How would 2018 look like to a person who lived in 1918 or even 1968? One of the elements which can differentiate these periods can be linked to more systemic creative processes set in place to creatively solve problems human kind encountered in the past, or created. Innovation is mainly about applying an open and receptive creative methods, and technologies, to bring forth changes in the form of services, products, solutions, that will impact part of, or the whole, society. Stay tuned to read about decoding idea generation!
Creativity is still perceived as a gift disseminated to a chosen few, who, in turn, become able to awe their audience or shape the world by binding it through their crafts. Contrary to such beliefs, more and more people are turning up their sleeves and learning how through their wit and the acquisition of knowledge, methods and skills, they can learn to influence their ability to solve the challenges they face, transforming the existing problems into viable solutions.
Key principles for idea generation
The Leadership Business World program will develop topic around innovation in business and we’d like to share with you elements linked to the first part of the innovation process which is Idea Generation. In his book: “101 Activities for Teaching Creativity and Problem Solving”, Arthur B VanGundy, an US communication professor and internationally noted expert on problem solving, presents some key principles for encouraging creativity:
- Separate idea generation from evaluation.
- Test assumptions
- Avoid patterned thinking
- Create new perspective
- Minimise negative thinking
- Take prudent risks
Separate Idea generation from evaluation
If you have to remember only one thing from this article, keep the following motto: No Evaluation with Generation!
Unknown to many, when we evaluate a just generated idea, we limit the number of ideas produced while discouraging people, whose ideas have been discarded or are already too reserved, to intervene by nature or fear.
Creative problem solving requires two thinking processes: a divergent one and a convergent one. Idea generation is divergent – you want as many ideas as possible. Idea evaluation is convergent – you narrow down the pool of ideas and select the best ones.
First generate ideas then, and only then, take the time to evaluate them.
Test assumptions
People often react differently on same stimulus because each of us provides meaning to it that might be very different. To know why we provide these meanings, we must test assumptions.
Similarly, each one’s response to idea generation activities will be influenced by the assumptions we carry around coming from our knowledge, experience, practices and/or beliefs.
The point of this principle is not to discard these assumptions. It is to collect as many and varied responses as possible through the number of participants and ideas. Collecting all these assumptions along with ideas, will provide hints towards the solutions and increase the chances to resolve the problems.
How to test assumptions?
“The important is never to stop questioning.” A. Einstein
One way to enhance questioning process is to use the basic “five w” (who, what, why, when, where).
By asking a lot of questions, one will have a better understanding of the problem and its context.
Avoid patterned thinking
We all have a comfortable, secure way of doing things. Experience is about repeatedly doing things in specific ways, which we label: “more efficient”. After a while, we stop challenging our practices and might find ourselves stuck with only limited responses to a given problem.
To prevent being stuck, we need to increase our awareness of the habits we form and detect when we fall into them. Then, at times, consciously make the effort to re-evaluate and break out of some damaging patterns.
First become more aware of your habit-bound thinking; then deliberately practice changing it.
Create new perspective
When facing a problem, it can help to produce new perspective. It can be about finding techniques which combine unconnected stimuli or provide sight of a bigger picture, or see the problem with from a different angle.
To produce something new, you must see something new.
Minimise negative thinking
Most of us are very good at finding problems and issues preventing an idea to work out. We have learned and practised to analyse and criticise anything new, it’s like a second nature.
It is good to be aware of the possible elements which can block the path towards a solution. The keyword here is “possible”. By being too negative we tend to inflate obstacles and discourage action while what we want is to be aware of them and find ways to go beyond.
When a new idea arrives, we should learn to see them as raw materials which need polishing, and reflect on what is positive about the options. Moreover, we can consider the detected or possible obstacles as challenges to overcome.
Try to develop more balanced responses to new ideas.
Take prudent risks
“A failure is an opportunity to start over again, but more intelligently.” H. Ford
Many people fear risk as sometimes risks can surely lead to failure. However creative thinking involves a certain amount of risk taking and not all the risks are equals.
The main point of generating ideas is to provide elements which will lead to a change. Voicing a potentiality of change can lead to discomfort though nothing fatal about it. Speaking up, or not, about an idea could turn your company into an Apple, from computer making company to a digital behemoth, or a Kodak, market leader brought to the brink of extinction by discarding a technology wave, numeric cameras, it created.
This principle is about willing to suggest whatever ideas pop up as raw material of solutions and not receive them as immutable final products.
Initial ideas have the potential to spark more practical solutions. They don’t all have to be winners.
Conclusion
By separating generation from evaluation, testing assumptions, being aware of our thinking bias, observing the problem from different angle, minimising our inner negative critic, and accepting to take risks, we generate ideas as raw materials leading to solutions. They have the potential to spark innovation. Many won’t be winners though adopting a philosophy which remove a lot of pressure when generating them will pay off. Apply Now and join the event to learn more about innovation in business, with companies, in order to get things done.