The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Creativity’

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This post is the sequel to “The Secrets of Creative Problem Solving” posted two weeks ago. Don Garb, President, Engineered Awareness recently led a workshop on “The Art of Invention,” which introduced some strategies for problem solving, some of which were new to me.

Wish List Strategy

Let’s say that you are tasked with inventing something at work. It could be a new product, process or service. On a sheet of paper, start writing down all the things you could give to your client, without thinking about the practicality of it. Your client could be either inside or outside your organization.

After you have made your wish list, look closer at each item and eliminate based on how practical it is. Repeat the process of adding to the wish list and eliminating until you have generated some freebies and innovative things you can deliver to your client within budget and the time frame.

Do the Opposite Strategy

You are experiencing a pesky problem at work and you have to resolve it. Think about how others would likely resolve the problem and do the opposite. This forces you to step outside the status quo and take the path less traveled.

Channelling the Master Strategy

You have a problem to solve, think about an expert/master in the field, and ask yourself how the master would solve that problem. Whatever comes to you, follow those steps.

Change One Thing Strategy

You decide you have been doing things the same way for a long time and want to shake things up. Dissect the process you follow and change one of the steps. That’s a simple way to make a change.

Step Out into the Unknown Strategy

Picture a circle. Now imagine that the circle represents what you know. Inside the circle will be holes, which represent holes in your knowledge. There will be tears at the edges of the circle, which represent gaps, and there will be things that you know for sure. Outside your circle is what you don’t know, and the collective knowledge of humankind. To expand your circle of knowledge, you have to venture out into the unknown, then find your way back into the known.

Finding ways to step put into the unknown is not necessarily an easy task. But the way to go is to get into Alpha Brainwave State, by slowing your mind down. One way is to listen to soothing music. Think of activities that have a calming effect on you and do them.

The Three Brains Strategy

This strategy took a while for me to wrap my head around it and I am still feeling somewhat shaky in trying to describe what I learned in the workshop. I conducted additional research so that I could write about it, so here goes!

We have three brains in one: The neo-cortex which has been evolving for over 3 million years and it’s where thoughts happen and it is mainly intellectual; limbic system or old mammalian brain, which has been evolving for over 150 million years, controls your feelings/emotions; and the reptilian or lizard brain which has been evolving for over 300 million years and controls your instincts.

Connection Between the Three Brains

1. The reptilian brain is very quick, reflex and programmed for survival. The reptilian brain controls instinct (breathing, vision, bodily movement and allows territoriality, aggression, and dominance).
2. The limbic brain controls emotion (feelings, relationship/nurturing, images and dreams, play).
3. The neo-cortex controls thought (abstraction, planning, perception, language, mathematics, politics, music, religion, and so on).

Emotions and intellect live in different brains. Your limbic brain, or the feeler, is your dominant brain, but the reptilian brain is the most important one. There are more connections between your limbic and reptilian brain, the limbic and cortex brains than there are between the neo-cortex and the reptilian brain. So the neo-cortex is semi-independent from the limbic and reptilian brain, likes to think that it’s the boss, but is slow to respond under pressure and shuts down when you are stressed.

To increase your problem solving skills, you have to get all three brains to work in harmony, creating what is called a meta-self. The cortex brain loves to be in control, so it has to stop thinking that it’s the boss and act with humility. The lizard brain is big on respect and wants to be heard. One of the best ways to integrate the three brains and make them work in harmony is through meditation. When you meditate, you shut down your thoughts, and you are in the Alpha Brainwave state, which is the state where creativity occurs.

How can you use this information? What do you have to add to the conversation? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Further Reading

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Creative Problem Solving

How to Read to Problem Solve

Do You Have This Critical Workplace Skill?

In what novel ways have you used information that you came across? What’s one concept that you discovered that has served you well? For me, it’s the creativity model presented in the Art of Thought by Graham Wallas. While conducting research on biomimicry, I came across information about a three-phase, 14-step process designed by Peter Floyd and Stephen R. Grossman that presents animal adaptations as models for problem solving. What got me excited was I had already decided that I was going to look at the idea of Evolution on this blog, which is one of the 50 ideas presented in 50 Big Ideas You Really Need to Know About by Ben Dupré, and here were two guys who are using Darwin’s three-step process for evolutionary change: extinction, mutation and selection. Floyd and Grossman have taken the three-steps and broken them down into a problem solving model. I thought that was simply brilliant, but I know that you can create a model that’s equally brilliant.

As presented by Ben Dupré, the idea of Evolution is a short read and only four pages in length. He talks about the origin of species, natural selection and the fifth ape.

“In the Origin, Charles Darwin succinctly summarizes natural selection as follows: ‘As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it very however slightly in any manner profitable, to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected . From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.’”

From the information presented in Dupré’s idea of evolution, I have extracted three great ideas that are very useful in a personal context:

1. In nature, resources such as food and mates are limited, so there will always be competition for access to them
2. Some people will be better equipped than others to prevail life’s struggles, and it is these individuals  that will live longer and produce more offspring
3. By minute and gradual changes over innumerable generations, animals and plants become better adapted to their surroundings; some species or kinds disappear, to be replaced  by others that have proved more successful for existence.

Possible Interpretation of These Ideas

• In flattened organizational structures, there are limited opportunities for promotions, therefore those expecting to excel must differentiate themselves and become more valuable to their clients, both internal and external
• The more skilled you become at problem solving, the better equipped you become at overcoming everyday challenges
• The more change resilient you are, and the more more receptive you are to ambiguity, the more longevity you’ll enjoy in the workplace
• Small and incremental changes lead to big changes in your life
• The more adaptable you are to change, the more success you’ll enjoy

As a professional, how can you use the idea of evolution to succeed in work and life? What changes can you make in your life to give you an edge?

Why evolution is one of the 50 ideas you really need to know about

Today you have to change or become extinct, so you have to mutate to be selected, in what ways can you change? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

Photo and Video Credit: Apture

Every so often I present websites that I think you should know about. A few days ago I presented a hybrid creativity model based on Graham Wallas‘ and James Webb Young’s creativity model. In the model you have general information, which are things you discover and file away for future use. The websites today are geared toward rounding out your general knowledge. The more varied your knowledge, the more creative you are. The creative you are, the more creative ideas you unearth for problem solving.

One website I added to the mix because many people travel so I thought it would be handy for discounted airfares.

Space Adventures

Provides private spaceflight opportunities.  It’s the first company to have taken clients into space.      

Virgin Galactic

Are you interested in space travel? Virgin Galactic is a space tourism operator which will be providing sub-orbital flights. It is an offshoot of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson‘s enterprise.

Ask Nature

It’s the design portal for the Biomimicry Institute. Biomimicry is a fairly new field where nature is used to inspire problem solving. The Ask Nature website is filled with lots of information that will round out your general knowledge.

Travel Alerts

You will find discounted vacation and last minute travel. Get the alerts sent to your email box each week http://www.travelalerts.com.

If money were no object, would you invest in space travel? Please keep the conversation flowing, click on the comment link below and leave a note for me. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

Ted talk: Biomimicry in action: Janine Benyus

Biomimicry in action: Janine Benyus

Space Tourism Markets What We Know And What We Don’t Know

Space Tourism Markets What We Know And What We Don’t Know

Photo Credit: Zemanta
Video Credit: YouTube via Apture

How creative are your ideas? How many creative ideas do you get? And what process do you use to generate creative ideas. The ability to think creatively, or generate creative ideas might just be the skill that gives you a competitive edge. Below is a model which is a combination of Graham Wallas’ and James Webb Young’s creativity models (Based on my life experiences, I have added information to the models). What can you add to the model to make it better? If your project is just for fun you do not have to follow all the steps, especially the ones in data collection (for example interviewing subject matter experts and conducting focus group interviews). Some of these steps are more appropriate for a work project.

Step 1: Preparation (Gathering Information)

1. Describe your topic of  interest
2. Develop a set of decision criteria to judge the quality of the ideas

There are two types of information to gather:

Specific

1. Gather as much information as possible on the topic of interest
   1. Look for  case studies in your industry and unrelated industries
   2. Conduct research on the internet
   3. Conduct research using commercial databases, you can access many through your public library portal
   4. Interview subject matter experts
   5. Brainstorm with colleagues
   6. Conduct focus group interviews
2. Read all the information gathered and synthesize them
3. Write down the information on 3×5 index cards, one item per card
4. Classify the information by sections of the topic of interest

Read the post How to Analyze Information to evaluate the quality of the data you gathered.

General

1. This is an ongoing process throughout your life
2. Record any interesting information you come across in a scrapbook or other filing method that makes sense for you
3. Use your cell phone if you have one, or a camera to capture any interesting scenes that you see, both photos and videos and create a file on your computer in which to save them
4. Attend speeches, workshops, seminars and so on that are unrelated to your work just because they interest you and take notes
5. Visit the websites How Stuff Works and Ted.com often and read for a while
6. Every so often, pull up the information and review them

Step 2: Working Over the Information in Your Mind

1. Look at the information you gathered from many different angles
2. Synthesize the information
3. Merge two facts and see how they fit together
4. Connect the information with what you already know, nothing exists in a vacuum
5. As tentative or partial ideas come to you, no matter how crazy or incomplete, document them on the index card, one idea per card
6. Do not stop until you have at least one partial or incomplete idea
7. When everything is a jumble or it is pointless for you to do additional work, it is time for the next step

Step 3: Incubation

1. Turn over the problem to your subconscious mind
2. Take a break or work on an unrelated task or do something which stimulates the imagination and emotions

Step 4: Illumination – Eureka! I have It

1. When you least expect it, the idea comes to you (You have an aha moment)

Step 5: Verification/Implementation/Shaping & Developing the Idea

1. The idea will unlikely be ready to be implemented as is
2. Subject it to criticism – test it, then refine it
   1. Use the criteria you developed in Stage I to judge the quality of the solution
   2. Refine the idea if you have to
   3. Implement the idea
   4. Evaluate the idea
   5. If you find that the solution doesn’t work, go through the process again

Along Yonge Street in front of the Eaton Centre in Toronto, Canada there are always people who are very creative in earning money, what are your thoughts? What have been some of your most creative ideas to generate some extra cash? Did any of these translate into a viable business?

Man Playing Drums in Front of The Eaton Centre, Toronto from Avil Beckford on Vimeo.

Man and Boy Playing Drums from Avil Beckford on Vimeo.

Please keep the conversation flowing, click on the comment link below and leave a note for me. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed.

Photo Credit: Avil Beckford

These interviews are meant to provide you with useful information that you can use. In this segment of the interview, Shannon shares the three threats to her business, why her service is unique, how she integrates her personal and professional life, five life lessons she has learned so far and a whole lot more.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

I am married, with five children, two of which are getting married within the next 6 months. Lately I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night “angsting” over table centerpieces, floral arrangements and crash diets.

What are the three threats to your business, your success, and how are you handling them?

Three threats to my business and success would be

1. Not placing God first.
2. Lack of discipline
3. Getting distracted (can you spell f-a-c-e-b-o-o-k?)

I handle these threats, more or less, depending on the day, by starting it with God, keeping a day planner and working through the tasks I set for myself one at a time. Keep on doing the next thing.

What’s unique about the service that you provide?

I like to weave a story around a real issue, not normally in our radar, that will hopefully, not only inform and entertain, but also lead readers to compassion and empathy. Information dumps have caused us to shut down to the need, because we are intimidated by the enormity of the situation—especially in the third world arena. I believe touching hearts through the power of these stories can pull one out of that inertia into a state of true identification and hope.

What do you observe most people in your field doing badly that you think you do well?

OK. Tricky question. I am new to the whole “published author” thing, so cannot speak with experience, but I constantly pray that I do not lose sight of the importance of my relationships with my husband and kids in the light of being published and the extra demands it brings to my life.

How do you integrate your personal and professional life?

Relationships are more important to me than business. By choice. I have found, possibly due to the decision to put people first, a greater interest in the issues I am writing about and the professional aspects of my life from those closest to me.

What’s a major regret that you’ve had in life?

Causing pain to others; to see family splinter and break apart and not be able to fix it.

What are five life lessons that you have learned so far?

1. Ask God for help, the sooner the better.
2. Forgiveness is always easier than resentment—and healthier.
3. I can forgive myself all I want, but unless God has forgiven me, I get no peace.
4. Nobody is free from insecurity or dysfunctions. Some are just better at hiding it.
5. Life doesn’t last forever so speak the truth.

When you have some down time, how do you spend it?

With a good book. And I love to listen to great music and just move to it…

What process do you use to generate great ideas?

I ask God to give me His ideas, which are better than mine all the time. Then I wait. Eventually something begins that I can only describe as brain percolation. It’s this craziness of ideas and connections that bubble up and spill over into story.

What’s your favourite quotation and why?

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” –Jesus (John 14:6)

I don’t like being lost, lied to or living without a purpose. In this quotation I find the remedy.

How do you define success?

Success is more than good living; it is living in agreement with God’s purpose for your life.

In your opinion what’s the formula for success?

Without a doubt it is to trust God and obey Him.

What excites you about life?

Watching God

How do you nurture your soul?

Same as above

If you had a personal genie and she gave you one wish, what would you wish for? Or, if I gave you a magic wand, what would you use it for?

To pay off the mortgage

Complete the following, I am happy when…..

I’m just moving through normal and then something happens that is so perfect and surprising and good, like autumn leaves falling or a baby’s toothless smile or the first taste of a mandarin orange, and I think, “Thank You.”

How might you apply the information from this interview? Let’s keep the conversation going, please comment.