Leading Adventures Into Creative Thinking - Working Through the Problem Solving Jungle!How many times have you heard that nagging inner voice shouting, "
there's no good solution to this problem"?
Have you ever entertained the thought that a particularly difficult situation was trying to take you to a dead end? How many times have you felt the frustration of thinking the problem pushing against you was one you simply could not untangle?
What did you feel like when you discovered you had exhausted all your possible options and yet, that hairy monster of a mountain still stood obstinately in your way? Whenever you encounter those kinds of really demanding problems, you may feel like you've been walking in the woods only to find yourself standing in front of the Frankenstein monster.
At times like these, the pressure of trying to solve such problems can stress you out and overwhelm you.
Be At Peace! All Is Not Lost!With the help of some clever, yet innovative problem-solving methods you may be able to view your problem in a different way.
And that light you see might just be at the end of the tunnel which leads to an effective, realistic universe of solutions.
First of all, in the realm of creative thinking, you have to come to terms with the fact and open your mind up to the reality there could be more than one or two solutions to every single problem. And, you must act upon your belief and maintain your confidence in the fact that there may be solutions to problems others thought were insolvable.
Now, being equipped with this injection of optimism, you can steel your mind towards making serious attempts at being creative when sorting out and solving your dilemmas and problems.
Adventure One - Look Hard At The What!It could be the reason why you are finding it difficult to solve your problems is because you have not really taken a seriously hard look at what your problem could actually be. One of the hardest tasks to complete is trying to identify or comprehend the essential elements of the problem.
This stage of the problem solving process means you must build a map or model showing or describing your problem's inner parts and examining how those factors do play an integral role in solving this problem.
The better you know how the problem works, and the better you can understand what elements your problem is composed of, then you will have established a solid foundation for solving your problem or dilemma.
Avoid the trap of simplifying the problem and minimizing your attention to what might be its causal factors. You should try to pinpoint any participants involved and discover what, if any, relationships exist between these parties.
Make note of the benefits you could gain as well as with those beneficial things you could be forced to give up because of the impact of this problem. At this point, you are in a more advantageous position to begin looking at the challenge in bite-sized (or in its more understandable) forms.
Adventure Two - Separate the Wheat from the Chaff!Take note and analyze or think about all of the self-limiting constraints and self-deluding assumptions you have unquestioningly accepted at face value. The words, meanings and beliefs you have been implying to help you describe or understand the problem might show you the damaging effects of your erroneous assumptions.
At times these assumptions have the power to prevent your mind from perceiving another kind of outcome or these constraints will cloud your ability to appreciate all the possible pitfalls.
Your very first task, when searching for innovative solutions, is this: you must discover which assumptions, if any, might be valid, before you can deal with those essential assumptions which need to be addressed.
A great example of how your assumptions have the power to limit the creative or innovative thinking process is found in the story of a famous US auto maker.
This company devoted years to studying and trying to predict future or new market niches and customer preferences for what this company hoped to be a quantum leap for cars in their industry. What happened instead was what many industry experts called an abject failure in the company's market perceptions and sales revenue.
Like other companies, this firm could have blamed their problems on fickle customers or uninformed consumers. What this company did however was far more intelligent.
They analyzed and evaluated and questioned the assumptions they held prior to launching their market research studies and discovered their fundamental assumptions about customer preferences were completely incorrect.
Proceeding from the starting point of that realization, the company went back to the drawing board and designed a revolutionary car model more in line with customer tastes and came up with a truly winning design - in fact, that car is still considered to be one of the best and most popular models ever produced!
Copyright © 2007, Mustard Seed Investments Inc., All rights reserved.
Bill Thomas develops your innovative leadership skills by training and coaching you to design and implement effective models for success in the Imagination Age - his books, manuals, Executive Briefings, software, speeches and training programs define sustainable innovation processes and empower leaders produce measurably powerful results! Learn how leaders like you use our action-oriented, results-driven tutoring support, coaching follow-ups & progress tracking programs to apply, practice and master new, more effective and innovative leadership concepts in your 'real-world' situations and challenges!
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