Happy Friday!

I like to think that I'm a creative problem solver. One of those folks who thinks outside the box. I bet I'm not alone thinking that. Something strange happens, though, when I'm at clients and someone mentions getting creative or brainstorming.

Everyone shuts down.

It's almost as if saying the words is a magic spell that removes any creativity from the room.

There's a pretty good reason for it, and I'm going to call it "The Fit Problem."

The Fit Problem

In many corporate settings, creativity and brainstorming are systematically squashed, even though they may say otherwise. A somewhat fancy way to describe why is due to something called pre-mature convergence.

Let me put it this way, if you've ever been asked to brainstorm or come up with something creative but felt like it was useless because there is only one acceptable answer, you know what this is.

Many folks learn over the years to stop investing in creative thinking or brainstorming because it won't produce the right answer, which is what their leader is looking for.

A metaphor is that I have a lock that accepts a key. There is only one key that will work, but I won't tell you anything about it. This isn't a brainstorming or creative problem to solve. Anything that isn't that key is useless.

This is what happens in most corporate settings: the leader of the activity knows what a good answer looks like, but is framing it as a brainstorming or creative problem to solve, when the reality is that it very likely isn't, and everything will be filtered against what that good answer is.

The fit problem occurs when we attempt to apply a technique that is intentionally unfiltered and wildly divergent to a situation that seeks convergence or certainty.

We stop brainstorming because all we're really trying to do is guess what the acceptable answer is.

Fixing The Fit Problem

A subtle issue with the fit problem is the assumption that we can transition directly from wild, divergent brainstorming to a solution in one step. That is completely wrong. Creativity and brainstorming are steps in a multi-step process that eventually lead to a fit-for-purpose answer.

The trick is to accept all the creativity and brainstorming as-is and treat it as inspiration or ingredients for what might be a solution, rather than the solution itself. This can be challenging because we're in a rush to get the answer.

One way to free this up is to frame your creativity or brainstorming to accomplish the opposite of what is desired. This is part of a technique called TRIZ, which works well in creative problem-solving.

With all the ideas out there, we then need to understand what criteria are important for a valid solution. This is where the person seeking an answer must open up and provide that information, including any hidden agendas.

If you're holding back information that you plan to use to select a solution, it will become apparent and undermine your efforts.

The next step is to identify three potential options. This is important because it forces an important truth into the room: There are multiple valid solutions to almost every problem. If that isn't true, you probably need analysis, not brainstorming.

Equipped with the criteria, the group can draw upon everything they've brainstormed to create new ideas or develop them further.

While there is more to say about creativity and how to make better use of it with groups and teams, hopefully, this explains why it might not be as common as you'd like.

Sincerely,

Ryan

PS: I'd love to work with you and your teams. My clients tell me they're the best they've ever been after working with me, experience a 400% improvement in delivery with almost no bugs, and get better product outcomes. If you'd like to talk, reply to this email or schedule a time to talk.