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Erika Bajars, Principal Matchstick LLC
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Beyond Brainstorming: Tools for Better Thinking & Creativity ProductCamp NYC 2010
Erika Bajars, Principal [email protected] or www.linkedin.com/in/erikabajars
This presentation copyright © 2010 Matchstick, LLC. All rights reserved.
Hi! I’m Erika Bajars: Hats I wear….
Mom, Partner, Daughter
Teacher
Marketer, Entrepreneur
Certified Trainer Inventor
Marketing image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Why should you pay attention to my session?
We’ll cover two important topics
• Running better meetings to make better decisions
• Offering more creative alternatives to brainstorming
I’ve been there and have the t-shirt
• I’m a certified trainer in The Six Thinking Hats® and Lateral Thinking™, the tools that we are demonstrating today.
• I’ve trained over 100 people in these tools.
• I’ve successfully used these methods to solve real business problems – from creating patented ideas to evaluating strategies to naming products and initiatives.
The Six Thinking Hats is a registered trademark, and Lateral Thinking is a trademark of the McQuaig Group.
Who is Edward de Bono?
• Leading authority: creative thinking, innovation, direct teaching of thinking as a skill.
• Originator and developer of a variety of toolkits to improve thinking & creativity: The Six Thinking Hats® and Lateral Thinking™.
• Rhodes Scholar and Nobel Prize nominee.
• Prolific author: 70+ books.
Why are these tools awesome for marketers?
• Enable you to get things done faster.
• Facilitate doing more with less.
• Address creativity on demand.
• Produce more truly novel ideas.
• Address the common problems associated with meetings.
Wrench photo: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
What are the problems with meetings?
What are the problems with meetings?
Strong Personalities Dominate the Conversation Quiet people aren’t heard; loudest voice dominates Everyone waits for the boss to speak
What are the problems with meetings?
People’s Attitudes and Emotions Impact Discussion Overly positive or negative people sway the group
What are the problems with meetings?
Lack of Focus: Too Much Done at Once People asked to consume, process, judge information, and generate ideas, all at the same time
What are the problems with meetings?
No Clear Next Steps Left to the meeting facilitator to figure out what to do next Participants leave without ownership of meeting outcomes
The Six Thinking Hats: The Cure for the Common Meeting
Defined Focus
Solve a specific problem
Hats “Unbundle” Thinking
Switching hats limits ability to dominate the conversation
Parallel thinking considers each aspect in turn
Time Limits
Clarify thinking, stop pontificating,
get to the point
End With A Plan
Next steps are clear
How do the Six Hats “Unbundle” Thinking?
White Hat: Information, Neutral, Data
Red Hat: Feelings, Emotions, Hunches
Black Hat: Caution, Risks, Problems
Yellow Hat: Benefits, Optimism, Value
Green Hat: Growth, Creativity, Ideas
Blue Hat: Facilitating, Organizing, Process
A simple problem – where to take the group to lunch – illustrates muddled thinking
“Mortons is too expensive! I’m on a budget”
“I’m not really hungry yet”
“What about Rosa Mexicano?”
“Mexican has something for everyone!” “What are all the options, here?”
“Mortons is at the Mall”
“I don’t eat meat”
Apply The Hats: Where should we go for lunch?
White Hat: What are our options?
Black Hat: What are the problems with these options?
Green Hat: What are solutions to the problems?
Yellow Hat: What ideas do we like best?
Blue Hat: Let’s make a decision; next steps
Red Hat: How do we feel about this process?
Six Hats Applied to Business: Strategy Evaluation Tool
Six Hats Applied to Business: Strategy Evaluation Summary
Benefits of Using The Hats to Evaluate Strategies
• Identify known/unknown info…fast • Everyone scores on the same information • Consider each idea in a balanced way • Look at each idea in a more balanced way • Quick view – one page / strategy
• Quickly evaluate ideas; then separate the best and spend lots of time discussing those as a next step
• Minimized “pet” projects and let less popular ideas have their day
• Provided a tool to defend choices to management
Summary: The Six Thinking Hats Applied to Meetings
Defined Focus
People are clear on what problem is
being solved
Hats “Unbundle” Thinking
No muddled thinking Fully consider ideas
Tempers over optimism and pessimism
Time Limits
Hold focus, get to the point
Meetings go faster
End With A Plan
Next steps are clear
Team fully engaged in the process
Think about meetings where we as marketers are asked to come up with creative ideas.
Could we apply the Six Hats techniques to run better brainstorming meetings?
What are the issues with brainstorming?
The Six Hats Help Facilitate Better Meetings We have the tools to help teams consume, process, judge information, and generate ideas in a logical sequence.
• No clear focus • “No idea is a bad idea” (ridiculous) • No refinement of ideas • No process to control personalities • Often, no really new ideas
But how do we solve the problem of no really new ideas? What tools are available to make generating ideas more systematic and efficient?
Lateral Thinking Tools: Improving “Green Hat” Thinking
Lateral Thinking Tools Deliver More Really New Ideas By using lateral thinking tools when you are doing “green hat,” you break out from the same old ideas and really expand your thinking.
Like the six hats, the approaches are practical, purposeful, and quickly teachable, even to “novice” groups.
Benefits vs. Brainstorming
• Tools provide opportunities for true break-through thinking. • Everyone can use them and become more creative with practice! • Discipline of the “Hats” helps overcome brainstorming issues:
Defined Focus Solve a specific
problem
Set Time Focused, succinct
discussion
Place for Judgment Yellow, black hats
after ideation
Lateral Thinking: Purposeful Creativity
Five tools to improve Creativity:
Alternatives look beyond the obvious 1
Focus looks at things from a fresh perspective 2
Challenge the status quo to find new solutions 3
Random Entry generates ideas via unconnected words 4
Provocations stimulate new ideas and move to new solutions 5
Let’s try Random Entry
What are some new ways to make our workplace more
environmentally friendly?
Image: Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Lateral Thinking Applied to Business
Background Several highly experienced engineers formed a new consulting firm and called it “NPC” (New Product Consultants) so that they could get started with clients. Knowing that they wanted to grow their business, they engaged Matchstick to create a more polished brand image.
Approach Using the Lateral Thinking tools, we came up with a new name, Fulcrum, which captured the essence of the unique value that NPC brings to their clients. This concept of “leverage” based on their experience is well-known to their engineering audience.
Final Thoughts on Lateral thinking
• The process is purposeful and systematic versus random
• The pace is consistently fast-paced; no dwindling energy
• The results are prolific, and the process ensures no good idea is left behind
• The tools result in truly novel ideas – very different than the results of brainstorming
• Anyone can increase creativity by learning and practicing these tools tools
• Provides a solution to “creativity on demand” – one trained facilitator can lead a session and get results fast
Thank you! http://www.matchstickllc.com/creativity
Matchstick, LLC 121 Hawkins Place #122 Boonton, NJ 07005
P 973.753.0383 E [email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/erikabajars
www.matchstickllc.com