The Problem Solving Process BDP3O1 Entrepreneurship The Enterprising Person

Stages There are 3 stages to the Problem Solving Process – Problem Finding – Idea Finding – Solution Finding Solution Finding Problem Solving Idea Finding

Problem Finding You define the problem by gathering – Observations, – Feelings, – Impressions about the situation

Idea Finding Idea Finding is coming up with different ways of solving the problem. – Be Creative! – Sometimes the craziest ideas become the best ventures.

Solution Finding – Evaluate your ideas The process is not complete until you have tried a solution and the problem has been solved. If an idea doesn’t turn out how you expected, try a different idea.

Steps to Problem Solving Think about the problem. Generate lots of possible solutions. Establish criteria for evaluation ideas. Use your criteria for evaluating ideas. Rank your ideas & select the best one. Try out your ideas. Is the problem solved? No choose another idea.

Thinking Styles Lateral Thinking The Six Thinking Hats

Lateral Thinking Lateral thinking means to “think outside the box”. You generate ideas by being flexible and creative. Lateral thinking lets you look at a problem from a different perspective Its all about thinking about problems in a new way. It is also called “sideways thinking”

For each row, select from A or B, the statement which describes you best. AB I enjoy looking at details and proof that things really are as they appear to be orI tend to skim over details and look for hidden meanings in things I enjoy checking, inspecting and reading fine print, to get all the information I can orI become impatient with routine and repetition, and with slow, precise activities I enjoy things as they are and recall past events, and learn from both in a ‘common sense’ sort of way orI go with my hunches on many things I describe myself as real and practical orI describe myself as imaginative and inventive I rarely rely on inspiration to keep me going. orI have many bursts of energy with slack periods in between.

How do you think? How many times did you pick A? How many times did you pick B? If most of your choices are from A, you prefer fact based white hat thinking. If you chose more from B, you prefer to rely on hunches and intuition, like red hat.

Put Your Thinking Hat On

The White Hat Is concerned with gathering the facts, figures and objective information Do not let your opinions interfere. Look only at the facts, without emotion. Think like a computer.

The White Hat White Hat Thinking sounds like – Give me the facts and figures please! – How many? How often? How much? When? – What is the problem? – What are the needs?

The Red Hat Recognizes emotions and intuition influence thinking Follow your “gut feeling”, hunches and feelings to generate information without judgments or logic.

The Red Hat Red Hat Thinking sounds like – I have a hunch about this … – This is how I feel about … – I think this is terrible!

The Green Hat Indicates lateral thinking, creativity, alternatives, and proposals. The Green Hat encourages provocations and change. Green represents nature and things that grow – “seeds of ideas”

The Green Hat Green Hat Thinking sounds like – Aha! I’ve got an idea! – So that’s what you mean. – How else can this be done?

The Black Hat Represents the use of judgment and caution Presents a logical case against the idea. Provides negative feedback that is objective and free from emotions.

The Black Hat Black Hat Thinking sounds like – This idea won’t work because… – This could pose a problem. – Yes, but …

The Yellow Hat Is logical, in a constructive way It looks for positive outcomes, reasons why the idea will work Put on the yellow hat when you assess the benefits of a situation

The Yellow Hat Yellow Hat Thinking sounds like – This fits well together – I want to explore this further… – This idea has some value because…

The Blue Hat Put on the Blue Hat and think about how the hats are working together to solve the problem. Don’t think about the problem itself The Blue Hat pulls all the other hats together and is used to lead and make things happen.

The Blue Hat Blue Hat Thinking sounds like – Let’s get started! – Focus on doing… – It’s your turn!

The 6 Hats & Problem Solving Where would you put the 6 thinking hats? Solution Finding Problem Solving Idea Finding Action

The 6 Hats & Problem Solving Solution Finding Problem Solving Idea Finding Action

The 6 Hats and Problem Solving Problem Finding – uses White and Red Hat Idea Finding – uses Green Hat Solution Finding – uses Black, Yellow and Red Hat The final step is putting your plan into Action – the Blue Hat

Which Hat is this? I like your idea.

Which Hat is this? I need all the statistics first.

Which Hat is this? This is just too expensive to do.

Which Hat is this? I just know this is going to be great.

Which Hat is this? Let’s see if we can make it fit into a smaller space

Which Hat is this? Get all the stuff we need so we can start tomorrow

Questions