Creativity is a critical skill for success in business - it’s the driving force behind innovation and problem solving. While not everyone is born with creative talent, we can all improve on our own creative abilities. Here are our top five tools to get the creative juices flowing.
1. Metaphorical thinking. It allows you to compare one problem with another problem to identify similarities between the two, and uncover new solutions and ideas.
2. Attribute listing. Great for product innovation, attribute listing is where you list as many attributes as you can for an object, consider the value of each attribute, and how you can modify it.
3. Post-It brainstorming. Best for group brainstorming sessions, post-it brainstorming involves team members silently writing ideas on Post-It notes, which are posted on a wall, before being shuffled and explored.
4. Role play. A great way to inject fun into ideation sessions. Begin by choosing characters for team members to play, and then brainstorming in character. Select characters related to your problem to develop expert ideas, or choose a character totally different to find radically unique ideas.
5. Thinking hats. This involves using different types of thinking to stimulate ideation, before selecting the best to move forward. Each team member should select one hat to put on. Options include information, judgement, creativity, intuition, optimism, and logical thinking.