Creativity isn't the domain of the eccentric. At least it's not limited to those few, Sönke Klose, Global Innovation Manager at Dräger explains: "Everyone is creative. This is the original key to humans adapting to their environment. This adaptation ensures our survival. As individuals, as a company, and as a society. People are simply creative – this is an evolutionary condition." Simply creative – this was also the motto of the creativity festival at Dräger. But is being creative really that simple? "That depends on how complicated we make it," Klose says with a wink. "I am certain that creativity is essentially easy. I know this from my experience in working together with various teams at Dräger and with external customers. We merely have to let it happen and take the time for it."

Being creative is often difficult in everyday life mostly marked by strict deadlines and the accompanying stress. This expresses itself in thoughts like: If we take the time for a creative solution now, we won't have time for proper implementation. The primary problem with thoughts like these is: We have internalised these to the point that the process is completely subconscious. This "automatically" leads to the decision: Stay with what you know. Not because we're sure it's the best decision, but merely for lack of an alternative. Sönke Klose understands the mechanisms that block creative solutions in everyday life. "More of the same won't help us with new challenges. This is why practising our creativity is important. So we can act faster and implement truly creative solutions," says the Innovation Manager.

Experience from many innovation and creativity projects at Dräger shows: Taking the time for the creative process oftentimes results in quicker implementation. "For companies, investing time in creative processes pays off because it saves time – among other things – in the end," says Klose. "Ultimately, this is what's required for invention, clever engineering, and a corporate culture that has made industrial enterprises such as Dräger successful." Now this corporate culture needs to be evolved further creatively. To prosper in a future defined more and more by increasing automation and ever-shorter innovation cycles. "This makes it all the more important that we play to our human strengths – above all creativity," Klose observes.

How does that work, being creative? Klose's concept is based on the "Four Stages of Creativity" of Graham Wallas. The British social psychologist, political scientist and educator was one of the founders of the London School of Economics. As early as 1926, he defined a four-stage model for creativity in the book "The Art of Thought", which still has an impact today:

1. The preparation phase is for identifying the problem and gathering relevant information to define it. This is a conscious attempt to understand and analyse the problem.

2. During the incubation phase, the subconscious continues to work on the problem. It can be helpful here to consciously busy oneself with other things – tidying up, for example. Unexpected insights are often gleaned in this phase.

3. At the moment of illumination, a new idea or solution manifests itself in the form of a sudden inspiration.

4. Verification entails examining the new idea, making changes as necessary – or rejection and starting anew.

What is required for implementation? Above all else, consistency, says Klose: "Creativity includes the ability to break with or ignore the limits of traditional paradigms – and the will to do so." Without the step from idea to action, to creative output, it remains creative thinking. And that alone is not enough to create the necessary changes.

The good news: Creativity can be trained! And there's a place for that at Dräger: The Garage. A broad range of creativity workshops with different methods are available for Dräger employees, but also for customers and partners. The creativity festival lets you experience the many different approaches. "We want people to meet in an environment in which they can show themselves for who they are. With the ease and at the same time with the depth that enables them to recognise and develop their creative potential," Klose explains. The range of creativity methods is the result of the awareness that different challenges require different tools. "Our job as the innovation team is helping others to find the creativity methods best suited to their needs and to implement them." Garage employees benefit from a wealth of experience – and from the motivation provided by many successful creative projects. Afterwards, Sönke Klose and his team often receive feedback such as: "How cool is it to see the possibilities, things we'd never dreamed of. And now we simply be creative!"

Text: Uwe Küll und Bernd Seidel     Photos: Dräger    Published: September 2024