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Tapping into Creativity for Problem Solving in Business
by Joan Rudder-Ward
Many companies have realized a need for creativity in their people, and are looking for managers who have the ability to enter the problem-solving stage with a fresh outlook for unique solutions. Business owners, as well, benefit from innovative and creative thinking to stay competitive and to be able to offer enhanced or new products and services to their customers.
Right-brained vs. Left-Brained
Research shows that many in business and those in management positions tend to be more left-brain dominant - focusing on structuring, organizing, and controlling situations. Right-brained individuals - "creatives" - are known to have a greater capacity for problem solving, as the creative mind processes information in a more intuitive way.
Artists, musicians, designers, writers-these are the people that are generally accepted as being right-brained i.e., those possessing creativity. On the other hand the left-brain dominants-accountants, engineers, scientists, -are usually classified as lacking in the creativity category.
In our traditional education system, the creative thought process is generally pushed aside in favor of the logical/linear thought process where thinking is sequential -going from one step to the next, so it's not surprising that this is the preferred way of problem solving. Experts in creative thought and lateral thinking agree that the ability for creative thought and problem solving is achievable by anyone who works to develop their right-brain processes.
A Mini Self-Evaluation
What is your creativity quotient for problem solving?
Perform a self-evaluation in finding your "creativity quotient" by answering these three questions:
Do I have the ability to look at a situation from several points of view?
Am I able to resist snap judgments?
Is there an absence of absolutes in my thinking?
You may answer "Yes, I can do this," . However, is this the norm in your problem-solving process? Does your mind automatically begin to think in these terms?
Develop your Creative Thinking Ability
How can you develop your own creative thinking ability for enhanced problem-solving skills? First let's look at some strategies that enhance the mind's ability to think. Though taken from an article on Creativity by Ted Pollock some time ago, it is timeless and relevant information.
Use analogies - Analogies are similar situations in terms of things people already know. For example, consider the many scientific products developed from analogous situations or principles of nature.
• Radar-resulted from studying the uses of reflected sound waves among bats
• Airplane cargo doors-designed to work in the same way a clam shell opens.
• The built in seam weakness of the pea pod suggested an opening for cigarette packages that have been adapted throughout the whole area of packaging
Build a tolerance for ambiguity by setting blocks or goals . Lead a problem up to a certain unsolved point and then stop, allowing time to toy with information, to be puzzled, intrigued, involved, or challenged. This is a technique that leads to more self-directed problem solving.
Ask provocative questions . Recognize the difference between factual questions such as "how much?" "what if", "who?" and questions that require dept of comprehension such as "how would you? "why?", or "how else?" This skill can be practiced by looking at a picture or advertisement and listing questions that can't be answered by looking at the picture. Make yourself as sensitive to question asking as you are to finding an answer.
Allow opportunities to interact with yourself and your knowledge . Provide opportunities to toy with information that is already known instead of continuing to acquire new information. Develop the skill of nurturing infant ideas by combining new associations out of what is already known. Use a multitude of experiences for doing some with facts or knowledge already possessed.
Learn to use those skills that are highly developed such as identifying, manipulating, exploring, being curious, using trial and error. Capitalize on those skills by practicing and using them, instead of smothering and stifling them.
Be receptive to unexpected responses and their significance. Realize how old information can be used in new ways by adding motion, color, light, movement, etc. Learn how to handle and capitalize on surprising responses whenever they occur. Take advantage of the significance of unusual, original, or non-pertinent ideas.
Develop skills in reading creatively . Read for usefulness as well as interest. Develop the skill of scanning. Acquire the knack of getting involved in what you read. Reorganize and rearrange information. Practice synthesizing, analyzing and recombining printed information.
Learn to Listen Creatively . Think to yourself - "how can I use this information for me?"
How to be more creative as a manager and nurture creativity in yourself and your subordinates.
• Encourage active communication within your workgroup
• Make use of diversity. Creative experts say bringing together people with diverse backgrounds enhances the cross-fertilization process that is helpful in generating ideas.
• Minimize the fear of failure - regard errors and mistakes as opportunities for learning
• Keep an open mind- listen to all ideas no matter how far-fetched
• Embrace fun - many creative people believe that having fun is essential to the creative process
• Budget for innovation
• Instill a positive in a group setting- instead of finding flaws in new ideas, encourage people to the positives first and examine the negatives later.
• Allow for diversity in personal styles of creativity
© 2003-2007 J Rudder of Wise Woman Enterprises All Rights Reserved
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