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4 Square Thinking

Cre8ng™ Challenge 2000-05

Attending the Creative Education Foundation's Annual CPSI-Winterfest in San Diego. I was involved as a co-leader in the Tools and Techniques 3-day program. During the 3 days the 3 of us and the 18 participants shared and worked with many different tools and techniques related to creative thinking and problem solving. Some of the 18 are regular CC-ers.

This week's challenge is modified from an excellent one I was told about by two of the "salsa dancing-carded" participants at Winterfest who are regular CC-ers: June and Karin. Thank you to the two of you. I enjoyed our early morning walks and missed our almost walk on the beach at Coronado.

This is a convergent tool.

Yes I can hear my CPSI friends laughing or smirking to hear me talk about converging. Even Mr. Divergence Personified knows how to converge and can constantly learn more ways to.

First choose a list or collection of ideas you have previously generated or generate a new list of 12 ideas for anything from a new toy to a new solution to world peace.

Second create a four square or section grid with a horizontal line and a vertical line.

Third assign two criteria to the lines, one each.

I.E.:

The horizontal line could be from the far left "very fast to get to market" to the far right "will take a long time to get to market".

The vertical line could be degree of benefit to the customer or client with the bottom representing, "very little benefit" and the top being "extremely beneficial" to the customer or client.

Fourth review each of your ideas, one by one, (not in comparison) and place them where they best fit proportionately on the grid. An idea that could be sent to market almost immediately and is of great benefit to the clients or customers would be placed in the far upper left corner.

An idea that could take months to years to develop and produce and get ready for market (original 904 Xerox* took over 30 years) and you believe would be of good benefit to the customer would possibly be placed at the far right on the horizontal line in the mid-range vertically.

So.....each day choose a list of 12 ideas or generate 12 new ideas. Then choose two useful criteria and create a four-sqaure "idea selecting grid". Then place the 12 ideas proportionately where you think they fit. The resulting chart will probably help you select the idea to work on first.

Please do not look upon any idea as a failure or a loser. Simply treat it as an idea whose time has not come or it may not be an idea that you will ever be comfortable with and probably needs to be passed onto someone else or another company.

When using this approach to choose ideas, if you discover some of your pet ideas end up in lower areas, you can then spend time working to improve them in regard to the criteria they may be weak in. George Prince and Bill Gordon, founders of Synectics, Inc. called this tool initially in the 1960's...."Plus-ing".

Have a creative week. Enjoy your weather no matter what it is. You are alive. The alternative may be the pits.

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