. (1999). Transnational Transfer of Strategic Organizational Practices: A Contextual Perspective. Academy of Management Review, 24, 308–324. Kroeber, A. L., & Kluckhohn, C. (1952). Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definition. Papers of the Peabody Museum, 47(1), 229–239. Martins, E. C., & Terblanche, F. (2003). Building Organizational Culture That Stimulates Creativity and Innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management, 6(1), 64–74. McDermott, C. M., & Stock, G. N. (1999). Organizational Culture and Advanced Manufacturing Technology Implementation. Journal of Operations Management, 17, 521–533. Peters, T.  J., & Waterman, R.  H. (1982). In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies. Harper and Row. Prajogo, D.  I., & McDermott, C.  M. (2005). The Relationship Between Total Quality Management Practices and Organizational Culture. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 25(11), 1101–1122. Quinn, R. E., & Rohrbaugh, J. (1983). A Spatial Model of Effectiveness Criteria: Towards a Competing Values Approach to Organizational Analysis. Management Science, 29(3), 363–377. Quinn, R. E., & Spreitzer, G. M. (1991). The Psychometrics of the Competing Values Culture Instrument and an Analysis of the Impact of Organizational Culture on Quality of Life. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 5, 15–42. Rollinson, D., & Broadfield, A. (2002). Organizational Behavior and Analysis: An Integrated Approach, 2nd Edition. Prentice Hall. Schein, E.  H. (1991). Organizational Culture and Leadership (2nd ed.). JosseyBass. Seeling, T. (2012). InGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity. HarperCollins. Škerlavaja, M., Song, J. H., & Lee, Y. (2010). Organizational Learning Culture, Innovative Culture and Innovations in South Korean Firms. Expert Systems with Applications, 37, 6390–6403. Van den Berg, P.  T., & Wilderom, C.  P. M. (2004). Defining, Measuring, and Comparing Organisational Cultures. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53(4), 570–582. Wallas, G. (1926). The Art of Thought. Cape. Wiener, Y. (1988). Forms of Value Systems: A Focus on Organizational Effectiveness and Cultural Change and Maintenance. The Academy of Management Review, 13(4), 534–544. Zien, K. A., & Buckler, S. A. (1997). From Experience Dreams to Market: Crafting a Culture of Innovation. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 14, 274–287.

CHAPTER 7

Navigating Through the Imagination Age: Set the Moral Gyro and Put Humanity at the Helm

Abstract  Living in the imagination age, humanity is playing the game of life. Life is like a fantasy dreamland in one spectrum with everything someone can desire. But on the other spectrum, there are different shades of life: many people worldwide still live without food and shelter. The fourth industrial revolution brings humanity to a crossroads, and the world is approaching an unprecedented disruptive change. How we will write the next chapter of human history is a mystery: will it be a safe abode for all, or will rising inequality make humanity cry for the basic necessities of life in many parts of the world? Nevertheless, there are lights of hope. To create the kingdom of God where all men are equal, we need to harness the power of the emerging technologies with imagination, creativity and humanity. This chapter introduces a new leadership model, putting humanity at the helm and using science and technology to save the planet and serve its people. Keywords  Imagination age • The fourth industrial revolution • Human-centric • Value-driven leadership • Kingdom of God

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The best answer to the extremists is to build a better world. —Klaus Schwab

The benefits of the previous industrial revolutions have not been distributed appropriately; instead, they have caused increased inequality between countries and communities within the same country, seeing political polarisation, climate change and trust deficit (Schwab and Davis, 2018). If control of the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution is in the wrong hands, there can be a digital dictatorship worldwide: “The AI revolution might create unprecedented inequality not just between classes but also between countries. In the nineteenth Century, a few countries like Britain and Japan industrialized first, and they went on to conquer and exploit most of the world. If we aren’t careful, the same thing will happen in the twenty-first century with AI. We are already in the midst of an AI arms-­ race, with China and the USA leading the race, and most countries being left far far behind. Unless we take action to distribute the benefit and power of AI between all humans, AI will likely create immense wealth in a few high-tech hubs, while other countries will either go bankrupt or become exploited data-colonies” (Harari, 2020, np). Therefore, it is a severe issue for world leaders to ensure that the power of the emerging technologies is used for the wellbeing of humanity at large and not for a selected few. Indeed we all need to join the conversation and contribute to the overall planning of the future to shape the imagination age by creating opportunities for everyone to reach their full potential. One such conversation, led by the World Economic Forum, is ongoing. Many government and corporate leaders have already joined this conversation, and many countries have developed their national strategy for the fourth industrial revolution.

The Path to the Kingdom of God In the kingdom of God, everyone is equal—humans have no right to discriminate. There was not a better time than now when we were more prepared to turn this world into a kingdom of God with no discrimination and inequality. The emerging technologies will empower us further. But the world leaders need to take action and fulfil their promises. Drawing on their prolonged experience of engaging with the issues facing the world, Schwab and Davis (2018, p.  221) have proposed a leadership model,

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coined as system leadership to reap the benefits and manage the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution: System leadership is about cultivating a shared vision for change—working together with all stakeholders of global society—and then acting on it to change how the system delivers its benefits, and to whom. System leadership is neither a call for top-down control, nor for subtle influence by powerful groups, but rather a paradigm that empowers all citizens and organisations to innovate, invest and deliver value in a context of mutual accountability and collaboration. Ultimately, it’s a set of interconnected activities that have the goal of shifting the structures of our social and economic systems to succeed in an area where previous industrial revolutions have failed—to deliver sustainable benefits to all citizens, including for the future generations.

The three strands of system leadership are technology leadership, governance leadership and value leadership. Considering this system leadership as the basis and drawing on the existing literature, a model (Fig. 7.1) has been developed to guide the navigation in the imagination age. Create a World Out of Our Minds Where Everyone Thrives By leveraging the power of imagination, humans create worlds out of their minds first before turning those imaginary worlds into realities. In fact, the world becomes the reflection of the imaginary worlds we create out of our minds. Often these imaginary worlds are captured on paper as a plan, and people put their creativity into practice to implement that plan. Leaders usually communicate the aspired future and get people behind their vision, motivating them to work for an audacious future. For example, Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream speech’ could inspire people to come into the procession to make the US a place where people are judged based on their character—and not by the colour of their skin. This has also triggered further movements, resulting in some progress although the job is not complete yet, and we have a lot to do to create an inclusive world. Approaching the imagination age, we need to ask the right question: what kinds of the world do we want to create out of our minds. Will that be a world where everyone has equal opportunity and human rights are preserved? Or, will it be a world controlled by a limited few with the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ growing? For example, Yunus and Weber (2007) have envisioned ending poverty by sending it to the museum so that future generations can learn about it going to museums.

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Fig. 7.1  A leadership model for the imagination age

It may sound unrealistic, but we cannot let people live without food and shelter with unprecedented development in science and technology. Therefore, first, we need to envision an inclusive world for all and then pursue this vision with specific goals to monitor the progress. Set Human-Centric Audacious Goals Goals are deified as dreams with deadlines. It sets people in action to bring those dreams into reality. As humans, we should not be selfish and set goals designed to pursue the interests of only a few. We have plenty of resources and mechanisms to produce enough for all in the world. UN Sustainable Development Goals are giving us the directions to a prosperous world for all. However, we cannot make this world an inclusive place

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of habitation for all unless we manage poverty. Again, it will not be possible to eradicate poverty without solving the employment problem to ensure all humans earn their livelihood, live with dignity and contribute. But if we want to leave this world as a place worth living to our future generations, we need to also respond to the issues of climate change. From this point of view, the three audacious goals that Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has set for the world to send poverty to the museums are worth pursuing: zero poverty, zero unemployment and zero net carbon emission. These three goals also echo the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (see https://sdgs.un.org/goals). Although these three goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, are our immediate priorities, all the stakeholders, including governments, business executives, social influencers, policymakers and the citizens, should continue dialogue and discussions to update the goals to serve humanity. Make Strategic Investment for Sustainable Development The opportunities and challenges of the fourth industrial revolution due to its scale and scope can positively and negatively impact our socio-­ economic lives. Therefore, the unprecedented disruptive change that is coming towards us needs to be managed effectively and efficiently through a worldwide collaboration as no nation or organisation alone can deal with it while ensuring the wellbeing of the people and planet. As this planet is for all, worldwide cooperation is vital. The initiative taken by the World Economic Forum has already proposed “to establish the norms, standards, regulations and business practices that will serve all humanity in a future filled with the mature capabilities of AI, generic engineering and autonomous vehicles, and a virtual world every bit as difficult to master as real one” (Schwab and Davis 2018, p. 228). Schwab and Davis (2018) have also flagged the priorities for governments, businesses and individuals through their system leadership model. The government needs to develop a strategy for the fourth industrial revolution to facilitate effective engagement of business and civil societies while investing in more agile governance of the new emerging technologies and innovations that can contribute to sustainable development, improve the lives of all people and retain our identity as humans. The national strategy should be developed within the scopes of worldwide accepted norms, standards and regulations, providing clear guidelines for businesses and

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individuals. However, to make it more human-centric, participation from all stakeholders is necessary. The developed countries should work with the developing countries and help build their infrastructure while developing their own structure and governance system. For example, the strategy of the United Arab Emirates (available in the public domain) can be a useful guideline for the development of strategy by other developed countries. On the other hand, the developing countries may consider consulting the document “Foresight Africa: Capturing the Fourth Industrial Revolution” (available in the public domain). Businesses are getting more and more opportunities to impact the way we live. So they need to involve in creative experiments to find innovations and new ways to transform the lives of humans—employees, customers and communities—in a sustainable way. As responsible global citizens, individuals have an important role to play. They should join the conversation and debate at the local, national, and international levels, voicing their opinions to shape the policies. Put Humanity at the Helm Putting humans at  the helm has a profound meaning. Ingrained in all humans, imagination and creativity differentiate them from all other species on earth. With this special status comes special responsibilities. We need to reflect on the purpose of our lives on earth. According to the divine scripture, God has created humans as His vicegerents (Qur’an 2:30), giving humans a purpose, which is far greater than pursuing their own interest, as taught by the conventional theory: “In the conventional theory of business, we have created a one-dimensional human being to play the role of business leader, the so-called entrepreneur. We’ve insulated him from the rest of life, the religious, emotional, political, and social. He is dedicated to one mission only—maximize profit. He is supported by other one-dimensional human beings who give their investment money to achieve that mission. To quote Oscar Wilde, they know the price of everything and the value of nothing” (Yunus and Weber, 2007, p. 18). Yunus and Weber (2007) further argue that the economic theory has landed us in free-market competition, where the only criteria to measure victory is profit. However, putting the human on the helm means living a life where our mission is not to focus on our own interests only instead help each other and co-exist in a harmonious realm with the other humans and species while looking after our beautiful planet for future generations to come. In search of purpose, asking why we were created—as we had not been  created by ourselves—can shift the inquiry from ‘what is our

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purpose’ to ‘who has created us and why’. Knowing our purpose gives us a sense of clarity about life, bringing meaning to everything we do. Moin (2019) has grounded two primary purposes of human life from the divine scripture: submission  to God and service to humanity (Qur’an 49:13).1 When serving humanity becomes the purpose of life, creating an inclusive world for all becomes a mission. Putting humans at the helm is a metaphor, which means we should deliver the purpose of human’s life while playing our role in shaping the imagination age. Promote Value-driven Leadership The  emerging technology creates enormous opportunities to serve humanity but poses some challenges and ethical dilemmas that can challenge our existence as humans. Thus, it is essential to put human values at the centre of everything we do, from scientific research to developing technologies and deciding their applications. Schwab and Davis (2018) argue that the ultimate goal of technological development should be human-centred and serve the planet and its people. …we defined human-centered as empowering individuals and communities, providing them with meaning and agency to shape the world. Practically, this means attending to the impact of technology on our broader environmental and societal systems, and ensuring that emerging technologies support the Sustainable Development Goals as well as economic institutions and mechanisms that fairly distribute material well-being. Being human-­ centred also requires protecting and enhancing the rights of citizens within and across countries, particularly those with the least amount of power and status. (Schwab & Davis, 2018, p. 228)

Thus, we need to use human-centric values as a compass to direct technology development and its governance. Use Science and Technology as Means to Serve the Humanity We need to use science and technology as means to serve humanity. Technology should complement the human performance and contribute to human efficiency, enhancing productivity and producing more for the people. It should be strategically used to make humans more effective. AI 1

 The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 49, verse 13.

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and robots can do more repetitive jobs, giving humans more time to do creative works—things close to their hearts, helping them find their passion and the medium they are good at. Doing what they are passionate about allows creating meaning and chasing our dreams. Technology can also be used to educate people worldwide who are deprived of education due to the complex realities of life. Leveraging the power of digital technology, Khan Academy, a non-profit with the mission “to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere”, has created an online high-­ quality educational platform for every student and every classroom to deliver real results (https://www.khanacademy.org/). In my creativity class, when I asked my MBA students to develop innovative ideas working as part of various teams to address one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, many groups have proposed the idea of using technology to educate the young boys and girls living under extreme financial hardships and therefore cannot go to school. Many charities working with technology companies can take these ideas forward. Many students are interested in volunteering for these projects, indicating that the young generations are motivated to create an inclusive world. Other groups of my students have proposed ideas to use drones to distribute food and medicine in rural areas where access is not easy. To manifest many creative ideas like these, if governments, technology companies, other businesses, non-profit organisations and educational institutions work together with a mission to use science and technology to serve humanity, creating a heaven on earth is not impossible. If we cannot even achieve this in our lifetime, we should not stop preparing future leaders who can make this happen. Reform the Education System: Develop Future Leaders with Character and Vision Succession leadership is essential while navigating through the imagination age so that what we achieve can be sustained and advanced by the new generations of leaders. Education plays a vital role in preparing the future workforce and the leaders who will rewrite the new chapters of human history. But, unfortunately, our current education system seems to be going in the wrong direction: “It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way and you lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the other way and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realise our true creative potential—in our organisations, in our schools and in our communities—we need to think

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differently about ourselves and to act differently towards each other. We must learn to be creative” (Robinson, 2017, pp. 239 and 240). Campaigning to reform our education system till his last breath, Sir Ken Robinson wanted our education system to foster the imagination and creativity of our children. We need to respond to his call, mainly while rethinking and reforming our education system. According to Oxford Economics, up to 20 million manufacturing jobs worldwide could be replaced by robots by 2030 (BBC News, 26 June 2019: online). The firm’s Technology Correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones (2019), reports that more repetitive jobs are at greater risk of being wiped out, which will increase inequality. However, the firm predicts that jobs requiring compassion, creativity and social intelligence are more likely to be done by humans for many years to come. Their research reveals that since  the year 2000, robots have replaced humans from 1.7 million manufacturing jobs: 400,000 in Europe, 260,000 in the US and 550,000 in China. Thus, imagination, creativity and innovation should be given higher importance, and all stakeholders, including governments, policymakers, business leaders, workers, and teachers, need to work together to develop the skills that will either keep the jobs for humans or will make them suitable for the new jobs. As digital technologies will influence all aspects of our lives, digital literacy should be given paramount importance in all curriculums, at the same time transforming the learning experience and enabling people of all ages to learn from anywhere at their convenience. Furthermore, our education system should inspire curiosity, imagination and creativity so that human minds meeting with the power of technology can creatively tackle the problems we face. During an interview with the author Professor Monika Petraite2 (already introduced in Chap. 1) mentioned that her team is currently working on a project to create methodologies for improving the teaching in higher education for science, engineering, innovation and entrepreneurship. This project invites artists, business school professors, theatre enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who have used artistic methods while creating business models. Through this kind of engagement with people from diverse professional backgrounds, she expects to develop a creative way of teaching traditional disciplines such as business, engineering and even math. She gave an example of a mathematician who took an artwork of a Lithuanian painter of the past century and converted it into music using computer and data analytics, making the painting sound. 2

 Professor Monika Petraite: An interview on Zoom with the author.

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Therefore, she says it needs a lot of thinking, imagination, and creativity to transform our education system, boosting imagination, creativity and collaboration. Robinson (2017) argues that everyone has talent in some medium, and we need to create an environment that encourages students to experiment and find their element: the medium where they can succeed. Another challenge of the imagination age is our inability to predict what skills and knowledge will be more valuable in the coming years due to rapid and unprecedented advancements in technology. Therefore, we must train the student to learn new skills and become lifelong learners with curious minds. UN Sustainable Development Goals should also be embedded in the curriculum, making students aware of the critical problems the world is facing and inspiring them to use their creativity in solving those problems. The eagerness to contribute to the significant issues will let them grow up with some altruistic mission in mind. The corporations and government can come forward and fund social businesses so that the seeds of ideas developed in the classrooms or elsewhere can see the lights of reality and serve humanity. Yunus and Weber (2007, p.  39) see huge potentials of social business in tackling the poverty and employment problems but also think that it can create a sense of meaning within the young people: “Many young people today feel frustrated because they cannot recognize any worthy challenge that excites them within the present capitalist system. When you have grown up with ready access to the consumer goods of the world, earning a lot of money isn’t a particularly inspiring goal. Social business can feel this void.” Therefore, the purpose of our education system should not only create job seekers but also entrepreneurs who can generate employment. Another objective of our education system is to create future leaders with moral character and vision to save the planet and its people, who are willing to sacrifice their own interests for the greater good of humanity. We may not change the mindset of all those leaders who have already pursued their own interests at the detriment of climate change and divided societies, creating inequalities between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. However, we can try to change the mindset and character of the new generations. Education has a significant role to play, but over the years, our traditional education, particularly business education, have somehow failed to develop graduates with ethical character, instead developed managers and leaders who have focused on the bottom line of their

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organisations and their personal interest while ignoring the consequences of their actions on the planet and its people. This has been resonated in  the  essay, “Harvard’s masters of the apocalypse”, by Philip Delves Broughton (a Harvard MBA graduate), published in The Sunday Times on 01 March 2009: Business schools have shown a remarkable ability to miss the economic catastrophes unfolding before their eyes. In the late 1990s, their faculties rushed to write paeans to Enron, the firm of the future, the new economic paradigm. The admiration was mutual: Enron was stuffed with Harvard Business School alumni, from Jeff Skilling, the chief executive, down. When Enron, rotten to the core, collapsed, the old case studies were thrust in a closet and removed from the syllabus, and new ones were promptly written about the ethical and accounting issues posed by Enron’s misadventures.

In their book, Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads, Datar et al. (2010) have proposed a “Knowing-doing-being” framework for business education. While ‘knowing’ relates to knowledge, ‘doing’ refers to skills, ‘being’ refers to identity, built on moral character. While the top MBAs provide sound knowledge and some skills, there is scope for improvement in their skill development process. The traditional teaching method of solving case studies and role-playing may be helpful, but they are insufficient compared to the medical school curriculum, where prolonging on-the-job experience makes a huge difference. However, the model needs enormous improvement on character, demanding the need to teach more disciplines on ethics and social responsibilities. This will also help in developing empathy which has a massive deficit at the moment. Because our education system has failed to create leaders with strong moral characters and ethical values, the knowledge and skills have been used in the wrong way. Munroe (2014) has given a vivid narration: In the dynamic drama of contemporary leadership playing on the world stage today, there are many “characters” who lack character. Moreover, the trail of history is littered with many would-be great men and women who harnessed the reins of power in various fields—political, social, economic, corporate, athletic, spiritual, and more. The wielded great influence and/ or control over the lives of others; many felt the weight of material wealth and fame—only to have it all disintegrate and blow away like dust in the wind because of their tragic deficiencies of character. (Munroe, 2014, p. 1)

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Finally, not just business education, we need to teach the children morality and ethical values when they start their schooling so that eventually these values can be part of our social fabric. As today’s children will lead the future, developing them as ethical leaders with sustainable mindsets is essential to create a better world. Amidst many bad examples, there are good examples that give us hope. While talking about her first teaching job, Mrs C.  Crossley shared her experience in a Wychwood School blog (2019): When I started my first teaching job, on my first day I was handed the following to read: Dear Teacher: I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness: Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So, I am suspicious of education. My request is: Help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human. (An excerpt of a letter written by a Holocaust survivor)

This is a great example that  when education fails to teach morality, compassion, and integrity, the real purpose of education is defeated. To create an inclusive world, there is no alternative to developing a new generation of leaders who are admired for their vision, trusted for their moral values and loved for their quest to create a future for all. John Hope Bryant has explained what makes true leaders: “Most people find strength in things that are outside them: money, power, titles, wardrobes, cars. But most of the things that make a leader are on the inside: integrity, wisdom, confidence, vulnerability, joy, passion, compassion, intuition. These things come from life experience, from life’s trials, from the deepest part of a person’s soul. You can’t fake them, and you can’t buy what’s not for sale” (Bryant, 2009, p. 30). Therefore, we need to work at the core and ensure that every school and home become a place to teach morality and human values. Finally, if we have leaders with moral character and ethical values at the helm of the imagination age, no matter how rough the turbulence we face on the way, humanity will win.

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References Broughton, P. D. (2009). Harvard’s Masters of the Apocalypse. The Sunday Times. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ harvards-­masters-­of-­the-­apocalypse-­rrv56z2lsrh Bryant, J. H. (2009). Love Leadership: The New Way to Lead in a Fear-based World. Jossey-Bass. Cellan-Jones, R. (2019). Robots ‘to Replace up to 20 Million Factory Jobs’ by 2030. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ business-­48760799 Crossley, C. (2019). We Do Not Learn for School But for Life. Wychwood School Blogs. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://wychwoodschool.org/ blogs/we-­do-­not-­learn-­for-­school-­but-­for-­life/ Datar, S. M., Garvin, D. A., & Cullen, P. G. (2010). Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads. Harvard Business School Publishing. Harari, Y.  N. (2020). Read Yuval Harari’s Blistering Warning to Davos in Full. World Economic Forum. Retrieved September 14, 2021, from https://www. weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/yuval-­hararis-­warning-­davos-­speech-­future-­ predications/ Moin, S. M. A. (2019). The Purpose of Life: Understanding the Understanding the Divine Message through the Lens of Leadership and Strategy. Amazon KDP. Munroe, M. (2014). The Power of Character in Leadership: How Values, Morals, Ethics, and Principles Affect Leaders. Whitaker House. Robinson, K. (2017). Out of Our Minds: The Power of Being Creative (3rd ed., Fully Updated). John, Wiley and Sons. Schwab, K., & Davis, N. (2018). Shaping the Future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: A Guide to Building a Better World. Portfolio Penguin. Yunus, M., & Weber, K. (2007). Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism. PublicAffairs.

Index1

A Agriculture, 4 Amazon, 115, 125, 126, 130, 132 Apple, 47n1, 71–73, 76, 102, 115, 130, 131, 135 Arabian, 47 Aristotle, 29–31, 34 Artificial intelligence (AI), 20, 100, 144, 147, 149 Arts, vii, viii, 2, 14, 32–34, 42, 46, 57–61, 63, 66–94, 106, 115, 127–128, 140 B Biology, 20, 47, 137 Blockbuster, 77, 92, 101 Britain, 7, 144 Butterfly, 22, 94, 110, 113–140

C Caterpillar, 22, 94, 110, 113–140 Change, vii–ix, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21–23, 48, 50, 53, 66–68, 71–78, 80, 81, 86, 90–92, 94, 100–102, 121, 127, 128, 131, 132, 144, 145, 147, 152 Chess, 106 Choreography, 43, 48 Civilisation, 11, 35, 60, 66, 104, 114, 115 Colonialism, 7 Commercialisation, 69–71, 73, 81, 103, 105 Compassion, 3, 151, 154 Competition, 75, 93, 101, 148 Corporate, 3, 66, 78–80, 107, 129, 144, 153 COVID 19, 51, 101 Crafts, 12, 14, 26, 33, 46, 59, 129, 130

 Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.

1

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Creativity, vii, 2, 26, 41–63, 66, 100–110, 114, 132–140, 145 Cuisine, 48 Culture, viii, 22, 27, 44, 50, 51, 58, 79, 82, 110, 113–140 D Descartes, René, 29, 30, 34 Dictatorship, 20, 144 Disruptive, viii, 2, 15, 18, 22, 76, 78, 82–85, 92, 94, 100, 130, 137, 138, 147 Divine, 22, 60–63, 148, 149 Domain, 46, 49–53, 59, 60, 101, 108, 136, 148 E Education, ix, 2, 14, 27, 60, 80, 135, 150–154 Einstein, Albert, 28, 29, 33, 34, 52 Empathy, 3, 12, 135, 136, 153 Entropy, 57 Epiphanies, 56, 58 Ethics, 153 Externalities, 19–20 F Facebook, 2, 17, 115 Fantasy, vii, ix, 2, 18, 26, 27, 29, 33, 38, 103, 114 Feminine, 54 Foraging, viii, 4 Forest, 41, 56 Frugal, 80–83 G Gen Z, 86 Goals, 19, 80, 114, 121, 135, 145–147, 149, 152 God, 33, 60–63, 144–145, 148, 149

Goliath, 92 Google, 75, 79, 115, 130, 136 Government, 2, 3, 20, 51, 66, 68, 79, 80, 83, 101, 102, 144, 147, 150–152 H Humanity, 3, 18–21, 23, 72, 94, 115, 140, 144–154 Humankind, 2–4, 44, 60–63 Humans, vii–ix, 2–23, 26, 27, 29, 31, 35, 38, 41–63, 66, 72, 80, 81, 85, 87, 100, 103, 104, 106, 107, 114, 115, 140, 144–151, 154 Hume, David, 30, 31, 33, 34 I Ikea, 86 Imagination, vii, 2–23, 26–38, 43, 46, 47, 57, 63, 66, 69, 70, 81, 88, 94, 100–110, 114, 115, 130, 132, 133, 135, 136, 140, 144–154 Industrial, viii, ix, 2–4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14–19, 21–23, 88, 100, 127, 144, 145, 147 Innovation, vii–ix, 2, 7, 14, 14n1, 20, 21, 22, 26, 38, 50, 60, 63, 66–94, 100–110, 114–116, 118, 121, 126–140, 147, 148, 151 Instagram, 2, 87 Invention, 7, 8, 15, 26, 38, 48, 51, 66, 68–73, 81, 103–105, 114 iPod, 71, 102 J Japan, 129, 144 Jugaad, 81–82 K Kant, I., 29, 31, 34, 44–46 Kodak, 92, 101

 INDEX 

L Leadership, 42, 66, 127, 128, 144, 145, 147, 149, 150, 153 Lightbulb, 50, 113, 114 Logos, 125, 126 M Magic, vii–ix, 2–23, 38, 47, 73, 140 Management, ix, 66, 78–79, 93, 108, 116, 118, 131 Marketing, 72, 101, 130, 137, 140 Masculine, 54, 127 Meta, vii, 17 Metaverse, vii, ix, 17–19 Miracles, 38 Music, 14, 34, 46, 48, 53, 58–60, 102, 136, 151 Mystery, viii, 2–23, 41–63, 103, 140 N Navy, ix, 127 Nokia, 92, 101 Nuclear, 7, 127, 128 P Paradigm, 7, 15, 77, 115, 121, 145, 153 Pepsi, 72 Poverty, ix, 21, 80, 145, 147, 152 Privacy, 18, 19 Profit, 80, 87, 121, 133, 148

159

R Robots, 77, 100, 150, 151 S Scale, 31, 73–77, 101, 109, 147 S-curve, 88–94 Space tourism, 18, 115 Strategy, viii, 22, 66, 70, 75, 79, 83, 84, 88–94, 116, 121, 144, 147, 148 Submarine, 127, 128 Survival, 4, 42, 57 T Theology, 60, 61 Typography, 92, 100 U United States (USA), 7, 82, 93, 127, 129, 144, 145, 151 V Vaccines, 51 Vancouver, 2 Vicegerent, 62, 148 W Wisdom, 4, 62, 154 Wright, Orville, 26 Wright, Wilbur, 26