Virus crisis drives fresh creativity

Disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic is driving innovation, with businesses forced to pivot quickly while also accelerating major changes in the workplace.

Curtin University business school professor Julia Richardson said that the usual rules about what can and can't be done were more flexible during a crisis.

"Whereas routine and business-as-usual can be comfortable, at times it can limit creativity - mostly because it creates something of a psychic prison, where we are trapped in the confines of thinking about how things are done or how things should be done," she said. "When the context changes rapidly it can open up a whole new perspective."

However, Professor Richardson added a cautionary note, saying that "we can't keep creating crises as a route to innovation on a consistent basis," and innovation involved more than just invention, said CSIRO chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley at a recent CEDA talk.

"Innovation is when you take that invention and turn it into impact, and that's what we're seeing a lot of now, particularly with the aim of trying to get a (COVID) vaccine," she said.

The principal and founder of Dancescene studios in Perth, Lisa Purchas, said the pandemic had created an opportunity for her to reconnect with the community in different ways as a business owner.

Ms Purchas said she took her dance classes online during the lockdown to accommodate students and expanded digital tutorials for seniors. She saw her program for women with mild cognitive impairment and early-stage Alzheimer's expand to become ballet for seniors.

"You have to think a little outside the square, and what the pandemic has done for everybody is give us the chance to have almost a collective pause," she said.

Originally written by Meilin Chew and published by The West Australian.