Approaching a problem in different ways can result in fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to problems. It’s called flexible thinking, a key component in divergent thinking.
An example of this at work could be applying your knowledge of an entirely different discipline to a tech-based problem. Here’s how Ben Hong, a senior front-end developer, has found his background in psychology helpful when coding:
Have You Ever Solved a Problem by Examining It From an Entirely Different Perspective?
"No worthy problem is ever solved in the plane of its original existence." - Albert Einstein
Developing this skill can involve:
Looking at a problem from a different starting point.
Finding new ways to do old things.
Approaching a problem through parallel thinking.
Here are some ways to do this:
Try Reverse Thinking
If you use the same starting point for a problem, it can be challenging to break away from the same linear thinking. To help you view it differently, try changing your starting point with reverse thinking.
Imagine you’re in the local government, and you have a problem with graffiti. The starting point for your problem might be:
How can I stop graffiti artists?
Reverse thinking directs you to start with the opposite. So let’s turn that statement around:
How can I encourage graffiti artists?
Next, come up with lots of ideas as a response to this reverse problem. For example:
Offer lots of places to create graffiti.
Provide artists with the materials they need.
Pay them for their work.
Encourage the learning of graffiti in education institutions.
Offer community courses.
Next, reflect on these ideas. How might they help you think of the original problem in a new and enlightening way?
For example, rather than trying to stop graffiti artists, why not make better use of them by commissioning them to create public art, communicate public information, or run competitions to provide graffiti art in an area you plan to revitalize.
Use this technique as a way to flex your own thinking about a problem with the following formula:
Identify the problem.
Reverse it.
Generate ideas.
Evaluate these ideas to find a solution.
Take Action
How can you flip a problem you’re facing at work? Use reverse thinking to help you approach it from a different starting point. Analyze the suggestions you come up with and decide how you might turn them into positive solutions.
"It’s important to understand the user requirements from the point of view of the user rather than the developer. It’s easy to get trapped in that place of wanting to do technology for technology’s sake and feel frustrated with the user, because they just don’t get it. Users don’t care about how clever you’ve been in tweaking the algorithm if the whole product doesn’t do what they want it to do.’"- Mahmoud, CTO
SCAMPER Your Problem
If the problem you need to solve is a product or service – for example, an app or e-commerce website you’ve designed – then the SCAMPER method is a good way to dig deeper into how you might improve it.
SCAMPER is an acronym used to describe the seven stages in a method designed to encourage a flexible and thorough approach to problem-solving. It involves posing and then answering some questions around your idea/product/service.
Here are some questions you can use. Feel free to add to these if you can think of more!
Step | Name | Questions to explore |
1 | Substitute | What materials or parts can you substitute for something else? What other product or process could you use? Can you use your product/service as a substitute for something else? |
2 | Combine | How might you combine this with something else to create something new? What features, materials, processes, or people could you combine to maximize its use? |
3 | Adapt | How can you adapt this product to find a new use for it? What other products are like yours? What can you borrow from them to adapt yours? What other context can you put your product in? What completely different products might you use as inspiration to change yours? |
4 | Modify | How can you change the look, shape or feel of your product? What part of it could you highlight or emphasize to add value? What area could you strengthen? |
5 | Put to another use | What else could your product/service be used for? What other industry or market? Who else might be able to use it? |
6 | Eliminate | What features, parts or instructions can you get rid of? How else could you achieve something if a part were missing? How could it be made smaller or more streamlined? How could you simplify the design and functions? |
7 | Rearrange | What effect would changing the functionality of your product have? What parts or functions could you reverse, swap, or reorganize? What components could you use in place of others? |
Take Action
Take your product/service through each stage and see what ideas you come up with. Not all of them will be viable, but each aspect will have been explored thoroughly, and you’ll end up with a rich collection of usable ideas.
Try the Six Thinking Hats
Psychologist Edward de Bono developed the Six Thinking Hats to encourage parallel thinking (i.e., to focus on a problem one way of thinking at a time).
His six hats each focus on a different way of thinking.
Hat | What it represents | What to focus on |
Blue | Facilitation/control | What decisions do you need to make? How can you summarize the findings so far? What are the next steps? |
White | Facts & figures | What data do you need? How can you assess the accuracy of the information? |
Red | Passion/intuition | How do you feel about it? What is your gut saying? |
Black | Pessimistic | What might go wrong? What are the negatives? What are the risks? |
Yellow | Optimistic | What are the benefits or values? |
Green | Innovative | Is there a different way of approaching it? How could the idea be further developed? What other ideas are there? |
To avoid crowding your thinking, focus on one hat at a time. When thinking about the problem, let this be your only perspective. Exhaust all your ideas before switching to the next one.
Adapt and Improve the Ideas of Others
Have you ever watched Dragon’s Den (Shark Tank in the U.S.), the television program where entrepreneurs pitch their inventions to venture capitalists in the hope they’ll win funding? In most cases, they identified a problem, then went on to invent a solution. Sometimes they found better, or more interesting, ways to do existing things.
Many businesses and entrepreneurs kick-start their creative thinking by adapting or improving on the ideas of others. It’s a common practice. Let’s explore some approaches to this.
Piggyback on Existing Ideas
Piggybacking is where you take someone else’s product or service as your starting point, then develop a new product that can either support, enhance, or improve on it.
A good example of this is Airbnb. Although people loved the idea of renting out their homes/spare rooms to earn extra cash, they didn’t always want to manage the practicalities. Enter Guesty and Pillow, developed as Airbnb property management apps.
Guesty and Pillow piggybacked on the success of Airbnb by adding value to it. They offer a different service to Airbnb, one not offered by the site.
See if you can name a product or service that:
Examined what was already available and took it in a new direction.
Developed a product or service so it could offer more.
Improved a product or service that wasn’t working as well as it could.
Supports another product and/or service.
How did you do? There’s probably a bunch of apps sitting on your smartphone that would make excellent examples! 😊
Take Action
Find inspiration in the world around you. Think about what you or your company offers, or could offer. How might it support, enhance, or add to someone else’s idea or product? What is their product not offering, that you could? How can you build on the idea to make it even better? How can you add value?
Make New Connections
A refreshing way to approach this is to make new and interesting connections between ideas, products, or experiences.
For example, George de Mestral was inspired to invent Velcro by the burdock burrs he’d find on his dog’s fur after taking it for walks in the countryside.
Complete Your Creativity Journal
Do: Try this activity to encourage you to look at a problem from the perspective of an entirely different world: In Another World.
Reflect: How does this approach challenge or stretch your creative thinking around the problem?
Let’s Recap!
Flexible thinking helps you approach a problem from a different starting point.
You can explore new ways to do old things.
Parallel thinking helps you focus on a problem, one way of thinking at a time.
Adapting and improving on the ideas of others can lead to innovative ideas.
Now that you can think more flexibly, you’re ready to discover ways to bring originality to your ideas by thinking outside the box.
