How can you encourage creative thinking when solving problems?

For those who need to know: 5 Whys: Traditional problem solving tecnique to find root cause of the problem where we ask "WHY" 5 times. SMART : entails to set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals.

Take the extra time to dig below the obvious for the true issue at hand - not only the what, but the why, and the desired outcome. Don't be too specific at this stage, because you may limit your ability to recognize options and opportunities that may lead to the desired outcome. Think past your first question and generate a few potential pathways. The first idea is rarely the best. Writer Warren Berger digs into this process in his writings about asking the right questions. Through interviews with the most innovative leaders, he found they all spend time formulating the right question before moving into action.

Put Your Problems into Words, in writing. You will be surprised to see that many of the people you are dealing with will put problem into different words. Agree on Problem Statement (written) first

We think of brainstorming as a group activity, but get the best results when it involves solitary thinking and then thinking as a group. Give people breaks to go think by themselves and then come back to review as a group. Invite people to step outside their daily roles and to take on other perspectives to solve the problem, for at least five minutes of solid thinking. "How would Dolly Parton/Batman/Mr. Rogers/Bill Gates/Julia Child/Captain Picard/Dr. Evil solve this problem?" Getting into another persona and trying to solve the problem from an entirely new perspective can help people break out of their existing patterns of approaching a problem.

The divergent thinking that happens in brainstorming allows us to consider "What if?" and use our imagination, humor, and challenging of assumptions and norms. Through this process, we break free from conventional thinking and allow ourselves to consider a multitude of ideas. Most of them won't work, but there are bound to be bursts of inspiration peppered with nuggets of ideas throughout. After brainstorming, re-ground yourself in reality and sort through the options in a more convergent thinking process. From the "What if?" shift to "What can?"

As facilitator of 100+ innovation projects all over the world, I love to share a CHECKLIST: 15 TIPS for THE PERFECT BRAINSTORM: 1. Define a relevant challenge 2. Create with the sponsor an assignment 3. Create momentum 4. Invite people for whom it is relevant. 5. Invite people for content as well as decision-making 6. Include outsiders 7. Invite the senior problem-owner 8. A special venue 9. An psychological safe environment 10. Never at the office 11. Spend twice as much time on the convergence - as on the divergence process. 12. Apply various idea-generating techniques 13. Keep up the pace 14. Appoint an expert facilitator 15. Make the output concrete Extra Tip: Check the FORTH innovation method for a structured approach.

Create an atmosphere where your team members feel free to suggest anything, literally anything. Most people stay quiet because they are afraid of criticism, and this way, many great ideas are lost. Once you have a bunch of ideas, it's time to work on them. Make sure to communicate the importance of collaboration. An individual can come up with an idea, but it takes a team to create a solution.

Our brains are mapped to fill in gaps and jump to conclusions based on our knowledge, experience and unique perspectives. There is power in this, but also a limited set of tools from which to build ideas. By cross pollinating ideas and solutions with others, we're able to leverage their tool sets to create a more dynamic and well-rounded approach to both divergent and convergent thinking. Ideas can come from anyone, regardless of rank and position. Include as many voices as reasonably possible, and find ways to include the quiet voices as well.

If you want new ideas then would highly advocate to include an outsider which would give you a fresh perscpective for example if you are from an agriculture industry try to bring someone from a technology domain, their distinct viewpoint, cultivated in a different field, can breathe new life into stagnant strategies. This symbiosis, exemplified by a true narrative, underlines the potentiality of such collaborations.

Who can you enlist to give you unique and useful feedback? Get outside of your comfort zone and ask the intended user what they think.

For reference: Feedback Matrix: a 2×2 matrix with positivity of feedback on the vertical axis and expectancy of feedback on the horizontal axis, it encourage to find out both positive and negative aspects of the feedback. Sandwich Method: technique that involves providing both positive and negative feedback, where negative aspects is sandwiched between two slices of constructive feedback.

After you apply divergent thinking, you should move to convergent thinking and analyse the alternatives and choose the one that best addresses the problem and have the best fit to your criteria's.

Remember that there is feedback in failure as well. Think of the prototyping process: taking an imperfect idea and running stress tests, both to test proof of concept and to find flaws in the plan. When you're prepared to iterate through multiple steps, you're more open to recognizing the benefits of a prototype's failure. You learn from what didn't work, you ask new questions, you find alternative solutions, and your assumptions are either confirmed or shifted.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” ~ Ferris Bueller. Rushing to the next project could result in missing important lessons in what made your project successful. Spend time reflecting on what worked, why, and what you learned. Then celebrate your success before moving on to the next challenge. We're so quick to keep moving forward that the race can drain your mental and emotional resources. Reflecting on your successes, both big and small, fuel you in the difficult creative process. It's not for the faint of heart. Give yourself the crucial recognition to keep you going.

Creative thinking doesn't need to be reserved for the special few. It's a profoundly human trait, and it's one that anyone can learn and grow into a habit.