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What Is Creative? - Part 9

Probably the person who should be credited most with stirring up interest in this new art is advertising man Alex F. Osborn. Others had also realized that there were similarities in creative processes and that our highly creative people seem to exhibit some personal characteristics in common. But when Mr. Osborn became interested in the subject, he had the promotional ex­perience and ability to interest others in what has since become a rapidly growing movement throughout business, industry, education, government, and social organizations.

A prime example of how creativity is deliberately being fostered in more progressive organizations is the "Value Analysis" service of the General Electric Company. The aim of Value Analysis at G.E. is to relate the cost of any item to the function, service, or operation purchased by that cost. The value analysts are engineers trained in deliberate problem-solving methods. They are taught, for instance, to challenge systematically anything that "seems" to be obvious. For example, one department recorded all important changes made in the major components of a product. If it developed that a component had not had a major change in five years or more, value analysts were put to work with the object of removing 50 per cent of the cost from that component. Even though it was apparently satisfactory and still a good design, the engineers knew that changes in methods, materials, and production alone take place so rapidly that in five years' time it is quite possible that a 50 per cent cost reduction could be obtained. Another G.E. example: a new industrial X-ray instal­lation was being contemplated. The drawings called for a ring of concrete 12 feet high and 7 feet thick around the installation to stop the X-rays. A value analyst began to ask questions: A wall so large!

What would they do with it after they were through with the X-rays? Was there another material that would also stop X-rays?

He was told that lead would do it, but would cost even more than the concrete. "Well," he asked, "how about dirt? Won't dirt stop X-rays?" This was one the experts hadn't thought of —they had to look it up. "Yes," they reported, "two feet of dirt is equivalent to one foot of concrete when it comes to stopping X-rays." This resulted in a wall made of $5,000 worth of dirt instead of $50,000 worth of concrete—all because a man had been trained to ask questions and look for alternatives.

Related terms include business growth and business program.