Essentially, this is the ability to form mental images, sensation or concepts in a way that is not specifically tied to sight, hearing or other senses. It is about taking experience and knowledge and making sense of the world through learning and evocation of new thoughts, mental pictures, or perceptions of the world -- whether individual or shared (Byrne, 2005).
Inspiration- Inspiration is a constant search for bursts of creativity and may be found through the influences of others (speakers, leaders, etc.) or through one's own mental abilities. Depending on the paradigm used, inspiration is seen as either being divinely inspired or through unique processes that allow for a change in the usual mode of thinking or operation.
Five Forces Influence- In combination with the four creative styles, we also have five forces that influence these models of thinking and operation: education, training, influence from others, rewards and incentives, and personal experience. These five forces combine in unique and individual ways that allow each individual to expand the creative process in additional ways. As education, experience and training expand, for instance, new and innovative ways of solving issues become more apparent; as they do based on the influence of others (Malone-Cline, 2009).
Guiding Mental Models -- It is a combination of innovation and inspiration, along with a healthy dose of training and education that tends to guide my own experiences in life and the workplace. Seemingly insurmountable problems are often more easily solved with more research and training, and then learning to "let go." This letting go process has been quite difficult, but often then answers or additional creative ways of combining situations, products, or processes then simply "arrive" -- seemingly out of nowhere. Not all, of course,...
Each requires a different sort of mental leap, but are similar in that they require a leap of some type. The power of the models is that they can be used in combination to move ideas forward in a way that shares the idea of evolution and dissimilarity to become something new and innovative. When combined with the five forces there are seemingly endless ways of combining and recombining each model to innovate. However, because situations often differ so drastically -- some qualitative, some quantitative, each individual brings a unique experience to the process. Innovation in physics, for instance, is different than innovation to survive in a hostile environment -- yet both share the commonality of using processes and tools in different ways with the goal of coming up with something new and different.
REFERENCES
Byrne, R. (2005). The Rational Imagination. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
DeVol, R. And Wong, P. (January 2010). Jobs for America. Milken Institute. Cited in: http://www.nam.org/~/media/58F813B0D1E643DC91E564FE4C3B3C2F.ashx-utm_source=nam&utm_medium=alias&utm_campaign=innovationreport
Garlick, D. (2010). Intelligence and the Brain. Burbank, CA: Aesop Press.
Malone-Cline, J. (October 16, 2009). Mental Process. KnowEverything. Cited in: http://knoweverythinginfo.blogspot.com/2009/10/mental-process.html
Raether, E. (2004). Unleash Your Power Zone: Intuitive Intelligence. Keynote Resource. Cited in: http://www.keynoteresource.com/article5EdieRaether.html
Rowe, A. (2004). Creative Intelligence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Educational Press.
