©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Welcome to Springboard!

©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome to Springboard!

Objectives• Overcome blocks to creativity.• Identify behaviors conducive to creative thinking.• Apply core principles of creative thinking.• Utilize a variety of divergent &

convergent thinking tools. • Apply the CPS method to simulated or real situations.• Practice being deliberately

creative.

What is creativity?

Some Definitions of Creativity

• “Novelty that is useful.” First referenced in 1724 in the text, The Irish Historical Library,

and later by Stan Gryskiewicz, PhD, Center for Creative Leadership.

• “Creativity is the production ofnovel and useful ideas in anydomain.”

Teresa M. Amabile, PhD, Harvard Business School

• “Creativity is the process ofbringing something new intobeing.”

Rollo May, Ph.D., existential psychologist

History of CPS

• We all solve problems naturally

• Alex Osborn, the inventor of brainstorming, wanted to make the process more deliberate

• CPS has been around for 61 years!

• Evolution of the CPS Model

Other Creativity Systems

Design Thinking

Kepner-Tregoe Improvisation

Lateral Thinking

Six Thinking Hats Synectics

Systems Thinking TRIZ

Barriers & Bridges

• Attitudes• Environment• Skills• Structures• Behaviors

Core Concepts©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Core Concepts

Separate Divergent & Convergent Thinking

Dynamic Balance

Area ofDiscovery

Area ofDiscovery

Are

a of

Fam

iliar

ityDiverge

Diverge

Converge Converge

Puccio, G. J., Murdock, M. C., & Mance, M. (2006)

Divergent Guidelines

• Defer Judgment• Build on Ideas• Seek Wild Ideas• Go for Quantity

Affirmative Judgment (Praise First)

• Balanced approach to evaluating ideas• Gives ideas a fair hearing• Creates an opportunity to overcome

weaknesses and strengthen ideas

Pluses, Potentials, Concerns, OpportunitiesPPCO

Hopper

Handle

Wheel

Design for New Wheelbarrow

Lifetime Products has reinvented the wheelbarrow! The innovative design gives you superior stability and added maneuverability - lightening your workload by an amazing 85%.

Affirmative Judgment (Praise First)

Convergent Guidelines

• Be deliberate• Check your objectives• Improve your ideas• Be affirmative• Consider novelty

“Now here’s my plan...”

Shel Silverstein, Look Magazine, 1956

Have a Creative Attitude

• The Dynamic Balance of Creativity• Divergent Thinking• Convergent Thinking• Praise First; Yes, And Thinking• Stage Challenges as Questions• Have a Creative Attitude

Summary of Core Concepts

The Big Bad Wolf Case Study

The CPS Model

Based on the work of G.J. Puccio, M. Mance, M.C. Murdck, B. Miler, J. Vehar, R. Firestien, S. Thurber, D. Nielsen (2011)

The CPS Process

Based on the work of G.J. Puccio, M. Mance, M.C. Murdock, B. Miler, J. Vehar, R. Firestien, S. Thurber, D. Nielsen (2011)

Clarify - Identifying the Challenge

3 Steps• Explore the vision• Gather data• Formulate the challenge

Explore the Vision

Generate Goal/Wish Statements

• It would be great if….• I wish…

Tool: Word DanceExample:A social group wants to expand its membership. They have expressed the challenge as:“How might we get more members?”

Playing WORD DANCE, they swap the verb “get” and the object “members” with a series of substitutes. They end up with similar challenges, with a new twist.

HMW entice members?HMW attract candidates?HMW solicit contributions?

Get Members

attract participants

induce supporters

solicit helpers

lure leaders

entice applicants

collect contributors

retain candidates

Parnes, S. (1967). Creative behavior guidebook. New York: Scribner.

Explore the Vision

Select a Goal/Wish Statement

Use Tool 3 “I”’s to check for…• Influence – Is it your responsibility?• Interest – Do you really want to solve it?• Imagination – Do you need creative ideas?

• Who?• What?• When?• Where?• Why?• How?

Gather Data

How to…?In What Ways Might We…?What are all the ways to…?

Generate Well-Defined Challenges

• Invitational Language Stems How to… (H2...)

How might... (HM…)In what ways might… (IWWM…)

• Turn Data into Challenge Questions• Not Ideas - A Better Definition of the Real Challenge• Broad – Brief – Beneficial

Formulate the Challenge

Characteristics of a Good Challenge Statement

Statement Starter Owner Verb Object+ + +

• Begins with a statement starterHow might…How to…In what ways might…

• Free from criteria• Specific focus or action

We don’t have enough money. How to raise the money?

It’s too expensive. How might we reduce the

cost?

We need to be more innovative. How might we build a culture of innovation?

Energizing Questions

Source: thinkx

Before: After:• HMW make saving sexy?HMW position our new Tax-Free Account as the smartest

savings vehicle of choice in a crowded marketplace?

• HMW become the Prius of the film industry?

HMW transform ourselves into the most environmentally responsible company in the film industry in terms of our production practices, supplier management systems &

operations.

• HMW make sure our people really “get it”?

HMW communicate in such a way that all employees receive consistent messages so that they have the “correct”

understanding to be able to enhance their performance and act in the best interests of their colleagues and our

firm?

• HMW have employees who rather die than miss work?

How might we truly understand what drives employees loyalty and dedication so that we can establish an systems

and an environment in which we achieve the highest attendance standards in the industry?

End of Day One

Welcome Back!Day 2

©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Ideate©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Explore Ideas

• Think up lots of options

• Explore new combinations

• Build on ideas

Get unstuck: Force a connection between your challenge and something completely unrelated.

1. Ponder an unrelated image

2. Write five characteristics

3. Ask “what ideas do I get for solving this challenge?””

Tool: Forced Connections

Force a connectionWhen I look at this picture, what ideas do I get for solving my challenge?

Force a connectionWhen I look at this picture, what ideas do I get for solving my challenge?

Build on others‘ ideas to generate more ideas fast.

1. Write three ideas to fill a row

2. Toss your sheet into the pile

3. Grab another person’s sheet and build on their ideas with three more ideas!

Tool: Brainwriting

Tool: SCAMPERS Substitute Is there something you could put in place of something

else? Consider materials and manufacturing processes.

C Combine What parts could be put together? Blended? What applications, uses, materials could be provided?

A Adapt How might your competitor evolve it?What would a super-user do to make it better?

M Modify What can you alter? Consider all 5 senses.Can you subtract, change or alter anything?

P Put to Other Uses What else can it be used for? Each part?Who else might like it?

E Eliminate What part can you get rid of or omit?What can you do without?

R RearrangeWhat can be rearranged or reversed? Patterns and assumptions?What can you connect in a different way?

What do you see? What do you feel like? What would it be like if you were here? What memories have you had like this? What experiences have you had like this? What might this taste/sound/smell/feel like?

A twist on Forced Connections

Tool: Visual Connections

Tool: Highlighting

1. Identify Hits Clear Interesting Feels Right Intriguing Solves the Challenge

2. Cluster the related “hits” together

3. Restate the cluster

Sorting Criteria

‘MUST’ CRITERIA• Absolute requirement• Deemed to be critical

for success• Without this feature the

solution will fail

‘WANT’ CRITERIA• Highly desirable feature• Important, but not an

absolute requirement• Plays a value-added role

(makes solution more attractive)

• Novelty! Novelty!

What I see myself doing is…

Example 1

• WISMDI reducing production costs by 25% in the next year by replacing our current production line with a new system.

Example 2

• WISMDI breaking our current communication paradigm by developing a cross-functional team that includes 3 people each from marketing, finance, and research and development.

Restating Ideas

Develop©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Formulate Solutions

Turning Ideas Into Solutions• Evaluate and strengthen ideas• Plan useful, practical solutions• Take an idea from good to great• Consider Novelty • Use Affirmative Judgment

Opt

ions

Criteria

Tool: Evaluation Matrix

Affirmative Judgment - PPCO

Pluses, Potentials, Concerns and Opportunities

• Balanced approach to evaluating ideas• A critical thinking tool• Opportunity to give an idea a fair hearing• Create an opening to overcome the

weaknesses of an idea

Implement

©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Formulate a Plan

• Explore acceptance - consider all the resources that can assist and resist your solution

• Identify action steps• Make a plan

• Where - physical or process locations that can help or hinder

• Why - reasons that support or block progress

• How - actions that will help or hinder

Tool: Assisters & Resisters

• Who - individuals or groups who will help or hinder

• What - things that might help or hinder

• When - issues of timing that might help or hinder

Consider all the resources that can assist and resist your solution:

Identify Action Steps

• What steps might you take to put your solution into action?

• What additional resources might help you implement your solution?

• How might you gain enthusiasm for your solution?• Where might you start?• What special places or locations might you use?• What are some places or locations to avoid?• When might be a good time to begin?• How might you pretest your solution?

In the next 24 hours, I will …

Tool: Action Plan

FourSight Workshop

1.30 PM @ CPSI HUB

End of Day Two

End of Day Two

Welcome Back!Day 3

©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

The CPS Model

Based on the work of G.J. Puccio, M. Mance, M.C. Murdock, B. Miler, J. Vehar, R. Firestien, S. Thurber, D. Nielsen (2011)

Summary - Divergent Tools

• Brainstorming• Stick-Em Up

Brainstorming• Brainwriting• Forced Connections &

Visual Connections• SCAMPER• Why What’s Stopping You• Word Dance

Summary - Convergent Tools

Dot Voting, 3 “I”’s, Highlighting, Evaluation Matrix, PPCO, Action Plan

CPS Practice: Real-World Challenge with a Client

©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Topic Market

Extend Your Learning - Resources

Springboard Facebook Group

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Creative Problem Solving Institute

what?

so what?

now what?

Taking It Forward

Thank You and See You Next Year!

CPSI 2016June 15-19, Buffalo