Creativity in Problem Solving
In their book, Think Like a Freak, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner give the following tips:
1. "Whatever problem you’re trying to solve, make sure you’re not just attacking the noisy part of the problem that happens to capture your attention. Before spending all your time and resources, it’s incredibly important to properly define the problem – or, better yet, redefine the problem."
2. "It takes a truly original thinker to look at a problem that everyone else has already looked at and find a new avenue of attack. Why is this so rare? Perhaps because most of us, when trying to figure out a problem, gravitate towards the nearest and most obvious cause."
3. "When it comes to generating ideas and asking questions, it can be really fruitful to have the mentality of an eight-year-old. Consider the kind of questions that kids ask. Sure, they may be silly or simplistic or out of bounds. But kids are also relentlessly curious and relatively unbiased. Because they know so little, they don’t carry around the preconceptions that often stop people from seeing things as they are. When it comes to solving problems, this is a big advantage."
1. "Whatever problem you’re trying to solve, make sure you’re not just attacking the noisy part of the problem that happens to capture your attention. Before spending all your time and resources, it’s incredibly important to properly define the problem – or, better yet, redefine the problem."
2. "It takes a truly original thinker to look at a problem that everyone else has already looked at and find a new avenue of attack. Why is this so rare? Perhaps because most of us, when trying to figure out a problem, gravitate towards the nearest and most obvious cause."
3. "When it comes to generating ideas and asking questions, it can be really fruitful to have the mentality of an eight-year-old. Consider the kind of questions that kids ask. Sure, they may be silly or simplistic or out of bounds. But kids are also relentlessly curious and relatively unbiased. Because they know so little, they don’t carry around the preconceptions that often stop people from seeing things as they are. When it comes to solving problems, this is a big advantage."
Here are some sample ideas to start thinking creatively taken from 20 Problem Solving Activities to Improve Creativity by Andrew Tarvin. See the article for all 20 ideas.
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Additional Information:
- How to Kill Creativity by Theresa Amabile - An article explaining how business and creativity can go together. "The associations made between creativity and artistic originality often lead to confusion about the appropriate place of creativity in business organizations...Along with fearing creativity in the accounting department—or really, in any unit that involves systematic processes or legal regulations—many managers also hold a rather narrow view of the creative process. To them, creativity refers to the way people think—how inventively they approach problems, for instance. Indeed, thinking imaginatively is one part of creativity, but two others are also essential: expertise and motivation."
- The Curious Case of Creativity - An article explaining how creativity is used at Google with specific examples provided. "Curiosity and creativity are never far apart. You need to be curious to identify problems worth solving, and then come up with new solutions."
- How to Be a Creative Problem Solver by Lauren Weber - Tips for being a creative problem solver at work. "creativity doesn’t have to mean painting a great canvas or inventing a new product from scratch. It can mean generating a few good ideas, or simply coming up with ways to improve a current system."
- 20 Problem Solving Activities to Improve Creativity by Andrew Tarvin - "Creative problem solving requires creative problem solving activities. Because even if you know all of the problem solving steps, it’s important to know exercises and techniques to actually execute each phase."
- Ten ways to encourage creative thinking by The Marketing Donut - "You can help your firm innovate by creating a culture in which all employees are actively encouraged to put ideas forward."
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This video provides tips for thinking creatively to problem solve. |
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This video discusses the difference between a well-defined and ill-defined problem, and how creativity can be used for ill-defined problems. |