Altered States Through Creative Thought, by David Goldsmith

If you’re interested in refocusing your business on creative thinking purchase the book Shingo Shingo Non-Stock Production: the Shingo system of continuous improvement by Shigeo Shingo. You only have to read the first few chapters to understand why Dr Shingo is unique in creative thinking. Dr. Shingo pulls together all the pieces of the production puzzle and thoroughly destroys the myth of the inevitability of waste and inventory with a concept that any production changeover or retooling should take no more than 2 minutes to complete. The creator of the Toyota system’s ability to see the world through a different set of eyes creates the potential in the human spirit that we can all do the same.

Here are a few techniques that I have found from a number of sources to be useful in breaking the boundaries of limited thinking: 1. 5 Why’s: This technique was created long ago in the Asian culture to discover problems that one might be missing.

2. Mind Mapping. Mind mapping creates offshoots or spontaneous recognition through the use of a type creative "sun or tree diagramming". Starting from a written idea, place ideas that relate to that one idea around the central theme. Off of the new ideas create of others that will develop even more creative juices flowing. (Buzon)

3. Down Time: Ever heard that you need to take some time off to clear your head. Allowing your brain to focus on other situations for a period of time allows the forced creativity to relax and new ideas to be born.

4. "Sensanation" (Created by Mike Vance): Ask yourself how the problem would feel, taste, smell, sound.

5. Play Time Session. Convert your idea to a game. Crossword puzzles or general puzzles help to stimulate a different approach to the problem.

6. Storyboarding: Walt Disney created story boarding to help animators and production staff work through the development of a concept. The quick illustrations showed the main theme of the story and hence everyone would get a feel for the direction and needs of the films he was to produce.

7. The Eight-step Basadur Simplex Problem Solving Process: 1: Find the problem, 2: Find the facts about the problem. 3: Define the Problem, 4: Find Ideas, 5: Evaluate and select solutions from the ideas, 6: Plan Actions upon the selections. 7: Gain acceptance for the solution, 8: Take action on the solutions.

8. The Filter Creative Cycle: Start by defining the issue or topic. Make a statement about the topic as a starting point. Conduct research, converse, and challenge the subject. Then sort, reconfigure or modify the statements. Finalize your selected ideas. Create action plan.

9. Bucky Fuller Linking Approach: "All things, regardless of their dissimilarity, can be linked together whether symbolically, physically, or psychologically."

10. The William Gordon Synectics Theory: Creative output increases with awareness of psychological process that control behavior. The emotional component of creative behavior is more important than the intellectual component: irrational components are more important than the intellectual. The emotional, irrational componeonts need to be understood and used as precision tools to increase creative output.

11. Fuzzy Thinking (Lotfi Zadeh): Ask true or false questions, then look for answers.

12. TRIZ Method (Savransky and Altschuller): Consider (1) that systems evolve uniformly and (2) inventive problem represents conflict between new requirements and old systems. The solution may come from investigating the evolution of the system.

13. Change Your Environment: Ideas tend to be created by links within and throughout our environment. Some ideas that would stimulate brain power would be to move your desk, sit on the floor, rearrange your garage, travel home in a different direction, go to a movie…anything that forces one to see the world from a different angle.

14. Futurism: Ever try to describe what the future would be like 10 years from now. Draw, paint, sculpt the future based on the problem you are addressing today.

15. Look to Opposites: What is the problem not?

16. Time Crunch: Ever notice that when the clock is ticking one is able to find a solution to a problem in order to meet a deadline. Create a deadline, make it short and spontaneous. Your mind will race to come up with answers.

17. Journaling: Every morning write 3 pages about anything. Ramble if you may but fill the pages up with ideas, problems, dreams, wishes.

Learn a new creative technique each week…..Write the technique on an index card or in your journal and carry it with you to practice wherever possible. Just like learning new words in a foreign language, you will need to practice the technique until it is second nature to you..