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. . . The Ultimate Book of Business Creativity 50 Great Thinking Tools for Transforming Your Business ROS JAY CAPSTONE I . . . Copyright © Ros Jay 2000 The right of Ros Jay to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2000 by Capstone Publishing Limited Oxford Centre for Innovation Mill Street Oxford OX2 0JX United Kingdom http://www.capstone.co.uk All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library and the US Library of Congress ISBN 1-84112-066-9 Typeset in 11 pt Plantin by Sparks Computer Solutions Ltd, Oxford http://www.sparks.co.uk Printed and bound by T.J. International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall This book is printed on acid-free paper Substantial discounts on bulk quantities of Capstone books are available to corporations, professional associations and other organizations. If you are in the USA or Canada, phone the LPC Group for details on (1-800-626-4330) or fax (1-800-243-0138). Everywhere else, phone Capstone Publishing on (+44-1865-798623) or fax (+44-1865-240941). II Contents Introduction 1 The 7 × 7 Technique 9 Analogies and Metaphorical Thinking 16 Association 21 Assumption Reversal 26 Attribute Listing 31 Brainstorming 37 Brainwriting 44 Conscious Intuitive Techniques 49 Crawford Slip Method 58 Delphi Technique 65 Discontinuity 68 Drawing Techniques 72 Excursion Technique 76 FCB Grid 81 Forced Relationship 86 Force-field Analysis 91 Gordon/Little Technique 96 Involving An Outsider 100 Left-brain/Right-brain Thinking 105 Lotus Blossom Technique 110 Mind Mapping 114 Morphological Analysis 119 III Nominal Group Technique 123 Pattern Language 128 Problem Reversal 134 Questions 138 Random Stimulation 142 Rice Storm (TKJ Method) 147 Scenarios 152 Sensory Images 155 Six Thinking Hats 159 Storyboarding 163 Synectics 168 Two Words Technique 173 Unconscious Intuitive Techniques 176 Verbal Checklist 184 Further Reading 189 Creativity Software 190 Useful Web Sites 192 Index 193 IV . . . Introduction ''Creativity consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different." Albert Szent-Gyorg yi(biochemist and Nobel Prize winner) "It is the function of creative man to perceive and to connect the seemingly unconnected." W illiam Plomer(writer) Everyone has their own definition of creativity, but most of us know it when we see it. Creativity is the first step towards innovation—it is the process of generating ideas, but there is more to it than that. The ideas generated by the creative process must be workable. There is no creative value in an idea which cannot be applied. The creative function of the mind is not easy to explain. It belongs in the part of the brain which is not lo