Whether you’re a software architect with a coding problem, or a career coach experimenting with new ways to build a client’s confidence, original thinking is a cornerstone of the creative process.
“There’s no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and make new and curious combinations.” - Mark Twain
Creativity breeds original ideas. But, as Mark Twain suggests, if all ideas already exist, we’re simply finding our own way to re-interpret them: much like James Dyson did when he invented the first bagless vacuum cleaner; or Uber when it launched a global taxi app without owning any cars.
We are all capable of thinking outside the box; sometimes, we need the right prompt to direct our thinking in an original way. Let’s have a look at some.
Set Limitations
During the 2020 pandemic, with much of the world on lockdown, people and companies responded by finding original ways to continue working, living, and solving new problems without making physical contact. Soon enough, due to social distancing and self-isolation, people became more innovative. People naturally responded to this restriction with originality, from creating homemade hand sanitizers to teaching exercise classes online.
It turns out that facing limitations can have a positive impact on creativity. So why not experiment with imposing limits on yourself for this purpose?
But won’t limiting myself ultimately limit my creativity?
It may seem counterintuitive, but as you’ve seen, limitations can stimulate creativity by creating a need for it. Putting restrictions in place can nudge your problem-solving in directions you wouldn’t ordinarily explore. For example, restricting the time you spend on creative tasks, with frequent breaks. Challenging yourself under limitations like this one will improve your mental agility.
“In the case of the Toolbar beta, several key features (custom buttons, shared bookmarks) were tried out in under a week. In fact, during the brainstorming phase, we came up with about five times as many ‘key features.’ Most were discarded after a week of prototyping. Since only 1 in every 5 to 10 ideas works out, the strategy of limiting the time we have to prove that an idea works allows us to try out more ideas, increasing our odds of success.” - Marisa Mayer, former CEO Yahoo
Draw Thirty Circles
If you’re a visual thinker, the 30 circle method will help you originate ideas visually. In response to your problem, create as many recognizable solutions in 30 circles. Fill as many as you can in 3 minutes.
This exercise requires some fluency and originality. The more fluent you are, the more circles you’ll fill. But, how many of them are truly original (offering different categories rather than variations of the same theme)?
Take Action
Try this with a problem you need to solve. Download our 30 Circle template, blow it up to full-page size, then try it for yourself. See how many circles you can fill in 3 minutes. How did you do? How fluent were you? How many different themes or categories can you identify? The more categories you find, the more new ideas you’ll have to explore.
Question Your Questions
Questions can help to push you outside the box by directing your thinking in unexpected ways.
Ask yourself: What question lies at the heart of the problem you’re trying to solve? Write it at the top of a sheet of paper.
Next, write down every conceivable question about this question, however stupid you think they sound.
Reflect on the question that came up. What new directions did your questions bring up? How can you explore them?
Explore “What ifs…”
“What ifs” will help you generate a range of different approaches to a problem. Often used as creative story writing prompts, “what if” is just as effective when used to spark original ideas at work and is something you can do alone or in a group. Similarly to the “Yes, and…” technique from the last chapter, it acknowledges and positively builds on each person’s idea.
Decide what problem you want to explore. Then make a list of possible what ifs. Once you’ve brainstormed this once, see how you can develop each one further.
If doing this exercise in a group, ask everyone to write down their response to it, beginning with the words, “What if…?”
Start by having the first person read out their answer. One by one, each person responds to it by leading on from the original idea. Once everyone has responded, move onto the second person’s idea and brainstorm in the same way.
Break Old Thinking Patterns
You may find yourself having to use a colleague or team's ideas as the starting point for your creativity. When working with familiar ideas or notions, the first thing to do is break old thinking patterns.
Challenge Your Assumptions
An assumption is a statement for which no proof or evidence is offered. And people make them all the time, about lots of things. For example, I might assume that the best way to invite friends to a party is on Facebook, when, in fact, not everyone I want to invite has access to it.
Without challenging this assumption, lots of people on my guest list won’t know about my party. When I question it and dig deeper, I find other ways to contact my guests; through email, mail, or phone. The problem with assumptions is they restrict your thinking. You assume something, so you neglect to go any further.
Take Action
Here’s how to challenge your assumptions. First, write down all thoughts you have about the idea you need to adapt or improve. Be as exhaustive as you can. Next, go through the list and find all the assumptions. If you struggle, ask yourself if you have any proof. If not, it’s an assumption. Write them down on a separate list. Explore each one by thinking the opposite of each assumption. What new ideas do they prompt?
Look Outside Your Industry
In a study published in the Harvard Review, a group of European business professors asked a group of roofers, carpenters, and inline skaters how they could improve safety gear. They each had to create novel solutions for roofers’ safety belts, carpenters’ respirator masks, and skaters’ knee pads.
Although they had to suggest ideas for all of the above, researchers found that each group was better at thinking of novel solutions for the industries different to their own.
According to the study authors, the key is to identify different fields with some key similarities on a deep structural level.
Listen to Ben Hong explain how software developers take inspiration from physical architecture and the built environment:
Have You Ever Taken Inspiration From Other Fields or Industries?
Take Action
What’s the nature of your problem (for example, do you need more speed, power, efficiency, less space, or time)? Where can you find inspiration or solutions to similar types of problems? Start with nature, sports, art, or travel, for example. Make a list of the similarities you find in industries or sectors that are entirely different from your own.
Complete Your Creativity Journal
Do: Choose a creative task or problem to work with. Next, set a timer for 30 minutes, during which you’ll create as many ideas as you can without judgment. Take a break. Don’t think about the task for 15 minutes. Repeat this a few times.
Reflect: How did it feel to limit your creativity in this way? Was it productive? Did it get easier in subsequent sessions? Did you generate any usable ideas?
Let’s Recap!
We all have the capacity to think outside the box.
Setting limitations on your thinking can result in original ideas.
Aim for both fluency and originality to generate lots of innovative ideas.
Challenging your assumptions will help you dig deeper into a problem.
Now that you’ve examined divergent thinking, you’re ready to use convergent thinking to analyze and evaluate the ideas you’ve generated.
