Idea Generation … Some Effective Convergent Thinking Techniques

The secret to problem-solving, creativity, and idea generation is curiosity. You generate lots of ideas to find the best of the best. Using convergent thinking idea generation techniques you start by asking lots of questions. By being curious. By thinking widely and not discarding ideas too soon.  By convergent thinking.

It’s not that they can’t find the solution. They can’t find the problem.

K. Chesterton

Check out our thoughts on building innovation.

We often forget to encourage our employees to be curious. An employee who has no perceived customer skills, or ability to communicate well or the inability to be a good team player gets immediate and escalating attention.

The employee with no curiosity, on the other hand, is no problem at all. Lumps are easily managed.

The same thing is true for following instructions. We usually like employees who don’t ask a lot of questions, and not question the status quo.

Yet, without the question “why?” there can be no here’s how to make it better.

So we want to share a story to illustrate the value of why you need to ask why.

We are always on the lookout for good stories. Stories to illustrate points we are emphasizing. So we read a lot. Today’s story is about generating ideas. Ideas from convergent thinking.

The story is about why you should ask why. It comes from Ideas Champions. A consulting company like us (but bigger and more well-known), who specialize in creativity, innovation, team building, and leadership. All favorite topics of ours. So we keep up with this team.

The story is about a big problem with one of our favorite monuments – the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC.

Simply put, birds — in huge numbers — were pooping all over it, which made visiting the place a very unpleasant experience.

Attempts to remedy the situation caused even bigger problems since the harsh cleaning detergents being used were damaging the memorial.

Fortunately, some of the National Parks managers assigned to the case began asking WHY — as in “Why was the Jefferson Memorial so much more of a target for birds than any of the other memorials?”

A little bit of investigation revealed the following:

The birds were attracted to the Jefferson Memorial because of the abundance of spiders — a gourmet treat for birds.

The spiders were attracted to the Memorial because of the abundance of midges (insects) that were nesting there.

And the midges were attracted to the Memorial because of the light.

Midges, it turns out, like to procreate in places where the light is just so — and because the lights were turned on, at the Jefferson Memorial, one hour before dark, it created the kind of mood lighting that midges went crazy for.

So there you have it: The midges were attracted to the light. The spiders were attracted to the midges. The birds were attracted to the spiders. And the National Parks workers, though not necessarily attracted to the bird poop, were attracted to getting paid — so they spent a lot of their time (and taxpayer money) cleaning the Memorial.

How did the situation resolve?  Very simply.

After reviewing the curious chain of events that led up to the problem, the decision was made to wait until dark before turning the lights on at the Jefferson Memorial. About as simple a solution as you could get. Right?

That one-hour delay was enough to ruin the mood lighting for the midges, who then decided to have midge sex somewhere else.

No midges, no spiders. No spiders, no birds. No birds, no poop. No poop, no need to clean the Jefferson Memorial so often. Case closed.

Now, consider what “solutions” might have been forthcoming if those curious National Parks managers did not stop and ask WHY:

Hire more workers to clean the Memorial

Ask existing workers to work overtime

Experiment with different kinds of cleaning materials

Put bird poison all around the memorial

Hire hunters to shoot the birds

Encase the entire Jefferson Memorial in Plexiglas

Move the Memorial to another part of Washington

Close the site to the general public

Technically speaking, each of the above “solutions” was a possible approach — but at great cost, inconvenience, and with questionable results. Not great solutions.

Idea generation techniques … key takeaways

Now, think about YOUR business… YOUR life.

What problems are you facing that could be approached differently simply by asking WHY…. and then WHY again… and then WHY again … until you get to the real definition of the problem?

If you don’t, you may just end up not correctly defining the problem. Not good. Nothing worse than solving the wrong problem. So put in enough time in understanding and defining your problem. Don’t leap to problem-solving before you do. Lots of whys help us explore and thoroughly define the problem.

If you are looking for additional resources for innovation, one of my favorite experts is Tim Kastelle. You’ll find lots of good stories and examples to learn from his blog.

Remember to practice these problem-solving skills as well as asking lots of why questions to form new ideas.

Do you have problem-solving, creative learning experiences that are good at generating ideas? A story you would like to share?

Need some help in capturing more improvements for your staff ’s teamwork, collaboration, and learning? Creative ideas in running or facilitating a teamwork or continuous learning workshop?

Call today for a FREE consultation or a FREE quote. Learn about some options to scope your job.

Call Mike at 607-725-8240.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new ideas.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step. Call today.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy continually improving your continuous learning?

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change.  We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.

More reading on customer service from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

Stunning Customer Service Lessons and Their Examples

10 Guarantees of Poor Customer Service

How to Build Trust to Keep Customers Returning

Best Buy Lessons in Customer Service

Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.