Creative Thinking in Relocation

I was privleged to attend a seminar run by Grant Bosnick on CrEaTiVe ThInKiNg last week, and here is a summary of what I learned that might help in creating more innovation in our relocation space;

IMAGINATION
To spark your imagination, you need different "Points of View". You can get these by playing "What if....." games. eg. What if I only had 1 dollar and had to start a business? Or alternatively, you can ask "If I was such and such...." games eg. If I was Jack Welch, CEO of GE, what would I do in this situation?

ASSOCIATION
To spark creativity, a great way is to take 2 different themes and associate them; this helps to create something that is the synergy of two parts, and what you wouldn't have necessarily considered if you just saw them apart. eg. Milk and Lawn Mowers- healthy smoothies from a machine that harvests vegetables directly from your garden- what an invention! This can work great when using the topics as "stepping stones" for brainstorming.

INSPIRATION
Often simple things can inspire ideas. eg. Inflate your goals so they are ridiculously unachievable. eg, We will lease a "Healthy Smoothy Machine" to every senior citizen in Japan, so that they don't need medical attention so regularly. We will ask for government subsidies, as we will be able to lower the medical bill for all Japan.
Or often, inspiration can come when doing some other concentrated activity of focus; eg. when walking around, when in the shower, when driving, when riding your bike and even when sitting on the toilet!

BRAINSTORMING
The idea with brain storming is list as many things as possible, and then go back and;
- Look for the gaps. What is missing, what don't you have?
- How can you group or "cluster" your ideas. How many different themes or focuses do you have?
Doing this, you can create and build ideas, and then take these ideas and compare them, which then enables you to expand the "big picture".

SEEDS AND GERMINATING
It is important to start thinking about things early. Our mind is like a garden, so we need to plant the seeds as soon as possible and then look for synergies.
- Write things down early
- Come back to them and add to them, connect them, and grow them into something much bigger. Then pick the best fruit from within them

REST PERIODS
This is recorded under "inspiration" also, but we need to create "Rest Periods" during our day; relaxtion points when we are just doing one thing and our mind can wander a little; eg. while swimming, while standing in the train, while taking out the garbage, while cleaning your teeth......

Some things to think about to enhance your creative thinking!