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Creativity & Problem Solving
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Creativity and Problem Solving are the future of human work .................................................................... 3
Creativity ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
Problem Solving ............................................................................................................................................ 5
What do you do now? ................................................................................................................................... 6
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CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING ARE THE
FUTURE OF HUMAN WORK
It is not news to suggest that technology will continue to replace jobs, even those knowledge workers who
have so far been safe. Technology is great for solving technical work, but work that requires imagination,
creative analysis and strategic thinking is much harder for technology. We must re-engage with our
creative thinking to prosper in a modern workplace.
Sure, ATMs took a lot of tasks from a bank teller, but it allowed the bank teller to upskill and manage
wider ranges of financial services. In other words, more creative tasks.
So, if the world is gearing up to automate the technical tasks, how can you foster and develop your
creativity to help you and your people prosper in the future?
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CREATIVITY
Thinking creatively requires a sensitivity to the complex and the ability to anticipate the unexpected, all
whilst re-evaluating your beliefs and assumptions to open your world up to new possibilities. As Apple co-
founder Steve Jobs put it, ‘Creativity is just connecting dots’. The more dots you have, the more you can
connect.
There are many techniques that can be explored with participants to help them both create, and connect,
the dots to fostering a creative mindset in the future.
Assessing how Creative your
culture really is
Using your values & assumptions to practise the
good things
Tolerance of Failure / Experimentation / Discipline /
Psychological Safety / Accountability
Why large companies struggle - Product vs Process
How to stimulate creative discomfort
Communication > Involvement > Trust > Review > Creativity
How to think Creatively
Thinking and seeing differently using de-familiarisation
How to reflect on what we see & especially, what we don't
see
Combinatoral Play and how it can help you like it helped
Einstein
How to think differently about the problem itself
The greats were both busy and
Creative
How to use the 5 Discovery Skills of great inventors for
yourself
The importance of practising
How to be creative on demand - including doing
things you are not interested in!
Distractions are everywhere, we can use it to inspire us by
taking control of it
The importance of not rushing your ideas
The Leaders guide to fostering creativity - the good news?
Your employees already have all the creativity you need
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PROBLEM SOLVING
Many organisations fall foul of a simple rule when it comes to Problem Solving; they don’t properly define
the problem they are trying to solve. They develop new products, processes and often new businesses
altogether without being rigorous enough in defining the problem they are solving and expressing why
those issues are actually worthwhile.
Through a thorough experience tackling the problem solving process using the affective context of the
training participants, they will understand and interpret each stage clearly when tackling any problem, or
focus specifically on activities and simulations around a stage they particularly need to focus on.
As Einstein once said; ‘if I had one hour to save the planet, I would spend the first 59 minutes defining the
problem and one minute resolving it’.
Depending on your needs, we can also look at modern Problem Solving techniques involving collaboration
on a deeper level.
Planning
• defining success
• more benchmarking
• defining requirements
• document assumptions
• planning milestones
Solution decision
• being comfortable with uncertainty
• benchmarking
• the rule of probability
• 12 question foolproof checklist
Solution evaluation
• 5 tough questions to answer...
• the real consequences
• your obligations
• the world today
• who we are
• living with your decision
Solution generation
• Thinking of what we could do vs what we should do
• Taking a 4 way holistic view
• How to make problem solving fun
Define the problem
• Establish the need for a solution, justify the need, contextualise and reframe the problem, write the problem statement with brainmining questions
Finding you the right expert
Pyramid searching
Problem solving as a team
Co-creatingCross-industry
problem solving
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WHAT DO YOU DO NOW?
If you want to learn how to tap in your creative mind on demand, or want to help your employees
be able to do it and inspire greater problem solving in your organization, get in touch today!
Let’s build a Training Programme that works for you!
0049 151 4161 8807
Chlearningsolutions.com