Welcome

to Springboard!
©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Objectives
• Overcome blocks to creativity.
• Identify behaviors conducive to creative thinking.
• Apply core principles of creative thinking.
• Utilize a variety of divergent &
convergent thinking tools.
• Apply the CPS method to
simulated or real situations.
• Practice being deliberately
creative.
What is creativity?
Some Definitions of Creativity
• “Novelty that is useful.”
First referenced in 1724 in the text, The Irish Historical
Library, and later by Stan Gryskiewicz, PhD, Center for Creative
Leadership.

• “Creativity is the production of

novel and useful ideas in any
domain.”
Teresa M. Amabile, PhD, Harvard Business School

• “Creativity is the process of

bringing something new into
being.”
Rollo May, Ph.D., existential psychologist
 History of CPS
• We all solve problems
naturally
• Alex Osborn, the inventor of
brainstorming, wanted to
make the process more
deliberate
• CPS has been around for 61
years!
• Evolution of the CPS Model
Other Creativity Systems

Design Kepner-
Improvisation
Thinking Tregoe

Lateral Six Thinking

Synectics
Thinking Hats

Systems
TRIZ
Thinking
Barriers & Bridges
• Attitudes
• Environment
• Skills
• Structures
• Behaviors
 CoreConcepts
Core Concepts
©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Separate
Divergent & Convergent Thinking
 Dynamic Balance

Area of Familiarity
Area of Area of
Discovery Discovery

Puccio, G. J., Murdock, M. C., & Mance, M. (2006)

Divergent Guidelines

• Defer Judgment
• Build on Ideas
• Seek Wild Ideas
• Go for Quantity
Affirmative Judgment (Praise First)

PPCO
Pluses, Potentials, Concerns, Opportunities

• Balanced approach to evaluating ideas

• Gives ideas a fair hearing
• Creates an opportunity to overcome
weaknesses and strengthen ideas
Design for New Wheelbarrow

Handle
Hopper

Wheel
 Affirmative Judgment (Praise First)

Lifetime Products has reinvented the wheelbarrow! The innovative design

gives you superior stability and added maneuverability - lightening your
workload by an amazing 85%.
 Convergent Guidelines

• Be deliberate
• Check your objectives
• Improve your ideas
• Be affirmative
• Consider novelty
Have a Creative Attitude

“Now here’s my plan...”

Shel Silverstein, Look Magazine, 1956

 Summary of Core Concepts
• The Dynamic Balance of Creativity
• Divergent Thinking
• Convergent Thinking
• Praise First; Yes, And Thinking
• Stage Challenges as Questions
• Have a Creative Attitude
The Big Bad Wolf Case Study
 The CPS Model

Based on the work of G.J. Puccio, M. Mance, M.C. Murdck, B. Miler, J. Vehar, R. Firestien, S. Thurber, D. Nielsen (2011)
 The CPS Process

Based on the work of G.J. Puccio, M. Mance, M.C. Murdock, B. Miler, J. Vehar, R. Firestien, S. Thurber, D. Nielsen (2011)
Clarify - Identifying the Challenge

3 Steps
• Explore the vision
• Gather data
• Formulate the challenge
Explore the Vision

Generate Goal/Wish Statements

• It would be great if….

• I wish…
 Tool: Word Dance
Example: Get Members
A social group wants to expand its attract participants
membership. They have expressed the induce supporters
challenge as:
solicit helpers
“How might we get more members?”
lure leaders
Playing WORD DANCE, they swap the verb entice applicants
“get” and the object “members” with a collect contributors
series of substitutes. They end up with retain candidates
similar challenges, with a new twist.

HMW entice members?

HMW attract candidates?
HMW solicit contributions?

Parnes, S. (1967). Creative behavior guidebook. New York: Scribner.

Explore the Vision
Select a Goal/Wish Statement

Use Tool 3 “I”’s to check for…

• Influence – Is it your responsibility?
• Interest – Do you really want to solve it?
• Imagination – Do you need creative ideas?
Gather Data
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?
• How?
 Formulate the Challenge
Generate Well-Defined Challenges
• Invitational Language Stems
How to… (H2...)
How might... (HM…)
In what ways might… (IWWM…)
• Turn Data into Challenge Questions
How to…?
• Not Ideas - A Better Definition of the Real Challenge
In• What
BroadWays
– BriefMight We…?
– Beneficial
What are all the ways to…?
 Characteristics of a
Good Challenge Statement
Statement Starter + Owner + Verb + Object

• Begins with a statement starter

How might…
How to…
In what ways might…
• Free from criteria
• Specific focus or action
We don’t have enough money. How to raise the money?
It’s too expensive. How might we reduce the cost?
We need to be more innovative. How might we build a culture of innovation?
 Energizing Questions
Before: After:
HMW position our new Tax-Free Account as the smartest • HMW make saving sexy?
savings vehicle of choice in a crowded marketplace?

HMW transform ourselves into the most environmentally

responsible company in the film industry in terms of our • HMW become the Prius of
production practices, supplier management systems & the film industry?
operations.
HMW communicate in such a way that all employees
receive consistent messages so that they have the • HMW make sure our
“correct” understanding to be able to enhance their
performance and act in the best interests of their people really “get it”?
colleagues and our firm?

How might we truly understand what drives employees

loyalty and dedication so that we can establish an systems • HMW have employees who
and an environment in which we achieve the highest rather die than miss work?
attendance standards in the industry?

Source: thinkx
End of Day One
Welcome Back!
Day 2
©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Ideate
©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Explore Ideas

• Think up lots of
options
• Explore new
combinations
• Build on ideas
 Tool: Forced Connections
Get unstuck: Force a connection between your
challenge and something completely unrelated.

1. Ponder an unrelated image

2. Write five characteristics

3. Ask “what ideas do I get for solving this

challenge?””
Force a connection
When I look at this picture, what ideas do
I get for solving my challenge?
Force a connection
When I look at this picture, what ideas do
I get for solving my challenge?
 Tool: Brainwriting
Build on others‘ ideas to generate more
ideas fast.
1. Write three ideas to fill a row

2. Toss your sheet into the pile

3. Grab another person’s sheet

and build on their ideas with
three more ideas!
Tool: SCAMPER
Is there something you could put in place of something
S Substitute else? Consider materials and manufacturing processes.

What parts could be put together? Blended?

C Combine What applications, uses, materials could be provided?

How might your competitor evolve it?

A Adapt What would a super-user do to make it better?

What can you alter? Consider all 5 senses.

M Modify Can you subtract, change or alter anything?

What else can it be used for? Each part?

P Put to Other Uses Who else might like it?

What part can you get rid of or omit?

E Eliminate What can you do without?

What can be rearranged or reversed?

R Rearrange Patterns and assumptions?
What can you connect in a different way?
Tool: Visual Connections

What do you see? What do you feel like? What would it be like if you were here?
What memories have you had like this? What experiences have you had like this?
What might this taste/sound/smell/feel like?

A twist on Forced Connections

Tool: Highlighting
1. Identify Hits
 Clear
 Interesting
 Feels Right
 Intriguing
 Solves the Challenge

2. Cluster the related “hits” together

3. Restate the cluster

 Sorting Criteria
‘MUST’ CRITERIA ‘WANT’ CRITERIA
• Absolute requirement • Highly desirable feature
• Deemed to be critical • Important, but not an
for success absolute requirement
• Without this feature the • Plays a value-added role
solution will fail (makes solution more
attractive)
• Novelty! Novelty!
Restating Ideas
What I see myself doing is…

Example 1 Example 2
• WISMDI reducing • WISMDI breaking our
production costs by current communication
25% in the next year by paradigm by developing
replacing our current a cross-functional team
production line with a that includes 3 people
new system. each from marketing,
finance, and research
and development.
Develop
©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Formulate Solutions
Turning Ideas Into Solutions
• Evaluate and strengthen ideas
• Plan useful, practical solutions
• Take an idea from good to great
• Consider Novelty
• Use Affirmative Judgment
 Tool: Evaluation Matrix

Criteria
Options
Affirmative Judgment - PPCO
Pluses, Potentials, Concerns and Opportunities

• Balanced approach to evaluating ideas

• A critical thinking tool
• Opportunity to give an idea a fair hearing
• Create an opening to overcome the
weaknesses of an idea
Implement

©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Formulate a Plan

• Explore acceptance - consider

all the resources that can assist
and resist your solution
• Identify action steps
• Make a plan
 Tool: Assisters & Resisters
Consider all the resources that can assist and resist
your solution:
• Who - individuals or
groups who will help or
hinder
• What - things that
might help or hinder
• When - issues of timing
that might help or
hinder
• Where - physical or
process locations that can
help or hinder
• Why - reasons that
support or block progress
• How - actions that will
help or hinder
Identify Action Steps
• What steps might you take to put your solution into
action?
• What additional resources might help you
implement your solution?
• How might you gain enthusiasm for your solution?
• Where might you start?
• What special places or locations might you use?
• What are some places or locations to avoid?
• When might be a good time to begin?
• How might you pretest your solution?
 Tool: Action Plan

In the next 24 hours, I will …

FourSight Workshop

1.30 PM @ CPSI HUB

End of Day Two

End of Day Two

Welcome Back!
Day 3
©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
 The CPS Model

Based on the work of G.J. Puccio, M. Mance, M.C. Murdock, B. Miler, J. Vehar, R. Firestien, S. Thurber, D. Nielsen (2011)
 Summary - Divergent Tools
• Brainstorming
• Stick-Em Up
Brainstorming
• Brainwriting
• Forced Connections &
Visual Connections
• SCAMPER
• Why What’s Stopping
You
• Word Dance
Summary - Convergent Tools

Dot Voting, 3 “I”’s, Highlighting,

Evaluation Matrix, PPCO, Action Plan
CPS Practice:
Real-World Challenge
with a Client
©2015 Creative Education Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Topic Market
 Extend Your Learning - Resources
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Creative Problem Solving

Springboard Institute
Facebook Group
 Taking It Forward

what?

so what?

now what?
 Thank You
and See You Next Year!

CPSI 2016
June 15-19, Buffalo