Inkjet & Digital Printing

Creativity on demand — Is it possible?

Monday 07. January 2013 - By Laurie Riedman, a Xerox contributor

Change is in the air. It’s everywhere from our economy to the technology we use and how we interact with one another. Although some may struggle with change, I see it as an opportunity to embrace movement, growth and keep me interested, and interesting. Xerox has been going through a lot of changes over the past few years, becoming a best-in-class business process service provider to help companies simplify the way their work gets done.
I work with Xerox Innovation Group (XIG) scientists and researchers in the R&D centers across the globe I’ve noticed the way they innovate has changed to reflect today’s business requirements for ‘on demand’ creativity.
Take this recent Xerox story featuring 12 amazing researchers who have just reached significant patent milestones. This small group alone is responsible for obtaining over 1,500 U.S. patents. Some of the individuals were passing the 250th, 175th and 150th patent mark.
After talking to these prolific minds, I wondered what it is like for them to be applying their expertise to new industries. How can they be creative ‘on demand’ coming up with new ideas and our customer’s biggest problems every day?
To gain better insight, I asked a few of my XIG friends about their creative habits.
Do ideas come when they are in a particular place or time?
Do answers appear when they are more relaxed?
Do they rely on a “group think’ type process?
The following are some of their answers:
Unexpected inspiration
Raja Bala, principal imaging scientist at Xerox Research Centre Webster (XRCW) explained that those “ah-ha moments” often happen when he’s had an interaction with someone who isn’t close to the problem. Recently, he was trying to figure out how to use augmented reality (AR) to help simplify basic business processes such as filling out a business form.
“I was testing out a mobile AR app at my dining room table at home. I launched an AR app on my smartphone, and pointed it at the marker (a special printed pattern) on my table. A dinosaur started to dance on the marker, as expected.” Bala’s 11- year-old son asked him what would happen if he were to scribble on the marker. Bala told him to try it out. His son scribbled, and the dinosaur continued to dance on the marker. Bala said he remembers thinking ….”Markers can tolerate scribbling. Hmm….” The idea was eventually turned into a business application, and a patent was filed.
The “Try not to think about it and give it a rest” theory
Rob Rolleston, principal scientist at XRCW, often gets ideas when he bikes between home and work (which he does 300+ days a year, in Western New York). Ideas seem to come, he added, when he lets a problem percolate a bit. As thoughts and data move from short-term active memory and processing to long-term memory, the ideas tend to flow. The shift seems to move his thinking to a new creative level. Rolleston speculates that some type of subconscious organization of the information allows an “AHA!” moment to occur. “When I’m stuck, I try not to think about it, – and then at some point I get an idea to move in a new direction,” he said.
Karen Moffat a scientist from Xerox Research Centre Canada agrees. She told me that many of her ideas come when she least expects them. “Some sources of my inspiration come – yes in the shower or reading the paper but also while watching something on TV, reading journal articles or talking to friends at a party about a totally unrelated topic. It hits you when it hits you. “
Reiner Eschbach, Xerox fellow at XRCW, echoed that sentiment when told me that his wife gets slightly annoyed whenever he gets an idea while they are driving and he asks her to write it down.
Back to the brainstorm
Xerox Fellow Santokh Badesha, who manages open innovation at XRCW, has light bulb moments occasionally, but also believes being part of a team or collaborative effort leads to valuable ideas.
“I don’t believe there are light bulb and “eureka” moments, except maybe once in a while when something has been on your mind for some time,” he said. “My inventing comes primarily from my involvement in the technology issue and working with a team dedicated to solving a problem and my interactions with academic institutions.”
Badesha explained that as a Xerox Fellow, he occasionally gets invited to help a business group solve a critical problem. He finds that stepping into a problem solving situation when he does not have a lot of background on what solutions have already been tried is fruitful. “When I ask simple questions like “Why didn’t you do this?”—often the answer is “well, nobody ever suggested it before.”
While I’m still not sure if it’s possible to be creative ‘on-demand,’ at this rate, each of the company’s five research centers just may have to find more space to expand their “wall of fame” where milestone patent holders are recognized. Hmmmmm maybe there’s a creative solution to that. I think I’ll go for a bike ride or set up a brainstorm meeting with my kids and get back to you on that.