Personal Innovation, Creative Thinking and Problem Solving

Creativity just means being able to generate something new.

That could be a masterpiece in painting, but it can also be a new idea. If you're able to be original in the way you think about a problem, you've got what it takes.

So don't worry if you're not good with a paintbrush - you can still participate in creative self-empowerment.

In your personal life, it's easy to see how thinking creatively and coupling those ideas with action can help you to overcome life's many obstacles. But it's also important to remember that creative self-empowerment can also make a huge impact on your professional life.

If you work for yourself, you'll be able to use problem-solving skills to find ways to increase your customer base, reduce your overhead, work with difficult employees, and improve your profits.

You'll be able to take your business to the next level.

This type of innovation also will serve you well if you work for a corporation. The ability to come up with new ideas and then put those ideas into action is exactly what corporations are looking for in the current climate.

When you think about creativity, you may have the idea that it's all about free-flowing ideas. But in reality, you can mix structure with your creativity.

In fact, making a list can be a great way to take your creativity to the next level. In the business novel Jack's Notebook, by Gregg Fraley, you'll learn how list making can actually help you to generate more creative ideas.

Writing your thoughts down on paper can help you to get a more concrete understanding of whether or not they'll work for you. This process of brainstorming can help you to come up with many more ideas - and keep you from forgetting them.

You can also use your list-writing to push yourself creatively. People have the tendency to stop thinking of solutions once they think they've found a good one. But when you're using lists to help generate ideas, you should continue even after you think you've figured it out. This can push you to come up with something even more innovative than you thought possible.

When you're idea generating seems to slow down, it's a good idea to try changing your perspective.

Think about how other people you know would solve the problem - family members, business leaders, or friends can help to inspire you to come up with a creative solution that's outside of your normal thinking pattern.

Once you feel like you've completely exhausted your list, you need to review all of your options. At this point it's time to think a little more critically and make choices about what ideas will work best and which ideas can be put aside for now.

The word creativity can make people who are very structured feel very uncomfortable. But creativity can be structured and even the most rigid person can learn how to harness it and make it work for them.

Creativity is simply a way of thinking - and it's possible to retrain your brain to think in a different way. By pushing through the first ideas that come from the top of your head, you'll get to the more creative solutions that you're seeking.

Everyone has the ability to solve problems and using creativity and innovation is just a way of problem solving using the best ideas you can develop.

You don't have to wait for something spontaneous to spark your creativity. In fact, even artists have methods to help them design their next work. When it comes to creativity in your personal or professional life, you can develop methods that help you to focus your energy on creativity. For example, brainstorming sessions can force you to list your ideas in a structured way.

And the more you practice creativity, the easier it becomes. It's a skill that becomes more natural the more often you do it - just like playing the piano. Using creativity at every possible opportunity will make it a more innate process for you.

In the business novel Jack's Notebook, Gregg Fraley helps readers to unlock the power of creative innovation. You'll be able to see exactly how anyone can use creativity to solve problems and to spark new ideas that equal success.

You don't have to be a genius or an artist to be creative. Creativity is something that everyone has within them.

You just have to learn how to make the most of what you already know how to do.

Wouldn't you like to have more ideas to meet your challenges? Make the most of your creative thinking capacity by using these six proven techniques for easy, and effective idea generation:

1. Make sure you understand the challenge first. Take some time and do some research on the situation. You may find that you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what actually is going on. Play with seeing it from a completely different angle, like, how would Abe Lincoln see this? Try flipping the perspective, maybe it's not a selling problem, but a problem with perception of value.

2. Defer judgment. When making your list of ideas to solve your problem, just list any idea that comes to you and get into a flow. Don't be critical or analytical about the ideas, and don't censor yourself. Even obvious or "stupid" ideas can be a stepping stone to a better idea, so they serve a purpose.

3. Get into a playful mindset. Even when the problem is dead serious, a playful mindset is what you want when generating more ideas. The thing said in jest can spark something practical that works. For instance, a woman put up a jokey web site about tumbleweeds to practice building websites. She's now making a living selling tumbleweeds.

4. Make longer lists of ideas. Call it the quantity principle. When confronted with a challenge that requires ideas most of us stop after thinking of just a few things we might do. If you make a longer list of options and give it just a bit more time you exponentially increase your odds of having a better, and possibly a breakthrough idea.

5. Write your ideas down. How basic can you get, right? The thing is most of us have good ideas, flashes of insight, at odd moments and we neglect to write them down. We think we'll remember, but in truth they often vanish into the ether. Carry a small notebook to keep your idea lists with you at all times. If you think you don't have many great ideas, all the more reason not to waste the few you do have. It's also a great thing to pull out when you are waiting in line at the bank or the grocery store (see (4!)

6. Once you have a long list, create combinations. Marketers know that the easiest way to create a new product is to make a new combination. Think of those gym shoes kids have with the tiny roller skate wheels - a simple combination that sold a lot of shoes. Review your long list of ideas and see if you can combine two or more to create a more powerful idea to solve your problem or meet your challenge.

Final thought: Creative thinking is a full time occupation. If you continuously ask your brain to come up with more options, it will respond with ideas for you. So, put yourself to work everyday thinking, dedicate time to it, and use the methods above to make your thinking more effective. Best of luck - and remember, you'll be making your own luck by using your own creative skills.

Gregg Fraley

Gregg is the author of Jack's Notebook, a Business Novel About Creative Problem Solving published in March 2007. It's the first business fable about deliberate creative problem solving and personal innovation. The book reveals "CPS" a proven six-step process for addressing complex business or personal innovation challenges. CPS training is expensive and not widely available. Now, with a fast-paced and inspirational story, Jack's Notebook is becoming to the field of creativity and innovation what The Goal was to the manufacturing industry. It gives innovation teams and small companies a common language for problem solving and a complete system for taking ideas into action. Fraley is a recognized expert on creativity and innovation; he speaks internationally and consults with many Fortune 500 companies on new product development. He is the co-host of the Innovise Guys, a leading podcast on innovation and improvisation.