beyond brainstorming: tools for better thinking & creativity

Beyond Brainstorming: Tools for Better Thinking & Creativity ProductCamp NYC 2010

Erika Bajars, Principal erika@matchstickllc.com or www.linkedin.com/in/erikabajars

This presentation copyright © 2010 Matchstick, LLC. All rights reserved.

Hi! I’m Erika Bajars: Hats I wear….

Mom, Partner, Daughter

Teacher

Marketer, Entrepreneur

Certified Trainer Inventor

Marketing image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Why should you pay attention to my session?

We’ll cover two important topics

• Running better meetings to make better decisions

• Offering more creative alternatives to brainstorming

I’ve been there and have the t-shirt

•  I’m a certified trainer in The Six Thinking Hats® and Lateral Thinking™, the tools that we are demonstrating today.

•  I’ve trained over 100 people in these tools.

•  I’ve successfully used these methods to solve real business problems – from creating patented ideas to evaluating strategies to naming products and initiatives.

The Six Thinking Hats is a registered trademark, and Lateral Thinking is a trademark of the McQuaig Group.

Who is Edward de Bono?

• Leading authority: creative thinking, innovation, direct teaching of thinking as a skill.

• Originator and developer of a variety of toolkits to improve thinking & creativity: The Six Thinking Hats® and Lateral Thinking™.

• Rhodes Scholar and Nobel Prize nominee.

• Prolific author: 70+ books.

Why are these tools awesome for marketers?

• Enable you to get things done faster.

• Facilitate doing more with less.

• Address creativity on demand.

• Produce more truly novel ideas.

• Address the common problems associated with meetings.

Wrench photo: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What are the problems with meetings?

What are the problems with meetings?

Strong Personalities Dominate the Conversation Quiet people aren’t heard; loudest voice dominates Everyone waits for the boss to speak

What are the problems with meetings?

People’s Attitudes and Emotions Impact Discussion Overly positive or negative people sway the group

What are the problems with meetings?

Lack of Focus: Too Much Done at Once People asked to consume, process, judge information, and generate ideas, all at the same time

What are the problems with meetings?

No Clear Next Steps Left to the meeting facilitator to figure out what to do next Participants leave without ownership of meeting outcomes

The Six Thinking Hats: The Cure for the Common Meeting

Defined Focus

Solve a specific problem

Hats “Unbundle” Thinking

Switching hats limits ability to dominate the conversation

Parallel thinking considers each aspect in turn

Time Limits

Clarify thinking, stop pontificating,

get to the point

End With A Plan

Next steps are clear

How do the Six Hats “Unbundle” Thinking?

White Hat: Information, Neutral, Data

Red Hat: Feelings, Emotions, Hunches

Black Hat: Caution, Risks, Problems

Yellow Hat: Benefits, Optimism, Value

Green Hat: Growth, Creativity, Ideas

Blue Hat: Facilitating, Organizing, Process

A simple problem – where to take the group to lunch – illustrates muddled thinking

“Mortons is too expensive! I’m on a budget”

“I’m not really hungry yet”

“What about Rosa Mexicano?”

“Mexican has something for everyone!” “What are all the options, here?”

“Mortons is at the Mall”

“I don’t eat meat”

Apply The Hats: Where should we go for lunch?

White Hat: What are our options?

Black Hat: What are the problems with these options?

Green Hat: What are solutions to the problems?

Yellow Hat: What ideas do we like best?

Blue Hat: Let’s make a decision; next steps

Red Hat: How do we feel about this process?

Six Hats Applied to Business: Strategy Evaluation Tool

Six Hats Applied to Business: Strategy Evaluation Summary

Benefits of Using The Hats to Evaluate Strategies

• Identify known/unknown info…fast • Everyone scores on the same information • Consider each idea in a balanced way • Look at each idea in a more balanced way • Quick view – one page / strategy

• Quickly evaluate ideas; then separate the best and spend lots of time discussing those as a next step

• Minimized “pet” projects and let less popular ideas have their day

• Provided a tool to defend choices to management

Summary: The Six Thinking Hats Applied to Meetings

Defined Focus

People are clear on what problem is

being solved

Hats “Unbundle” Thinking

No muddled thinking Fully consider ideas

Tempers over optimism and pessimism

Time Limits

Hold focus, get to the point

Meetings go faster

End With A Plan

Next steps are clear

Team fully engaged in the process

Think about meetings where we as marketers are asked to come up with creative ideas.

Could we apply the Six Hats techniques to run better brainstorming meetings?

What are the issues with brainstorming?

The Six Hats Help Facilitate Better Meetings We have the tools to help teams consume, process, judge information, and generate ideas in a logical sequence.

• No clear focus •  “No idea is a bad idea” (ridiculous) • No refinement of ideas • No process to control personalities • Often, no really new ideas

But how do we solve the problem of no really new ideas? What tools are available to make generating ideas more systematic and efficient?

Lateral Thinking Tools: Improving “Green Hat” Thinking

Lateral Thinking Tools Deliver More Really New Ideas By using lateral thinking tools when you are doing “green hat,” you break out from the same old ideas and really expand your thinking.

Like the six hats, the approaches are practical, purposeful, and quickly teachable, even to “novice” groups.

Benefits vs. Brainstorming

• Tools provide opportunities for true break-through thinking. • Everyone can use them and become more creative with practice! • Discipline of the “Hats” helps overcome brainstorming issues:

Defined Focus Solve a specific

problem

Set Time Focused, succinct

discussion

Place for Judgment Yellow, black hats

after ideation

Lateral Thinking: Purposeful Creativity

Five tools to improve Creativity:

Alternatives look beyond the obvious 1

Focus looks at things from a fresh perspective 2

Challenge the status quo to find new solutions 3

Random Entry generates ideas via unconnected words 4

Provocations stimulate new ideas and move to new solutions 5

Let’s try Random Entry

What are some new ways to make our workplace more

environmentally friendly?

Image: Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Lateral Thinking Applied to Business

Background Several highly experienced engineers formed a new consulting firm and called it “NPC” (New Product Consultants) so that they could get started with clients. Knowing that they wanted to grow their business, they engaged Matchstick to create a more polished brand image.

Approach Using the Lateral Thinking tools, we came up with a new name, Fulcrum, which captured the essence of the unique value that NPC brings to their clients. This concept of “leverage” based on their experience is well-known to their engineering audience.

Final Thoughts on Lateral thinking

• The process is purposeful and systematic versus random

• The pace is consistently fast-paced; no dwindling energy

• The results are prolific, and the process ensures no good idea is left behind

• The tools result in truly novel ideas – very different than the results of brainstorming

• Anyone can increase creativity by learning and practicing these tools tools

• Provides a solution to “creativity on demand” – one trained facilitator can lead a session and get results fast

Thank you! http://www.matchstickllc.com/creativity

Matchstick, LLC 121 Hawkins Place #122 Boonton, NJ 07005

P 973.753.0383 E erika@matchstickllc.com www.linkedin.com/in/erikabajars

www.matchstickllc.com