The Creatrix© Framework

The Creatrix Process is about accelerating innovation in a team or organization. It starts with understanding what innovation is all about innovation for what purpose (AIM). What are your specific goals “ what's the AIM?“ Following the articulation of an AIM is understanding the current innovative capacity of a team or organization (ASSESS). The Creatrix Inventory© allows such an assessment to occur. The Creatrix© is designed to measure creativity and risk taking; the two components necessary for innovation to occur. Following the Assessment is the importance of understanding and activating the drivers (ACTIVATE) of creativity and risk taking. Understanding without the ability to grapple with change has little business value. Activating the drivers of creativity and risk taking allows for change to occur. Last, taking action to get results means you must apply (APPLY) what is understand about yourself, your team and your organization to

About The Creatrix™

Through years of research and real time interventions the Creatrix© has evolved into a powerful process to help individuals, teams and organizations improve their capacity for innovation. The key to new ideas and people's willingness to take risks to drive new ideas forward is their ability to tap into the propensity for creativity and risk taking — their desire to make a difference and provide value. Understanding just what makes innovation possible is the major key to success.

The innovation equation is as follows: Creativity x Risk Taking = Innovative Capacity

The Creatrix Inventory© has stood the test of time with over three distinct norming processes over the last 25 years    —    the most recent occurring in 2000. It has been sold to over 40,000 people all over the world, and has been used by every type of industry and organization. Its statistical power has been proven. Even its face validity has a power of its own. People look in the mirror and say, "That's me!"

The Creatrix Inventory© results includes a Creatrix Profile (see Figure A below) that shows your Creativity and Risk Taking-Orientation. In addition, each of these Orientations is defined in greater detail, explaining both the contributions and hindrances of each. Every Creatrix Orientation from the Sustainer to the Innovator contributes to the success of an organization. An imbalance in Orientations can lead to dysfunction in teams and organizations. Understanding both your own Orientation and the value of each Orientation to a team or organization is important for success in using the Creatrix Model.

But it is also very important to understand that today's organizations are fast moving and are asking individuals to be more creative and take more risks — to be innovative in order to retain the "edge". This means that every individual and team within an organization can take the challenge of moving only slightly toward the north east corner of the Creatrix matrix. Does this mean everyone needs to be Innovators? No, it means everyone needs to accelerate their own individual, team and organizational innovative capacities. And it can be done.

Seven Drivers of (Figure B) of creativity and risk taking make it possible to accelerate individual, team and organizational innovative capacity:

The Seven Drivers (Figure B)

Creativity

1. Ambiguity
2. Inner-Directed
3. Independence
4. Uniqueness (value)

Risk Taking

5. Resiliency
6. Authenticity
7.Self-Acceptance

When individuals understand the nature of these Drivers, they understand how to use them for their own success. When individuals in an organization understand the nature of these Drivers, they understand how to use them for the organization's   success. Ask yourself and teams the following questions:

Are you (or is your team) more

Demanding of Predictability - than - Accepting of Ambiguity

Dependent - than - Independent

Other-Directed - than - Inner-Directed

Conformin - than - Unique

Political - than - Authentic

Rigid - than - Resilient

Victimized - than - Self-Accepting 

If your team is closer to the left than the right, then innovation is suffering in your team or organization.

Everyone can work on increasing their own and their organization's innovative capacity by working on their Drivers and moving from the left side of Figure C to the right. This is the dynamic power behind the Creatrix©.

Creatrix Applied – Client Examples

As with any newly acquired knowledge, its value is quickly diminished unless you know how to apply it to gain real value. Getting results from an inventory and knowing what each driver is has little consequence unless you can turn it into results. Through our workshop, we'll show you just how this is done and provide you with the tools to help accelerate your own personal as well as your organization's innovative capacity! Below are a few examples of how we've applied the Creatrix.

One of the largest privately held companies in the world is using the Creatrix© process world-wide to 1) develop greater overall awareness of the current and potential capacity for innovation throughout all the major product lines within the organization 2) select individuals for break-through idea teams 3) have everyone throughout the organization share in an understanding and definition of what it takes to be innovative 4) foster innovative product and customer service ideas by creating specific aims and then using the team's capacity to create ideas to meet those aims.

A major engineering company wanted its leadership to start "thinking differently" and to utilize the strengths of everyone on the team to get some of its objectives realized. By understanding the profile of the team, the leadership could depend on different people to get specific tasks done rather than expecting that everyone came to the table with the same capacity to innovate.

A financial services firm was establishing a new vision. It was filled with innovative ideas. The vision was so grand that everyone was scared to talk about whether it could or could not be realized. The Creatrix process allowed the reality of the vision to be tested against the profile of the current team and then allowed the team to make adjustments in the vision so that both the vision and the team could achieve success together.

A large manufacturing company charged one of its major divisions with developing breakthrough ideas. The division made modifications to existing product lines but seemed unable to create ideas that would take them to the next level. Their earnings were flat. The Creatrix helped them focus on how they could begin to move to that next level. Without the focus on action, they'd never have known what to do.

Sample Workshop Design Options

Several different workshop designs are presented below. Option 1 is designed as an in-depth introduction to accelerating innovation through the Creatrix process as well as to give a company exposure to several creativity and business value exercises that will help refine the business concept planning process.

Option 2 is designed as an applied workshop with an intact team responsible for innovation. Using a "live" situation, the team will first apply the Creatrix to addressing innovation gaps in their team and then apply the creativity and business value tools to a current idea being considered.

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Option 1: Introduction to The Creatrix Concepts and Tools

Option 2: Applying the Creatrix to a "Live" Situation

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GOAL
Option 1: To understand the Creatrix Process and its uses for individual and team development. To learn various creativity and risk-taking exercises which can be used in other parts of the organization.
Option 2: To create awareness of one's Creatrix profile and that of team members, learn to identify profiles of others, experience gaining support for increased risk-taking, and practice creative thinking.

PARTICIPANTS
Option 1: Anyone who wants to be more innovative. An intact team responsible for creating innovation.
Option 2: An intact team responsible for creating innovation.

PREWORK
Option 1: Each participant takes the Creatrix Inventory © on-line. Approximate time to complete, 20 minutes. Participants receive their results, as do the program facilitators.
Option 2: Each participant takes the Creatrix Inventory © on-line. Approximate time to complete, 20 minutes. Participants receive their results, as do the program facilitators.

MODULE 1: The Creatrix Process (one-day)
Option 1: Participants will learn the Creatrix and the Creatrix Model (Aim, Assess, Drive, Apply). The focus will be on building an understanding of the Creatrix profiles, and the relationship of the Creatrix drivers to innovation performance. The relationship of one's individual profile to team performance will be reviewed as well as how to use the inventory to develop individual and team goals around innovation. A simulation will be used to help facilitate discussion.
Option 2: Participants will receive in-depth analysis of their individual and team results, and will analyze the team within the context of the organization. Classroom exercises will help participants recognize risk-taking and creativity styles of others. An indoor rock climbing experience will challenge their assumptions about risk-taking and opportunities for creativity. Debriefing the experience will focus on opportunities for creativity as well as ways in which risk was "minimized." Differences between adaptive and breakthrough thinking is explored as well as differences between "real" and "perceived" risk. Note: Not all participants need to climb to demonstrate risk-taking behavior or creativity!!

MODULE 2: Creating Customer Value, The Business Link (one-half day)
Option 1: Participants will participate in a variety of creativity and risk-taking exercises aimed at stimulating innovative thinking. We will review options for how to evaluate ideas from a business perspective, and how to tie product strategy to organizational strategy.
Option 2: Participants will choose a real problem or situation where innovative thinking is needed, will be guided through "breakthrough thinking" exercises, and evaluate the ideas generated from a business perspective. Participants will analyze what they did differently and what they can do to encourage such outcomes in the future.            

** It is not necessary to select Module 2, but if selected, Module 1 is a prerequisite.