Mike Dominik can provide more detail, instruction, and assistance on the application of some of these techniques. Contact him directly for more information! Brainstorming: Let the ideas flow Brainstorming is by far the most widely used tool to stimulate creative thinking. It was developed in the 1940s by the American advertising executive Alex Osborn who believed that anyone could learn to generate creative solutions for a wide variety of problems. Rice Storm: Problem definition first “A problem well-defined is a problem half-solved” Imagine your group as a gigantic boat powered by a group of people with their own outboard motors. Without direction, agreement, collaboration, and communication each person will likely be pointing his or her motor in a different direction, and the boat will founder or turn in circles. On the other hand, if the group comes to a common understanding and agreement about their direction and destination, the members can align their individual motors toward a common goal. TKJ is a Japanese technique, developed by Kobayashi and Kawakita, which recognizes the need for a single group approach to problem definition and resolution. It has been referred to by a Japanese- American professor as a “Rice Storm”. The technique synthesizes different individual perspectives and experiences into a problem definition and solution that is acceptable to the group. There are two stages to TKJ: understanding the problem, and solving it. Understanding the problem involves getting each member of the group to grasp the essence of the problem; solving it means encouraging all members to participate in suggesting solutions. Root-Cause Analysis: Underlying causes
Gap Analysis: See the shortfalls
Force-Field Analysis: Get the big picture
Visioning: Build consensus
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