Be
Stupid
In
our work today, we're paid to solve problems. Unfortunately, the
problem-solving techniques taught in school aren't adequate for
the fast-paced, changing world we live in. The results are less
than adequate decisions, staying with the status quo, doing what's
easy .... Understandably, the results in our lives are frustration,
anger, stress, sickness, and devastated office morale.
What
helped Einstein break past the barriers of conformity and craft
innovative solutions to his problems?
How
did he manage to be so productive?
How
did he come up with the ideas that turned the foundations of science
on end?
How
can I capture some of that genius and apply it to my own life?
The
answer is to be absurd!
Einstein's
genius was that he not only thought out of the box, he threw away
ALL boxes with little regard to what others would think of him!
He said that in order to think creatively, you first had to think
of ideas that turned convention on its head.
So,
grab Einstein's courage and work against the grain!
Instead
of taking the best ideas and implementing them, take the stupidest
ideas you ever heard, and use them to turn your workplace upside
down.
What
you do is plan a brainstorming session - but suggest that people
throw in some totally off the wall, ridiculous ideas just for fun.
Suggest to people that as a brain-energizer and warm-up, you are
going to first have some fun dealing with the "stupid"
ideas and then move on the better ones.
Take
a vote as to which three ideas are the stupidest ideas of all. Then
one by one, take those stupid ideas and use them to generate ideas
that are workable!
You'll
be surprised by both how innovative and do-able the ideas are! In
fact, your group may be so taken with these "stupid" ideas
that they never get around to looking at the good ones!
Perhaps
your new workplace motto will be, "Come on, give me a STUPID
answer!"
Break
the rules!
Einstein
challenged and broke the scientific paradigms of the day. Always
a rule breaker, Einstein questioned the mentality behind, "But
that's the way we do it," "Everyone knows that!"
and "But that's the way we've always done it."
When
we accept a rule, we don't even bother to look past it. It's like
radio salespeople who believed that you couldn't sell radio ads
in a certain month - until a new employee who didn't know that went
out and sold more ads in that one month that all the other salespeople
put together!
Go
ahead, break the rules....
One
way to break the rules when problem-solving is to list your assumptions
and then systematically break them.
- List
all the assumptions or 'rules' associated with the problem.
- Break
each assumption.
- Use
the broken assumptions to come up with new ideas.
For
example, let's look at bookmarks. The assumptions may be:
- They
are made of paper.
- They
are approximately 1.5 inches by 6.5 inches.
- They
fit into a book lengthwise.
- They
should be used as a marketing tool.
- They
have words printed on them.
Instead
of making one of paper, you could make one of wood, or fabric, or
metal, or plastic, or a picture frame, or a paper clip ....
Instead
of having words printed on a bookmark, it could have images only,
or one of those computer chips that talks or makes a sound, or ....
Sound
too unbelievable? At some of the Shaker Villages, one of the best
sellers are wooden bookmarks!
Get
the idea?
Ask
the RIGHT Question
Albert
Einstein, like da Vinci, believed that before you can solve the
problem, you have to figure out WHAT the problem is. Unfortunately,
we usually jump right into problem-solving mode before we ask ourselves
if we know what the right question is. Instead of solving the right
question, we're solving a question that doesn't address the real
problem. As a result, our hard work is often just a bandaid solution,
never getting to the root of the problem, or creating even more
problems through its implementation!
Michael
Michalko, noted creativity expert, states: "For every word
a person uses, psychologists say there is a mediating response that
provides the meaning of that concept for that individual....When
you change the words in your problem statement, you initiate an
unobservable process in your mind that may lead to a new thought
or idea."
What
you want to do is what Einstein did - ask as many questions as possible.
Here's how to do it:
- Write
down the problem you are trying to solve.
- Reword
it in as many other ways as possible.
- Try
solving the reworded question.
For
example, in a Creative Time Management Workshop I recently facilitated,
I had the participants look at the question, "How can I be
more productive?"
They
reworded the question as:
- How
can I focus better?
- How
can I do things more effectively?
- How
can I do more of what I like?
- How
can I do more of what gets rewarded?
- How
can I make sure I'm meeting the organizational goals with the
work I'm doing?
- How
can I find someone who likes doing the stuff I hate doing?
- How
can I handle the stress of deadlines better?
- How
can I get other people to meet the deadlines they say they are
going to so that I can then meet my own deadlines?
As
you can see, the answers to each of the above questions would be TOTALLY
different. So make sure that you're answering the RIGHT question the
next time you have a problem that needs a solution!
Jean's
creativity newsletter, The Creativity Catalyst, is a monthly electronic
newsletter discussing Jean V. Dickson's ideas and thoughts on how
individuals can insert innovation into their lives. Contact Jean
for further information at: jeand@jvdcreativity.com.
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©
February 2002 Jean V. Dickson. All rights reserved.
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free to share The Creativity Catalyst in whole or in part
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