Thursday, August 19, 2010

How Creative Thought Happens

Creative thinking is often seen as elusive and rare; it's something that creative people do; it's something that we wish would happen more in our organizations. Yet creative thinking follows a relatively predictable process, with overlapping phases that go something like this:
  1. A problem emerges. If the problem seems important enough, it motivates us to seek a solution.
  2. We try to solve it. Using our existing, habitual actions and routine methods, we put some concentrated effort into solving the problem.
  3. We get frustrated. When our standard approaches don't work, we feel tension, discomfort and frustration and back away from the problem for a while. We're not sure how to move forward.
  4. Our perspective shifts. As the problem simmers, we start to perceive it in different ways; new points of view emerge that offer glimmers of hope. We become able to reformulate the problem in ways that suggest new paths forward.
  5. A tentative solution appears. Often in a moment of insight, often with a sense of exhilaration, a possible solution presents itself. Our previous frustration and our shifting perspective allow us to see this solution that we couldn't see before.
  6. We test it. As we flesh out the idea and elaborate on it, we compare it against reality, against the constraints of the problem. If it doesn't prove itself, we may loop back to any of the earlier stages.
  7. We communicate it. If the solution meets the tests, if it solves the problem, we implement it and communicate to all who are affected by the problem.
There are countless structured approaches that aim to foster creativity and accelerate such a process, but there is strong agreement that there is such a process. The details vary but the process above is typical and representative. For in depth reading on the subject, consider Creativity and the individual and The Resolution of Conflict.

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