Unlocking Innovation: How to Find Creative Solutions to Any Problem
On Saturday night, after living with a cumbersome knot in the drawstring of my dark gray shorts for at least two years, I finally removed the knot. My past attempts at loosening the knot with my fingernails failed miserably and seemed to make the knot tighter. Thankfully, the elastic waist band of the shorts stretched wide enough to allow me to circumvent the knot problem and put them on. You might be thinking that if I were really interested in removing the knot in my drawstring, I could have searched online and/or found a YouTube video on the topic. However, I felt a gratifying sense of accomplishment by using items that I had available to me to solve this problem. The knot removal process that I used involved three steps.
First step: Place the “rattail end” (metal end) of a rattail comb in the center of the knot.
Second step: Place the plastic end of a nail cuticle pusher in the left side of the knot.
Third step: Tug the rattail comb and the nail cuticle pusher outward simultaneously to remove the knot.
After I removed the knot, it made me think about the atmosphere I created to induce problem solving. I was relaxed while folding clothes and singing along to music from Phil Collins and a mix of other pop/rhythm and blues hits. This observation led me to research ways other individuals find creative solutions to problems.
Scott Jeffrey, Founder of CEOsage, published an article that discusses twelve creative techniques for problem solving. The four techniques that stood out the most to me are provided below.
1. Focus on Quantity Over Quality
To keep your ideas flowing, focus on generating plenty of ideas before scrutinizing them. These ideas could become solutions to your problem.
2. Switch Roles
Attempt to solve the problem from another perspective. For example, Mr. Jeffrey states that if you are an entrepreneur attempting to solve a problem for your customer, adopt the “customer’s mindset”. Mr. Jeffrey also emphasizes that the ability to see situations from other perspectives will make you a better problem solver and leader.
Expand your scope and look at the bigger picture as it relates to your problem. If your child performed poorly on an exam, don’t assume that is a result of insufficient studying. Investigate the total scope.
1. Does your child have test taking anxiety?
2. Did your child get adequate rest the night before the exam?
3. Did your child study material unrelated to what was being tested?
4. Walk Away
Walking away from a problem you are trying to solve may sound counterintuitive; however, creative geniuses use this technique to come up with innovative solutions to their problems. Walking away from the problem by taking a walk and/or meditating frees your mind and allows you to be, according to Mr. Jeffrey, “flexible, appreciative, and unattached to beliefs, rules, or conventions.”
Sarah Greenberg, a psychotherapist and board-certified leadership coach, published an article entitled 8 creative solutions to your most challenging problems which has the following two solutions that stood out the most.
Understanding the motivation behind wanting to solve your problem will help generate solutions.
2. Start Again
Learning from failures can give you a new approach to find solutions to your problems.
Creative solutions will come to you once you are open to them. Removing the limitations from your thinking, adopting a different perspective, and focusing on why you want to solve your problem will allow you to become an innovate problem solver.