The Wings of Imagination - How To Set The Stage For Innovative Thinking In Ideation Sessions
Once upon a time, in a far off pond in India, lived a colony of stubby, plain looking larvae. A legend handed down from generation to generation promised that at the age of chrysalis, each little larvae would break through the surface of the pond and suddenly emerge as a magnificent fully formed dragon fly. (The rumor had apparently been started by a frog who had witnessed the transformation.) At one stage in development, each larvae went on retreat at the top of the pond where no one could see or contact him. It was after this hibernation that the transforming spell was supposedly cast. There were a few skeptics. They pointed out that no one could see or hear clearly through the ripples and currents of the water. Images were distorted. These few wise members of the community contested the notion that a simple larvae could undergo an instantaneous metamorphosis into a dramatic dragon fly with a slender body and iridescent wings. While unknown, some measurable phenomenon must have occurred. Still, no one knew what actually happened at the top of the pond and no larvae ever returned to confirm or dispel the legend. So the magical tale was religiously passed along from one to another with no comprehension of what changes might have actually or logically taken place.
One compassionate, soon to be liberated metamorph swore to return and finally dispel the mystery and disclose the secrets of transformation. She emerged from her chrysalis on the water's surface, instinctively spread her newly formed wings and ecstatically soared to the sky. Remembering her promise to the others, she contained her feelings of elation and swooped back down to the pond. She plunged into the water but could not penetrate it. Despite numerous attempts she could no longer return to her watery childhood. She was now a creature of the air. The larvae left behind could only sadly bemoan, "Will no one ever take pity on us and unravel the mysterious mechanisms of the sacred secret!" Like the dragon fly larvae, we tend to see processes that transform something old into something new as a finished product that materializes as if by magic. We revel on the insight, the surprise, the accident without understanding how it all happened. As a result, we often continue to sit at our desks and await for revelation. When it doesn't come automatically, we become self- castigating and harshly judge ourselves as uncreative, further stifling our potential.
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Suppose instead of viewing creativity as an accident, we looked at it as a process. For instance, unknown to the lamenting larvae there are a series of gradual biological and environmental changes which foster their transmutation from water bound creatures into free spirits of flight. Similarly, creative insight and invention are actually the products of a series of smaller and less spectacular combinations and re- integrations of concepts or perceptual patterns. Just as the larvae could not witness the internal changes that led to the sudden emergence of the dragonfly, we generally are not privy to the millions of nerve pulses or thought patterns that give rise to creative solutions. So, instead of thinking of ingenious ideas as magically formed, we can view them as a result of concrete process.
Remember, magic is only technology before it's time! While perhaps less romantic, the benefit of such reductionism is that we can then study the various elements of creative process and conceivably manipulate them to increase the incidence of innovation and inventive thinking. In fact this has been done in numerous successful experiments over the years.
THERE IS VAST LITERATURE ON THE FACILITATION OF CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING. What most all experiments have in common is an emphasis on the optimal structuring of the environment. These surroundings (which will be outlined shortly), induce the most effective, most productive emotional states for creative thinking. When combined with carefully chosen, evocative stimulus input, these conditions make novel insights inevitable.
A creative environment most importantly should be structured as a kind of a "holding" tank. What is meant by holding in this context is a relaxed setting which fosters a sense of security and acceptance of all emotions and ideas. This safe climate encourages participants to explore the undercurrent recesses and grottos of their minds and to take the risks of meshing unusual connections.
Ideally, the creative session is conducted off campus, away from the interruptions of everyday business life, such as pressured telephone calls and board meetings. Off campus meetings have the additional benefit of novel stimulation, which leads to novel associations, the building blocks of creative production. While hotels often offer rooms and suites for these purposes, most specialists who work with task force teams would concur that facilities known as conference centers tend to be more knowledgeable about the wants and needs of creative teams and therefore better equipped to provide the proper supports.
A number of attributes of the workshop room itself are important for fostering inspiration. For instance, the archetypical room should be three times the size that would comfortably nest all people attending. The section housing the conference table should occupy roughly one third of the space. The table should be surrounded by padded comfortable arm chairs on rollers that cozily seat the participants. The second third of the room should be designed like a living room, with sofas, chairs, and other homey and decorative furniture. This encourages an unconstrained, more recreational attitude, and pushes people towards an alpha brain wave pattern (referred to as "relaxed wakefulness"). Finally, the remaining third of the room consists of open space for people to walk about and ruminate. Participants are also encouraged to dress casually. Together these elements promote freedom of both mind and body.
The walls in the creative environment welcome the posting of large sheets of easel paper to be tacked up with push pins or masking tape. This lets people know that many suggestions will be expected, welcomed, and proudly displayed around the room. There are several flip charts, equipped with nontoxic "magic markers" in a number of colors to highlight unique points as well s different parts of the process. An abundance of colorful paper is distributed around the table with a variety of writing implements in hues of the rainbow to accelerate unusual connections, even in the actual inscription of ideas.
Plenty of satisfying but light food should be available, particularly warm liquids. Generating ideas requires much more energy than most people think. It's not unusual for team members to leave a day of sparking ideas feeling happy and exhausted. Individuals have more energy to work with their minds when their stomachs are well nourished. Along the same lines, lavatories should be close by. While it's important to schedule a number of stretch breaks throughout the day, it's also a good idea to be close to the wash rooms so one could slip out and return quickly. Lastly, people should be asked periodically throughout the session about the comfort level of the room temperature. If the temperature is not optimal, it should err on the side of being a little bit cool to keep people awake (remember, the goal is relaxed wakefulness).
Besides structuring the environment properly, there are several attitudes which must be modeled by the leaders in order to foster ingenuity. Before discussing these, let's briefly talk a little more about a few of the ways we might define creativity.
As you already know, we see it as a process: First, we have to confront the conflict of wanting to hold onto, but needing to let go of, the ideas that have already been considered.
Second, its a systematic creation of confusion and encouraging of oxymorons and other ideas which at first are apparently unrelated.
And finally its the reintegration and restructuring of thoughts and feelings into original invention. To accomplish this, during the working program there are several postures that must be modeled by the leaders and emulated by team members. In order to booster the generation of great ideas, research shows agreement by experts in the field on several dimensions.
The team should:
- Defer judgment and accept all ideas until the assigned period of evaluation.
- Go for quantity.
- Invite wild and crazy reveries.
- Build on and modify each others' ideas.
- And, enlist unconscious process.
THE MOST IMPORTANT, AND MOST EMPIRICALLY VALIDATED of these attitudes is that of deferred judgment. This is because (and many may disagree) there is actually no such thing as a bad idea. There are only imperfect ideas. Every idea is the seed for a geometric progression of associations, any one of which may hold the key to the solution sought after. Negative connotations can be reversed by associating antonyms, or finding a synonym which filters out the problem connotation. Additionally, prematurely judging an idea not only deprives one of the idea's progeny, but of the rest of the group's associations to that idea as well.
In addition to good leadership, a structured environment, and proper attitude, there are a multitude of exercises designed to facilitate what is referred to psychoanalytically as a combination of both primary and secondary process. In KaledioscopeTM, our creative problem solving approach, these range from forced associations, metaphorical interpretations, and improvisational techniques borrowed from the theater and behavioral sciences to synethesia -- the forced representation of a stimulus presented in one medium, such as visual, in another, such as olfactory. For example; What does a sunset smell like? How about when you see it descending over the Grand Canyon? What if you were sitting on a deck overlooking Long Island Sound? Or standing a top of snowy Mount Everest? The next time you look at an abstract painting, listen to how it sounds. Get a sense of how the artist felt when planning the composition. Was he tired, joyful, annoyed, bored, making a joke? What about the shape, line hues and tones told you that?
LASTLY, AND IN SUMMARY, ANOTHER CONCEPT CENTRAL TO CREATIVITY IS THAT OF DIVERGENT THINKING. Divergent thinking is the opposite of convergent or analytical thinking which seeks "the right answer." It involves the suspension of logical analysis for a period of time in order to get a view of all the possibilities. It is simple to describe, yet hard to accomplish. We are all accustomed to organizing our thoughts into neat little units. Even as you consider what is being said here, you are organizing the sentences into larger arguments, relating those arguments to what was said before, and trying to anticipate where the line of reasoning is going. This is adaptive, ...the world would be a frightening place if we were unable to anticipate at all. The need for anticipation and order in the world must be suspended for a while in order to engage in divergent thinking. This is why the environment and attitudes described above are so important, as are leaders who are comfortable with the confusion and anxiety generated during the divergent thinking stage of the session. It is always helpful to remember the ancient Chinese adage that -- "Out of chaos comes opportunity."
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Well, we lied. There is one more important element -- expectations. Over and over again, people told to expect they will be exceptionally creative turn out to produce more and better ideas than those who are not given this mind set. In the creative session, this is accomplished primarily by an extremely confident, experienced leader who encourages an atmosphere in which there is little room for modesty.
Mohammed Ali once said: "I am the greatest! I said that even before I knew I was!"