{"id":5770,"date":"2020-10-02T12:02:03","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T11:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turner.nl\/?p=5770"},"modified":"2026-09-23T13:58:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:58:55","slug":"the-breakthrough-the-methodology-of-creativity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turner.nl\/en\/strategy-execution\/the-breakthrough-the-methodology-of-creativity\/","title":{"rendered":"The System Behind Creativity"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Strategy Execution<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The System Behind Creativity<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Content is the backbone of everything. In the Strategy Execution process, we develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that must include at least one Breakthrough toward Renewal. This begins with channeling creativity. But is it even possible to incorporate creativity into a process under time pressure? Absolutely\u2014it works very well.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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This blog is based on *Strategy Execution*<\/a>, the Turner methodology, and a publication by Jacques Pijl<\/a>. It stems from Turner\u2019s study of the same name, which includes contributions from sixty executives, seventy-five case studies, and three hundred sources.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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From Idea to BREAKTHROUGH<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Using creativity is different from hoping for a miracle. Creativity and stress don\u2019t mix. In fact, creativity requires peace and space. But are those really available if we claim that only three to five weeks are set aside for the second Accelerator of the Strategy Execution model (INITIATE)? Absolutely. It is indeed possible to create pockets of creativity during such phases. Moreover, the method described in the publication *Strategy Execution* fosters a culture of continuous improvement, renewal, and innovation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Using creativity is different from hoping for a miracle.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Idea Bank.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Selection and harvest of ideas that have been brewing and circulating for a long time are more productive than hoping for a miracle during the third workshop on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. So create a so-called \u201cidea bank\u201d where anyone can submit any idea at any time. This will create a rich collection that you can draw from during this phase. Idea generation must therefore be possible anytime, anywhere. Creativity must be an \u201congoing process\u201d on the \u201coperational\u201d side of organizations. It never stops, just like serving customers. If the brilliant idea is supposed to roll out according to schedule in project week 3, the pressure is far too high.<\/p>

Generative AI has now made idea generation abundant and virtually cost-free. As a result, the scarcity has shifted: it is no longer the generation of ideas, but their selection that has become the bottleneck. Furthermore, research published in *Science Advances* shows that generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the variation among ideas. This is a reason to consciously keep the idea pool broad and human-driven\u2014and to take the selection process seriously.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Poor predictors.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Idea selection is a precise process. It shares the same characteristics as the portfolio definition described in Accelerator 1. Essentially, you want a good balance between Type 1 (improvement), Type 2 (renewal), and Type 3 (innovation) ideas. And thus, between ideas with a high degree of certainty of achieving results in the short term (Type 1) on the one hand, and ideas with a low degree of certainty on the other (Type 3). Type 2 falls in between. The high uncertainty of Type 3\u2014fundamental innovation\u2014forces us to compile a long list of twenty ideas and then select a minimum of three and a maximum of five ideas for experiments we will actually carry out. If there\u2019s one area where we shouldn\u2019t take a top-down approach, it\u2019s in idea selection. Research by Justin Berg, who conducted this study at Stanford and is now affiliated with the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, shows that managers and executives are the least capable of predicting which ideas will be successful. Peers are much better at this. It\u2019s important to realize this before anyone decides to make the selection with the board of directors. Ideas like Harry Potter and Star Wars were once rejected in this way.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Serendipity.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Don\u2019t rule out serendipity. Penicillin is said to have been discovered by chance. There are ways to increase your chances of making serendipitous discoveries. Knowing exactly where you want to go is the first step. The clearer you are about that, the more receptive you\u2019ll be to other ideas that unfold along the way. That flexibility allows you to be comfortable with your discomfort.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tension.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It\u2019s healthy to put ambitious and creative ideas that could lead to a breakthrough under pressure at the right time. But doing so too early is disastrous. Generating ideas happens in a different phase than SELECTION. Marty Neumeier, an expert in innovation and \u201cdesign thinking,\u201d identifies six ways to stifle imagination during a brainstorming session: an unchecked assumption, a lack of technical expertise, a rigid mental model, \u201cshopping\u201d behavior (rejecting one idea while accepting another, thereby losing an idea\u2019s coherence), fear of failure, and a fixation on \u201ccorrect\u201d answers.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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