The Bunch family
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Creative Resolutions
#cmc11
From my experiences in the workplace there has been a noticeable difference between people that just use typical troubleshooting or problem solving techniques to solve a variety of issues compared to those who tend to think outside the box and tackle the problem from a different approach. Instead of waiting for a creative idea to happen, they tend to take a standardized approach to solve the problem creatively. These types of individuals are especially necessary when working on projects that encounter difficult or frequent roadblocks that cause delays. This allows the individual or team to focus on innovation; which is defined by Baumgartner as the actual implementation of the best ideas that come from the brainstorming process. The innovation approach to creative problem solving steps that are recommended to get to the point of innovation are listed below:
1. Clarify and identify the problem
2. Research the problem
3. Formulate creative challenges
4. Identify insights
5. Generate ideas
6. Combine and evaluate the ideas
7. Draw up an action plan
8. Implementation of the best idea(s)
By using some or all of these steps during normal troubleshooting processes has the potential to make difficult problems easier to solve (Baumgartner, 2011). Working in a call center providing solutions to customers that are having a problem with their VoIP phone system can often present challenging issues to work through, and standard troubleshooting isn't always effective. Clarifying the actual issue can help save time when both the customer and I are on the same page, but looking at the problem from a different point of view is often helpful when identifying a solution.
Reference:
Baumgartner, Jeffrey (2011). Creative Problem Solving (CPS) Basics. Retrieved March 3, 2013 from http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2011/01/28/creative-problem-solving-cps-basics/
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Very clearly laid out and showing the importance of critical (overused) or analytic thinking and communication skills... including listening and attentiveness (the silent skills)
ReplyDeleteThanks Vanessa, I appreciate the feedback. I thought that this was an interesting week learning about different ways to creatively approach problems. One of the favorite parts of my job is troubleshooting problems with customers and re-framing the problem to them to help them understand how I reached the solution.
ReplyDeleteThis approach should also provide productive solutions when used collaboratively online to solve social issues. I've mentioned elsewhere that a goal of mine is to enable people from widely separated geographical locations, who face similar social problems stemming from disenfranchisement, to begin talking together online. I believe their diverse insights could help them find better ways to overcome problems than those which outside agencies frequently seek to impose on them. Steps 4, 5, and 6 in the process from Baumgartner seem to reinforce this idea. Somewhere in the first steps, storytelling is an important way to bring clarity, especially for a non-western worldview.
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