- Lateral
Thinking and Serious Creativity
- Course
Outline
- Main
Course Objectives
Lateral Thinking
and Serious Creativity
Lateral Thinking is about changing concepts and perceptions.
Certain problems do not need an injection of better
logic in order to solve them; sometimes it is necessary
to shift our attention, to approach the problem from
a new perspective.
In an increasingly competitive world, traditional methods
of problem solving can only take us so far. We need
to go beyond problem solving; we need the ability to
generate new concepts and new ways of doing things.
Indeed, we must learn to do so on demand, instead of
just hoping we'll somehow stumble on an innovative idea.
Lateral Thinking will equip you with solid practical
methods for challenging current thinking. You'll find
out how to harness your own creativity so that it can
work for you, when you need it. You'll learn to solve
problems and generate new ideas to meet the challenges
of the concept driven businesses of the new millennium.
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Course
Outline
The need for Creative Thinking
Why creative thinking is a learnable set of skills.
The Thinking Techniques
Alternatives:
How to use concepts as a breeding ground for new ideas:
Sometimes we do not look for alternatives at all. This
session shows how to extract the concept behind a group
of alternatives and then use it to generate further
alternatives
Focus:
When, and how to change the focus of your thinking.
The discipline of defining your focus and sticking to
it.
The attitudes of focusing on matters that are not problem
areas.
How to generate and use a Creative Hit list.
Challenge:
Breaking free from the limits of accepted ways of operating.
With Challenge, we believe that the present way of doing
things is not necessarily the best.
Challenge is not an attack or criticism.
It is the willingness to explore the reasons why we
do things the way we do and whether there are any alternatives
Random Entry: using unconnected
input to open new lines of thinking.
Provocation & Movement:
This session explores the nature of perception and how
it limits our creativity. The Provocation techniques are
designed to challenge these limitations. Movement is a
new mental operation that we can use as an alternative
to judgment. It allows us to develop a provocative idea
into one that is workable and realistic.
Harvesting:
At the end of a Creative Thinking session we normally
only take note of the specific ideas that seem practical
and have obvious value. We need to make a deliberate
harvesting effort to collect ideas and concepts that
all less well developed.
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Main Course
Objectives
The overall objective of the 2-day programme is to
learn a systematic step-by step approach to generating
new ideas and new concepts. This is achieved through
the application of a variety of techniques within a
formal structure for creative thinking. By the end of
the programme, the participants will have learned that
creativity is not just a talent or a matter of luck,
but rather that it is a skill that can be learned and
applied deliberately.
Lateral Thinking in Action
This keyboard was developed
as a result of 6 Hats and Lateral Thinking
The British Airports Authority implemented a completely
new approach to parking at Heathrow Airport. The idea
was developed using lateral Thinking. The results: lower
costs, reduced traffic and improved customer satisfaction.
At Prudential Insurance of Canada the executive team
used Lateral Thinking to develop the hugely successful
concept of 'Living Benefits'. This revolutionised the
insurance industry and helped Prudential lead the market
with a unique product.
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