Some Ideas For Solving Problems

Sometimes qualifications can be a hinderance. They can stop you asking the simple questions and...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:01:26 -0500

Sometimes qualifications can be a hinderance. They can stop you asking the simple questions and challenge the way things are done. Qualifications can narrow your thinking leading you to an obvious and expected solution.

So try using someone else. Trying using someone with different tools in their toolkit: someone from a different background. They might approach a problem in a different way. They won’t be encumbered by what the ‘right’ way to tackle a problem is.

Trent Reznor from Nine inch nails had never written a soundtrack before he was asked by David Fincher to write the score for The Social Network. The studio wasn’t happy and even pressurised the Director to use a ‘real composer’. The soundtack went on to win an Oscar. So much for qualifications…

Sometimes it is hard to get your head around an idea. It can be too conceptual; too abstract or...

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:13:55 -0500

Sometimes it is hard to get your head around an idea. It can be too conceptual; too abstract or just too hard to pin down. Sometimes you need to see an idea before you can judge it.

That is why prototypes are so useful. They allow you to see what your idea will look like. They add some physicality and a touch of reality to what can often be theoretical and loose.

Often there is no better way to see if you’ve got a good idea that to try and bring it too life. You soon get to understand where there are elements that need clarity and where things aren’t quite going right.

You can also find that what seemed like huge issues and challenges when you started often resolve themselves easily when you build a mock up. You have to think on the fly and propose solutions to problems when then occur rather than keeping you idea safe from interrogation in it’s conceptual bubble.

The added benefit is that others can see that your idea is a real living thing. They can can see it and touch it and believe that it could be real instead of existing as a drawing or a vague concept. This reality gives them belief that your proposal could work and adds energy to the creative process.

So next time you are struggling with a problem think how can you make it real. How can you create a prototype that brings your idea to life.

You can now buy Some Ideas cards online

Fri, 26 Nov 2010 16:18:58 -0500

Each pack contains 32 cards (147mm * 105mm). Retail price is £10.

Some Ideas Cards

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 13:53:00 -0500

Some ideas cards: A collection of 32 cards with ideas to help solve problems.

Some Ideas now stocked at Tenderproduct

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 13:50:26 -0500

Tenderproduct, 6 Cecil Court, London, WC2N 4HE

www.tenderproduct.com

Sometimes experience can be as much of a hindrance to problem solving as it can be a help. ...

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:09:16 -0500

Sometimes experience can be as much of a hindrance to problem solving as it can be a help. It’s easy to dismiss ideas with the catch all “we tried that before and it didn’t work”.

But prior experience might not be all that you think it is. Were the circumstances the same as they are now? Perhaps things have changed that make your idea more suitable now that it was previously. Or perhaps you didn’t previously execute the idea that well.

So next time you face a problem forget what went before. Instead, grab a clean sheet of paper, forget what worked and didn’t work previously and think about what’s right for now.

Sometimes the easy way to solve a problem is to combine two existing ideas that have already been...

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 15:34:41 -0400

Sometimes the easy way to solve a problem is to combine two existing ideas that have already been proposed. The offspring of these ideas is often more powerful and potent than the original ideas it was bred from. You might try combining ideas at random or you could take a more methodical approach. Try writing all your ideas in sequential rows and then repeat these ideas a columns to produce an ideas matrix. You can then examine each combination to see if the idea produced is worth developing further.

There’s nothing quite like a good argument to sort out a problem. Passions are raised and...

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:16:25 -0400

There’s nothing quite like a good argument to sort out a problem. Passions are raised and you get to hear what the issues are. In problem solving as a team there is a danger that harmonious colloboration deadens ideas by smoothing off their edges. Distinct and different ideas can be dulled through compromise.

Arguing can help you understand the merits and flaws of different viewpoints. Think about how you are defending your idea and its potential flaws. Also consider the argument for an alternative approach. What are its merits and its flaws?

But don’t just pick a fight with other people. Interrogate and disagree with your own ideas and thinking. It is easy to be a cheerleader for your ideas but try and be a bit more sceptical, a bit more questioning.

Arguing also allows people to vent their feelings - and their frustrations with the creative process. You might not be right but letting off steam can remove a barrier to solving a problem; and sometimes that’s just what you need.

You can’t solve every problem you are given. Infact, it is as good to be clear on the...

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:04:50 -0400

You can’t solve every problem you are given. Infact, it is as good to be clear on the problems you can’t solve as it is the problems you can. For those problems you can’t solve can you think of somebody who is better placed to solve it than you?

Even if you do think you can solve a problem try and think if there is anyone better placed to solve it than you? Some may call this delegation: you might like to think of it as efficient problem solving.

"It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is..."

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 07:50:56 -0400

“It seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove.”

- Antoine de Saint Exupéry

It can be easy to pad out an idea to make it appear bigger and more interesting than it is. Often...

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 07:31:01 -0400

It can be easy to pad out an idea to make it appear bigger and more interesting than it is. Often this does little more than confuse you about what the actual idea is. There are so many things the idea could be that you aren’t quite sure what you’ve got.

So instead of thinking what can you add think about what you can take away. Which is the most important element of your idea and which is just additional decoration? The process of editing will help you clarify what is at the heart of your idea; and that is no bad thing.

Sometimes you can get too close to a problem. You can only see...

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:39:00 -0400

Sometimes you can get too close to a problem. You can only see one interpretation of it and you are blind to another viewpoint. Perhaps it’s time to take a step back. Imagine you had to describe your problem to an alien. What would you say? What do you think they would be thinking? And how would that change your initial idea?

Struggling to solve a problem by doing what you’ve always done? Perhaps it’s time to...

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:41:00 -0400

Struggling to solve a problem by doing what you’ve always done? Perhaps it’s time to try something different.