!Error Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration Ph.D. Program Advanced Management Studies Course Spring 2004 Presented to: Dr. Mahmoud El- Khateib Presented by: Shereen Amin Mosallam 1
Thinking Outside the Box The story of Yasser being locked in his box all the time and failing to know that there is another world outside his box walls. When Yasser jumped of the box he faced the unknown which was frightening for him. Due to the fact that human being is curious, he started to test the outside which turned to be very enjoyable. As a fact he could play in and outside the box which made him a model for success between peers. Accordingly, he showed his colleagues the secret of his success and became a hero. What I really believe is that this story tells us how important to think outside the box and be creative in finding solutions and new ways to do business. As we all know that What is now proved was once only imagined William Blake I recall here the famous saying by Gerald Haman, If You Want People to Think Outside the Box, Don t Put Their Brains In a Box. And here comes the importance of creativity to management. Actually there are several definitions of creativity. Creativity can be defined in many different ways; as in true for most creativity situations, no one way is the right way to define creativity. Several useful definitions include: Unlocking the power of imagination to see more of the possibilities Generating new ideas and new ways of looking at things Escaping artificial constraints and thinking beyond the boundaries There is always confusion between creativity and innovation which needs to be visited here to define innovation. Several useful definitions include: Taking action on creative ideas Transforming possibilities into tangible results Yielding something of value resulting in external recognition Many people would ask themselves a fundamental question: Who needs to know about creativity and innovation? My personal perspective would be everyone in the organization to reach the below equation of dramatic breakthrough improvements and sustaining a company s position in the market. 2
Quality Tools + Creativity Tools Dramatic = Breakthroughs The real challenge to the Egyptian companies is multidimensional Basically we lack management concepts of establishing a vision and being long term oriented not only short term eager. All mangers around the world maintain short term performance with future capability. Yet in Egypt nothing is sustained in good shape for long time. We always have turbulence in and outside companies and organizations. A main reason for this is failure t realize change and being reactive and most of the time late followers of new trends. There is a main problem in our characters is always tending to live in the box and lack of innovation and creative thinking to solve our business problems. First of all we need to believe that: Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits. Edward de Bono But what is creative thinking? Creative thinking is the process we use when we come up with a new idea. It can be accidental or deliberate. Have we ever woken up out of a deep sleep with a great solution to a problem we d been struggling with? Or been taking a shower and all of a sudden the answer pops into our head? That happens to all of us. We come up with our most creative ideas by complete chance when we re not consciously thinking about them. So should we spend our day sleeping or in the shower when we have a tough problem to solve? No. we can use proven creative thinking tools to solve our problem. What our management need Basically we need to train our employees and managers on creative thinking tools to take their heads outside the box by teaching them deliberate creative thinking. Back to Edward de Bono s famous quote: Intelligence is something we are born with. Thinking is a skill that must be learned. This training will aim at teaching them how to: 3
Think about the current situation before answering any question: If we see the world from only one angle we will struggle to change it. What assumptions have we made? What rules have we assumed? How do our own perceptions influence the world we inhabit? How do we see the world and how is our view different to that of other people? What advantages and disadvantages are there of each way of thinking? How can they think differently? Imagine the problem from someone else's angle. What happens in other countries/cultures/companies? How can they change the situation to make a solution work? Visit or read about other people's lives and try to understand why they think in the way they do.. Creative thinking tools: There is quite big number of tools that might help managers to find creative ideas solutions for their problems such as: 1. brainstorming 2. Senseable creativity 3. Random creativity 4. Mind Mapping 5. Concept Fan 6. All factors involved 7. TRIZ Basically all these tools create stimulus for brains to bridge the walls and get ideas outside the box. Even some managers would take their employees outside the organization to help them to think creatively and visit famous places that provide such a unique service like Chicago s Thinkubator: The Thinkubator is an original meeting facility in one of Chicago's most spacious/creative lofts located in the West Loop. Our abode is available to support teams of 10-35 people with essential meeting resources, comfortable and thought-provoking furniture, including a full kitchen. Our unique environment is home to various game equipment, a disco dance floor and professional karaoke system. We also have access to two major art galleries, and are walking distance to popular restaurants. 4
http://www.solutionpeople.com/thinkubatortour_files/frame.htm Another important technique that aids management in decision making: 'Six Thinking Hats' is an important and powerful technique. It is used to look at decisions from a number of important perspectives. This forces you to move outside our habitual thinking style, and helps you to get a more rounded view of a situation. This tool was created by Edward de Bono in his book '6 Thinking Hats'. Many successful people think from a very rational, positive viewpoint. This is part of the reason that they are successful. Often, though, they may fail to look at a problem from an emotional, intuitive, creative or negative viewpoint. This can mean that they underestimate resistance to plans, fail to make creative leaps and do not make essential contingency plans. Similarly, pessimists may be excessively defensive. Emotional people may fail to look at decisions calmly and rationally. If we look at a problem with the 'Six Thinking Hats' technique, then we will solve it using all approaches. Our decisions and plans will mix ambition, skill in execution, public sensitivity, creativity and good contingency planning. How to Use the Tool: We can use Six Thinking Hats in meetings or on our own. In meetings it has the benefit of blocking the confrontations that happen when people with different thinking styles discuss the same problem. Each 'Thinking Hat' is a different style of thinking. These are explained below: White Hat: With this thinking hat we focus on the data available. Look at the information we have, and see what we can learn from it. Look for gaps in our knowledge, and either try to fill them or take account of them. This is where we analyze past trends, and try to extrapolate from historical data. Red Hat: 'Wearing' the red hat, we look at problems using intuition, gut reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how other people will react emotionally. Try to understand the responses of people who do not fully know our reasoning. 5
Black Hat: Using black hat thinking, look at all the bad points of the decision. Look at it cautiously and defensively. Try to see why it might not work. This is important because it highlights the weak points in a plan. It allows us to eliminate them, alter them, or prepare contingency plans to counter them. Black Hat thinking helps to make our plans 'tougher' and more resilient. It can also help us to spot fatal flaws and risks before we embark on a course of action. Black Hat thinking is one of the real benefits of this technique, as many successful people get so used to thinking positively that often they cannot see problems in advance. This leaves them under-prepared for difficulties. Yellow Hat: The yellow hat helps us to think positively. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps us to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it. Yellow Hat thinking helps us to keep going when everything looks gloomy and difficult. Green Hat: The Green Hat stands for creativity. This is where we can develop creative solutions to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas. A whole range of creativity tools can help us here. Blue Hat: The Blue Hat stands for process control. This is the hat worn by people chairing meetings. When running into difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat thinking, etc. A variant of this technique is to look at problems from the point of view of different professionals (e.g. doctors, architects, sales directors, etc.) or different customers. 6