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If you want to direct creativity to improving what already exists:

n If we listed the strengths and weaknesses on one page what three
things would you change to make it better?
– Why are they the important things?

n What is the stupidest way that you can think of to do this?
n If you were given a modest budget what would you do to improve

things?
– What could be done without involving costs?
n If we were starting up as a competitor to this company what would
we have to do to attract customers from this business? From our
competitors?
n When you think of the way that we do things around here what
animals come to mind?
– Why?
n What would be the most fun to do?
n If we reversed everything how would things be in this case?
(Adrian Furnham has written and self-published a delightful book
in which he reverses management theories and, on well-proven
psychological research shows what the effects would be of say,
“disempowering” people, or having teams appraise the work of
their bosses. In many cases things might well be better.)

Final analysis

Creative thinking and particularly creative problem solving is a matter of:

n Visioning – having the “big picture of where we want to be rather
than merely where we could be”.

n Exploring – playing with ideas to see what could be achieved in
theory and then in reality.

n Asking – Why not?
n Experimenting – combining the known with the untried or

simply combining existing elements in new ways.
n Modifying – taking the best ideas that we can find and instead of

copying them, improving them.
n Communicating – getting other minds in on the act.
n Influencing – getting the needful others on board.

The important thing is to remember that we can all do these things. The
more that we do them the better, the more skilful, the more creative, we
become.

Forget your problem – give me your solution 123