ABSTRACT
In the current business environment, individuals, groups and organisations need to sharpen their thinking skills. This chapter explores the process of thinking by describing the physiology of the brain and discusses how the process of thinking occurs. It explains what is creativity and the contextual factors affecting personal creativity. The chapter assesses personal creativity potential and introduces the total thinking model. Research into the habits of creative people reveals certain common characteristics. It includes: generation of ideas, flexibility in their thinking, experiment and seek variation, strive for originality, and examples of their work. The Personal Creativity Audit (PCA) was developed at Durham University to provide evidence that individuals are creative and to give an indication of an individual's tendency to use creativity skills in daily situations. The chapter shows how thinking can be boosted if individuals, groups and top management personnel can learn to make use of both left- and right-brain thinking.
