There’s a science behind getting ideas to flow

Robert Epstein: Creativity is critically important for sustainable business, in part because sustainability is a goal that has a deadline. We are under pressure as a civilization to correct the damage we’ve done to the environment. That means we need new ideas flowing and flowing fast.

You are listening to Dr. Robert Epstein, a psychologist at UC (University of California), San Diego, a former editor-in-chief of Psychology Today magazine, and CEO of a company called Creativity International. Epstein believes creativity is key to business in the 21st century.

Robert Epstein: Most companies look for new ideas in a kind of haphazard way. It’s kind of a hope and a prayer, really.

He said there’s a science behind getting ideas to flow.

Robert Epstein: There’s a lot of research at this point showing how novel behavior, how new behavior, emerges over time, and what kinds of conditions lead to that emergence.

He said that focusing on creativity can affect every aspect of a business.

Robert Epstein: How they run meetings, how they set goals, how they order their pencils. Literally every aspect of what a company does can be altered slightly so that it produces more creativity, more innovation all through the company.

And these ideas are important, he said, if businesses are going to tackle the challenges of this century.