ABSTRACT
In this chapter we shall review some definitions of creativity and highlight the importance of creative problem solving in enabling business executives to cope with novel or new problems.We give some consideration first to defining creativity and then to distinguishing between creativity and innovation.Various notions exist on how ideas arise in our mind.These are introduced in this chapter and developed further in Chapter 3.Creativity in business is important, and managers need to possess the ability to gain creative insights.We look at the importance of creativity to business and managers, picking out those instances where it is most needed and relating it in particular to the notion of paradigm shift. In the later sections of the chapter we look at characteristics of creative thinking and creative thinkers, highlighting the qualities of a creative person and pointing to how creative skills can be achieved through training.
