The P.I. Blog is proud to be today's stop on the February Post2Post Virtual Book Tour organized by blogger Paul Williams. Our book this month is Creativity Today by Ramon Vullings, Godelieve Spaas, and Igor Byttebier. I posed a few questions to Ramon by e-mail, and here are his responses.

Q: Why is there so much confusion around the differences between creativity and innovation?

In my definition: Creativity means coming up with new ideas. Innovation means implementing the ideas There is a lot of confusion and discussion as people don't see the difference between the thought and the action.

Q: As the author of a book on creativity, how do you make sense of its connection with innovation?

To me creativity & innovation are in a logical (repetitive) order.

Q: Where does imagination fit into the conversation about creativity and innovation?

Imagination is used when thinking of new ideas, what can be. Imagination can be used as a creativity technqiue, yet it's always there, people picture new ideas and immediately determine if it will work or not.

Q: What effect do you think the World Wide Web has had on individual creativity?

The world wide web/internet has an enourmous effect on individual creativity , it's so easy to gain inspiration, to express oneself, to create alone of together and to try and test. Also for the creative process, there are so many tools & techniques people can use for free. It's a true candy-store... for free!

Q: What can tradition-bound organizations do to unleash their creativity?

Allowing creativity to be, by showing clear leadership when playing with inspiration, experimentation and co-creation. To praise people (employees) who try something new no matter what the outcome is, as long as you learn from it as organisation.

Q: What advice do you offer to senior leaders who are concerned that their organizations lack the creative capacity to create new value in the 21st century?

Give the right example: inspire, experiment and co-create!

Check out part II of this interview over at Chris Wilson's The Marketing Fresh Peel blog tomorrow. And thanks to Chris for creating the logo at the top of this post. To learn more about Creativity Today, visit the book's website.

I will be kicking off the March Post2Post Virtual Book Tour for The Back of the Napkin. Look for that post on St. Patrick's Day!