Creative Problem Solving

BY:
Muhammad Umar
Problem Solving Overview

 We are faced with a wide array of problem

solving challenges everyday.

 Tasks span the range from easy to hard. They

can also be straight forward and fast to
extremely complex and time consuming.

 These challenges are also known as projects,

objectives (or tasks). They come in all shapes
and sizes.
Problem Solving Overview

Here are just a few examples:

 Buying a car
 Doing a home project
 Reducing your electric bill
 Planning a great vacation
 Planning for an exciting future
The 8 Problem Solving Steps

These 8 Problem Solving Steps are for doing

projects and achieving objectives.
Structure your problem solving steps, then do it.

 Structuring a task can be challenging

 Structuring is to analyze what a blueprint is

to build a house
 It is like a road map for a trip
 It focuses on one element at a time
 And allows us to compare and weigh one

element against another

Step 1: Use your past knowledge
Have you encountered this type of task before?
 If so, what did you do then to address it?

 Were you successful in your approach?

 What did you do right?

 What did you do wrong?

Also ask:
 Do you know anyone who has had this problem before?

◦ If so, talk with that person (or people) and get some advice on how to
handle the problem.
 Knowing what you know from past experiences, book
knowledge and help from others, what can you apply to do the
task at hand?
Step 2: Visualize your desired results
 Visualizing the desired results helps you focus on what is
needed to address your mission.
 By determining the desired results you can work backwards
and determine the steps needed to get those results.

Ask the following questions:

 What outcome do you want?

 Is this outcome realistic?
 Why?
 Why not?
 What steps (working backwards) can you take to get this
result?
 Step 3: Frame your project or objective
Framing means defining what you need to do. To frame your mission you will need to consider the
following:
Investigation

◦How much research will you have to do?

◦Where will you find the information you need?
Will you use the Internet?
Will you use books?
Will you need expert help?
Financial How much will it cost?
Time How much time will it take?
Resources

◦How much help from others will you need?

Who?
When?
How much assistance?
◦Will you need other materials or equipment?
What will you need?
How much will the material/equipment cost?
When will you need it?
Consequences

◦What are the consequences?

◦Are the consequences large or small?
Step 4: Collect the facts and data

Next, determine the resources you will need to

investigate your task to collect facts and data.
Step 5: Determine your available
options

Once you have collected the facts and data you

can come up with several potential options.
Review the good and the bad of each option.
Step 6: Pick a solution and implement

 After collecting and reviewing the facts and

data and defining available options, select a
solution and implement it.

 Sometimes the solution is obvious. Other

times you have to do a comparison study.
Step 7: Modify or change if required
 You may require more than one attempt to get a
good solution. Consequently, after implementing
your solution you may need to modify it.
Sometimes significant changes may be required.
 Only after applying a solution you will know if the

results are what you desired. If it becomes obvious

that you didn’t make a good decision, rethink it
and choose a different solution if possible.
 The toughest part of changing any decision is the

admission that we are human and make mistakes.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
~Albert Einstein
Step 8: Review your lessons learned
 Each time you use these problem solving steps to do a new project or
objective you gain more experience. This experience is invaluable for
future undertakings.

 Think about the lessons you learned.

Ask yourself:
 What went right?

 What went wrong?

 What would you have done differently?

 Consider other ways you could have handled your task that would have
given you similar or better results. If this was a difficult task to do then
consider writing it (and the solution) down on paper or in your computer.
You can study this information in the future for ideas if/when you
encounter a similar task and then use the problem solving steps again.
Creative Problem Solving Tools
1. Problem Re-Statement
The aim of the problem re-statement is to

 Broaden our perspective of the problem

 Help us identifying the central issues and

alternative solutions
 Increase the chance that the outcome of our

analysis procedures, not partially, will fully

resolve the problem
Techniques for Problem Re-
Statement

Initial Statement: How to make employees

come to work on time?
Why? Because if they are late they are not very
productive
Continued

Re-Statement: How can we make employees

more productive?
Why? Because they can meet deadline on time
Continued

Re-Statement: How do employees meet

deadlines on time?
Why? Because if we are late the customer
becomes dissatisfied
Continued
Re-Statement: How can we satisfy our Clients?
Why? Because if the clients are angry we cannot
retain them
.
.
.
The Principle Problem:
How to meet deadlines and satisfy our clients?
2. The Pareto Principle (80:20 Rule)
 The Pareto Principle is a powerful tool that can be
used to save time and money when applied correctly
to tasks.
 In the late 1800s an Italian economist was studying

the distribution of wealth in European countries. He

discovered a predictable imbalance in the
distribution of wealth. His name was Vilfredo Pareto.
 Vilfredo Pareto discovered that approximately 80

percent of the wealth in European countries was

controlled by approximately 20 percent of the
population. This was later known as the Pareto
Principle, or the 80 20 rule.
Continued
 The Pareto Principle is an observable natural phenomenon. It governs many
scenarios in life in which 80 percent of the results come from 20 percent of
the inputs.

 Here are some examples of the 80/20 rule:

 Eighty percent of the work done at a company will be done by twenty

percent of the people.
 Eighty percent of the people who fly will be travelling with twenty percent of
the airlines.
 Eighty percent of the computers will be built by twenty percent of the
manufacturers.
 Eighty percent of the music listened to will be created by twenty percent of
the artists.

 These statements are clearly not exact. However they can be made without
a great deal of research, and serve as useful guidelines when making
general assumptions on how things work. This is using Pareto logic.
Continued
 The beauty and power of the Pareto principal is that it can
frequently be used to help you determine where to begin.

Where should you put your energies?

 When beginning any task first ask yourself:

“Where should I put most of my energies to give me 80% percent

of the desired results?”

 This insightful question will help you take a seemingly

overwhelming task to something that begins to be manageable.
 Select the parts of the task that will give you the greatest
benefit for your time invested.
3. The Ben Frenklin Balance Sheet
 The Ben Franklin Balance Sheet is used by
some top sales people to help clients make a
yes or no decision.

 Tom Hopkins a famous sales trainer calls it:

“One of the most magnificent clauses that have

ever come into the selling profession.”

 It is also a great tool for individuals to use.

Continued
 To use the Ben Franklin Balance Sheet take a clean sheet
of paper and draw a line down the center. On the left
side of the line near the top write the word “Yes.”
Underneath it write all the arguments for the decision.
On the right side of the paper write the word “No.”
Underneath it write all the arguments against the
decision.
 When completed, count the number of arguments for
the decision on the left side of the paper. Then count
the number of arguments against the decision on the
right side of the paper. Frequently, the decision
becomes obvious, especially when one of the sides
clearly has more arguments listed.
4. The Six Thinking Hats
 The Six Thinking Hats is a simple but
powerful method for decision making and
improving communication. It is typically used
in groups. However, it can be equally
powerful when used by an individual
properly.
 Usually decisions are made in a soup of

jumbled feelings, facts and data, negative

and positive effects and alternatives.
Continued
 Edward De Bono explains that the thinking hats are
about looking at issues from different perspectives—
one at a time. This helps put each aspect of decision
making into a nice little compartment.

“The biggest enemy of thinking is complexity, for that

leads to confusion. When thinking is clear and simple,
it becomes more enjoyable and more effective. The
Six Thinking Hats concept is very simple to
understand. It is also very simple to use.”
Edward De Bono
Continued
Each of the thinking hats is used as follows:

* The white hat only looks at the facts and data of

the decision.
* Under the red hat feelings are expressed about
the issue.
* The black hat is for looking at the negative effects
of the decision.
* The yellow hat is for looking at the positive
effects of the decision.
* The green hat is for thinking about alternatives.
* The blue hat is for clarifying which kind of
thinking is going on.
5. Brainstorming
 Brainstorming is used to generate a large number
of creative ideas when problem solving and
achieving objectives. It can even be used for
decision making.
 Brainstorming was first introduced in a book
named Applied Imagination written in the late
1930’s by Alex Osborn.
 Osborne proposed that groups could double their
creative thoughts by using brainstorming.
 After some 80 years Brainstorming techniques are
now firmly ingrained in many corporate cultures.
Brainstorming Techniques Guidelines
 Brainstorming take from a few minutes to a few hours. For big problems
or projects it may be done several times and over days, weeks or
months.

Note: Many great ideas come to people at 3:00am in the morning when
the subconscious is working with full force. Your ideas can be captured
if you have a pen and paper (or Post It Notes©) by the bed.

 Come up with as many ideas as possible. The more the better.

 Don’t judge any of your ideas at this time--no matter how crazy they
may seem at first. Just jot them down when they come to you. Some of
the craziest ideas are the best. These ideas help stimulate other useful
and practical ideas later on.

 Later you can use the affinity diagram. to sort out your ideas.
Sources

Problem-Solving-Techniques.com

Wikipedia.com

MMM Training Solutions.com

Thank You