| |
| |
|
Creativity Information |
|
|
|
Problem Solving Techniques For Business And Life
Learning a few good problem solving techniques can improve your bottom line and your life. Do you ever run out of good ideas, or go around in circles trying to come up with a solution for a persistent problem? Maybe you just need to learn some simple problem solving techniques, and then start applying them. Choose one or two of the methods below, and get in the habit of using them in your personal life and your business. Using Your Unconscious Mind Let your unconscious mind do your problem solving. Outline a problem in your mind before going to sleep, and tell your brain to go to work. Einstein had good luck with this technique, sometimes getting the "ah-ha" insight while shaving the next morning. Next, instruct your mind to keep working on the problem while you do other things. There is more than we know going on inside our heads. An answer may come to you when you least expect it. Try working on problems when you are in a drowsy state. This can result in more creative solutions. Systematic Problem Solving Techniques Challenge assumptions. For example, if you are assuming you need a better or higher-paying job, ask "do I really need a better job?" Maybe you can get a raise, or somehow make the job you have better. A business on the side might be an option. Don't let your assumptions limit the possible solutions. Break it down. Buying a house is a big move that is really a bunch of small steps. This is true of many problems. Start by addressing all of the components of a problem individually, and it may not seem so overwhelming. This makes it easier to motivate yourself. Ask others for advice. They may or may not have good ideas, but in any case this helps you be sure that you are not overlooking anything obvious. Write it down. Then find another way to express the problem and write that down. Continue with all solutions and ideas that come to mind. Write down everything. Later you can pick the diamonds out of the dirt. Change your perspective. Imagine you are rich, poor, a child, a visitor from another planet. How would you see the problem from this new perspective? Einstein imagined riding on a beam of light, which lead to his theory of relativity, so this technique has been known to work. More Problem Solving Techniques Randomly pick an object, and ask what it can teach you about your problem. If you're looking for a way to fire a bad employee, for example, a mailbox might make you think of writing him a letter (and a billboard might make you laugh). A tree might give you no ideas, but then a frail roadworker might make you think, "maybe he is just in the wrong position, and he can do a good job elsewhere in the company." Using this problem solving technique, you'll have many silly ideas pop into your head. Don't be too dismissive of them, as they will sometimes trigger a thought that is more useful. You can use this creative technique anywhere, and it's great for putting driving time to good use. Solve Problems By Causing Them One way to solve problems is to ask how you can cause them. This is good technique for personal problems. Too much stress? Think of ways to cause more stress. Hmm...promise too much, don't sleep enough, allow constant interruptions, leave many decisions hanging there unresolved, and so on. Each of these ways to cause stress can show you something. If you make fewer promises, sleep more, don't allow too many interruptions, make decisions now (to get them off your mind), you might be more relaxed. Need customers? How can you scare them away? The point is that if you only look at the problem from the perspective of "How do I solve it?" you tend to see only solutions based on your hidden assumptions. If, for example, you are assuming that your stress is simply due to having too many things to do, you may miss many solutions. So looking at how to cause a problem will show you more ways to solve it. Still More Problem Solving Techniques Try "assuming the absurd." Putting stores in the homes of consumers was an absurd idea at one time, but isn't that what television shopping networks and internet stores do? What at first seems crazy may lead to ideas that are useful. Backpackers get tired of carrying heavy packs, so one pursued the "crazy" idea, "What if backpacks had wheels?" It's for sale now (the "Wheelpacker"), and it can handle most rough trails with its modified bicycle wheel. Pick a few absurd solutions or ideas related to the problem at hand, and work with them for a few minutes to see what comes to mind. If "assuming the absurd" is difficult for you, start by "assuming the opposite." Need to lower expenses? What if you raise them instead? Find a way to make sense of that, and you are on your way to creative problem solving. Steve Gillman has been studying brain improvement, creative problem solving and related topics for years. Some of what he has discovered can be found on his website: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Creativity - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Being Creative is Essential for Online Success Do you have a strategy that ensures your online business stands out from the crowd?If your answer to the above is NO then you need to address this issue, because if you don't, it is unlikely that your online presence will even be noticed.With there being so much competition in every field on the internet it is essential that you offer your target market something different than your competitors. 5 Ways to Enhance Your Creativity We're born creative. However, this innate characteristic becomes buried as we get older. Tap the Creative Inside You Imagination is the source of creativity. It's a place where unlimited possibilities reside. Three Ways Journaling Can Boost Your Creativity and Your Business I have a friend who has struggled with her creativity for a long time. She's extremely uncomfortable thinking of herself as "creative. Innovation Through Concept-Combination There are many creative problem solving techniques used by inventors to come up with new solutions to old problems. For sheer innovation, though, it's hard to beat the technique of concept-combination. How To Discover Hidden Talents Within You And Begin Appyling Them In Your Life Now Have you decided it may be time to start creating some new excitement in your life? If you are now retired, soon to be retired, or just now reaching those "golden years" do you feel your life has become a little dull? Uneventful? Maybe even a little discouraging?After all, when you reach this period in your life, your routine may have changed, your energy may have dwindled and even your drive may have simply slowed down a bit. So if you are not happy with this situation what do you do about it? Well here's something to think about that could just change the whole picture. Gift of a Letter "What cannot letters inspire? They have souls; they can speak; they have in them all that force which expresses the transports of the heart; they have all the fire of our passions." Letter from Heloise to Abelard (from Gift of a Letter by Alexandra Stoddard)Just returning from the National Stationery Show in New York City, I was struck by the energetic "forward motion" of the thousands of vendors still enthusiastic about the power of the hand-written note. Trying to Create From Distorted Perceptions? We've all met people who are "negative" - negative thinkers who consistently see the glass as half empty.In certain situations, particularly stressful ones, even the most positive person can fall victim to this distorted thinking. Creativity: The Key To Getting More Done In Less Time If your to-do list seems as long at the end of the day as it did at the start (or worse yet, longer!) then you could definitely use an injection of creativity in your work day.Here are five simple ways of using your creativity to improve the quality of your day:1) Stop banging your head against the wall -- A good chunk of the time people waste in a day is due to stressing over the same problems that face them day after day. The Sylvia Plath Pattern Of Creative Flow * Sylvia Plath teaches a valuable lesson about the Even Flow - opening the channels for creativity, regardless of this is for poetry or not.Sylvia Plath was a poet and that was her job and her life. A Book About Faith and Love With news about Iraq and London and even our own neighborhood disasters, we need something to encourage us to keep going. While browsing the net the other day I came upon the most wonderful way of preserving my HOPE. Charge Your Imagination (1) "The challenges are not in the marketplace. They are in the mind". Finding A Little Adventure I have had more than my share of exciting times and I'm grateful for every one of them.There was the time the bear came into camp at 11:00 p. Creating Success All things begin in consciousness.Consciousness originates everything that is manifest. Creativity Management - Synergy of Craft and Art Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Creativity and Inspiration Creativity for the mystic has special meaning. In the world of the mystic all is one. Creativity Management - Finish What You Start Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas. Re-Energize Your Brain We all use tools in our work, and all of these tools need to be re-energized in some way over time. They need to be polished, sharpened, refurbished. Top Ten Creative Strategies for Inspiring Creativity Where You Work and Play Websites, automobiles, milk cartons, living spaces. Design saturates every aspect of our lives and the difference between success and failure could be the color purple, could be the person that you talk to every morning when you wake up, or could be the amount of light that streams into your office every day. Connect with Your Surroundings Clutter is one of my favourite topics, and I've written before about the many different types of clutter and how each affects our creativity and our creative expression.Clutter is just one part of our surroundings - our physical environment - that has an impact on our creativity.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
