Think! (4 page)

I was giving a seminar to an environmental group in California. Someone mentioned the problem of a factory on a river putting out pollution so that people downstream suffered from this pollution. So I suggested the provocation: 'Po the factory is downstream of itself.'

The provocation sounds totally impossible – it is what is called a 'wishful-thinking' provocation. The idea is totally ridiculous because the factory cannot be in two places at once. But, using 'movement', we extract the concept that 'the factory should suffer from its own pollution'. From that comes a very simple idea: we legislate that, when you build a factory on a river, your water input must always be downstream of your own polluted output. So you would be the first to suffer from your pollution. I have been told that this has now become legislation in some countries.

The idea is totally logical in hindsight, as are most creative ideas.

But the idea cannot be reached by logic, because of the asymmetric nature of patterns. Those who claim that if an idea is logical in hindsight then it must be attainable by logic in the first place simply do not understand asymmetric patterns.

A tree trunk splits into two. Then each trunk splits again into branches, which in turn split again. What are the chances of an ant on the trunk of the tree reaching a specified leaf? At each branch point the chances diminish by one over the number of branches; in an average tree, the chances would be about 1:8,000.

Now imagine the ant on a particular leaf. What are the chances of that ant reaching the trunk of the tree? The chances are 1:1, or 100 per cent. There are no forward branches in that direction. That is asymmetry.

In the same way, the chances of reaching a creative idea through logic may be very slight. But once the idea has been reached, it is obvious and logical in hindsight. That is the nature of
asymmetric patterning systems – but no amount of word play will ever make us understand this point.

Creativity is important and becoming ever more important.

Exhortation has some value but not much. Just telling people to be creative is not enough.

Creativity is usable as a deliberate skill – it is no longer just waiting for ideas to happen.

The word 'lateral' in relation to thinking means moving across patterns instead of moving along them – that is the nature and the logic of creativity.

There are formal tools that help us to move laterally, which can be learned and used deliberately just as we might learn and use mathematics. Some people will be more skilled in the use of these tools and will generate more ideas – but anyone can learn and use the tools. The tools greatly increase the chance of having new ideas – like the 21,000 new ideas generated in one afternoon in the steel mill through the use of just one of these tools.

Some people object that being creative means being free, and therefore any structure impedes creativity. That is incorrect. If you are in a locked room, you need a formal key to get out of the room. This key does not determine where you go once you are outside. Structure is your key.

Full understanding of these tools can be obtained by reading other books of mine, or through formal training. There are also about 1,200 certified lateral thinking trainers around the world, and many corporations now have internal trainers.

If there is an obvious and attractive route in one direction, we are blocked from taking other, unknown routes. The path leads us that way and we don't explore the edges or beyond. As discussed in Chapter 1, in the same way, the dominant pattern set-up in the mind takes us quickly in that direction.

The first of the lateral thinking tools requires that we block this obvious path (from A to B). It is very important to note that this block is never a criticism. The block acknowledges: 'This may be the best way – it may even be the only possible way. But for the moment we are going to block it and seek alternatives.'

It is very important that 'challenge' is never used as an attack. This is because we must be able to challenge even the best and most successful ideas. Otherwise we would be limited to dealing with imperfect ideas.

Oil wells were normally drilled vertically. This had been the method for over 80 years, and it worked very well. There was no problem with it. At a seminar for Shell Oil
in London in 1970, I suggested, as the result of a challenge, that at a certain depth the drilling might proceed horizontally. Today this is standard procedure, and such wells produce between three and six times as much oil as the vertical wells. I am not claiming that this change was the result of my suggestion, but the idea turned out to work very well.

Why had it taken so long to develop this idea? While the original idea worked, there was no impetus to look for an alternative.

'We are all very creative. Now, what shall we be creative about?'

Focus is a very important part of applied creativity. Where do we want new ideas? If you cannot define your focus, you cannot generate ideas deliberately. You would just have to wait for ideas to arise by chance.

There are two broad types of focus.

Purpose focus

This is the type of focus with which we are most familiar. There is a problem that has to be solved. There is a process to be simplified. There is a task to be achieved. There is a conflict to be resolved. There is an improvement to be made, etc.

We know the clear purpose of our thinking. We know why we are thinking and what we hope to achieve. With purpose focus it is always possible to state the purpose very clearly. It is like travelling towards a destination. You know where you want to get to.

Area focus

This is very different from purpose focus. We simply define the 'area' where we want the new ideas, not the purpose for the ideas.

'We want some new ideas regarding the first steps
someone takes when entering a bank.'
'We want some new ideas about car parks.'
'We want some new ideas about wine glasses.'
'We want some new ideas in the area of school lessons.'
'We want some new ideas about pencils.'

The new ideas about pencils may make pencils cheaper. A new idea may make pencils easier to sharpen. A new idea may add another function to pencils. A new idea may make pencils more attractive. A new idea may simplify the manufacture of pencils, etc.

For this focus the random word tool is particularly useful because it works even when there is no defined starting point.

The area defined as the focus may be broad or very narrow. You might say:

'I want new ideas about public transport.'
'I want new ideas about buses.'
'I want new ideas about bus routes.'
'I want new ideas about the seats in buses.'
'I want new ideas about the first seat in buses.'

All these focuses are usable.

What they need is the willingness of a person or people to pause and to focus on a point and then set out to do some lateral thinking. At this moment no specific techniques might be involved. What is needed is the investment of time, effort and focus – the will to find a new idea.

Once at a reception in Melbourne in Australia I met a young man, John Bertrand. Bertrand had been the skipper of the 1983 Australian challenge for the America's Cup yacht race. The Cup had only ever been won by America for 130 years, so John Bertrand told me how he and his crew had focused on point after point on their boat and set out to find new ideas of how to do it. By investing this time, effort and focus, the most obvious change they made was the design of the (now famous) winged keel. For the first time in history, the America's Cup was taken away from the United States. This is a classic example of the will to find new ideas, the will to use lateral thinking.

The
creative hit list

This is a formal target list of focuses that need creative thinking. The list would be available on bulletin boards.
The list could be available on a website. The list could be printed on cards put on every desk or in every workplace.

Many creative people sit around waiting for ideas. The Creative Hit List provides a target and a demand. You are expected to have ideas about the items on the list. You may even be specifically asked to have an idea on a particular item by a particular date. A team may be assigned a task from the list and asked to report back on a given date.

The list may be changed but some items may be more permanent. There should be about 10 items on the list.

The items on the list would be a mixture of purpose focuses and also area focuses. People can also make suggestions as to new focuses that might be added to the list. The list provides a permanent 'demand' for creative effort.

An executive may attend a conference or read an article and realise that something he comes across is very relevant to an item on the Creative Hit List.

The Creative Hit List does not exclude specific creative tasks that might be assigned to individuals or a team. The List provides a permanent background demand that emphasises that creativity is always needed.

Concepts are a very important part of thinking in general and an even more important part of creative thinking.

It is interesting that the North American culture is not very keen on concepts. They are seen as academic abstractions contrasted with the 'hands-on action' that is needed. Yet concepts are essential for creativity.

You can identify the concept that seems to be in use and then seek to find other ways of delivering the same concept. If you understand the concept of car insurance, how else could you deliver that value? Perhaps with an insurance tax on petrol sales.

There can be operational or functional concepts. These describe the way something is done.

There can be value concepts. Why this is of value.

There can be purpose concepts. Why we are doing this.

There can be descriptive concepts covering a whole range of things that seem to have something in common.

There are usually several levels of concept ranging from the very broad to a concept that is so detailed it is almost an idea. An idea is a practical way of putting a concept into action.

On a very broad level, a bicycle is a means of transport. On the next level, a bicycle is a personal means of transport. On the next level, a bicycle is a human-powered (non-polluting) means of transport. On a more detailed level, a bicycle is a two-wheeled mechanism in which a pedal crank powers one of the wheels. After that comes the specific design of a bicycle.

Concepts breed ideas. From the concept of a personal, people-powered form of transport we can move on to
alternatives, such as roller blades, skateboards or even completely new ideas like having the person inside a big wheel. Ways of attaching people to moving cars might also qualify. There might even be the idea of an electric motorcycle where you yourself charged up the battery at home using a treadmill generator.

Concept extraction

This lateral thinking technique should be easier to use than the others because it seems more 'reasonable'. In practice, it is rather hard to use because it does not have the direct provocative effect of the other techniques.

The importance of concepts has been discussed above. We seek to develop alternatives and new ideas by 'extracting the concept' and then looking around for other ways to deliver this concept by means of a specific idea.

Suppose we extracted from restaurants the concept of 'eating what you could purchase'. From this, might come the idea of phoning a number and ordering a cook, who would come, with food, and cook for you. Home delivery of food is another idea that is already in use. There might even be a system of meal invitations where an ordinary household invited a stranger to dinner at an established price.

In Australia, the mayor of a small town came to see me and told me that they had a problem with commuters who drove into the town and left their cars in the street all day. This made it impossible for people to find places
to park if they wanted to go shopping. The normal solution was to put in parking meters in order to limit parking. Should he do this? It would be expensive to set up and to run.

What was the
concept here? There was a need to find a way to limit the time people could leave their cars parked in the street. Another way would be to legislate that if you parked your car in certain designated areas, you had to leave your headlights full on. You could not leave your car there for very long because you would be running your battery down. There was no way you could leave your car there all day. You could only park, rush into a shop, then rush out and drive off. There was a self-imposed limit.

The
concept fan

Within the concept, there is also 'the concept fan'.

You want to attach something to the ceiling in a room of normal height.
The solution is simple. You look for a ladder. But you cannot find a ladder. Do you give up and decide that the task cannot be done?

A ladder is only one way of 'raising me off the ground'. 'Raising me off the ground' is the concept, the fixed point. There are alternative ways of satisfying this fixed point – standing on a table, or having people lift me up.

But 'raising me off the ground' is only one way of 'reducing the distance between the object and the ceiling'. This becomes the new fixed point and we look for alternatives for this.

These alternatives are themselves concepts. One concept – to 'lengthen my arm' – can be carried out by 'using a stick'. Another concept alternative – to 'have the object travel to the ceiling by itself' – can be carried out by attaching the object to a ball and throwing it up to the ceiling.

So, in this example, we go from an idea (a ladder) to a concept, which becomes a fixed point for other ideas. But we also go from the concept itself to a 'broader concept', which becomes a fixed point for alternative concepts. Each of these alternative concepts becomes a fixed point for alternative ideas. So the two layers of concepts are used to cascade alternative ideas.

This is the 'concept fan'. At one end of the concept fan we have the purpose or objective of the thinking. How do we achieve the task? How do we get where we want to go? We work backwards. What broad concepts would move us towards this purpose? At the next level, what specific concepts would serve the broad concepts? Finally, what practical ideas could be used to deliver the concepts? This gives a cascade effect, with each level multiplying alternatives to the level below. It is a powerful way of generating alternatives to achieve a purpose.

For an alternative example, take a piece of paper and a pen. You start with the defined purpose of what you are trying to achieve at the right-hand side of the page.
For example, you might set out 'traffic congestion in cities'.
The implied purpose is how to deal with the problem of
traffic congestion in cities. In your diagram, everything will need to flow or cascade from this point on the paper.

The next level lays out the broad concepts, or 'thinking directions', which might help tackle the problem. These might be: reduce traffic; improve traffic flow; increase travel space.

We then move backwards (towards the right-hand side of the page) to list the more specific concepts that could operate the broad concepts.

• For 'reducing traffic' we might have: restrict the number of vehicles; discourage traffic; reduce the need to travel; multi-user vehicles.
  
• For 'improving traffic flow' we might have: deal with peak travel problem at beginning and end of the day; remove junctions.
  
• For 'increasing travel space' we might have: more roads; smaller vehicles.
  

We then take each of the specific concepts and see how this could be put into action with specific ideas.

• For 'restricting the number of vehicles' we might have: high entry tolls; vehicle purchase permission auction (as in Singapore); special city access licences.
  
• For 'discouraging traffic' we might have: high congestion charges for entering the city (as in London); no provision for parking; poor-quality roads; publicise poor traffic flow.
  
• For 'reducing the need to travel' we might have: decentralise stores and offices; work from home via Internet, etc.; work stations.
  
• For 'multi-use transport' we might have: buses; trams; light rail; taxis; multi-user taxis.