Page 76 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

INDIVIDUAL PROCESSES FOR 101
CREATIVE
GENERATING CREATIVE PROBLEM

ALTERNATIVES sowiNG

This chapter describes thirty-eight processes that can be used TECHNIQUES
by individuals to generate creative alternatives. Some of these
techniques can be used by groups as well. However, Chap- 61
ter 5 describes the major techniques that can be used by
groups, some of which can also be used by individuals. Most
of the processes described in these two chapters can be used
in various situations, but a few are appropriate only for spe-
cific types of problems. Descriptions of the more frequently
used processes note such limitations where they exist.

27/1. ANALOGIES AND METAPHORS

Analogies and metaphors can serve as a means of identify-
ing problems and understanding them better. They may also
be used to generate alternative solutions. Often you can draw
an analogy between your problem and something else, or
express it in metaphorical terms. These may provide insight
into how to solve the problem.

Analogies

An analogy is a comparison of two things that are essen-
tially dissimilar but are shown through the analogy to have
some similarity. Analogies are often used to solve problems.
For example, when NASA found it necessary to design a
satellite that would be tethered to a space station by a thin
wire sixty miles long, it realized that the motion of reeling it
in would cause it to act like a pendulum with an
ever-widening arc. Stanford scientist Thomas Kane, using
the analogy of a yo-yo, determined that a small electric mo-