Hard pressed to come up with new ideas as you wrestle with the daily assault of problems that need instant solutions?
Relax, say the experts. Creativity comes much more readily if you let it happen, rather than trying to make it happen.
Consultant Tim Hurson says he gets some of his best ideas in the shower. It often helps to focus on another task like lathering up or driving your car or watching a movie, to distract your brain from the problem you are trying to solve long enough to make creative connections, says Mr. Hurson, a partner with Toronto-based organizational consultancy thinkx Intellectual Capital Inc.
Any new idea is actually the combination of existing bits of knowledge we already have, but when you read a book, take a walk or have a new experience, it can be the catalyst to fit those bits together in new ways, explains Claude Legrand, president of Ideaction Inc., a Toronto-based organizational training company.
But to become consistently creative means finding ways to overcome both natural instinct and years of conditioning, the experts say.
Our brains are hard-wired to judge ideas at the same time as we generate them, Mr. Hurson says. It's an instinctive response to help us make immediate decisions on how to deal with threats, but it can be death to new ideas.
"As fast as the mind generates possibilities, an inner judge is ruling on them, deciding you tried something like that before, it's not unique enough or it's just dumb," Mr. Hurson explains.
The natural tendency is to jump at the first idea you get that doesn't get ruled out by the internal judge. Resisting the impulse to rush to judgment is a process that takes time as well as consistent practice to master, Mr. Hurson says.
At the same time, you also have to break the habits created by years of trying to impress your teachers, Mr. Legrand says.
"We've become conditioned to believe there is only one right answer. That goes back to the school system where you are rewarded for coming up with the one answer the teacher expects," Mr. Legrand says. Then, graduating to a corporate culture, leaders are rewarded for producing the results management expects.
Rather than trying to replace all this conditioning, Mr. Legrand recommends developing an approach to problem solving in which you try to think of at least three optional answers for every question. "Doing this consistently will open your mind up to alternatives."
So how do you get your brain in creative mode? Mr. Hurson suggests its a good idea to start by dropping the word creativity because it is freighted with too many expectations and may make you freeze up at the thought that you are not coming up with something new enough. "Call it thinking productively," he recommends.
Then, the pros suggest following a step-by-step approach and practising until it becomes second nature.
What's causing the 'itch'
Too often, people trying to be creative look only at their immediate problem, rather than addressing the underlying chronic cause, Mr. Hurson says.
For instance, if all the thinking goes into finding approaches to high absenteeism rather than addressing the underlying low staff morale, the effort is probably doomed to fail. He suggests leaders start the process by asking "what's the itch," and then figure out whether there is something deeper that's causing it.
Ask the right question
Creative thinking too often fails because people start thinking of potential answers without taking the time to first establish the precise question or questions that need answering, Mr. Hurson suggests.
"You want to create leverage and that means asking catalytic questions" that invite discussion and innovative answers, Mr. Hurson says.
For instance, asking "do we have money in the budget?" leads only to a yes or no. But asking "In what ways can we budget for this or use resources other than money?" or "Could we find partners to share the costs?" opens up possibilities that hadn't been considered before.
Set limits
While it may seem you are limiting your options, you still have to create a realistic frame around your brainstorming, Mr. Legrand says.
For instance, if a budget is $100,000 and a time line is six months, there may be no point brainstorming an idea that will cost $500,000 and require a year, he suggests.
Another important set of preconditions that leaders forget to set are consequences you want to avoid, Mr. Hurson says.
"For instance, you may want faster production and quicker delivery, but these have to be weighted against consequences you want to avoid, such as unacceptable costs or increased pollution."
Generate alternatives
Now it's time to start generating potential answers to the question, but to keep the inner judge from kicking in, Mr. Hurson recommends accepting the courage to be wrong.
"Tell yourself there's no risk in having a seemingly crazy or bad idea. Just resist the urge to reject something out of hand at this point."
And write everything down, recommends Mr. Legrand. You can't trust your memory to keep track of all the ideas you've generated. You will find that by making it a habit to write things down you will generate more ideas more often, he says.
Forge a solution
When all the questions and answers are on the table, it's finally time to start judging and cutting away the weakest.
"You want to really beat them up," Mr. Hurson recommends. "You want to anticipate all the questions the boss is likely to ask when you take the idea in for approval."
If you identify even one flaw, look for a way to correct it or reject the idea. "You have to forge a bullet-proof solution that anticipates all the possible objections and have a reply for them," he says.
Champion your ideas
The final step is one that many leaders take too lightly.
Doing so is a mistake because "ideas don't become reality unless someone becomes committed to making them happen," Mr. Hurson says.
"Create a plan for implementing the solution that goes beyond the timetable and money to include who will assist, who may resist and who you may have to persuade or circumvent. Again, the idea is to test the idea and anticipate what and who you need on side to make it real."
All of this takes time and effort but, with practice, it becomes easier, Mr. Legrand says.
"There is no magic bullet or one simple way to be creative. It's a question of making it part of your mindset."
