What is Creativity?
During his childhood, he showed some difficulty in expressing himself; She began to speak until the age of three, her family came to think that she had some mental retardation, she was patient and methodical, and she did not like to show herself, for this situation she tried to avoid the company of other children her age; the rigidity and military discipline of the schools of her time caused some problems with the teachers; When he was 15 years old, a new teacher told him that "he would never achieve anything in life." Despite this, some years later he published his "Theory of Relativity."
Albert Einstein, along with Da Vinci, Newton, Edison, Tesla, Jobs, and many others, perfectly represent the creativity that has propelled humanity to today's level of development. But what is creativity?
The Royal Spanish Academy introduced this word in the dictionary until 1983; It is derived from "creare," which means to beget or have children, and this late incorporation of the word has to do with the previously thought that creativity was related only to divine beings, and not to the activities carried out by human beings.
It is not until the fourteenth century that the use of the word and the idea that it could be created in any activity carried out by the common human being is introduced.
In cognitive psychology there is a definition of creativity, and it is considered to be made up of two important elements. One has to do with originality and the other with the practical utility or social value of the idea that is generated.
For example, a computer, which creates words at random, cannot be considered a creative being by itself; what it produces may be original but not necessarily useful or valuable and this leads us to another key concept in creativity; disruptive and incremental changes.
To any product, we can change the color, shape, material, size, thickness; All these are incremental changes, they do not change the essence or the function of the product, but when we design a different product that satisfies the same need, we have a disruptive change, because it implies a fundamental modification; These disruptive changes are those that fall within the field of creativity and do not necessarily have to be great changes.
For example; the wheel is thousands of years old; Some time ago, those who traveled had to suffer with the handling of luggage bags; by the weight and the difficulty to move them; shortly after they began to see some devils used by the crews of the planes that worked very well to transport their small suitcases; After several years someone came up with the idea of putting wheels on normal suitcases, internally adding metallic structures similar to those of these little devils, which has made life easier for thousands of travelers. But how is it possible that after thousands of years of knowing the wheel, the idea of putting it in our suitcases did not occur to us before?
How and why does the creative process take place?
Many times we could think that ideas come by themselves, suddenly, when we read, when we exercise, when something catches our attention on the street, but it is not like that, what happens is that our mind is made up of a whole system of networks neural data that we have acquired over the years; These networks are intimately interrelated with each other; and our mind works as an automatic answer-seeking mechanism; it operates as a cybernetic device that seeks specific objectives; a mechanism made up of the brain, the senses and the nervous system, which is used and directed by the mind.
When we are presented with a need, this mechanism comes into operation, both consciously and subconsciously, and searches the information stored for the answer to our needs; This is when creative ideas are generated, the process originates from a need; you just have to make sure you have enough raw material to come up with those creative ideas; information and knowledge.
Other aspects that intervene are issues such as the degree of personal commitment, dedication, interest and motivation that one has in the process, in the search for the desired solution.
Some experts speak of several elements that must be present in the creative process.
One is originality; being able to think in ways other than traditional ones; the fluidity of ideas, that is to say, it is very important to be able to have a succession of different ideas, often supported by the previous ones, but in such a way that there is no stagnation, and that leads us to cognitive flexibility; the ability to see things from another point of view, to see processes differently cut or sequenced in other ways to be able to make creative reinventions.
There is also another very important element which is cognitive independence; it is the ability of people to not only follow a leader or an idea proposed and accepted by the majority. Being independent has to do with great personal security, with the confidence we have in our own ideas.
We can all generate creative ideas, it is only a matter of attitude mainly, in addition to feeding our minds with information and knowledge.
Characteristics of creative people
Physically and mentally speaking, we have in the genes of each one of us, all the capacities that have allowed the human species to reach the level of development and civilization that we currently have.
Creativity is a mental process and as such is related to the mental capacities of people, with our way of thinking, seeing and interpreting the world that surrounds us, with the way we learn and interact with our environment; almost any problem can be solved through creativity; through a new way of doing things, of understanding problems, solving them and facing the opportunities and challenges that are presented to us.
What are the characteristics of creative people?
It is not a rule but, sometimes, we can identify creative people by their personality; Sometimes they can be considered a bit introverted and this is because they need periods of solitude, a bit of isolation to analyze and meditate on a particular situation or problem and go through their creative process to find the answers they are looking for, they seem to have little time to waste it on the normal trivia of life and this makes them appear as if they have difficulty relating to others; they are also relatively free of prejudices and social conventions, they do not care what other people think of them. They have little respect for traditions and social norms, prefer to trust their own judgments, and have developed their own outlook on life.
In addition, among others, they have, to a greater or lesser degree, the following characteristics:
Diversity of interests (curiosity)
Creative people are interested in a large number of subjects; it may be that by necessity they study or work in an area that requires specialization; but they also have a wide range of interests that keeps them in a constant learning process and on a great variety of content; they can move from one topic to another with great ease; they are always relating and combining ideas from different fields of knowledge to obtain new solutions; This characteristic occurs naturally in children.
Interest in acquiring knowledge
Well, these are the raw material not only for the creative process, but for any mental process; and if there is not enough knowledge, there are not the necessary elements to generate new ideas, and we will not have any results; In any mental process, our mind looks for the knowledge that we have stored in our neural networks and this knowledge is the raw material that it uses to generate creative ideas, if we have not been careful to acquire enough knowledge, that is how poor our generation of ideas. Our experiences and memories; The knowledge acquired in the family, school, work, or in daily life will be basic when combining them to arrive at new ways of solving any problem that arises.Creative people are learning on their own and all the time on a myriad of topics; They are not limited only to what they have learned at school or at work, they do not leave the responsibility of their education to others, they themselves seek the knowledge they need wherever it is necessary (school, books, internet, people, companies, etc.). Knowledge by itself is all the motivation that moves them.
Mental flexibility and openness to change
There will always be a better way to do things, not only the one that we, or most, consider as the most appropriate, we must maintain the curiosity to learn, eliminate the fear of trying new paths; to consider new ideas and knowledge different from ours; In terms of knowledge, we should not commit ourselves to a single idea or belief, since everything changes with the passage of time, or with new developments and discoveries; that way we too can easily change our beliefs.
Tolerance for ambiguity
Creative people do not feel bad when faced with ambiguous situations, or when in a certain problem or situation they do not have all the elements to analyze it; They know that they have sufficient resources in their minds and that sooner or later they will find the answer.
Persistence
They have a great ability to concentrate and work for hours and hours on a problem, or to investigate and master a topic that is useful to them; If something goes wrong, they don't get discouraged, go back to work and create different paths to achieve the result they want.
Independence
Creative people like to be in control of their ideas, what bothers them the most and hinders their creative process is that someone else wants to decide what, how or when they can learn, think or create; they usually don't let anyone obstruct their learning or creative process. A creative person, who is a bit introverted and at the same time possesses a great amount of knowledge can come to be perceived as someone superb; who is not interested in the opinions of others and the result can be the rejection of any idea that she presents and sometimes even the loss of her job.
There is another characteristic that, although it is not typical of creative people, we must take into account; caution; especially at work, if we consider what the experts say in terms of creativity; that 3% of people are creative, 12% accept a creative idea when they see or hear it for the first time and the other 85% will always be against any idea that implies a change to established processes; This means that if we present an idea to improve a process; Between 8 and 9 out of 10 people will reject it immediately, especially if it brings changes to them, regardless of the improvements it could bring.
There are countless examples of the resistance to change suffered by most companies, regardless of their size or economic capacity, as long as the person gives results and does not get involved in things that they should not, there is no problem; But do not think differently, or skip the organizational structure to send an initiative to those who should not because he is a dead man.
In the end we can all generate creative ideas, it is only a matter of attitude and feeding our minds with information and knowledge.
Creativity inhibitors
We find resistance to change not only in companies, but in any environment in which we develop; at school, in the family, among our friends; while we do what we must do, we behave is expected; give the results that are asked of us and do not get involved in things that do not concern us, no problem; But let us not try to modify what has already been established, think and act differently from the majority, because then the problems begin; They try to ridicule us, isolate us or even expel us from such environments.
In terms of creativity, depending on the environment we are talking about, there may be several factors that inhibit the generation of ideas such as the lack of financial resources, their mismanagement; o the lack of adequate incentives; we can count on the best physical environment; furniture, pleasant colors and textures, the best institutional plans that try to promote and reward creativity, give people the freedom and security necessary to propose their ideas, and it seems that this alone should create an environment in which to generate a lot of creative ideas; but even so, the results obtained can be null or negative; Why? Because creativity has to do with people; with their beliefs, with their culture, with their way of behaving; and from this point of view,We can consider two types of factors that inhibit the generation of creative ideas, the external ones, which are those that we find in the environment in which we develop and refer mainly to the people with whom we interact; and the internal ones, those that are based on our beliefs, whatever they may be, and are deeply rooted in our mind.
External factors
It is easy to identify these environments that inhibit creativity; in a negative environment we can find that most people do everything possible to maintain the established order; In a company, for example, the first to block initiatives are usually direct managers. Changes are not accepted in negative environments; They fight to maintain the old systems and they fight and they try to expel anyone who tries to modify the current structure.
Other times the ideas are taken into account, even recognized as good; Although it is only in appearance because immediately all kinds of obstacles and restrictions begin to be mentioned for which they cannot be carried out; "The idea is good, but we do not have a budget", "This would be very expensive and complicated to implement", "It has already been tried once and did not have the expected results", "We will study the proposal", We are going to integrate a working group for your analysis"; and this does nothing more than send the idea to the dead file or it is simply discarded.
External factors can affect us only if we allow it; If we are creative people and we have experienced the satisfaction of seeing some of them become reality, no opinion or pretext will convince us that our ideas are bad or that they have no application; but if we insist on carrying them out, we must be willing and prepared to pay the price that this may entail; isolation from the people around us, family, friends or colleagues from school or work; including the possibility of being expelled from such an environment.
Internal factors
The most common and at the same time the most aberrant of all is when the generation of creative ideas is hindered by ourselves; In itself it is quite worrying that 85% of the people we deal with will reject and hinder any idea we propose, regardless of the benefits it may bring; as for us to be the ones who end any possibility that might have any creative idea; When the doubts, attitudes and opinions of others influence us in such a way that they create doubts and negative beliefs about our ability to develop creative ideas, then we do have a real problem; usually these doubts are manifested through thoughts such as; "I don't know anything about this", "What if I'm wrong?"; "I wouldn't know how to do it,""If it has always worked this way, it must be for something", "I was not born for this!", "Better bad for being known than good for knowing", "What will they say about me if this doesn't work?" "I already have a position and I have to take care of it", "I have a lot to lose and nothing to gain", "Why move him? What if I get fired?" These types of thoughts freeze any possibility of generating creative ideas and are reinforced with our weaknesses and fears, most of the time the fear of failure is the result of embarrassing moments that we have lived; We feel again the shame of when we face challenges for which we had no answers; we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal.«I was not born for this!», «Better bad for being known than good for knowing», «What are they going to say about me if this doesn't work?», «I already have a position and I have to take care of it», «I have a lot of to lose and nothing to gain »,« Why move him? What if they fire me ». These types of thoughts freeze any possibility of generating creative ideas and are reinforced with our weaknesses and fears, most of the time the fear of failure is the result of embarrassing moments that we have lived; We feel again the shame of when we face challenges for which we had no answers; we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal.«I was not born for this!», «Better bad for being known than good for knowing», «What are they going to say about me if this doesn't work?», «I already have a position and I have to take care of it», «I have a lot of to lose and nothing to gain »,« Why move him? What if they fire me ». These types of thoughts freeze any possibility of generating creative ideas and are reinforced with our weaknesses and fears, most of the time the fear of failure is the result of embarrassing moments that we have lived; We feel again the shame of when we face challenges for which we had no answers; we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal."What are they going to say about me if this doesn't work?", "I already have a position and I have to take care of it", "I have a lot to lose and nothing to gain", "Why move him? What if they fire me?" These types of thoughts freeze any possibility of generating creative ideas and are reinforced with our weaknesses and fears, most of the time the fear of failure is the result of embarrassing moments that we have lived; We feel again the shame of when we face challenges for which we had no answers; we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal."What are they going to say about me if this doesn't work?", "I already have a position and I have to take care of it", "I have a lot to lose and nothing to gain", "Why move him? What if they fire me?" These types of thoughts freeze any possibility of generating creative ideas and are reinforced with our weaknesses and fears, most of the time the fear of failure is the result of embarrassing moments that we have lived; We feel again the shame of when we face challenges for which we had no answers; we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal.These types of thoughts freeze any possibility of generating creative ideas and are reinforced with our weaknesses and fears, most of the time the fear of failure is the result of embarrassing moments that we have lived; We feel again the shame of when we face challenges for which we had no answers; we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal.These types of thoughts freeze any possibility of generating creative ideas and are reinforced with our weaknesses and fears, most of the time the fear of failure is the result of embarrassing moments that we have lived; We feel again the shame of when we face challenges for which we had no answers; we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal.we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal.we think of the terror we feel when speaking in front of a group of people, especially when we are about to start a meeting where we try to present a proposal.
These types of factors are apparently easy to overcome as they depend completely on ourselves, however, they are hidden in our subconscious; they feed on the fear and shame that we experience in the face of some negative situation that we have suffered in the past; the only way to eliminate them is by willpower accompanied by a positive mental attitude, and also by the positive experience that accompanies the development and successful implementation of the same idea; Although the price that we must be willing to pay is the same as facing external factors; isolation from the people around us, family, friends or colleagues from school or work; including the possibility of being expelled from such an environment.
If we still feel insecure, remember that a large number of inventions have been developed by people who did not consider themselves "experts" or "specialists" in the field corresponding to their idea; This could be explained because generally the specialist limits himself exclusively to the knowledge of his field, in which he is an expert, discards everything that is not related, someone with knowledge of other areas has the necessary material to combine ideas from different fields to search solutions.
Another very important internal factor is the lack of cultureThis is perhaps the main reason why the expected results are not obtained, in addition to our beliefs, fears and weaknesses; In our country we do not have the habit of reading, and therefore our culture is limited only to what we have learned at school or work; How do we intend to get creative ideas from a mind without culture and information; if on average we read less than one book a year; Innovative ideas cannot be generated if before there is no acquisition of sufficient and varied knowledge, these are the raw material for developing new ideas; if we only have the knowledge acquired through school or work experience, our creativity will be just as limited. The remedy for this is simple, to acquire as much knowledge, in quantity and variety, as possible;the more the better, and for this, reading is the best medium.
Creativity has to do with people; with their beliefs, with their culture, with their way of learning and behaving; Creativity is not given by decree and as an example, the following paragraphs are actual statements on the subject of creativity of a very important company in our country, which, despite the resources invested, the programs and efforts made, continues without have the expected results.
In the end we can all generate creative ideas, it is only a matter of attitude and feeding our minds with information and knowledge.
Techniques and tools to generate creative ideas
Techniques
Analog thinking
Thinking without thinking directly. Within the creative process, we can use analog thinking as a resource, which is that which is not direct, it is a thought process where we turn a situation around; We analyze it from different perspectives in order to find a wider range of solution possibilities.
When we are faced with situations that can paralyze us due to the risks involved in making a decision, or because of the importance that they may have in our life, to find the best solution options we will use a method that avoids the rational barriers that we impose on ourselves. ourselves. This involves thinking analogically, in a context that is not threatening. In analogical thinking, we can use two strategies; the first consists in telling stories and the other in the use of metaphors, both are similar in the sense that we are going to see the problem from another perspective, from another point of view, using a parallel idea.
Stories and metaphors have been used since ancient times very successfully to educate and transmit knowledge; we can find well-known examples in the gospels of the bible, also in works like the thousand and one nights; and in the countless tales of fables, tales and legends. The use of these methods implies a greater probability of remembering the transmitted message.
In the university education field, in the business administration specialties, something similar is done with the so-called “case studies” that are nothing more than the analysis of success stories that have been presented in some companies.
The following metaphor is used to convey the message that when you find something valuable, you must use all your resources to obtain it.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field. If a man discovers it, he covers it and, happy to have found it, he sells what he has and buys that field. " Gospel of Saint Matthew
The following fable conveys the importance of preparing during times of plenty for times of scarcity:
La Fontaine's Fable
Reverse engineering
There is another analogical thinking strategy for the search for creative solutions that implies starting from the end of the process; this is going from the finish line to the start, and it is called reverse engineering. It is a very useful procedure because generally what we have well defined is the objective or the goal, but it is difficult for us to see which is the path that we must travel to reach it. To start with this process, we place ourselves at the end of the objective, at the goal, and from there we look for the step before it, and then the step before this and so on until we reach the current moment.
Let's take the following as an example; X wants to keep his job for at least the next two years; we will be located in 2 years.
As head of department
Very safe, I know all the work procedures perfectly, I give clear and knowledgeable instructions
I arrived before check-in time, I learned all the work procedures; I read the manuals, I looked at how others did it, I asked, I made friends with some so that they could pass me information; he helped them with their activities.
I started to get along with everyone; I participated in work meetings, I spent time and prepared what I could propose, I listened to what others were saying, gave my opinion and gave them recognition when their ideas were good; I refrained from making negative comments.
I improved my presentation, I worked on my self-image; my tone of voice was determined, calm, confident and pleasant.
Perhaps preparing myself by taking a diploma in remote administration; in which I am doing very well; I dedicate one hour every day and two hours on weekends.
I talk to my boss, I give him confidence that the things that I am going to do, I am going to do them well and quickly; I tell him that I am very interested in my future in the company, that I want to learn, I ask him to let me support him, to assign me different tasks. I promise you that I will get along with people, that you can trust me in any situation that arises at work.
I always arrive before check-in time, I never leave exactly at check-out time without leaving something pending; Before leaving I ask if there is nothing urgent that has to be finished. I am dedicated to getting to know people at work well, I ask them to comment on what they do, I behave well with them, I try to be pleasant.
The built process involves communication with your boss; integration into the group; prepare in the basics, work on your safety and personal image, plan your interventions, know in detail the work processes, and reach the goal, being a reliable, safe and knowledgeable boss.
This thought process for the search for solutions is used for all kinds of situations, not only for personal problems, it is also used to design objects, services, ideas, concepts.
Combined lists
This analog thinking strategy mixes ideas from fields very different from each other, to combine them in innovative ways.
The procedure consists of dividing a sheet of paper into three columns, in the first two we write the numbers from zero to nine progressively; In the first column we write the name of an object, animal or person next to each number; in the second we are going to write action verbs, the ones that come to mind, after each number; finally in the third column, we are going to relate the contents of the first and second; In this column we are going to randomly write ten two-digit numbers, without stopping to reason them, from double zero to ninety-nine; the first digit of the first number corresponds to the list in the first column and the second digit to the verbs in the second;The next step in the process is to use the combinations made in the third column and try to get as many ideas as possible from each of them; This technique allows the generation of attractive, innovative and sometimes illogical ideas, since it combines distant elements to obtain a creative result.
Let's remember Steve Jobs's phrase about creativity; "Creativity is simply connecting things" and that is precisely what this method does; combine things or concepts from different areas to get creative ideas.
Tools
To facilitate the analysis of problems and the search for creative solutions there are several tools that are used; among them we have domain transfer, brainstorming and the 6 thinking hats; These techniques are based on the generation of random ideas and the visualization of the problem from a different point of view; These can be complemented with other resources such as the classification of ideas, concept maps, mind maps, and Ishikawa diagrams.
These techniques force us to see things and think from another perspective, to think in a lateral way that differs from the thinking that we normally follow and that is vertical; Thus, while the vertical relies on logic and tries to dig deeper in the same direction, the lateral is enriched through ideas from different areas; the vertical tries to improve what already exists, the lateral promotes new ideas; in vertical thinking we try to avoid uncertainty, on the side no, on the vertical the irrelevant does not matter, while on the side each detail can become a resource to find a new solution; the vertical generally advances sequentially while the lateral promotes a diversity of ideas.
Domain transfer
Within the creative process, this tool helps us to analyze the situations that are presented to us from different perspectives in order to find a wider variety of solution possibilities.
The domain transfer is based on the use of a point of view different from ours when analyzing situations to find creative ideas; the use of a different way of thinking. Each of us has certain characteristics of thought and personality; Some are more developed than others, and this allows us to face the problems that arise from our own perspective; But, what would happen if our personality, beliefs and thoughts were different, how would we evaluate and solve the different situations that arise? What are these characteristics that help the creative process and which are the ones that we have more developed and which less, And if we do not have some of them, how can we do to form better work teams with the knowledge?optimal beliefs and characteristics to evaluate situations that require the generation of creative ideas.
The ideal candidate to join a creative team is the type of person who has an important area of knowledge or specialization, but who also has a wide variety of interests and this has led them to acquire knowledge in different areas; This characteristic, combined with some others, is very useful and creates fertile ground for creative solutions.
Domain transfer takes advantage of the plurality of viewpoints, diverse knowledge and skills of a group to accelerate creative processes.
An expert in creativity, Tom Kelley makes a classification of the profiles of the people among which are the following:
The anthropologist; they are people who see everything with the eyes of a beginner; with great curiosity and surprise; they are not prejudiced and always observe without judging; This leads them to have a great capacity for empathy towards people and also to be very good communicators.
The experimenter; He is an extremely hard-working person, very curious, who enjoys interaction with young people, who brings solutions and ideas very different from the traditional ones; They enjoy providing many solutions and creating many models because they are convinced that there is not a single answer for each question, but there are multiple solutions, and they prefer to explore as many as possible; They are people who do not mind breaking rules in order to satisfy their curiosity.
The show jumper; They are very persevering people, they always see things from a new perspective, with a different light; they have a great tolerance for stress, they do not worry about restrictions; they may not have a lot of money, time, or resources to get things done; but they always find a way to solve it; for them nothing represents a problem, every obstacle is an opportunity. If someone says to them: -You dedicate yourself to yours, and do not do more than what was asked of you. That is not valid, they turn around, and do whatever their creativity dictates.
The collaborator; He is a person who has the ability to integrate people of different profiles and put them to work in a harmonious way. He has a great ability to maintain motivation and to avoid conflicts arising in the group. They exercise leadership from the middle, that is, they are not very noticeable, but they do everything possible so that everyone is collaborating; they love interdependence, and play-based work.
The pollinator; It is perhaps the greatest resource in the domain transfer process; is a person who goes like bees, from flower to flower, in this case it would be from area to area, taking ideas, concepts, elements from one side and the other, from one person to another, to combine ideas and knowledge and create a network that learns and innovates; They are people capable of seeing trends and patterns that others cannot perceive. they really enjoy learning from different fields of knowledge, through books, movies, internet, travel, museums; in daily interaction with people; their life is to be learning because they like to know about many things and relate them in a new way.
In the formation of work teams for the generation of creative processes; It is important that we can meet and analyze others with whom we interact, to be able to integrate the best team, and thus achieve greater results. This strategy implies, in each one of the members, a great tolerance towards different ways of acting and thinking, flexibility of thought; have a large amount of knowledge in very diverse areas, and have located where these sources of knowledge are.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a tool that involves sharing experience in creating innovative ideas; that is, requesting help and input from other people on a particular problem to generate creative solution ideas.
The initial objective in this process is to have many ideas, initially quantity matters more than quality and for this we must work on two things; the natural inhibition we have to express our points of view, and the desire to criticize the ideas of others; The inhibition of people when expressing their opinions can be worked through some group dynamics techniques; during the brainstorming session we have to control ourselves and not make any judgment; This implies having a relaxed atmosphere with all team members at the same level, here all ideas are valuable no matter who they come from and none should be rejected
This tool consists of two parts; the first, the free and uninhibited contribution of ideas that, however absurd they may seem, are noted by a moderator; in the second phase, the most suitable ideas for solving the problem are analyzed and selected
The coordinator must be very skillful in keeping up with the group in generating ideas, and at the same time keeping it focused on the problem; It is also important, during the first phase, not to compare one idea with the other, at this time they are all worth the same; It is also very important that as far as possible we have people with different profiles, because it implies that we are going to see the problem from different angles.
Six Thinking Hats
Six Thinking Hats is a tool published by Edward De Bono, which was born during the application of a Brainstorming process; It consists of a methodology for problem analysis and group decision making; This tool, combined with lateral thinking, makes it easier to analyze problems in a more detailed way to find solutions.
This process is similar to that of domain transfer since it is about visualizing the problem that is analyzed under different approaches, each of these approaches corresponds to the color of each hat, and allows us to examine a situation from various possible angles.
- Blue hat; He is the one who coordinates and controls the rest of the hats; controls the times and the order in their intervention. White hat; to think as objectively and neutrally as possible. Red hat; to express our feelings, without the need for justification. Black hat; to be critical in a negative way and think about why something couldn't go right. Yellow hat; Unlike the black hat, with this one tries to look for the positive aspects about a certain aspect. Green hat; it opens up creative possibilities and is closely related to your idea of lateral or divergent thinking.
TRIZ
There are more structured techniques for finding solutions, among them we have one known as TRIZ; which is a method based on the study of models of patent evolution and other types of solutions to problems; Its application is mainly in the solution of strategy, management or technology problems; Through it, the problems raised can be solved and the knowledge obtained can be managed to solve similar situations that may arise in the future.
TRIZ is surprising for the speed and quality of results in solving problems in Industries and basic sciences; It is a technique based on knowledge and consists of using the maximum of previous experiences available on a specific problem that is solved by adapting the solutions previously applied to similar problems. Genrich Altshuller developed this method through the analysis of a large number of invention patents; in his analysis he realized that inventions solved different problems in very different fields, but that the applied solutions could be obtained from a relatively small set of principles. The method has been applied almost exclusively to solving technical or technological problems and today it is one of the creativity techniques most used by companies and universities.
The TRIZ method has 3 basic principles:
Principle 1; “Most man-made systems evolve according to predetermined patterns, rather than randomly; these guidelines can be known through the study of the evolution of systems and the knowledge acquired and can be used to accelerate the evolution of other systems ”.
Principle 2; “Most of the technical systems that exist have redundant resources, that is, they have more resources than necessary to perform the functions for which they were conceived; as a consequence, almost all systems can perform their function more effectively or perform additional functions, without the need to be modified ”.
Principle 3; “Common ways of solving problems or improving a system can be found, based on the stages of evolution determined by a historical analysis of inventions; this allows that the knowledge for the innovation can be registered and transferred ”.
In the TRIZ methodology there are two types of situations that we must face:
Where the solutions are previously known; These can be resolved with information obtained from technical texts and specialized publications, as well as consultations with specialists.
Here the particular problem is brought to a general or standard level of a similar nature; a standard that is well known and where the solution sought will come from.
Example: Suppose we need to design a rotary device whose output is 100 rpm, from an AC 2300 rpm electric motor; the analogous standard problem is how to reduce the motor speed, therefore the standard solution is to use a speed reducer or gearbox, then this reducer will be designed with appropriate dimensions, weight, torque, etc.
In general 90% of the problems faced have already been solved by someone somewhere, so the search for the ideal solution can be found quickly through knowledge management; Much of this knowledge is patents and technological discoveries that have been made to date.
Where the solutions are unknown; problems with unknown solutions are handled with some of the above tools, analog thinking, reverse engineering, combo lists, brainstorming, domain transfer, or the six thinking hats; only in this case it adequately documents the process to form a knowledge base for future problem solving.
We can all generate creative ideas, it is only a matter of attitude and feeding our minds with information and knowledge.
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