Why We All Need Innovation, Creativity, and Fun to Solve Great and Small Challenges
Image credits: Sascha Bosshard via Unsplash.
Here’s a question I hear all around the world: “What should I teach my kids?” I have two standard answers to that question; the second—and far more important—is to teach your kids to love learning. (Check out my blog for a bit more)
In my mind, there’s a straight line connecting “love of learning”, “creativity”, and “innovation”. Let’s expand that line to also include “curiosity”, which to me is another flavor of “love of learning.” When we frame it this way, it’s clear that we’re talking about more than children. We’re also uncovering mindsets that empower adults, teams, organizations, and society.
That’s why the UN has designated April 21 as World Creativity and Innovation Day.
Creativity manifests as entertainment and culture, but it’s also the fuel propelling the breakthroughs that we need to tackle humanity’s challenges—great and small.
💡 Creativity manifests as entertainment and culture, but it’s also the fuel propelling the breakthroughs that we need to tackle humanity’s challenges—great and small.
In March, at Singularity University’s Executive Program, I jumped at the opportunity to join a Rapid Prototyping session led by my two dear friends and colleagues, Pascal Finette and Jeffrey Rogers of be radical. Sure, I had a million emails waiting, and technically I was in the room as an “expert”, not a participant. But I just couldn’t pass on the chance to play—truly play—while expanding my innovation toolkit.
I teamed up with Gregg Maryniak, another friend and colleague, and together we prototyped a creative solution to a problem dogging the space industry: astronauts come in all shapes and sizes, but their suits don’t. As a petite woman who’s done three Mars simulations, I have personal and unpleasant experience with this problem.
I’ll spare you the details of our scheme to use informational actuation rather than mechanical actuation to move a spacesuit glove. (Trust me, it’s brilliant.) But here’s the big takeaway.
💡 To avoid reinventing current, suboptimal solutions, we needed a radical and creative leap away from the status quo.
And once we gave ourselves permission for that radical creativity, we could barely write fast enough to capture our ideas; Pascal laughed out loud when he caught sight of our workspace. Gregg and I banged together a physical prototype for the key interface and tested it just before the buzzer sounded and the session was over.
As the UN points out, “Innovation, creativity and mass entrepreneurship can provide new momentum for economic growth and job creation.”
💡 By treating creativity as a “need to have”, we have the chance to tap unaccessed reservoirs in a solution space.
Creativity flourishes in environments of psychological safety—environments that have also been linked to higher productivity and less burnout. Dedicating time and resources to enabling creativity, and ensuring leadership’s support, is therefore a decision that keeps on delivering benefits to individuals, teams, businesses, and humanity.
About Tiffany
Dr. Tiffany Vora speaks, writes, and advises on how to harness technology to build the best possible future(s). She is an expert in biotech, health, & innovation.
For a full list of topics and ways to collaborate, visit Tiffany’s Work Together webpage.
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After a 19-day voyage to Antarctica aboard The Island Sky in November 2023, Tiffany has many remarkable stories to share & a wealth of insights to catalyze a sustainable future.
You can support her ongoing journey by making a contribution through her donation page. Your support will spread positive impact around the world, empower Tiffany to protect time for impact-focused projects, and support logistical costs for pro bono events with students & nonprofits.