Creative thinking is a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions. Creative thinking can be stimulated both by an unstructured process such as brainstorming, and by a structured process such as lateral thinking.
Creative Thinking Involves 4 Stages:
- Preparation – formulate the problem and collect facts and materials necessary for finding new solutions.
- Incubation – the unconscious thought process of finding a solution to the problem.
- Illumination – the sudden flash of idea i.e. the ‘eureka’ experience.
- Verification – evaluate the validity of the solution.
The 3 Keys to Creative Thinking Process:
- In-the-box: This applies knowledge accumulation and critical thinking to the problem. Based on their expertise, innovators can generate many relevant ideas and make connections later.
- Out-of-the-box: This is a wide-angle and unfocused thinking process. It allows the innovators to imagine an entire universe of possibilities.
- New-box: Once ideas are evaluated, they need to be synthesized by rearranging and reconstructing through dot-connecting, then refined and put into place in a new context.
8 Creative Thinking Techniques:
- Mind Mapping – brainstorming or spider diagram
- The Checklist – why, where, when, who, what, how
- Thinking Hats – facts, emotions, judgment, logic, creativity, control
- Lateral Thinking – side stepping
- Random Word – imagine association
- Picture Association – imagine association
- Change Perspective – in other people’s shoes
- Get Up and Go Out – let your mind wander