Creative Thinking Techniques - Enhance Your Creativity

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Powerful Creative Thinking Techniques

If you're looking for creative thinking techniques to jump start your creativity, you've come to the right place.

As I explain in my lens "How to Be More Creative", creativity is a skill that can be learned. In the words of Edward de Bono, one of the giants in the field of creativity: "Creative thinking . . . empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits."

In addition, an important step of the creativity process is applying creative thinking techniques to help nudge your thinking and get your creative juices flowing.

There are literally hundreds of ingenious creative thinking techniques for approaching problems in unconventional ways. In this lens you'll find ten powerful creative thinking techniques you can begin to apply right away to start generating ideas.

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How to Be More Creative - A Handbook for Alchemists

Assumption-Busting Techniques

Assumption-Busting Techniques

creative thinking techniquesAssumptions are mental shortcuts: we assume that a situation we're facing is like other situations we've encountered before, and that what worked then will work once again. In fact, the more experienced we are in a particular area, the more likely we are to bring lots of baggage to the problem, which can inhibit us from finding novel and creative solutions.

In order to challenge your assumptions, write down all of the dominant ideas that apply to a particular situation and then deliberately challenge them. List all of the assumptions that you're making and next to each one write a counter-assumption - not necessarily its negation, but its opposite.

Once you drop preconceived notions you're more likely to find better solutions. One approach-suggested by Jurgen Wolff on his blog "Time to Write"-is to pretend that you're a Martian that has just landed on earth and is seeing things on this planet for the first time. This would put you in a position of questioning everything, seeing your problem or situation with completely fresh eyes, and taking nothing for granted.

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Important!

The Most Fruitful Assumptions to Bust Are the Following:

  • Things you believe are true that may not be true.
  • Things that you believe "have to be done this way".
  • Things you believe are required that may not be required.
  • Things you believe you don't control but in fact you can influence.

“Your assumptions are your blind spots, or lines you've drawn in the sand.”

Asumption Busting Links

Manage your core business assumptions and secure your company's long-term success
What have you come to accept about your customers, products and competitors? What assumptions has your company consecrated as gospel? How confident are you in the assumptions you are making about core dimensions of your business?
Assumption Busting
Breaking patterns to find new ideas.
The Expert's Dilemma
I would like to propose that the majority of people who have reached a state of expertise in their domain may be at risk for being too smart to innovate. Those with the highest emotional attachment to their beliefs are at the highest risk for being out-thought, out-done and out-innovated.

Brainstorming

Important!

Brainstorming at IDEO

"Brainstorming is practically a religion at IDEO, one we practice nearly every day. Though brainstorms themselves are often playful, brainstorming as a tool - as a skill - is taken quite seriously. And in a company without many rules, we have a very firm idea about what constitutes a brainstorm and how it should be organised."

(Tom Kelly, The Art of Innovation)

Brainstorming

creative thinking techniquesBrainstorming is a process for generating new ideas in which specific rules and techniques are applied which encourage and spark off new ideas which would not have happened under normal circumstances.

The brainstorming rules are basically the following:

  • Withhold judgment and criticism. During the first stage of a brainstorming session ideas are not evaluated in any way.

  • Wild, seemingly wacky ideas are welcome.

  • Go for quantity, not quality.

  • Build off the ideas put forth by others.

  • Mutate and Combine, that is, deliberately distort and modify existing ideas and deliberately try to build new ideas from combinations of existing ones.


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    Brainstorming Links

    Is Brainstorming a Waste of Time?
    Participate in the debate.
    Brainstorming: Pros and Cons
    Bob Sutton's take on brainstorming.
    Perfect Brainstorming
    The best-known and widely used team-based creative problem solving and creative thinking technique is brainstorming. One major reason why brainstorming is useful is that it helps to free us from 'fixed ideas'.

    COCD Box: Improve Your Brainstorming Sessions

    The COCD (Center for Development of Creative Thinking) developed a handy tool for creative thinking: the COCD Box. The purpose of the box is to further encourage outlandish thinking during brainstorming sessions. The process works as follows:

    1. Ideas are generated during a brainstorming session and each one is given a number.

    2. Each participant is given red, yellow, and blue sticking dots. The blue dots represent the plain, but realizable ideas. That is, those ideas that are closest to what is already being done. The red dots represent original, but realizable ideas (the "Wow" ideas). The yellow dots are attached to those ideas that are very original but are not realizable at the present moment.

    3. Discuss which ideas should be assigned which dots.

    The unique feature of this technique is that it encourages you to consider the yellow ideas, the dreams, the ideas of the future.

    Edison's Idea File

    Important!

    Edison's Idea File

    Edison's Idea File consists of keeping track of any good ideas that you come across by writing them down and storing them someplace where you'll easily find them when you need them.

    As Mark Twain once said: "All ideas are second hand, consciously or unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources and used by the creative person with pride and satisfaction."

    Koinonia

    Koinonia - Generate Ideas by Brainstorming With Others in Your Field

    creative thinking techniquesKoinonia is a creativity technique explained by Michael Michalko's in his book "Thinkertoys":

    To generate ideas, brainstorm with others in your field. Einstein, for instance, would freely exchange ideas and opinions with his colleagues. Michalko explains that Einstein would use a technique originated by Socrates in which the principles of Koinonia were applied. Koinonia means "spirit of fellowship."

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    Koinonia Links

    How to Encourage Collaboration on Your Team
    The physicist David Bohm researched the lives of Einstein and his colleagues-Heisenberg, Pauli and Bohr-and discovered that they spent years openly bouncing ideas off each other. They exchanged concepts without trying to change the others' minds and without bitter argument. They felt free to propose whatever idea they conceived, establishing an extraordinary professional fellowship. This risk-free collaboration led to breakthroughs and discoveries that later became the foundations of modern physics.
    An Interview with Thinkertoys & Cracking Creativity Author Michael Michalko
    Koinonia Principles:

    ESTABLISH DIALOGUE. In Greek, the word dialogue means "talking through." The Greeks believed that the key to establishing dialogue is to exchange ideas without trying to change the other person's mind.

    CLARIFY YOUR THINKING. To clarify your thinking, you must suspend all untested assumptions. Being aware of your assumptions and suspending them allows thought to flow freely.

    BE HONEST. Say what you think, even if your thoughts are controversial.

    Lateral Thinking

    225 Creativity Quotes

    “Seeking to solve problems by unorthodox or apparently illogical methods." Concise Oxford Dictionary”

    Lateral Thinking

    creative thinking techniques"Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way." - Edward de Bono

    British physician, author, inventor, and consultant Edward de Bono has had a major impact on the way we think and particularly in the field of creativity. He coined the phrase "lateral thinking" which involves approaching problems from diverse, unexpected angles and from different perspectives. Dr. de Bono meant to differentiate lateral thinking-in which you nudge the mind to make sudden turns- from vertical thinking, which is logical and sequential thinking.

    Our brains are "pattern recognition systems", which helps us to quickly evaluate our surroundings and respond accordingly. However, we can get stuck with patterns, which hinders our ability to generate new ideas. Lateral thinking seeks to provide techniques to nudge the brain out of its patterns.

    Lateral thinking can be learned, and Dr. de Bono has created several techniques to help you apply lateral thinking to problem solving and idea generation. Some of these are the following: think of as many different alternatives for solving a problem as you possibly can; challenge any assumptions you may have about your problem; and insert random elements which will encourage you to look at the problem from a different and unexpected perspective.

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    Creativity Quote

    "There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all."

    -- Edward de Bono

    Lateral Thinking

    Edward de Bono - discusses Lateral Thinking™
    by IndigoTrainingUK | video info

    44 ratings | 26,983 views
    curated content from YouTube

    Lateral Thinking - An Example

    Ford Motor Company

    Here's a great example of lateral thinking which I found on the blog Stepcase Lifehack:

    Ford Motor Corporation asked Edward de Bono for advice on how they could clearly differentiate themselves from their many competitors in car manufacturing.

    Ford had approached the problem of competing from the point of view of a car manufacturer and asked the question, "How can we make our cars more attractive to consumers?"

    Dr. de Bono approached the problem from a completely different angle and asked the following question, "How can we make the whole driving experience better for Ford customers?"

    The new entry point that was created by looking at a problem from a different perspective allowed Dr. de Bono to come up with the following idea: Ford should buy up parking lots in all the major city centers and make them available for Ford cars only.

    Unfortunately, Dr. De Bono's innovative idea was too radical for Ford; they saw themselves as an automobile manufacturer with no interest in the parking lot business.

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    Books by Edward de Bono

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    Three Lateral Thinking Puzzles

    Here are three lateral thinking puzzles for you to try and resolve (the answers are provided below, but make an effort to resolve the problems before looking at the answer):

    1. Acting on an anonymous phone call, the police raid a house to arrest a suspected murderer. They don't know what he looks like, but they know his name is John. Inside they find a carpenter, a taxi driver, a car mechanic and a fireman playing cards. Without even asking his name, they immediately arrest the fireman. How do they know they've got their man? (Source).

    2. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him? (Source).

    3. Look at the picture below with the nine dots. Can you connect the nine dots using 4 straight lines, without lifting your pencil from the paper and without retracing any lines?

    Solutions to the Three Lateral Thinking Puzzles

    The solution to the first problem above is that there was only one man sitting at the table; the other three, the carpenter, the taxi driver, and the mechanic were women.

    As for the second problem, the safest room is the third. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead.

    For the third problem, the solution is to extend the lines beyond the square-frame created by the dots, as shown in the picture below:



    Psychologists have speculated that the nine-dot problem is difficult because people are so dominated by the perception of a square that they don't "see" the possibility of extending lines outside the square formed by the dots.

    Lateral Thinking Puzzles on Amazon

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    The Lotus Blossom Approach

    The Lotus Blossom Approach

    The lotus blossom approach works as follows: Describe the problem that you're facing and write it down on a card or Post-it Note and place it in the middle of a large working area. Use other tools for creating ideas to generate a set of ideas on how to solve the problem. Write each idea on a card or Post-it Note of its own and place it around the problem description. This is the first layer of the lotus blossom.

    Make a copy of each of the idea cards and place them further out from the first layer. Now surround each of the copied idea cards with secondary ideas, using only the copied idea cards as stimuli. This should result in ideas which are further removed from the original problem. Look around the many ideas you now have and seek to link some of these back to the original problem.

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    Lotus Blossom Links

    Lotus Blossom
    The Lotus Blossom works to stretch thinking away from the rut that can surround the original problem by using ideas as triggers for further thinking, thus asking you to move further way from the problem than you might otherwise go.
    Creative Thinking Technique: Lotus Blossom
    In Lotus Blossom, the petals around the core of the blossom are figuratively "peeled back" one at a time, revealing a key component or theme. This approach is pursued in ever-widening circles until the subject or opportunity is comprehensively explored. The cluster of themes and surrounding ideas and applications, which are developed in one way or another, provide several different alternative possibilities.

    Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques (2nd Edition)

    Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques (2nd Edition)

    Amazon Price: $10.19 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

    Michael Michalko is a world acclaimed creativity expert. As an officer in the US army, Michael organized a team of NATO intelligence specialists and international academics to collect and categorize all known creative-thinking methods. His team applied those methods to many different situations and produced a variety of breakthrough ideas. After leaving the military, Michael facilitated CIA think tanks using his creative thinking techniques. He collected many of the creative thinking techniques he uses in this book.

    101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: The Handbook of New Ideas for Business

    101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: The Handbook of New Ideas for Business

    Amazon Price: $12.52 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

    In "101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: The Handbook of New Ideas for Business", James M. Higgins has collected problem-solving techniques from organizations and individuals from around the world. Each technique is carefully explained so that the reader can immediately start applying them to solve problems creatively and generate ideas.

    How to Be More Creative

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    250 Tips for Writers, From Writers

    Mind Maps

    Mind Maps

    creative thinking techniquesA mind map is a whole-brain method for generating and organizing ideas which is largely inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's approach to note-taking. The concept was brought into the mainstream by Tony Buzan and is based on patterns found in nature and research on how humans think and how the brain works.

    Mind maps can be used for all of the following:

    - Personal goal setting
    - Problem solving
    - Writing a business plan
    - Generating ideas
    - Improving reading comprehension and retention
    - Studying for exams
    - Learning languages

    Basically, you place an image at the center of a piece of paper which represents the subject matter of the mind map. Then you write down a key word that describes your topic. Next, you proceed to draw branches leading out from the central issue which represent the main associations that come from thinking of said issue. From each main association, you then branch out into sub-associations.

    Make your branches organic and free flowing, instead of making them structured and rigid. Add just one word per branch. In addition, it's important to use color and images when creating your mind maps to further stimulate both memory and imagination.

    Creative Commons License photo credit: Philippe Boukobza

    Tony Buzan on Mind Maps

    "Mind Maps use letters and numbers and they also use color and image, which means that they engage the left and the right sides of the brain. This is why you can increase your thinking power synergistically when you use Mind Maps. Each side of the brain simultaneously feeds off and strengthens the other in a manner which provides limitless creative potential." (Mind Maps at Work, by Tony Buzan, pg. 9)
    Maximise the Power of Your Brain - Tony Buzan MIND MAPPING
    by iMindMap | video info

    1,312 ratings | 1,095,559 views
    curated content from YouTube

    Books on Mind Mapping

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    Mind Mapping Step-by-Step

    1. Get a plain sheet of paper and turn it so that it's on its landscape side. You're also going to need colored pens or pencils.
    2. Mind maps represent a task or idea in pictorial form with a minimum of words. They rely on key pictures and key words that act as triggers. In the center of the page, draw a picture or image that represents the central concept of your mind map.
    3. Use colors throughout. Adding images and colors stimulates right-brain thinking; that is, it stimulates creativity and imagination.
    4. Write down a key word which represents the central idea. Throughout the mind map you'll use just one key word per line. Keywords exercise your analytical "left brain" and help you find the essence of your subject. A phrase or sentence locks the meaning of a word into a very restricted area. Using just one key word per line gives you the freedom to discover the maximum amount of creative associations for your key word. When you first start mind mapping, the temptation to use complete phrases will be enormous, but you should always look for opportunities to shorten phrases to a single word.
    5. What are the main concepts or ideas that can be derived from the image and key word you've placed in the middle of the page? Draw anywhere from five to nine thick branches leading out from your central image/key word. Each of these branches represents a Basic Ordering Idea (BOI), and you're going to find an image and a key word for each.
    6. Look at your main branches--your BOIs--and begin making free associations. Draw smaller sub-branches that stem from each BOI to accommodate the new associations you're making. Then connect third-level branches from the ends of the sub-branches, and so on. Let your mind work freely by association and have fun.
    7. Make the branches curve and flow.
    8. Use images throughout. The images make the mind map more interesting and more memorable. In addition, pictures generate far more associations than words do.

    How to Make a Mind Map

    How To Make A Mind Map - Version 2
    by ukbraintrainer | video info

    120 ratings | 137,579 views
    curated content from YouTube

    Mind Mapping Lens

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    More Creative Links

    25+ Audacious Creativity Tools
    Here you'll find over twenty-five different tools to help kick your creativity into high gear. You'll find a wide range of tools, such as creativity cards, tools to scribble, idea markets and a random word generator.
    Mind Maps: Everything You Need to Know
    A mind map is a whole-brain method for generating and organizing ideas which is largely inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's approach to note-taking.
    20 Creative Thinking Techniques
    You can overcome routine thinking and stimulate creative thought by using specific techniques that will help both stimulate and constrain your mind so that it can solve problems more effectively and generate more ideas.
    75 Creativity Quotes
    Seventy-five quotes to jumpstart your creativity.
    54 Tips For Writers, From Writers
    Who better to get writing tips from than famous writers?

    Random Element

    “Introducing a random element helps you to change perspectives.”

    Creativity Technique - Introduce a Random Element

    A commonly used creativity technique is defining your problem and then introducing a random element--such as a word you pick randomly out of the dictionary or a magazine--and forcing an association between the word and the problem.

    For example, suppose you can't fit your child's new mattress in your car. You look for a random object and the first thing you see is a dog. Dogs can often be seen in cars with their heads hanging out the window. This gives you the idea to open one of the back windows and let part of the mattress hang out the window. This way, you're able to get the mattress in the car.

    Here are three random element techniques:

    • Random Word: For more information on how to use the random word technique go here or here.

    • Random Picture: For more information on how to use the random picture technique go here.

    • False Rule: In addition, the random element that you introduce can be a "false rule". Basically, you take a rule, quote, idea or suggestion from somewhere else and apply it to your own situation. For example, apply the following rules to your problem: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line; if you hear hoofs think horses, not zebras; or, always disconnect the power supply before changing the light bulb. For more information on how to use the false rule technique go here.


    Introducing random elements is an example of lateral thinking. For more information on lateral thinking, visit my post: Lateral Thinking - Think Out of the Box.

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    Links on the False Rule Technique

    False Rule Technique
    To generate new ideas using this method you apply rules to your own probortunity which have already been applied to a different subject but which have not yet been applied to your own. You are taking a rule, quote, idea or suggestion from somewhere else and applying it to your own situation. For example: "Must be 18 or older"; "Refrigerate after opening"; and so on.

    Creative Whack Pack

    Creative Whack Pack

    Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 02/15/2012)Buy Now

    This is an illustrated deck of 64 creative thinking strategies that will whack you out of habitual thought patterns and enable you to look at your life and actions in a fresh way. It was created by creativity expert Roger von Oech.

    Reverse Brainstoming

    Reverse Brainstorming

    Reverse Brainstorming is a technique in which you state your problem in reverse: change a positive statement into a negative one, try to define what something is not, and so on. Basically, it's a combination of the well-known brainstorming technique with the technique of changing your perspective so that you can look at the problem or situation from a completely different angle.

    For example, if you want to increase sales, make a list of all the things you could possibly do to decrease sales. These could include the following:

    • Not making any calls to prospects.
    • Being rude to customers.
    • Showing poor product knowledge.
    Then reverse engineer: How can I make more sales by making more sales calls? How can I increase sales by giving better service to my customers? A portion of the book "Cracking Creativity"--including a discussion of the reverse brainstorming technique--is available for free here.

    Some more examples of reverse bainstorming:

    - A real estate agent might ask: What would make it almost impossible to sell this house?
    - Someone starting a web site might ask: What would make people click away from this site as soon as they land on it?
    - A contractor competing for a job might ask: What can we do not to win this contract?

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    SCAMPER

    SCAMPER

    The SCAMPER technique was developed by Bob Eberle. SCAMPER is an acronym which stands for questions relating to the following:

    S - Substitute/Simplify: Think about substituting part of your product/process for something else. Typical questions include: What can I substitute to make an improvement? What if I swap this for that and see what happens?

    C - Combine: Think about combining two or more parts of your problem to achieve a different product/process or to enhance synergy. Typical questions are: What materials, features, processes, people, products or components can I combine? Where can I build synergy?

    A - Adapt: Think about which parts of the product/process could be adapted to remove the problem or think how you could change the nature of the product/process. Some typical questions that can be asked are: What part of the product could I change? And in exchange for what? What if I were to change the characteristics of a component?

    M - Modify/distort: Think about distorting the product or process in an unusual way. Typical questions can include: What happens if I warp or exaggerate a feature or component? What will happen if I modify the process in some way?

    P - Put to other Purposes: Think of how you might be able to put your current solution/ product/process to other purposes, or think of what you could reuse from somewhere else in order to solve your own problem. Typical questions are: What other market could I use this product in? Who or what else might be able to use it?

    E - Eliminate: Think of what might happen if you eliminated various parts of the product/process/problem and consider what you might do in that situation. You can ask the following questions: What would happen if I removed a component or part of it? How else would I achieve the solution without the normal way of doing it?

    R - Rearrange: Think of what you would do if part of your problem/product/process worked in reverse or was done in a different order. You can use this to see your problem from different angles and come up with new ideas. A typical question would be: What if I did it the other way round?

    SCAMPER

    Scamper
    The SCAMPER technique uses a set of directed questions which you answer about your problem in order to come up with new ideas. The stimulus comes from forcing yourself to answer questions which you would not normally pose. The questions direct you to thinking about a problemin ways which typically come up with new ideas.

    Bonus Creativity Technique

    TRIZ - Segmentation

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    TRIZ Links

    TRIZ Principle - Segmentation
    Segmentation is looking at your problem and fragmenting it. It's about solving a problem by transitioning it to the micro level, or by dividing it into its smallest pieces.
    Do It the Other Way Around - TRIZ Principle for Solving Problems
    The thirteenth TRIZ universal principle is doing things the other way around. Just as the name implies, this principle is about doing the opposite of the standard, reversing things, and flipping things over.
    Creativity Hack: Use TRIZ to Solve Problems and Generate Ideas
    This article explains and gives examples of the first three TRIZ principles.

    How to Be More Creative - A Handbook for Alchemists

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    Thinkpak: A Brainstorming Card Deck 

    Thinkpak: A Brainstorming Card Deck

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