3 Ways to Get Past Your Creative Roadblocks
Looking to get ahead of the competition, but short on ideas? Use these easy approaches for generating new ideas to help overcome your creative challenges.
Regardless of industry, there's a good chance that someone within your organization is looking for ways to leapfrog the competition. But revenue growth and increased market share are difficult to meet without further penetrating existing markets, exploring different categories or somehow changing the game. Today, success depends on how creative or innovative you are in dealing with the dynamic needs of your customers. And with more dollars shifting to the online channel, developing a game-changing digital strategy becomes critical.
So how can you leverage creativity to build a digital strategy that stands above the rest? Here are three simple tips to get creativity flowing:
Tip 1: Ask open-ended questions
Asking open-ended questions leads to discovering unique ideas. Sometimes figuring out and articulating the problem can be the toughest hurdle. In order to solve a problem, you need to believe the problem is solvable. As a society, we are wired to jump to the negative. If you feel a problem is not solvable, then chances are you will not be able to solve it. One way to convince ourselves that a problem is solvable is to state the problem in the form of an open-ended question. These questions leave room for thinking and provide white space for exploration and connections. Start by stating your challenge from as many perspectives as possible. Use statement starters to capture your problems, such as:
"How to...?"
"How might...?"
"In what ways might...?"
"What might be all the..."
For example, if I say, "I can't meet the deadline," then I am putting up a roadblock. But, if I rephrase that as, "What might be all the ways in which I can meet the deadline?" then my mind is freed to explore options to meet the deadline.
Here are some steps to follow when conducting an open-ended question exercise in your organization:
- Step 1: Concentrate on the challenge you are facing. Use Post-it notes to capture as many problem statements as possible. Remember to use the statement starters. Try to capture at least 35 problem statements.
- Step 2: Lay out your problem statements so that you can see each one. Choose the statement that will best help you meet your challenge.
As you generate problem statements, you may notice that asking open ended-questions helps to clarify the problem. Once you have alignment on the true problem -- the one that will help you meet your goal once solved -- then you can come up with many options for solving the issue.
When HumanaOne, a leading direct-to-consumer health insurance company, wanted to enhance the online purchasing process for their consumers, they developed dozens of problem statements for their online experience. Ultimately, the statement they chose to answer was, "How might we create an online experience that builds confidence in the insurance decision-making and buying process?"
By defining the problem this way, HumanaOne sparked new thinking that ultimately led to the development of an innovative and easy-to-use online guided selling tool, called PlanPointer, which transforms the confusing process of choosing health insurance into a compelling online experience.
Tip 2: Use forced connections
When using open-ended questions, chances are you'll struggle to come up with 35 problem statements. Research has shown that more ideas produce better solutions. According to Alex Osborn, the creator of the term brainstorming, "quantity yields quality."
So, what techniques are there to help you strive for quantity? One way is to make associations (or forced connections) between seemingly unrelated concepts.
Forced connections work like this:
- Step 1: Think of a problem statement you would like to solve. Now, take a look at the picture below:
- Step 2: Focus on what you're seeing in the picture and what you're feeling. Write down four observations about the picture.- Step 3: Using the observations of the picture, think about your problem statement. What ideas does this give you for solving your problem?
- Step 4: Capture your ideas. Strive for at least 35.
Let's take a look at an example leveraging the problem statement, "What might be all the ways in which I can meet the deadline?" My observations of the image are (1) the dog looks very distinguished; (2) the dog is wearing clothes, which is unexpected; (3) the red in the plant really pops and (4) the setting is natural. Using these observations, some ideas I have to solve the problem are:
Distinguished: Work with key stakeholders to understand the impact and tradeoffs associated with the deadline. Negotiate a mutually beneficial solution.
Unexpected: Offer something of value, something unexpected that could be used as a trade for the date.
Pops: Find a partner -- a group that is renowned for its work and that can help us get the remaining work done more quickly.
Natural: Let things take their natural course. Set expectations and do the best we can to achieve them.
Developing forced connections between seemingly unconnected concepts helps to broaden perspective. The picture of the dog introduces a new universe of potential cues from which to associate and generate ideas that were not on the table before. While there are many variations on this strategy, forced connections are all based on the brain's ability to link two disparate items, such as words, objects, images, feelings and ideas, and then use the new language to think through the problem.
For HumanaOne, it was one participant's experience buying skis that helped to define the actual behavior of the PlanPointer tool. Her observation was that she was "sold" on the experience of purchasing skis by the helpfulness, knowledge and reassurance of the sales assistant. Leveraging the ski example, the team incorporated the same emotional cues of helpfulness, knowledge and reassurance into PlanPointer.
For example, when a user answers a question, he can actually see the system working and helping him find the right healthcare plan for his needs based on his input. By connecting a user's specific input to how it affects the plans, they can understand the effect of their choices on plan options and costs. Finally, by making behind-the-scenes calculations apparent, users are reassured that they are being heard.
Tip 3: Change your physical environment
Changing your physical environment can change the way you look and feel about a situation. Research has shown that being in a natural environment helps stimulate creativity. If it is not feasible to go outdoors, a meeting room with wood flooring, natural fibers and windows is a good substitute. If you’re up for a field trip, visit a local museum. Museum exhibits can provide great stimulus for the forced connections discussed above.
For example, when a leading company wanted to rethink their online strategy, they conducted an offsite at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Mass. While at the museum, a hologram exhibit was used to generate ideas.
Since what you see in a hologram changes depending on your angle, the exhibit produced good discussion on how the company viewed their customers and led to conversations on how to bring different perspective, such as dimension and emotion, into the company website's features and functionality.
Conclusion
Relying on yesterday's ideas and assumptions can spell failure to your company -- and your career. The next time you think about how to leapfrog the competition in the digital space, try these tips to jumpstart creativity and spark innovative thinking. Practice asking open-ended questions, creating forced connections and changing your physical environment to gain new perspective.