{"id":5818,"date":"2011-01-12T14:53:06","date_gmt":"2011-01-12T21:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5818"},"modified":"2011-01-12T17:56:24","modified_gmt":"2011-01-13T00:56:24","slug":"thinking-for-creative-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5818","title":{"rendered":"Thinking for Creative Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

The execution of decisions on projects t\"\"<\/a>ends to be more of an art than science.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to have the buy-in that consensus brings, but don\u2019t have the time, patience or need to debate every decision.\u00a0 Command and control is efficient at getting the word out, but bogs down when individuals need to make lower level decisions.\u00a0 \u00a0How can we be decisive in both making AND implementing decisions while still maintaining the flexibility and creativity essential to survive this tumultuous global environment? \u00a0\u00a0One of the more difficult situations is to implement high level decisions that are dictated by customers, organizational leaders or policy edicts (regulatory or corporate initiative) that cause cascading set of headaches for the project team to deal with.\u00a0 \u00a0Let\u2019s take a deeper look at the challenges underlying our best efforts to roll out these types of changes and some strategies on how to solve those dilemmas.
\n<\/p>\n

The ultimate goal of implementing strategic decisions is to assess HOW the changes impact the project and WHAT specific actions , both immediate and long term, need to happen to realize the intended benefits\/effects. \u00a0A creative solution that meets the need and minimizes impact to project success is essential in this situation.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>The Change Challenge<\/strong>: Many of the roadblocks we face exist behind the closed doors of the mind.\u00a0 We are hardwired to resist change, or at least to slow it down, in hopes that it may go away and not disrupt our work.\u00a0 Project managers are not immune to this phenomenon, but we usually have a head start in processing it and lots of practice at dealing with constant change.\u00a0 Once reality sets in that change is inevitable, our pre-fontal cortex gets overwhelmed with the possible ramifications to be figured out.\u00a0 This overload condition throws the \u201cfear\u201d switch on which releases massive levels of dopamine and norepinephrine.\u00a0 This \u201cfight or flight\u201d state literally disengages the firing of neurons responsible for logical thinking so that the reacting brain can take over (you wouldn\u2019t want to think about jumping out of the way of danger, would you?).<\/p>\n

Solution<\/strong>: We can help individuals avoid this overwhelmed state by brainstorming possible ramifications on a whiteboard (real or virtual).\u00a0 Getting ideas out of our head and in visual form on the board enables the pre-frontal cortex the processing capability to dig deeper into the memory reserves for more additional solution ideas.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>The Brainstorming Challenge<\/strong>:\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>Brainstorming ideas can cause additional problems if we don\u2019t take into consideration how the human brain operates.\u00a0 Going right to the board will actually inhibit some people from contributing because they need time to reflect prior to sharing ideas.\u00a0 Some individuals, who thrive \u201con off the cuff\u201d contributions, tend to also use that skill to unknowingly subverting the information flow with sarcasm and judgments of ideas as they are shared.\u00a0 \u201cThat idea will never work here\u201d may be true, but we\u2019re not ready to choose just yet.\u00a0 These seemingly innocent remarks can illicit the brains \u201cfight or flight\u201d mechanism in others too, but this time our brain is attempting to protect our ego from possible embarrassment.\u00a0 Emotions take over essentially eliminating the possibility of creative insights from occurring.<\/p>\n

Solution<\/strong>: When you switch to brainstorming mode, provide a few minutes for everyone to jot down ideas on their own in silence.\u00a0 \u00a0This allows the \u201cintrovert\u201d personality styles outlined by Myers Briggs (MBTI) time to gather their thoughts before sharing aloud. \u00a0You will also eliminate the brain getting \u201canchored\u201d on a theme characterized by the first few ideas, providing for the maximum creativity for solutions.<\/p>\n

3. <\/strong>The Jumping to Solution Challenge<\/strong>:\u00a0 Once the ideas start to flow, it\u2019s easy to start evaluating options to determine if it merits serious consideration.\u00a0 This engagement of the pre-frontal cortex to analyze the options actually inhibits the brain from perceiving new insights.\u00a0 The creative process is the one time when we want to \u201cdisengage\u201d the thinking mind so that more subtle signals can take center stage.\u00a0 Researchers have proven that the \u201cAh-Ha\u201d moment is actually characterized by the lack<\/span> of logical progression.<\/p>\n

Solution<\/strong>: One key is to separate the ideas generation phase from the solution selection phase since they require different types of thinking.\u00a0 Thinking partnerships are often helpful to create a less stressful environment in which to operate, which increases the likelihood of insights from occurring.\u00a0 If you get stuck, it\u2019s actually better to find a quick distraction than to work harder to find a solution.\u00a0 This is why great ideas can pop up when you least expect them to, while taking a shower or driving home from work.\u00a0 This break allows for a different neuron network to fire in your brain which has the potential for new insights to emerge.\u00a0 Finally, make it safe for individuals to include ANY idea list.\u00a0 If the idea is really too crazy then it will be eliminated during the solution narrowing process.\u00a0 In the meantime, it may shift the mindset of others in the room, allowing for a unique line of thinking to emerge that might hold the creative implementation solution you desire.<\/p>\n

These solutions suggestions might seem insignificant, but to the human brain they are essential for finding creative implementation ideas.\u00a0 It \u00a0will also increase the commitment level of those taking part in the process significantly.\u00a0 This engagement of team members is what will take them from just \u201ccomplying\u201d to the changes to being \u201ccommitted\u201d to implementing changes, which is essential for accelerating the change process.<\/p>\n

Jeff Richardson
\nwww.EmpoweredAlliances.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The execution of decisions on projects tends to be more of an art than science.\u00a0 We\u2019d love to have the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-miscellaneous"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5818\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}