Solving problems - using lateral and creative thinking

Metaphors
1. Used in Management Science to help ‘think outside the box’ (to avoid getting stuck by thinking same things)
  1. “an application of name or descriptive term or phrase to an object or action to which it is imaginatively but not literally applicable”
2. Usually use an idea (name) that is visually powerful so we can make the transfer of idea easily
  1. e.g. someone is like a cat (they don’t look like one but their behaviour might be compared to one – sleep all day and go out at night; only interested in their own pleasure; do their own thing….)
3. Examples
  1. Trees, flowers (branches, roots, leaves; need sun, water; bend in the wind…)
  2. Rivers (flow; tide; dams; eddy; whirlpools…)
  3. Machines (cogs, wheels, clockworks…)
de Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats
1. a thinking tool for group discussion and individual thinking.
2. combined with the idea of parallel thinking
3. Hats
  1. White Hat
    1. Neutrality - what information is available, what are the facts?
  2. Red Hat
    1. Feeling - instinctive gut reaction or statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification)
  3. Black Hat
    1. Negative judgement - logic applied to identifying flaws or barriers, seeking mismatch
  4. Yellow Hat
    1. Positive Judgement - identify benefits, seeking harmony
  5. Green Hat
    1. Creative thinking - seeing where a thought goes
  6. Blue Hat
    1. Process control - thinking about thinking
Buzan’s Mind Maps
1. It harnesses the full range of cortical skills - word, image, number, logic, rhythm, colour and spatial awareness - in a single, uniquely powerful manner. In so doing, it gives you the freedom to roam the infinite expanses of your brain.
2. can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance.”
Brainstorming
1. to break us out of our habit-bound thinking
2. to produce a set of ideas from which we can choose
3. Rules
  1. Suspend judgment
  2. Think freely
  3. Tag on
  4. Quantity of ideas is important
Random Input
1. good approach for generating completely different ideas and breaking out of restrictive thinking patterns
2. select a random noun from either a dictionary or a pre-prepared word list.
  1. helps if the noun is something that can be seen or touched (e.g. 'helicopter', 'dog') rather than a concept (e.g. 'fairness').
  2. nouns should not, however, come from the same field as the problem you are considering, as the whole idea of Random Input is to link in new thinking patterns, not to stay inside old ones
3. Link the random noun back to your problem in as many ways as you can

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Solving problems - using lateral and creative thinking

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	Created by Dave Dunnett about 11 years ago