Re-Observation after observation: Reinvent the power of being a simple, danger and sharp thinker.

Chendan Cuicuichendan@gmail.com

The Hurricane Sandy is still here, how do you feel about it?

When people are recommended to make full use of observations to nurture their creativity, more focuses were put on “ideation” part: notice something new, think in another way, that’s nothing wrong with that, but we also should know: that’s not the whole truth. Evaluation skill is also very important in observation. As a highly Ideator/creative thinker (based on the results of different measures such as FourSights , KAI, TTCT, etc.) , what I found is that focusing on specific topic can reveal truth in another dimension and guide us into the deeper and deeper in certain topic.

The little town where I am living, Enfield in Connecticut, is silent in the rain and wind. I was craving for driving on the road to feel Sandy’s power, and I did. When I was there, I took some photo randomly, without thinking too much. Just let the camera follow my heart. And, a little shamefully, I know about this assignment after I returned from the “dangerous” travel, which my boyfriend thought was an “Adventure”.What should I do know? Go to see more stores? Might not be a good idea.Hold on. I do nothing. Till the next morning. Sandy seems to still hang out in the town, I went to three stores that I am familiar with: Starbucks, Subway, and Panera Bread.More pictures were taken by my iPhones. Now, put all the pictures here first. This is an attempt in extend the pool for ideation thinking.

What I found about stores?

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Now, these pictures can be my clues to new discoveries.

What I observed includes:It would be great (IWBG) if I took pictures in more occasional and random ways. Which mean I can go beyond my thinking habit.What I observed? Too much new perspectives and thoughts will be found. Then how about think from categories and topic?

1. The design of Parking area, can we put more creativity here? How about paintings some vehicles or something else to make the parking lot become a creative place full of fun?

2. About the plug in coffee shop? How can we make it look better? Should it be always look the same color?

3. Is it really necessary for all the waiters and server stand all the time? Think for them! How can we improve working experience in stores?

4. Starbucks, closed. Subway closed. Panara, open. What’s the decision-making pattern behind this difference?

5. Walgreens put a notice on the door. So is Subway, Starbucks didn’t. It’s just an occasional neglect?

6. Are the people smiling all the time when they work? What make them unhappy about what they are doing?

7. Does the Pet Policy applies well in all the shopping centers? How to take care of puppies when people needs to spend more time in shopping?

8. What kind of customer go to certain stores? How long people stay in Panera if they bring their compute with them? How can the store make the guests feel they are welcome. The Parena put a notice on the webpage when customers connect to their free Wi-Fi which suggest that they want the costomer leave in half an hour. Are they really meaning this?

If I keep going, 100 pages would still not be enough for writing them out. Here comes the power of using Convergent thinking in observation once you got a certain exciting topic for you to go deeper. I am curious about the power supply for customers inside coffee shops：In China, most Starbucks coffee shop doesn’t offer open power supply: There are too many customers in China, they want them to leave as soon as possible. The location of the building and original design of the house also influence the arrangement of power supply.How the Stabucks’ company’s attitude toward this?How about the Coffee shop offer free adapter for customers, so they need not to bring their own…

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Rethink about the this pictures, I got a lot of ideas…

Once we begin to release of power of creativity, we also need to know how to take the power in control. Sometimes, we need to give up many things to get one thing. The same rules works also for creative thinking. I am glad that from so many exciting ideas, the power supply in Coffee shops becomes my final topic that I can extend it into an article for Chinese magazine. Now, the creativity is very useful, isn’t it?

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