Tree of knowledge

Here are some tips I took with me from a recent 2-day training called “Problem solving and creativity”. For many of you they might seem as old as the hills or even obsolete but some might use them as a crutch for getting out of the many culs-de-sac we face in our professional and private lives.

1. Define your problem properly before solving it

What is your problem exactly? What is your goal? What exactly should happen? Or what shouldn’t? This might seem obvious but bad definitions of a problem often lead to misunderstandings. People offer seemingly illogical solutions for a problem just because they see the problem differently. A fellow participant suddenly realized where that “strange” proposal expressed by her husband for the renovation of their house came from – he probably just had a slightly different objective in mind…

2. Dig for the causes

Don’t rush to find the solution immediately but first try to gather more information and find out what the cause was/is, go back to the roots (well, maybe not if your problem is spinach in your teeth and you just want to remove it quickly….).  Ask why it happened/ happens and when you’ve got the answer ask “why” again. Go back little by little and make sure you have enough facts and don’t assume anything. Now, of course, the mother of a murderer is not guilty for the murder… use common sense. One of the tools you can grab for help is this fishermen’s friend — Ishikawa diagrams.

 3. Map the mind

A mind map resembles a tree – take a sheet  of paper (the bigger, the better), write the problem, concept, keyword etc. in the middle and then start drawing branches, following your associations – the merrier, the better, so use colours, symbols etc. The add smaller branches to the bigger ones. Your brain will understand this better than linear notes. The good thing about this is that a tree can always grow, new branches are spreading, but you still see a tree – the whole picture.

You can draw them manually or use appropriate software. Or even an iPhone app.

By the way, when drawing mind-maps, the 5W+H method used by many journalists can be helpful. Just ask these questions: What? Why? When? Where? Who? How?

4. Buy 6 hats

 You don’t really have to wear them…

The principle is to look at a thing from different perspectives but systematically and subsequently. In the end everybody knows how the cow looks from all sides – it’s not only horns or a tail.

The white hat is responsible for gathering the facts, the red – for measuring emotions/gut reactions, the yellow – for identifying the benefits of a solution, the black (should be always used after the yellow) — for the negative points, the green one – for creativity, the blue one is worn by the moderator.

 By the way, Boeing Toronto avoided a strike thanks to the use of the method during the negotiations.

5. Use random objects/words to find new ideas

Imagine your task is to improve a flower pot or a garbage bin, for instance. And you are stuck, don’t know where to start. One of the options to get your ideas flowing is to choose a random object or word and use it as a creativity vehicle. So, you take, for example, butterfly. Now – write down 3 characteristics of a butterfly or associations you have with it. Got it? Now see how you can draw parallels and do something differently, inspired by what you just wrote down.

Good luck!