1. Kick it up a level. If you can’t find a solution at your present level of thought, move up to a more general level. For example, if you can’t find a way to reduce global warming sufficiently by improving vehicle mileage standards, try to accomplish it by putting things closer together so people walk more and drive less. More general levels often provide a wider variety of solutions than lower levels.
2. Look with fresh eyes. We all tend to see things from our own perspectives. Learn to use new perspectives. If you tend to try to solve problems from an engineering perspective, try thinking about problems from a people-oriented point of view. Instead of asking “how could we quantify that”, try asking, “how would people feel about that?” Fresh eyes often see new solutions.
3. Ignore limits. Constraints and limits are important, but they often inhibit creative thinking. For the first round of your discussions, try brainstorming without any limits. You can apply constraints later in the process, after you have identified possible solutions. Don’t let limits destroy your initial creativity.
4. Have fun. Be positive. Negative thinking inhibits creativity. Don’t dwell on what won’t work. Creativity should be fun. Crazy ideas sometimes prove to be valuable.
5. Put it on the back burner. Your brain has two sections: your conscious one that you use all day, and your back burner that works when you are not paying attention to it. If you are stymied, leave your problem alone for a while and let your back burner work on it. Tomorrow morning it may produce a solution that your conscious brain didn’t see.
6. Let other people create sparks. Kick your problem around with others with different perspectives. Serendipitous sparks from human interactions often lead to creative solutions. Much of the success of Silicon Valley is based on such serendipitous sparks.
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