So what is Creative Problem Solving?
Creative Problem Solving uses a variety of techniques to evaluate opportunities, solve problems and develop plans. So whenever we use the word "problem" it means either a problem or an opportunity.
"Profit, thy name is creativity." Business Week
Our world is changing at an accellerating rate, particularly in business. In every industry the competition is increasing as more of the Third World countries embrace move into markets traditionally based in the USA and Europe. As a result of this rapid change, every business is hit by new problems (or opportunities) at an ever increasing rate. How are we to cope with these challenges and what skills do we need to stay ahead of our competition?
Our research, through many years of delivering our Creative Problem Solving workshops, has shown us that the simpler the process, the more likely it is that the person using it will use it again and remember it. Many companies use very complicated techniques, which will give a more accurate answer to a complex problem, but take a long time to learn, are difficult to remember, and as a result are simply not used. We use a wide variety of techniques and tools and these are tailored to the needs of the delegates on each programme. Due to the dynamic approach we use in our programmes, delegates very quickly learn to switch between techniques and evolve the process to suit their own style and needs. This "integration of simple tools" is a key to their continuing to use the methods on a regular basis and eventually they will switch to "problem solving mode" automatically.
It is a simple enough fact that you really do need to be AWARE that a problem or opportunity exists before you can actually take steps to creatively solve it or take advantage of it. Often we are aware of symptoms rather than the actual problem itself so keep that in mind.
Gather your information carefully, talk to the people who actually are experiencing the problem or can answer your questions about the opportunity. For example if it's a problem with a machine then talk to the person who operates it or maintains it, they will know what goes wrong, how often, how much time is lost due to failures (downtime), who the problem is reported to, how long it takes to fix etc. Ask questions, make notes and try and record as much relevant information as you can.
Using Creative Problem Solving
The techniques we teach are easy to use and remember and can be employed by anyone who can think and reason with what we might call a degree of accuracy.
Whilst the techniques we teach have become largely known for problem solving they can be used to assess anything that needs a little more thought than the usual.
