What is creative thinking?

If someone has an idea or solution, there is a chance you hear someone else say: ’Yes, but…’ ‘That is impossible!’ or ‘It costs too much money!’. Or what about: ‘Why change?’

Going straight from A (the problem or challenge) towards B (a solution) is not always the best or quickest way to find solutions or to work on innovative concepts. There are some practical tools, based on the creative thinking method, to make this possible. It may look like a detour, but in the end this way of thinking will bring more – and sometimes unexpected – outcomes.

Diverge and converge

Creative thinking tools will let you come to insights, ideas and plans in a short amount of time. Step 1 is to diverge. Create as many choices as possible. Quantity over quality.

Step 2 is to converge. Make choices.

How you can use this process in combination with creative thinking, you will find below.

RULES OF PLAY

Postpone your judgement
We alle have our opinions and judgements. If you postpone your judgement, it will open up creativity in a group.

Quantity over quality
In the first couple of minutes, the best ideas will arise. Don’t hesitate, write down everything that comes to mind.

Free-ride
If you hear an idea of another person, free-ride on it. Your associations can generate amazing ideas.

Courage!
Even if an idea sounds crazy, write it down or call it out. The most unique solutions come from the most unexpected angles.

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Different meetings or brainstorms

Solutions and criticism take turns during a meeting. The question is, after one or two hours of gathering: what is the actual outcome? And some more questions may arise. Does everyone support the outcome? Did every single person in the meeting feel free to speak out and bring in ideas? Could we have done this in a shorter meeting, and more to the point?

Creative thinking is also cooperating, communicating and decision making in a different way.

Creative thinking will change your meeting or brainstorm in various ways:

And above all, it brings new energy into the group, and a laugh is guaranteed.

How does it work in your brain?

95-99% of our thinking consists of automatic patterns. From picking up your brush, riding in your car or even talking to another person. And it actually saves your day. If your brain didn’t work like that, every single step of the day would be an overload.

At the same time, these automatic patterns also cause a fixed mindset. It makes it difficult to break out known solutions and find new ways to tackle problems. Luckily, 5% of the brain is the creative part. Luckily, we are not only able to train our brain, there are also some simple, practical methods that can switch your mindset from ‘yes, but…’ to ‘yes, and…’. And above all, you are not doing it alone.

More than innovative thinking

You can use creative thinking to develop new ideas and plans. But it is more than that. You can also use the creative thinking method to:

track down blind spots in initiatives or plans
collect feedback and input from individuals or bigger groups, in a short amount of time
develop future vision, core values, or strategy and translate it to action
tackle resistance in a different way
create support and ownership
work on teambuilding

You can use the tools in almost any type of meeting, team sessions or network meetings. Big groups, small groups, or even on your own.

BOTTOM UP CO-CREATIONS

There is more to it than just finding new ideas or making plans. Communication takes place in a different way. You get to know the people in your session in a different way. Also the way decisions are being made is different than you may be used to.

Not the director, MT or final decision maker is saying what to do. Or what the plan is. It is actually the people in a team itself or from the actual workplace who come up with their input and form plans. Instead of making decisions top-down, the group develops the ideas. And instead of a traditional discussion, you spend your time wisely (and with much more fun). And if the whole company is involved in the process, you will develop true co-creations.

By using the right questions and tools, you can develop ownership and commitment. Start2Create also uses various ways of voting that will help you find out what makes people enthusiastic. So you know which ideas are worth developing further into more concrete plans.

Start2Create is strategic and creative partner of organisations. We use a variety of methods to help to innovate, to find solutions to challenges, build plans, and we even train people in our creative thinking methods. Here you find more about our programs.

Our website is in Dutch. Do you want to know more or meet us? You can contact Kyra (06 19836263 / kyra@start2create.nl) or fill in the contact form.