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Step Six: Identify Effective Solutions
flower, creativity can be nurtured and bloom or be nipped in the bud by
the caregiver. The creative process is one of absurd connections, whereas
the reasoning process is one of structure and rightness. Reasoning and
creating seem to be on opposite ends of the mental spectrum, and
indeed they cannot occur at the some point in time. This is not to say we
can’t jump from an analytic state of mind to a creative state in short order
because we can, but the mere act of making absurd connections while
laying out a clear set of logical connections may be impossible.
Regardless of the solution, creative or logical, we must understand
the causal relationships between the solution and the primary effect;
or we are back to guessing and voting, which have a low success rate.
How can we go from one mental state to the other Let’s explore some
strategies I have found to be very helpful.
Listen for the Laughter
Laughter is caused by the improbable connection of two or more
things. “Of all the things I lost over the years, I think I miss my mind the most.”
If you find this funny, it is because you would never have thought of the
possibility of losing your mind in the physical sense because it is secured
between an impressive bone structure. It simply can’t be lost. Yet we use
“lost his mind” to describe people when they act strange. Since laughter
and creativity both consist of heretofore unmade connections, it stands to
reason that spontaneous laughter may lead us to creative solutions.
The next time you hear laughter while discussing solutions, stop and
find out what caused the laughter. It usually appears to be something that
is so absurd that you won’t bother to take it any further. Do it anyway. Ask
the person who caused the laughter to explain why doing whatever it was
they suggested would have any effect on the problem. Don’t ask them
to explain why they thought of it and be very careful not to make any
judgments. They may or may not be able to tell you why they said what
they did, but look for a cause that is being removed, such as “fire the boss,
yuk, yuk.” You might ask what firing the boss would do “Well, it would
allow us to do our jobs right.” “Does this mean we aren’t doing our jobs
right” “How could we do them better” “Are there barriers in the way” As
you go down this uncharted path, suspend judgment in a positive sense.
That is, look at all statements as eventually leading to something positive,
even if they initially appear not to.
Rapid Response Method
Another way to find creative solutions operates on the premise that
since we cannot reason and create at the same time, we need to find a