HAVE A MAP, BUT NOT A GUIDE. April 10, 2008
Posted by brainactivist in How to think creatively.Tags: creative process, creative thinking
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Think about the difference between a trip taken with a tour guide and one where you head out in your car, map in hand. On a guided tour, you end up where you’re supposed to, a designated place. With a map, there’s the possibility of an interesting side road where you say, let’s look there.
Why even have a map, you might be thinking. Because to get started, you have to be headed somewhere, but that doesn’t have to be where you end up. Be willing to arrive at a place you weren’t headed for.
Welcome detours. Often that’s where the good stuff it.
BIG TEAMS: POLITICAL, NOT PRODUCTIVE. April 10, 2008
Posted by brainactivist in How to think creatively.Tags: innovation, teams
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One thing I’ve consistently noticed is that outcomes hardly ever get better with big teams. As a matter of fact, I’d say the more people in the room, the worse the final product or idea. This is especially true when trying to come up with creative or innovative solutions.
The reason for this I think is it usually goes like this: someone has an idea, maybe someone else makes it better, but after that it starts to get diluted. The next person “has a concern” so the thought is kicked back a little, and it goes down from there.
Next time you’re in a group think, watch and see if this happens. There’s really not much you can do about it at that point with 12 or 30 or 100 of you trying to agree. But next time you’re in charge of organizing a project that requires groundbreaking thinking and innovation, keep it small.
(Please share your experiences with teams.)
FRONT LOAD YOUR MIND. April 10, 2008
Posted by brainactivist in How to think creatively.Tags: creative process, groundwork for creativity
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Learn everything about your topic or assignment. Then forget it. The mind is a mysterious thing and creativity is even harder to understand. But information left to brew and connect in unique ways is the basis for creativity.
I’ve found time and again that when I can’t get a really imaginative solution to a problem I’ve been hired to solve, it’s almost always because I don’t have enough information. Ask questions. Do some surfing. Read whatever you can find. The data will then be in your mental computer.
The “forget part” is important because this is when your mind is subconsciously working: making connections, coming up with unique solutions. But it can’t do its full work if the information isn’t stored in the databank.
WHY? ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. April 9, 2008
Posted by brainactivist in How to think creatively.Tags: creative process, problem-solving
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When clients call me, it frequently goes something like this: “Hi, we need an ad campaign. When can we talk?” “Why an ad campaign?” I ask. Then as we get further, it becomes apparent that what is really needed is something entirely different.
Imaginatively defining the problem is the crucial first step of arriving at an effective solution. For example, if my boss tasks my team with finding the answer to 2+2, we can easily come up with 4. But what if the real question is how much is 3+5? It’s all different then.
The first thing it always helps to wonder is, why?
CREATIVE THINKING: HARD TO DO, HARDER TO SELL. April 9, 2008
Posted by brainactivist in How to sell creative ideas.Tags: selling creative ideas
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Companies often request creative “out of the box” thinking, even more recently since the value of has become more recognized and accepted. (Remember in the report about what allowed September 11th to happen, a failure of imagination was one of the top reasons…that’s powerful!).
Selling creative thinking it is another story. If you think it’s a challenge to think truly creatively, wait until you try to convince your boss to take the idea and run with it. I think the reason for this is that a creative solution is by nature one that is different. That means it’s untested. And business and government love something that tests well. Just look at how companies develop products and how politicians run campaigns. They poll.
There are a couple of ways to try to get your groundbreaking idea to see the light of day. You can present your idea in business terms i.e. show backup (and there’s a lot today) about the rewards (ideally financial) of creative thinking. I’ll post more on this later with many examples. And you can try not to use “soft” terms like branding or other intangibles and focus more on the valuations senior people look for.
The first step, though, is don’t think that just because we were asked to do something truly different it will be easily embraced. Your toughest job is to get your brainstorm implemented.
(Please share tactics you’ve used to sell new ideas)
THE CREATIVE VALUE OF A GOOD NAP. April 9, 2008
Posted by brainactivist in How to think creatively.Tags: creativity
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I’m sure I’m not the only person who comes up with a good deal of their ideas in the shower, driving, or better yet…napping. I’d say that less than 15% of the solutions I get paid to deliver arrive while I’m at my desk. And even fewer surface when I’m in meeting.
It’s when we’re not actively thinking about something that the creative part of our brain goes to work. If I’m frustrated about not being able to come up with, say a marketing concept, I take a nap. Sure it’s not guaranteed that I’ll wake up with a great idea, but I might. I write things down in the middle of the night that make no sense in the morning. But once I do decode the scribble, I’m often excited to see a unique solution to a problem that had me stumped. I came up with the idea for this blog that way.
START SOMEWHERE. ANYWHERE April 8, 2008
Posted by brainactivist in How to think creatively.Tags: business plans, writing
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Whether you’re writing an article, a business plan, or a strategy document, the way to get going is to get going. Don’t wait until you have your thoughts organized or have arrived at the perfect way to express them.
Start to write down ideas, half thoughts, poorly written sentences . The next day, organize what you have. Then delete a few things and expand on a few more. Look at it a few days later and some edits will become apparent. Before you know it, you’ll have a good first draft. It’s almost as if your document wrote itself.
Just start.
