A little known part of my background: I used to design and run creative thinking courses.
My favourite resource to call upon was Edward de Bono, creator of Lateral Thinking. While often quoted, implementation of his approaches, especially brainstorming, is often rather patchy.
One of his techniques is particularly needed right now.
He created a new word for it: Po.
Po is a word intended to indicate that what follows is an unimaginably provocative statement designed to jump your thinking onto a new track, where creative solutions may be found. For a short period of time you pretend that the statement is true and see what ideas come to mind that may solve your problem.
Had we have been doing this in December, we may have said:
- Po: Everyone has to work from home.
- Po: People will not be permitted to leave their homes for 3 months.
If these provocations had been used in an innovation meeting of a food manufacturer, distribution firm, health and fitness gym…
Of course, hindsight is a wonderful thing and I dare say none would have geared up to maximise this current opportunity – but they would have been alert to the early signs of what was unfolding rather than like most of us, staggering through with the belief that it’ll never happen. They’d have been on the front foot to able prepare to adapt faster than anyone else.
Thus, we see that Po can, as de Bono says, jump the train of your thoughts onto a completely different track, rather than doing what most people do which is merely take their thinking off on a branch line.
So, think of a problem related to your situation you need to find a creative solutions to. Then design a couple of provocations that you can play with.
- Po: The US defaulted on its national debt.
- Po: Sugar is a banned substance (if only!)
- Po: Smartphone are relics of the past.
- Po: (your turn)