Scott Jeffrey » creative idea

Eight Creative Problem-Solving Techniques

Scott Jeffrey — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 13:00:34 +0000

When faced with a difficult challenge, realize that you have multiple ways to approach a solution:

1) Ask Compelling Questions

Use “what if?” questions to project different scenarios into the future. In A Whack on the Side of the Head: How You Can Be More Creative, Roger Von Oech, says, “In the imaginative phase, you ask questions such as: What if? Why not? What rules can we break? What assumptions can we drop? How about if we looked at this backwards? Can we borrow a metaphor from another discipline? The motto of the imaginative phase is: Thinking something different.”

2) Explore Context

Many problems arise because we neglect to zoom out from the content of the problem and examine the overall context of the situation. If sales are down, instead of revisiting your sales strategy examine the context of your overall industry. Has your industry changed? Are you disconnected with your customer’s needs? Is your product becoming obsolete? Take an expansive viewpoint before narrowing in on the specific problem.

3) Seek Wisdom

In Mastering the Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success, author Andy Andrews recommends putting together a personal Board of Directors, “advisors” for various areas of your life. Asking an experienced advisor from outside your industry for their thoughts on your problem can yield insightful perspectives. Even better: Instead of asking them what they would do in your situation, ask them what question they would ask.

4) Walk Away

Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to stop trying to solve it. Walking away from the problem brings forth the Wanderer archetype and the potential for hearing the Muse’s Call. The key is knowing when to let go of trying to solve the problem.

5) Mind Map It

Mind mapping is a visually-oriented brainstorming process using free association, colors and illustrations around a central theme. Read this post for a 60 second tutorial.

6) Switch Roles

Our minds tend to get locked into old patterns, leading to what’s called “paradigm blindness.” If you have a marketing-related problem, try putting on an engineer’s hat—or even a gardener’s hat. The idea is to shift your perspective so you can approach the problem from a new angle.

7) Use the Six Thinking Hats

Speaking of hats, de Bono’s Six Hats method provides you and your team with six different perspectives to utilize when tackling a problem. It’s an ideal tool for group brainstorming and problem solving.

8 ) Generate a Plethora of Ideas

As Aaron Shields points out in Creativity in the Workplace, research suggests that the most effective way to uncover the best solution is to brainstorm as many ideas as you can in a nonjudgmental environment before evaluating them.

There are numerous pathways to get to the answer you seek. Some pathways, however, are more effective than others. The key is to experiment with various methods to uncover which ones work best for you.

Different methods will be more effective in different contexts. Here, wisdom and intuition come into play.

Champion a Positive Attitude for Greater Creativity

Scott Jeffrey — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:00:42 +0000

In our culture of cynics and critics, creative professionals must guard their creative space and the rituals that support it.

Naysayers ignorantly block the manifestation of creative ideas.

Rise above pervasive negativity to a domain where few travel. The domain of optimism is often barren of people, yet bountiful with creative inspiration.

Creative ideas arise from minds that allow them. The open mind with a positive, expecting attitude demonstrates willingness, confidence and humility.

This doesn’t mean optimists can’t also be realistic—practical optimism serves an important function in ideation when combined with patience and perseverance.

Trust that you’ll find creative solutions. Transcend negativity with a simple smile. Surround yourself with other positive, uplifting people.

A positive attitude may not make you popular with certain friends and colleagues who thrive on negativity, but it will help you attract a higher caliber of people.

Most importantly, a positive mental attitude will help you foster a Creative Life of greater meaning and fulfillment.

(For a reminder of the Psychology of a Winner, watch this slideshow by Salim Bueno.)

Expand Your Perspective

Scott Jeffrey — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:00:17 +0000

New ideas can enlarge your sphere of influence and transform your world. A single nugget of information combined with an existing concept can spark an empire. A seed planted from something you read in an enlightening book can change all the rules. Something you notice in a magazine or see in a movie can start the launch sequence.

You may not know when the idea emerges. This mystical creature may percolate in the inner tomb of your mind, dancing aimlessly for endless hours—until it’s time to be heard.

Or the idea can collide with you, sending an electrical torpedo through your nervous system and out the top of your head. You are fully aware when these thoughts strike because they have a way of keeping you up at night (whether you want them to or not).

The application of this idea may be presently unknown, but you’re certain things will never be the same.

Either way, when this flash of insight occurs your perspective of the world is forever expanded. You can’t go back. And why would you? You can now handle problems that once appeared insurmountable. The more your life perspective grows, the easier it is to tackle new challenges.

How do you expand your perspective? Embrace a beginner’s mind. Continually ask questions that challenge your understanding. And relentlessly seek out the answers.

The universe is expanding at the speed of light. How fast are you growing?

The Capital of Creativity

Scott Jeffrey — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:48:29 +0000

The source of all wealth isn’t found in mega corporations, financial markets or even your local bank. The source of all wealth springs forth from the creative impulse.

What else but creativity can be responsible for such inventions as the car, computer, airplane or electricity?

Intelligence and business acumen are necessary to transform a creative idea into a financial empire. The origin of any financial empire, however, is a novel idea.

Walt Disney reflected, “It all started when my daughters were very young and I took them to amusement parks on Sunday … I sat on a bench eating peanuts and looking all around me. I said to myself, dammit, why can’t there be a better place to take your children, where you can have fun together?”

From this single idea, the Disney Empire was born. (Current market capitalization: $46.5 Billion)

A creative idea—powered by human ingenuity—can produce the miraculous. This is true in any time period—especially in economic downturns.

George Gilder of the Discovery Institute writes, “The crucial conflict … is not between rich and poor, Main Street and Wall Street, or even government and the private sector. It is between the established system and the new forms of wealth rising up to displace it—all the entrenched knowledge of the past and the insurrections of futuristic enterprise and invention.”

Wealth is the natural consequence of fully aligning to the creative impulse. Cherish the capital of creativity, nurture it and witness the fruits of ingenuity.