Problem Solving:
Creativity Secrets
Creative Problem Solving (CPS)
Finding innovative solutions and turning problems into opportunities
By Vadim Kotelnikov, Inventor, Author & Founder, Ten3 BUSINESS e-COACH – Innovation Unlimited, 1000ventures.com
"Every problem has a gift for you in its hands."
– Richard Bach
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."
– Albert Einstein
Asking Effective Questions
When something goes wrong, don't ask:
'How can I fix things and get them back to the way they were before?'
A better question, and one that would stimulate creative problem solving would be:
'How can I fix things and make them better than they were before?'
Now your subconscious mind will work on improving the situation.
CPS: The Key Things to Keep in Mind
By Roger von Oech1
The Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process has Six Steps.
Each phase has two phases – a Divergent Phase (D phase) and a Convergent Phase (C phase)
The goal of the Divergent phase is to generate as many ideas as possible. The rules are: NO judgment or evaluation during the D phase. Go wild and wacky. Try to generate as many ideas as possible, even if they are wild and thoroughly impractical, and especially if they are.
The goal of the C phase is to very carefully and systematically narrow down your options to just one. Your mindset is just the opposite of what you employed during the D phase.
Formulating the right question or problem is at least as important as developing solutions or ideas. The right or perfect answer to the wrong question is why a lot of excellent systems and products fail in the marketplace. Well formulated problems are of the form:
In What Ways Might I/We <verb/action phrase> <noun/object phrase>
Problems are worded in an Actionable form because your goal is to FIND A WAY OUT. It does not help to formulate problems as: "Gee, this thing sucks big time". There is no way one can move forward with such a problem statement.
Even the most wackiest of ideas can be turned into a practical one if you search for the essence of that idea.
Make sure that you have a clear action plan at the end.
STRIDES
A Model for Solving Complex Problems
Developed by Fidelity Investments
S – Situation: "Where are we know?"... More
Discover much more!
Creativity
Unlock Your Creativity
10 Secrets of Creativity
Get Away from Old Ideas
10 Brainstorming Rules
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurial Creativity
Innovation
The Jazz of Innovation
The Jazz of Innovation: 11 Practicing Tips
Trend Spotting Tips
Ten3 Mini-Courses
Personal Success 360
SMART Innovation
The Power of
Active thinking is about
passionately caring about and being involved with a cause, and
changing the problem in order to explore it.
The Power of Simplicity
One of the diamonds in creativity and creative problem solving is simplicity. All really great inventions have that property in common. Nature, in its elementary parts, is simple. What makes things complex is the fact that there are (sometimes) millions of factors influencing a certain phenomena, or worse: each other.6 (See case studies)
Brainstorming
The best-known and widely used team-based creative problem solving and creative thinking technique is brainstorming. One major reason why brainstorming is useful is that it helps to free us from 'fixed ideas'... More Inspirational Business Plan: Successful Innovation Risk Management Strategy: "One should never impose one's views on a problem; one should rather study it, and in time a solution will reveal itself." – Albert Einstein... More STRIDES Problem Solving Model The STRIDES model was developed by the Quality Support Council of Fidelity Investments. This problem solving model provides employees in every part of the corporation with a common language and process for implementing Kaizen – a strategy of continuous improvement. As stated in Fidelity's Models for Quality Improvement, STRIDES is the approach to use "where the problem is more complex."... More
Inspirational Business Plan: Successful Innovation
STRIDES Problem Solving Model
The STRIDES model was developed by the Quality Support Council of Fidelity Investments. This problem solving model provides employees in every part of the corporation with a common language and process for implementing Kaizen – a strategy of continuous improvement. As stated in Fidelity's Models for Quality Improvement, STRIDES is the approach to use "where the problem is more complex."
The Power of Prototyping
Prototyping can help you tackle problems when you don't have the answers.
Case in Point Gaudi
Gaudy was a world-famous architect who astonished the world with creations that seemed to be made from whipped cream instead of concrete and stone. Gaudi was very fond of nature and nature inspired his work very much. Natural shapes have proven to be effective and tightly linked to efficient structures. But Gaudi had a weakness: he was a poor mathematician. Yet he wanted to make optimal use of the material in order to be able to transform the freakish and surprisingly fantastical shapes in his head into buildings that could survive weather and storms. So he found the way that uses some physical properties instead of math to minimize the shearing forces which are the causes of collapses.
One of the shapes he loved was the catenary or chain-line. Chains have a high resistance to an extension force, but no resistance to a shearing force. Being a weak mathematician, Gaudi couldn't make proper calculations. So, what did he do? He developed simple prototypes. How? He dip a chain into plaster, hang it to dry and then... simply put it upside down.
Case in Point An Inventive Clerk
A clerk had to calculate the area of some complex shapes. Since he was not a master in Math, he faced two problems. Firstly, he couldn't "fetch" the data into polynomials and secondly, he hadn't mastered the art of Integral Calculus. But he was inventive. What he did was draw the data on calibrated 100 gram paper and then cut out the graph and... weighted it.6
5 Things You Should Know To Win
Source: "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu
You must know five things to win:
Victory comes from finding opportunities in problems... More
Discover much more in the FULL VERSION of e-Coach
10 Minutes CPS
10 Secrets of Creativity...
Challenging Assumptions...
Tips for Challenging Assumptions...
Reframing...
Asking Searching Questions...
Four Problem Solving Techniques...
CPS: The Key Things to Keep in Mind...
Stepping Out Of Your Shoes...
Making Big Changes...
Systemic Thinking...
Systems Thinking...
Break Up The Clusters...
Advanced Creative Inventive Thinking...
Managing Creativity In Your Business Environment...
Idea Management...
Case in Point Increasing Toothpaste Sales...
Case in Point IDEO...
Ваш обозреватель не поддерживает встроенные рамки или он не настроен на их отображение.
Ten3 project Fun4Biz
Funny T-Shirts
Humorous Products & Joke Gifts
An example of creative problem solving ►
T-Shirt for Belly-rich Men
Yin and Yang: Let your silicon breasts rest on my silicon belly
More humorous products >>>
References:
A Whack on the Side of the Head, Roger von Oech
The Leader's Guide To Lateral Thinking," Paul Sloane
Six Thinking Hats, Edward de Bono
Advanced Systematic Inventive Thinking (ASIT), Roni Horowitz
Unlocking Your Creativity, Brian Tracy
Simple – Simpler – Simplest," Jos Steynebrugh, ASIT Newsletter
Innovation Management Techniques (IMTs)
DEGAP Tool: Thinking in Three Dimensions
101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques, James M. Higgins
How to generate endless ideas in a just few simple steps! >>> Click here
Map
Ranked #1
Search
Testimonials
Free Downloads
Products
SMART Learning
Training
Contact
We invented Business e-Coaching in 2001
Today, we have customers in 100+ countries!
Our customers:
Ten3 Business e-Coach, version 2008
Inventor, Author & Founder – Vadim Kotelnikov
© Vadim Kotelnikov, GIVIS