Freshness Volume II: The Four R’s
“Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework they were created.”
-Albert Einstein
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House is an excellent example of this. Every time he solves a problem or makes a diagnosis it is the direct result of outside influences affecting his thinking. The mind works in mysterious ways. What do we do when we can’t get out of our physical environment? How do we stay Fresh in our thinking? River Jumping. River Wha…?
The 4R’s
Re-expression – finding an alternative way of describing or experiencing an issue or problem.
EX: Do this by replacing keywords in your problem or challenge. If we take the word ‘loyalty’ and use alternative words to describe it, we expand our thinking and perception of the problem. (Loyalty, devoted, dedicated, obliged, attached, committed…) A really great tool for this is visualthesaurus.com. We can also re-express things without using words. (draw a picture, make a model, act it out from someone else’s perspective. Like an alien.)
Related Worlds – looking at other areas where a similar issues or benefit can be seen.
EX: “Making information easier to understand” Related worlds would be; children’s books, cookery recipe, Braille systems, emergency instructions, maps, the internet, a library, traffic signs.
Revolution – identifying and then challenging the rules and assumptions we are using. (my favorite)
EX: This is the ‘What if..’ They suggest you start with a list of rules and then challenge those rules.
5 favorite Revolution questions
1. What if we did nothing?
2. What if we had to make it for half the cost?
3. What if people bought twice as much?
4. What if we reversed the process?
5. What if we exaggerated the issue?
Random Links – making connections and links between the issue and random items found in the world. (this one is fun)
EX: Your working on a project for a telephone, finding a connection between that and a garden hose forces us to be creative and invent a connection.
Everyone can be creative, or learn to think about things differently.
All it takes the willingness to do so.
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* Part taken from Sticky Wisdom: How to Start a Creative Revolution at Work
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Tagged do something, duo consulting, freshness, sticky wisdom
