Take the words chicken, salad, and sandwich. Individually, each conjures a different image. Put them together—especially without modifiers—and they conjure a fourth image. This capacity of the mind to not only conjure images out of words, but to combine and transform them, is creativity.

Let’s say that you like chicken salad sandwiches, but you’re bored with the ones you learned to make as a kid. Lately, you’ve been playing with ingredients—a little more of this, a little less of that, maybe some of this other—to come up with a tastier sandwich. Finally, you discover the perfect combination, and it is a moment to savour. That playing with ingredients is the creative process, and that perfect sandwich is innovation.

Now let’s say that others agree with your assessment that this is the perfect sandwich. You parlay your innovation into a successful chain of sandwich shops. The world is amazed by your creativity, and kudos come in from prime ministers, presidents and film stars. What they don’t see are the years of tinkering with ingredients, the long string of no-gos, or that this whole thing started because you wanted a better chicken salad sandwich.

Creativity and innovation are of course a heck of a lot more than making better chicken salad sandwiches, but I think you get the picture: like anything good, creativity takes time, effort, and, above all, love. While the process may appear mysterious, it follows a very simple logic that, when followed, works wonderfully.

Post by Aaron Bihari, Trainer & managing partner
Cross-posted at Cross-Pollination.