3.5 Implementing

What does implementation mean in the creative process? How is the creative process brought to a conclusion?

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The true value of ideas and thinking emerges when they are put into action and shared with others. Ideas that aren’t implemented can’t solve problems.

The last stages in the Wallas model of the creative process are illumination and verification. You can read more about the theory in the Creative process sub-chapter. The illumination stage is for realising an idea. It’s often described as when the ‘aha’ moments occur. Experimentation can play a big role at that stage. All the information you’ve gained usually comes together into a solution, which might appear when you least expect it. The verification stage emphasises implementation, feasibility, and, depending on the project, technical details. Here, you sharpen, evaluate, and refine your idea, and then you actualise it and present the outcome.

The multidisciplinary process of radical creativity is a novel, open-ended, uncertain and iterative way of working. The process can be discontinuous and result in a ‘eureka’ moment of discovery. But radical creativity must have an endpoint where the idea is actualised and the process is brought to a conclusion. At that point, the outcome is evaluated in terms of usefulness and feasibility. In this course, we call the last phase of the creative process implementation, where the path leads from the project room, studio, workshop or laboratory to the market or audience.

For example, according to Amabile (1988), organizational innovation is the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. This has to do with everything from new ideas to new products, processes, policies, procedures or services. Similarly, the term implementation is used broadly here to encompass elements of developing ideas and putting them to use. In essence, implementation refers to the conversion of ideas into tangible or intangible outcomes. Implementation is a key part of the creative process; it is where the impact of ideas can finally be assessed.

Two enablers of implementation

What determines if a creative project is finally brought to users and audiences?

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Why are some ideas not acted upon? Baer (2012) has explored factors influencing the implementation of low-level and high-level creative ideas. Low-level creative ideas are less groundbreaking and are considered to have a more incremental or routine impact on organizations. High-level creative ideas are those that have greater potential to disrupt the status quo and bring about significant changes or innovations within the organization. The concept aligns closely with the conception of radical creativity in this online course.

Baer identifies two factors that impact the implementation of low- and high-level creative ideas. He calls them implementation instrumentality and networking ability. Implementation instrumentality refers to the skills and resources required to put ideas into practice. For instance, do individuals have sufficient capabilities, time, budget and tools for implementation? As shown in the figure below, even ideas with low implementation instrumentality can be successfully implemented.

The second factor highlighted by Baer, which appears crucial for implementing high-creative ideas, is networking ability. This refers to an individuals’ capacity to connect with colleagues, stakeholders and other relevant parties within the organization. This ability is valuable for advocating for a particular project internally. Low networking ability makes the implementation of high-level creative ideas nearly impossible. In other words, high-level creative ideas rely on collaboration among multiple stakeholders and cannot be accomplished through individual efforts alone.

From Baer’s research, we can draw the following insights:

• Implementing high-level creative ideas (or radically creative ideas) is more challenging because of their significant impact and the transformative changes they introduce to an organization. For example, it’s easier for an organization to change the colour of employee uniforms (a low-level creative idea) than to allow all employees to work remotely (a high-level creative idea). The changes required by a low-creative idea are generally considerably smaller than those brought about by a high-level creative idea.
• Implementing low-level creative ideas (such as incremental changes) is easier as they demand fewer resources and involve fewer stakeholders. Their impact is limited, leading to fewer affected processes, systems or individuals.
• Networking ability, or the skill to establish and nurture multidisciplinary relationships, plays a pivotal role in facilitating the practical execution of creative ideas by leveraging the social resources available within an organization.

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Intimacy with a craft

The ultimate skill of implementation is often tacit and embodied

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Naturally, in implementation, skill in one’s domain is crucial. Sometimes the implementation is a long and careful process, but it can also take place very fast, so that creativity and implementation happen simultaneously—which is common in team sports, for example.

An iconic  event that showcased this kind of display of inventiveness in the engineering domain was the Apollo 13 mission to the Moon in April 1970. Throughout the entire event, the team generated novel and workable solutions to problems they had neither encountered nor imagined before. Abraham (2018) uses this example to demonstrate the brilliance of creative minds in applied domains of science and technology. Their ability to do this was built on an intimate familiarity with the spacecraft and other mission elements built through years of careful, attentive work.

Aalto’s fashion students are known for their talent. For example, they have been selected many times as finalists to the annual Festival International de Mode & de Photographie Hyères, one of the most prestigious design competitions in the world. The work they display often looks wildly creative. But behind the imaginary surface lies years of intimate presence with the material. Watch the video below to learn about the embodied and tacit ‘textile thinking.’

Helping with networking ability

Structures to enhance the implementation of radically creative ideas

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It can often be hard to implement an idea, especially if it’s complex and challenges the status quo.

At Aalto, one way implementation is practiced is in the course Networked Partnering and Product Innovation (NEPPI). The course focuses on innovation process in the Internet of Things (IoT) space. In the first part of the course, students have the task of building an IoT object through cycles of research, ideation, making and feedback. In the second part of the course, they face the challenge of implementing their ideas. At this stage, the students practise communicating with an engineering team and other stakeholders to get their idea implemented, which can involve repeated rounds of negotiation and refinement.

Implementation is often a cyclical process with many rounds of adjustment and refinement towards a successful outcome.

References

Abraham, Anna. 2018. The Neuroscience of Creativity. Cambridge Univerity Press.

Amabile, Teresa M. 1988. A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. Research in organizational behavior, 10(1), 123-167.

Azoulay, P., Zivin, J. S. G., & Manso, G. 2011. Incentives and creativity: Evidence from the academic life sciences. RAND Journal of Economics, 42(3), 527-554.

Baer, Markus. 2012. Putting creativity to work: The implementation of creative ideas in organizations. Academy of Management Journal, 55(5), 1102-1119.

Björklund, Tua, Eriksson, Vikki, Feng, Xiaoqi, Kirjavainen, Senni, Klenner, Nico, Kuukka, Anna and van der Marel, Floris. 2022. Toward Radical Creativity. https://www.aalto.fi/sites/g/files/flghsv161/files/2022-11/Aalto%20University%20Toward%20Radical%20Creativity%20REPORT%20October%202022.pdf

Wallas, Graham. 1926. The Art of Thought. Turnbridge Wells: Solsis Press.