Applying creativity to UX design

Now that we've looked at creativity and the conditions necessary to manifest it, let's see how they hold up in real-world work environments where speed, efficiency, and decision making are the highest priority, sometimes higher than the concern for customer/user satisfaction. In other words, how do we create the open mode in an environment designed for closed mode thinking most of the time?

To visualize this, here are two images that come to mind with regards to closed and open modes. Can you guess which is which?

In the preceding image, development teams are focused on efficiency, production, and deadlines more so than on customer/user needs.

Here is another image:

Here we see creativity personified, where the conditions for being in the open mode seem to come to life all at once. In this image there appears to be a playful, cohesive team in a dedicated space where play and improvisation abounds. There also appears to be total freedom to try, test...