If there is a dominant theme among all the leaders, managers and small business owners that I meet it is this: Business-as-usual thinking will not be enough in these interesting times. You have to think differently to create new customers and to constantly add value for your existing customers, employees, partners and investors.
This begs the question: how do you think differently?
The starting point is to realize that being able to think in an innovative way is a skill and like any other ability it can be improved with the right tools, practice and encouragement.
So with this in mind, let me show you how you can think differently literally in minutes. How many different uses can you think of in the next 60 seconds for a mobile phone? In my workshops, most people can answer from 5-7 items e.g. text, phone, camera etc. These are the business-as-usual responses.
But what if I changed the challenge to, how many ‘unusual’ uses can you think of for a mobile phone? E.g. it can be used to hold open a door. Suddenly you can open up to a new range of possibilities.
Now what if I asked, how might an ant use a mobile phone? You might answer, as a dance floor, as shelter etc.
These might not be practical ideas but who would have thought a few years ago that you could use a mobile phone as a watch, camera or video?
My point is this. Being able to think differently is a question of choice. You can choose to think in a usual or a different way. If you choose to think in a different way you have two different strategies:
1. Try and redefine the challenge. In the example above when I inserted the word ‘unusual’ then most people’s mind opens up, and/or
2. Look at the challenge in a new way. In the mobile phone example, it is when I ask the question, how many different uses would an ‘ant’ have for a mobile phone?
The mobile phone example tries to show that most people are trapped into thinking in a particular way. Our mind is like a patterning system that organizes information into existing patterns (an Edward De Bono insight). This makes you quick and efficient in processing information but can lead to rigidity in your thinking and you can only create incremental ideas.
For example, let’s imagine that you were trying to improve your customer service. Another way of defining this challenge might be to; what can you do so that your customers love dealing with you? Now which problem excites and engages you? Which problem definition is more likely to open up new possibilities? Can you see that by simply using a different way to define the problem you can become unstuck? I have found simply by reframing the challenge in more emotional language you can open up new possibilities. The language of business is rational e.g. efficient, cost-benefit etc yet the language of customers is emotional. So restating your goal or challenge in emotional language will help you better understand your customers and will increase your probability of developing a new and different solution.
As mentioned, your second creative strategy is to look at the challenge with a new set of eyes. In the previous example, you can use a financial lens which might lead you to reduce your service to your unprofitable customers or if you used a different lens say as a hotel manager it might lead you to think about how to make every customer feel special. So if you feel stuck then ask yourself how might Richard Branson look at this situation? Or my competitor? Or a child? Or a supplier? Etc. There is no limit to the number of different perspectives you can have on a problem. All are equally valid yet only a partial view of a situation.
The lesson is this. The market-place today calls for you to think differently. This is a skill that you can learn and gain an edge on your competition. You can choose to win by learning to think differently or wonder what happened when your competitors run past you.
Dr. Ken Hudson,
Founder & Chief Starter,
The Speed Thinking Zone (www.thespeedthinkingzone.com).
Author, The Idea Generator and The Idea Accelerator—How to solve problems faster using Speed Thinking.
Seth Godin, well-known author of such books as Permission Marketing and Unleash The Idea Virus had this to say in a recent blog:
‘The best way to overcome your fear of creativity, brainstorming, intelligent risk taking or navigating a tricky situation might be to sprint.
When we sprint, all the internal dialogue falls away and we just go as fast as we possibly can. When you’re sprinting you don’t feel that sore knee and you don’t worry that the ground isn’t perfectly level. You just run.
You can’t sprint forever. That’s what makes it sprinting. The brevity of the event is a key part of why it works.’
His full blog is: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/02/sprint.html
I could not agree more. When I describe Speed Thinking I often use the analogy of a run in the park, you warm up, walk, stretch and then sprint. The sprint aspect makes the overall work-out more productive. In a similar way, Speed Thinking complements your existing thinking–it accelerates your creativity, problem solving and decision making.
The important message is that you can vary not only how you think (e.g. creative vs critical) but how fast you think (e.g. traditional vs speed). It is up to you and depends on the situation and your requirements.
Ken Hudson
I recently conducted a speed thinking session with a large organisation and was explaining the difference between the traditional brainstorming method and a speed thinking version. As with all new concepts it is often easier for people to feel the difference rather than talk about it.
I asked them for a problem that they were struggling with and divided the larger group into smaller groups. Each group then tackled the problem using the old approach (i.e. one person capturing the ideas as people call these out etc). The highest number of ideas was 14 in a five minute period.
I then asked people to use the speed thinking approach to the same problem (i.e. each person works by themselves and tries to create 9 possibilities in two minutes). Under this approach the same group created 110 ideas in two minutes! Almost an eight times increase.
Now sure there will be duplication of ideas but the difference in output was profound. What’s more everyone was more involved and energised.
Why does the new Speed Thinking approach work?
- Everyone plays, there is no loafing or relying on anyone else.
- Everyone can write down their own ideas, in their own language at their own pace. The group does not slow down to the ability of the person to capture the ideas.
- Because everyone is working at speed their is little filtering of their own ideas or others.
- Introverts are heard rather than being drowned out by the extroverts.
- People have to use their intuition more rather than their critical, logical thinking style.
This dramatic increase in the initial flow of ideas then provides a rich source of material that can then be enhanced and combined to create powerful new concepts.
Try it, the next time you are running a brainstorming session-your team will be amazed.
Dr. Ken Hudson.
What is the slowest part of any brainstorming session?
It is the person at the front of the group that is recording the ideas. The group can only move as fast as the person who is writing down the ideas.
Not only does the person capturing the ideas dictate the pace of the session but also the content. Have you ever contributed an idea only to find that it is not recorded or the meaning has been changed?
There is a better way. In a Speed Brainstorming Session everyone has a pen and ideally a space on a large white board. This means that everyone can create and capture their own ideas, their own way at their own pace. The advantage of this is that there is no loafing or relying on others and the sheer number of ideas increases in a dramatic fashion. If you have ten people working in speed thinking way then in the first few minutes you have 90 starting thoughts rather than say nine.
The other advantage of this approach is that extroverts or the senior people cannot dominate. Everyone has an equal voice or space to play and contribute their ideas. This in turn means that the divergence of thoughts expands within the group which can lead to breakthrough ideas and a lowering of the chance of ‘group-think’
Old habits die hard but the next time you run an ideas or strategy session ensure that everyone has their own pen. The session will be more productive, enjoyable and quicker.
Ken Hudson
I recently conducted a Speed Thinking workshop with a large multinational consulting company. Participants were amazed at this new way of brainstorming for example.
These are the differences with traditional brainstorming:
1. In Speed Thinking everyone plays. This means that all people are (usually) up on a wall and contributing their ideas. If you have ten people (like we did) and everyone creates nine possibilities. Then in the first two minutes you have 90 starting points or initial thoughts.
2. In Speed Thinking there is no leader. Everyone contributes their ideas, builds, evaluates and decides what the next steps are. The best ideas spontaneously emerge from the interactions of group members.
3. With Speed Thinking we start from the individual then work up to working with a partner then the bigger group. In this way introverts and extroverts are on an equal footing and the strongest ideas tend to surface rather than the strongest personalities.
4. Speed Thinking is built on movement. This means we are constant moving not stopping conceptually but also we use physical movement to facilitate the process. Our body is meant to move and our mind works best when we are moving around seeing different perspectives and keeping our bodies alert. Lying around on purple bean bags are a thing of the past.
5. The Speed Brainstorming sessions are high energy and much shorter. It can be a short as ten minutes!
6. In Speed Thinking we evaluate our ideas quickly using our intuition only.
What is your speed reaction to this?
Ken Hudson.
One of the most successful non-fiction books in recent times has been The Artists Way by Julia Cameron. It is a wonderful book primarily about unlocking your creativity and has sold over two million copies.
One of the tools Julia recommends is a tool she calls ‘Morning Pages’. This is a process in which you write three pages of a stream of consciousness every morning. After rereading one of her subsequent books The Artists Way at Work (Bryan, Cameron & Allen, 1998), I was struck by the many similarities it has with my notion of Speed Thinking. For example, both concepts suggest;
1. It should be done daily.
2. There is no right or wrong way. ‘Write down anything that comes to mind’ the authors suggest.
3. Both concepts are aimed at bypassing our own internal censor.
4. Out of the chaos, loose, messy sometimes ’silly’ thoughts a rich idea or insight might emerge.
5. The responses should not be filtered in any way.
6. The process should be done quickly. ‘We think the faster the better’ suggest Bryan, Cameron and Allen.
7. You will become faster at both processes with practice.
If you have not read any of Julia Cameron’s books then I recommend these or visit www.theartistsway.com
Brainstorming is the most popular and widespread way of generating ideas. Yet for most people it is an exercise in frustration. It takes too long, rarely produces breakthrough ideas and often people are left with a sense of not knowing how to move forward.
To overcome these blockages I recommend a Speed Brainstorming Session. The features of this approach are:
1. Run it in half the time. This will ensure that you save time and everyone is focused.
2. Ask people to come along with nine usual ideas (in two minutes) and nine radical ideas. If you have ten people this preparation can lead to up to 180 ideas in the first few minutes.
3. Have two people recording the ideas. One of the big bottle necks is the practice of having only one person writing down ideas. This slows down the creative flow while you wait for the person to capture the ideas. With two people you can move twice as fast.
4. Give everyone a packet of say 50 post-it notes and ask them to create 50 ideas (build on existing ideas) in five minutes.
5. Evaluate the ideas in two minutes. Ask people what ideas they think are the most original (mark out of ten) and those that they are the most passionate about (out of ten) but they must evaluate all the ideas in two minutes. This process will ensure that participants will not over analyze the ideas and go with their first intuitive reaction.
6. Throw a ball to one another and when you send it across you must suggest an idea. The next person must catch the ball and add another idea (hint: capture the ideas). This playful exercise will unlock often amazing ideas as participants conscious mind is distracted enabling their unconscious mind to flourish.
These simple suggestions will ensure that your next brainstorming session is more productive and faster.
Dr. Ken Hudson