how-to-measure-creativity.pdf - How to measure creativity...

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Copyright Nel Mostert – MCCIM. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfil or any other means
without written permission from the author.
How to measure creativity on 8 different levels in your
organization
Publication
Publisher : EN Murthy, on behalf of the ICFAI University Press , India
Magazine : HRM Review
Date : December 2008, Volume VIII, Issue XII
Author
MCCIM
Mrs. Nel M. Mostert
The Netherlands
Tel.: [phone]
E-mail:
[email protected]
Mostert Consultancy for Creativity
and Innovation Management
Biography author
Mrs Nel M. Mostert (
[email protected]
) worked as a
Certified Professional Facilitator Creativity & Innovation
Processes at Unilever R&D, Vlaardingen, The
Netherlands.
Unilever is a Fast Moving Consumer Goods company for
Foods and Home & Personal Care with a mission “To
help people feel good, look good, and get more out of
life” . Unilever employs 180 000 people in some 100
countries and owns 400 brands like Knorr, Lipton, Slim.fast, Axe, Dove, Omo, etc.
As Facilitators, Mostert and her 3 colleagues of the Innovation Process Facilitation Unit,
assisted Innovation Project Teams world-wide “ To accelerate the Innovation Process in order
to reach faster and bolder innovations”. She facilitated in over 650 sessions varying from
Creative Problem Solving sessions, to Consumer Insight sessions, Strategy sessions, Project
Planning workshops and Team Building events (o.a. Belbin) and she delivered training on
Creativity and Project Management. She specialises in Creativity and has several publications
on this topic.
As from 2010 Nel Mostert runs her own Consultancy called MCCIM – Mostert Consultancy
for Creativity and Innovation Management. This article is based on her work with Unilever.

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Copyright Nel Mostert – MCCIM. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfil or any other means
without written permission from the author.
Introduction
Igniting creativity in organisations is a big challenge. How do you get people to generate big
& bold new ideas? What or who should be influenced? This article gives different levels
where an organisation can start influencing creativity. But how do you know that the
influencing actions have resulted in progress? The only way to find out is to measure at the
start and after the intervention.
This article gives eight levels in the organisation where measurements can be taken.
Measuring creativity in an organisation can take place at the following levels:
1. Measuring creativity of the organisation
2. Measuring Idea Management
3. Measuring results of Problem Solving sessions
4. Measuring creativity in teams
5. Measuring creativity of individuals
6. Measuring creativity of ideas
7. Measuring the number of available sources of ideas
8. Measuring the level of emotions
This article does not promise to be complete in the overview of where to measure and look for
creativity; it is merely intended to help find the answer to the question s “What do we mean
with creativity in an organisation” and “How to improve creativity in organisations”.