OUGD501 - The Do - It - Yourself Lobotomy

The Do - It - Yourself Lobotomy by Tom Monahan

To be successful in business today you have to be an effective idea generator
There is a need for constant creative thinking within the industry.
Creative thinking is no longer restricted to certain people, companies or disciplines.
Within the information age access to technology has meant knowledge has become available to everyone no longer the few.
Being successful creatively does not mean regurgitating other peoples ideas but instead creating their own ideas.
Within business there is value seen in original thinking however it is seen as difficult to achieve.
High technology is reducing the need for left brain jobs so right brain thinkers are sort after.
Imagination is more important than ever because many left brain jobs are being taken by high technology.
The constant accessibility of knowledge in the information age can lead to blocks in creativity.
By letting go of what is known and wondering about other ways, creativity can then occur.
Thinking in the known does not lead to new ideas, however considering the unknown leads to creativity.
Willing ideas does not work instead the known has to be let go of.
By knowing lots there is little room for imagination.

To be creative a problem is needed to for a solution to be found.
If there is already a solution to a problem then wondering about a better answer is what creative people do,

Change creates problems that need to be solved creatively.

Techniques

Probing questions allows for things outside the known to be imagined.
Asking a question early allows the subconscious to work on the problem.
100MPH thinking focuses on coming up with a large amount of ideas in a short amount of time. By aiming for a quantity of ideas, quality will be found. The speed of generating ideas allows judgement and fear to be navigated around.
180 Degree thinking involves looking in the opposite direction to the what is first considered allowing for predictable patterns to be broken and creative outcomes to be produced.
Intergalactic Thinking is looking for ideas outside of the known home galaxy and making links between them and you own galaxy.  
Collaborate with a Genius involves going to an excellent mind within your own field and asking how they would approach this.
Conceptual Solitaire is a individual brainstorming session that involves writing out the problem then rewriting it in a list format, whilst leaving a keyword within the new version, to create different perspectives on the topic. By putting effort into the problem then this can help solve or make progress towards the solution.   


If creative techniques are not used then they are lost.
The repetition of creative techniques leads to new habits.
The more the tools are used then they will start to become unconscious.

It is wrongly considered that to be creative means being active in the process of generating ideas, however stimulating creativity is just as important.
Observing and wondering / questioning what, why and how things are and how they could be better rather than taking them as they are is important for creativity.
Listening actively without distraction to a speaker allows your mind to be engaged.
Thoughts while listening can be jotted down as a gist rather than writing the whole thing down.
Jotting down ideas when they are thought of means they are not forgotten.
Accidental Genius is when things happen accidentally, having an open mind to these can make you more creative.
Planning too much means that better ways of doing things might be missed.
If something happens that wasn't expected don't dismiss it as wrong.
The rational mind always goes to what you know already. 
Original ideas don't always make sense and others may not see the benefit of the new idea, however this does not mean it isn't a good idea. 
By enlarging the acceptable range, past what feels comfortable, a greater amount of ideas can be evaluated. This enlargement also makes the original range less scary.

Five Greatest Barriers to Creativity

New ideas bring fear because they are in the unknown, however this fear also suggests that the idea is new.
Fear of what others think and of failure stops new ideas from moving forwards. 
Judgment of ideas both of others and our own particularly in the idea generation phase can stop ideas from being developed.
Being attached to an idea and not exploring other, possibly better ways of doing things can be detrimental to creativity.
When successful ideas or styles are held onto this stops creative growth.