Creative thinking techniques help us learn to proliferate ideas. When we learn to proliferate ideas, we become better at divergent thinking – one of the most powerful tools in a troubleshooter’s tool belt.
When someone asks you to come up with ideas for solving a problem, how many do you normally produce? One? Two? Five?
The following example illustrates how we can use some simple creative thinking techniques to generate tons of useful ideas.
The problem: How many different ways can we use a brick?
Our goal is forty ideas.
Step one: empty your mind
Quickly list all the ways you can think of to use a brick.
- Build a wall
- Build a mailbox
- Next to a house
- Use it for a desktop paperweight
- Use it as a melee weapon (hit someone on the head)
- Use it as a projectile weapon (throw it at someone)
- Use it to pave a sidewalk or patio
- Build a deck
Eight, in all. Not many.
Step two: group items into common themes
Several of my ideas fell into the category of ‘building material’. So, focusing on that, what other things can be built with bricks?
- Pots
- Landscaping
- Mailboxes
- Barbecues
- Smokers
- Dependencies
- Shelving
- Outdoor bar
Eight more right there. My running total: 16.
In addition, some of the ideas were included in the category of ‘small, hard and relatively heavy objects’. What other uses does that have?
- Door stopper
- Insect hunter
- Ballast
- Fasten sheets of cloth, plastic, etc.
There are four more. My running total: 20
Step three: consider common attributes
What are the attributes of bricks?
- Lasted
- Sustainable
- Rectangular
- Rather small
- Keeps heat well / insulates
- Compact
- Comes in various earth colors
- Cheap
“Keeps warm” inspires a new approach to ideas.
- Kiln
- Coating for metal grid
- Something to protect a vulnerable surface in a hot pot or pan
- Mount a metal grill / smoker on a wooden deck
- Mount a water heater to a hardwood / tile / linoleum floor
Bricks are also “hard”. Do some uses require greater strength or durability?
- Tall explosives / hazardous materials storage buildings
- Hazardous Materials / High Explosives Handling Facilities
- Stop for a shooting range
- Shooting position
- Vault
Ten more there. Running total: 30. We’re three-quarters of our way to the goal and we’ve kept things pretty basic.
The creative thinking techniques that I have used so far are quite linear. To come up with really new and different ideas, we need to be more abstract in our thinking.
The next tool takes us to the abstract arena. It falls under the category of “forced connections”, which determine the relationship between two things that are apparently unrelated.
Step Four: Force Connections
Random words are a basic tool for forcing connections. I pull out a list of random words, close my eyes, and point my finger:
- Walnut
- fart
- Mass
- hospital
- trophy
How could these words help me find more uses for a brick?
Just list the things you associate with each word and ‘force’ a connection with bricks.
Here are the words and phrases that I associate with each one:
- Walnut – small, tasty, almond, walnut, squirrel, fiber, walnut, cake, cookie, peanut, sold in bags, baseball games, sold alone or mixed
- fart – dog, cat, hamster, gerbil, snake, lizard, sold in specialty stores, cute, pet food, fish tank
- Mass – Catholic, church, service, Eucharist, sanctuary, baptism, host, wine, Pope, priest, nun, prayer, forgiveness, collection.
- hospital – emergency, rooms, beds, patients, doctors, nurses, operations, X-ray, MRI, expensive, healthcare, ambulance, surgery, healing
- trophy – award, engraving, given to the winner, valuable, prestige, mantle piece, display case, pride
Forcing connections with the words and phrases I get these ideas:
- Pet – Dog – Build a doghouse
- Nut – Squirrel – Build a squirrel / bird feeder
- Mass – service – Build a monument
- Mass – service – Build an outdoor altar
- Hospital – X-ray – Line of an X-ray or radiology room
- Mass – baptism – build a baptismal font
- Trophy – mantle piece – Build a fireplace
- Trophy – Showcase – Build a trophy case
- Pet – Fish Tank – Build a stand or box for the aquarium
- Trophy – Engraving – Create Engraved Pavers for Fundraising
That’s ten more, bringing my total to 40. Goal achieved!
To be honest, this was too easy. I could have kept generating idea after idea using other creative thinking tools.
And think about what you could propose to a GROUP of thinkers: In an innovation workshop, for a group of five, you would have set your goal at 100-150 ideas.
“Forty uses for a brick” might have sounded overwhelming at first, depending on the ideas we have in mind.
But, as I’ve shown, it doesn’t take much thought for ideas to proliferate, as long as you do it consistently, using proven tools and techniques.
Idea generation is the foundation of divergent thinking, which drives business creativity. Learn to multiply ideas this way and you will become a better innovator for it.
