Turning Problems And Challenges Into Opportunities And Successes!
Posted by admin, under Problem Solving
An idea is just an idea unless it provides a solution. A creative solution is a bit like an idea with a purpose. It’s the stardust that turns problems and challenges into opportunities and successes.
Creative Solutions are ideas that serve a purpose and add value to create an opportunity.
Ideas are the currency of the new economy, But you can’t cash them unless their worth something to somebody. To make them worth something ideas have to generate a positive result.
A chemical engineer at the 3M Company invented a substance while working on another research project. It was an amazing idea – glue that would adhere, then be easily removed and then successfully be re-applied.
An incredible invention, it sat in the files for 30 years until someone found a use for it. It’s now called the Post-it note!
Who had the big idea – and who had the creative solution?
A Creative Solution must have value, clearly solve the stated problem and be the answer to a problem in order to benefit you or your business. It proposes a different outcome as a result of creating an opportunity out of a problem or challenge.
Lateral thinking and problem solving
“When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” Mary Kay Ash
Lateral thinking can be a useful process when creating solutions to help in overcoming and solving problems.
“Sometimes the situation is only a problem because it is looked at in a certain way. Looked at in another way, the right course of action may be so obvious that the problem no longer exists”. Edward de Bono
De Bono (the “father” of lateral thinking) also points out that the term implies that there is a problem to respond to and that it can be resolved. That eliminates situations where there is no problem or a problem exists that cannot be resolved.
It is logical to think about making a good situation, that has no problems, into a better situation. Sometimes a problem cannot be solved by removing its cause.
“We may need to solve some problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place”. Said de Bono
Martin Povey owns buildingyourbusiness.ca and is a business and marketing coach who helps entrepreneurs and small businesses that need focus direction and creative solutions to build their business and achieve their goals. He can be contacted at: martin@buildingyourbusiness.ca or 403-529-9259 or visit http://www.buildingyourbusiness.ca/
