Creative Problem Solving: The One-Hour Approach (or You’ve Got to be Kidding!) Cynthia E. Rolfe May 18, 2007

Exercise Creativity: My Definition

Definitions “Novelty that is useful.” - Stein “The mental capacity to visualize, to foresee, and to generate ideas.” - Alex Osborn C=fa(K,I,E) - Creativity equals the Function of open attitude, Knowledge, Imagination and Evaluation Skills - ~Dr. Ruth Noller

Outside the Box Thinking To be creative you need to be able to view things from different perspectives. Creativity is linked to fundamental qualities of thinking, such as flexibility and tolerance of ambiguity ~Robert E. Franken

Exercise Visual Connections

Four P’s Framework Press – Climate / environment Person – Characteristics Product – Produces a creative outcome Process – Through which people are creative....

PRESS Physical –Office, conference room, etc. –Shape –Clutter –Light –Decor –Schtuff Psychological –Idea support –Challenge –Dynamism / Liveliness –Playfulness / Humor –Debates –Risk-taking –Trust/Openness –Freedom –Idea Time –Conflicts

PERSON Personality Cognitive Biographical There are three types of characteristics that combine to produce creativeness: ~Davis – 1998

PERSON: Personality Aware of Creativeness Original Independent Curiou s Risk-Taking Thorough Energetic Capacity for Fantasy Sense of Humor Attracted to Complexity Needs time alone Perceptive Emotional Ethical Artistic

PERSON: Cognitive Fluency Flexibility Originality Elaboration Sensitivity

PRODUCT Artifacts of thought The tangible result of the creative process Physical objective – article or patent Theoretical system Equation New technique

PROCESS: CPS Identify Goal / Wish Challenge Gather Data Clarify the Problem Generate Ideas Select and Strengthen Solutions Plan for Action

Dynamic Balance Divergent Thinking Generating lots of ideas Convergent Thinking Judging options / making decisions ~Alex Osborn, Applied Imagination Two distinct kinds of thinking essential to being creative

Divergent Thinking Guidelines Defer judgment Combine and build on ideas Seek Wild ideas Go for quantity

Divergent Tools Brainstorming Stick-’Em Up* Brainwriting Forced connections Visual Connections* Ladder of Abstraction SCAMPER

Convergent Thinking Be deliberate Check your objectives Improve your ideas Be affirmative Consider novelty

Convergent Tools Card Sort Evaluation Matrix Highlighting I3 (Influence, Importance, Imagination) PPCo (Pluses, Potentials, Concerns)

Explore the Challenge Generate Ideas Prepare for Action The CPS Model (Creative Problem Solving) ~Osborn-Parnes

Tips for Tomorrow Carry a notepad... And use it! Observe, observe, observe Take time out to people watch Ask questions –Of others.... But more importantly –Of YOURSELF!!! Take time to breathe and enjoy!!!