Lateral Thinking for problem solving

I often describe myself (and please don’t laugh) as a creative soul trapped in a corporate role.

My passion is in writing, film, radio, photography and art but my living comes from management and HR consulting. That hasn’t stopped me bringing creativity into the workplace, in fact, I think the creative approach to work has helped me greatly in my career.

Where people see problems, I see a chance to be creative – and that’s what we’ll talk about in this edition: creative problem solving using the PO method, introduced by Edward DeBono.

At the start of last year I did a 30 day’s of creativity writing challenge. It’s now condensed into a PDF which you can download for free if you’re interested.

Creativity has (or should have) a space in our work places. I’d go so far as to say it’s the very fabric that keeps a business alive. Asking meaningful questions, solving problems with creative thinking, looking for innovative new paths and being curious about why things are as they are, are all part of the creative process.

As I point out in the 30 day guide though, creativity is not about coming up with ideas, its about creating something.

If all we do is come up with great ideas we might want to label that imagination. The real creative part (and the hardest part) is then creating what you see in your mind.

Problem Solving

A company always has more problems than it can solve, so the trick is solving only those problems that are on your path towards your painted picture.

But how do we solve problems? There are many ways.

• Sometimes the data about the problem is obvious and we can deduce a solution from it.
• Sometimes gathering people and posing the most powerful question you can ask, gets the creative juices going. “What problem are we trying to solve?” and “How do we know it’s a problem?”.
• Sometimes running an appreciative inquiry workshop yields golden outcomes.
• Sometimes merely studying and stapling yourself to work gives you the solution.
• Sometimes we have to narrow down in the problem - and name it.

And sometimes, the problems seem so tricky to solve that we need to apply some lateral thinking.

Lateral Thinking

At work we often find that people are so close to the work itself that they cannot step back from it to see a wider context. Some people are narrow in their thinking, or don’t have a wide experience to call upon, or have a limited toolbox to solve problems.

This can result in ideas and solutions that are not fit for purpose, only solve the symptoms, or may in some cases, create the problems of tomorrow.

Lateral thinking doesn’t come naturally to everyone.

I’ve personally developed this skill through reading books that have nothing to do with my main work, building a robust Personal Knowledge Management System and developing the art of noticing through photography.

Lateral Thinking is about thinking broadly and widely, before jumping into convergent thinking, which is narrowing in.

Lateral thinking is wide and expansive. Convergent thinking is narrow and tight.

There is a time and place for both. Both are helpful. In this post though we'll focus on lateral thinking using the PO method.

PO Method for lateral thinking

Using the idea of PO (which I’ll explain in a minute) can encourage people to start thinking laterally. It can open minds and encourage creative solutions to come forth.

Some people will have no problem with this approach because it seems natural. Some people may need some support. Some people will say it’s stupid or weird or a waste of time.

PO, as defined by DeBono, is about taking a well defined problem and combining it with an object. Then looking at the traits of that object to see how these may relate to the problem, and then, hopefully, leading to some solutions.

Lateral thinking forces people out of a narrow mode of thinking and helps them to think more broadly – hence lateral thinking.

PO = Problem + Object

For example, let’s say you have a problem with staff retention.

Good people are leaving, you have some anecdotal information about why and you have a couple of exit interviews (not that they are often very helpful). The data suggests it’s a chaotic place, with few benefits, poor management and limited career prospects.

Let’s say you combine this problem statement with an object. Let’s just pick a “table” as the object for this example.

What traits does a table have? This is a good starting point.

• It typically has legs which give it strong foundations.
• It is stable under pressure.
• It supports other objects.
• It is often used for communal events.
• It can be used to be productive (desk).
• People can sit around it.
• They come in various shapes and sizes.

There are plenty more ideas that will come out if you run this with other people - some more helpful than others. (burn it, chop it up, use is as a weapon or shield, carve it, etc etc)

From this list of traits you may find some suitable creative ideas to address the problem.

Let’s go through the traits in order and see what comes to mind.

• Maybe people need some strong foundations within the business:
  • Succession planning
  • Consistent effective management
  • Well-balanced remuneration package
• Maybe people need stability:
  • They may need stable goals that don't keep getting moved or changed.
  • Maybe they need leaders to stop creating new initiatives every year, or provide some stability in direction.
• Maybe you need to look at community:
  • Create some communities of practice or social events
  • Could you create a communal area in the office, or a regular team meeting for people to connect online
  • Or maybe some social clubs and activities to grow a sense of community.
• Maybe you need better workplaces for people to be more productive
• Maybe more regular opportunities for people to network.

You get the idea.

In my book Zero to Keynote, I cover this approach and many others, when coming up with ideas for a conference talk.

For example, when people tell me they have nothing to present at a conference, I ask them to write down their main skill on an index card.

I then ask them to pick a picture card from my tin of 200+ image cards and start thinking about what they see in the image.

What could they combine? What traits may help? How could they explain their skills using the image? If they still don’t get their lateral thinking head on, I provide another image.

This the Problem + Object method in action for generating talk ideas.

The ideas that come out may not be sound. They may be weird. There may be many of them. There could be plenty of laughter at what comes out. But there is a creative solution in there somewhere. You then have the hard work ahead of you: creating what you imagined and making it a reality.

Using the combination of a “problem” and a “object” really can help people to step out of a mode of thinking that is limiting their ideas, and into a world of wonder.

This technique can side step the barriers to creative (or imaginative) thinking. Not everyone will resonate with an activity like this, some people don’t value creative thinking and some people will struggle with this, but the outcomes typically convince them of its validity.

Some ideas for objects:

• Curtains – they open and close, slide, come in different sizes and shapes, can be automated, can be used for privacy, have different textures, may be colourful.
• Camera – different prices, quality and features. Capture moments. Can have dual use (video and stills). Are everywhere in our phones. Can tell a story. Digital and analogue.
• Park Bench – used for communal activity, or for a rest, or for solitude, or for anti-social activity. Memories are formed sitting on them. People use them to remember other people (commemorative plaques on them – at least in the UK). Different shapes and sizes. Haven’t changed much since they were first invented.

Literally looking around and spotting objects can give you a great list to use. Or buy some picture cards like the ones in this video and post.

Let me know how you get on if you use this approach.