 HOME Solve It! © 2006 David M. Weeks.
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If You have the Wrong Problem, You'll get the Wrong Solution
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Problem exploration is the first stage in the Creative Problem Solving process. Actually it is the most important stage AND it is usually overlooked. Think of it like the foundation of a House. You will be in real trouble if you skimped. Your Mental Box limits your creativity because you think:
By addressing each of these you will start the process of Making your Mental Box Bigger! |
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you are more likely to get what you want if you can define it positively and precisely
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It's more effective to think in terms of goals and what you want, rather than in terms of what you don't want. This is more than simple semantics. When we think of things in this way there is a mental gear change.
In BOS metaprograms are introduced. There are lots of these and they are the basis for how we think. The one we have just described is called Away-Towards. Away means we try to move mentally away from things we don't want. Towards means we move mentally towards things we want. Instead of saying how can I stop smoking, we might say how can I get become healthier.
If you're familiar with SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, realistic,
timely) you'll adapt to the Well Formed Outcomes technique quickly.
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Say it a Different Way
Lipstick
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Think of the word ‘Happiness’ and what it means
for you. Write down six words that you associate with it. I did this
with groups of six and have found duplicates happen in only 2-3 words of
36. Words are very powerful anchors which leads in particular
directions. We should spend some time simply rewriting our challenge
statements - they lead to different solutions. Instead of saying How
can we retain staff we could say How can we get staff who
stay.
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Always Assume Your Assumptions Are Wrong
Pitch Black restaurant The Pink Bus |
Assumption are mental short cuts we use to help us think more quickly. Useful, but we need to realise that they do form the sides of our mental boxes. Sometimes they can mask an obvious solution to our challenge. Imagine you are in black town. The local power company has a broken
generator so the street lights aren't working. There is no
moon in the sky. a black cat decides it wants to
cross the road and starts its journey. A black car comes roaring around the
corner. It has a fault with its lights so they are off. As the car approaches
the cat it swerves at the last moment. How did the driver
see the cat? Note that there is no moon in
the sky. Answer
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Why & What's Stopping Us?
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Our brains can only cope with so many things at
once. Complexity acts as a mental box. When we say things like 'we can't
do that, the culture won't let us' we are saying that we can't do anything
about the problem since it is so complicated. By breaking problems into
smaller chunks and plotting them as a hierarchy you will find
that solutions start to stand out.
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You are blind because you believe you can see, not because you cannot see.
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M ake sure you uncover
some facts about the situation. Make sure they are not disguised
assumptions or opinions. It was six men of Indostan,
to learning much inclined
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you know what you want
The story of the the six blind
men and the elephant by John Godfrey Saxe
(1816-1887) illustrates this.