There are a hundreds of creative thinking models, but when you’re struggling for inspiration you just want the one that works. Here are four of the best models for firing up your imagination when you need it most.
In this article I’ll be looking at four of my favourite creative thinking models. I’ll cover the theory and how to apply it. I’ll even give you some extra pointers and resources. Hopefully it should all be enough to give you a fresh approach to even the most difficult problem!
Edward de Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats
This is famous tool that’s been used and cited by many organisations. It’s easy to grasp, can be applied in nearly any situation and provides a great way to approach problems from a different perspective. It was created by Edward de Bono, a psychologist, inventor and business guru. He broke down thinking into six different types, each signified by a different colour of hat:
White Hat: This is neutral, objective thinking based on information. It assesses what data is available, and what data is required. It also looks at the quality of the data and its source. It’s purely based on verifiable, existing facts. White hat thinking doesn’t have subjective or emotional elements – it’s purely analytical.
Red Hat: Red hat-style thinking is the opposite of White hat. It’s all about emotion, intuition and gut feelings. These don’t need to be explained orjustified, as expressing these feelings can be valuable in balance with input from the other hats. However, it is important that they’re kept brief and on-topic.
Black Hat: This is the devil’s advocate. When wearing the black hat the aim is to identify risks, faults and problems. But it’s about caut ion and problem-solving, not argument for argument’s sake, so these risks need to be analysed and justified. Ideally the black hat approach should generate solutions to problems as well as highlighting them.
Green Hat: This is the creative hat. It’s all about channeling intuition and feelings from the red hat into alternative solutions. When the green hat is on, discussion should be focused entirely on generating new ideas. Analysing them and judging them should wait until a different hat is being used.
Yellow Hat: The happiest hat. It’s about being positive and seeing the potential in every idea. It opens up opportunities, generates energy and is a platform for sharing visions and dreams. The yellow hat should also provide concrete proposals, suggestions and support to ideas created in the green hat phase.
Blue Hat: The final hat is about process and control. When wearing the blue hat, the aim is to facilitate the discussion – “thinking about thinking”. It’s that hat that sets the boundaries, the focus and the agenda. It provides summaries, overviews and conclusions, and it’s the hat you wear when deciding which other hat to put on.
De Bono’s 6-hat methodology reflects the fact that people tend to have a preference for one or two kinds of thinking, and encourages actively thinking about different approaches by “swapping the hats”. When you’re stuck generating the same old ideas, expanding your thinking to encompass other “hats” can be a really good way to shake things up. Some of the ideas it brings up might be a little outlandish – de Bono once suggested using Marmite to help the Middle East peace process – but sometimes it can throw up genuine innovation.
This principle was first suggested by management thinker Joseph M. Juran. It was named after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of income in Italy was received by 20% of the Italian population. This leads to the overall assumption that most of the results in any situation stem from a small number of causes. Here are some further examples of Pareto’s Law as it applies to various situations:
- 80% of profit comes from 20% of the products
- 80% of activity will require 20% of resources
- 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers
- 80% of complaints come from 20% of customers
- 80% of sales will come from 20% of sales people
- 80% of work absence is due to 20% of staff
- 80% of road traffic accidents are cause by 20% of drivers
- 80% of a restaurant’s turnover comes from 20% of its menu
It will probably never been an exact 80:20 ratio, but it will usually not be very much different – the principle of a small number of factors having significant impact is nearly universal.
The Pareto 80:20 Rule is commonly used in organisational and business management. It is helpful for focusing on key business areas and managing performance or quality. In the context of creative thinking it brings clarity to complex situations and problems, and helps us decide where to focus effort and resources.
Many of our daily work problems don’t have a single root cause – indeed, one factor might be contributing to a number of issues simultaneously. Pareto Analysis is a useful way of deciding which of the contributing factors to deal with first for maximum impact. Is revenue not growing sufficiently? Then find out the 20% of products that have the biggest impact, and focus on ways to improve their performance.
Fishbone charts were pioneered by Kaoru Ishikawa in the 1960s. Ishikawawa was a quality manager in the Kawasaki shipyards when he invented this process, which saw him become one of the founding fathers of modern management. No prizes for guessing where the name comes from!
Fishbone Charts, or Cause and Effect Diagrams are now more widely used in the business arena to review the causes of a problem thoroughly. A root problem is identified, and then all the factors influencing it are linked on the main chart. The example to the right shows a Fishbone Chart drawn by a manager who is having trouble getting cooperation from a branch office (click to make it bigger).
If the manager had not thought the problem through in this way, they might have dealt with the problem by assuming that people were being difficult. Having reviewed the chart, they may now decide the best approach is to arrange a meeting with the Branch Manager to discuss the issues.
Fishbone diagrams are essentially a more structured approach to brainstorming. Their major benefit is that they encourage people to consider all possible causes of the problem, rather than just the ones that are most obvious. They work really well when used in conjunction with Pareto analysis – which fishbone is having the biggest impact?
A metaphor is a figure of speech “in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable”. To use a famous one, all the world’s a stage; our everyday speech is full of metaphors encompassing everything from sheep to melting pots.
Poets and writers have always been masters at awakening the imagination through the power of the metaphor. A simple turn of phrase can give the reader a whole new perspective. Metaphors have benefits beyond their poetic and aesthetic value: they can also improve our understanding and help us solve problems. They help illuminate even the most complicated concepts: Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was preceded by a “thought experiment” where he imagined himself riding a light beam into outer space while looking in a mirror.
The origins of Metaphorical Thinking as a modern-day creative tool are widely attributed to Ned Herrmann. His approach advocates using comparisons to express ideas and solve problems. A simple example is the phrase “time is money”. Thinking about time as money can help create some powerful images and focuses on time as the use of a scarce resource.
Incorporating metaphorical thinking can be a really useful approach to problem solving . Try this exercise, adapted from the book Thinkertoys by Michael Michalko:
- Think of a challenge or a choice you are facing
- Instead of describing it in words, browse some old magazines, newspapers or catalogues and cut out images that symbolize the challenge or choice
- Move your pictures around, exploring different patterns and associations – perhaps even form a collage
- Look at your collage and search for clues, insights and new ideas related to your challenge or choice
- Ask yourself the following questions:
What is my challenge/choice like? What does it remind me of? What aspects of my challenge/choice are revealed through the collage? What can I learn from this?
There they are – four of my favourite creative thinking techniques. Next time you have a problem you can’t solve try one of them out. It might just give you the fresh approach you need. At the very least it will probably make the meeting more interesting!
What do you do when you get stuck on a problem? Are there any creative techniques you turn to, or have you managed to use the ones above? Let us know in the comments!
