Management consultant Robert B. Tucker of the Innovation Resource, Santa Barbara, California, first came to my attention 16 years ago when he was a keynote speaker at the Radio and Records Convention. Since that time, I have read everything he has written.
He notes that in self-talk there are four modes of thinking:
1. The victim. Thinking process is inactive.
2. The sustainer. Thinking process is reactive.
3. The dreamer. Thinking process is active.
4. The innovator. Thinking process is PRO-active.
Tucker says that there are eight "Roadblocks to Creativity":
1. Seeing things (jobs, staff meetings, duties) the same old way
2. Not looking for better, quicker, less expensive ways to get results
3. Not seeing problems as problems but as 'the way things are'
4. Not believing your ideas are good enough
5. The same problems keep coming up again and again
6. Feelings of being overwhelmed, putting out fires
7. Feeling bored (sustainer mode predominant)
8. Not listening to others' ideas, not acting on them
Techniques for getting "unstuck":
1. Change environments (i.e. move the staff meeting to a new location)
2. Gather more information on the situation
3. Harvest more ideas
4. Challenge your assumptions
5. Listen to fools
6. Ask dumb questions
7. Set aside a time each day for "dream space"
8. Sleep on it
9. Make lists: download ideas as they occur
10. Brainstorm with DIFFERENT people. After the staff fails to find a solution, invite a group of listeners (or NON-listeners) to brainstorm the same situation
Where innovators generate ideas:
1. Broad-based reading
2. Listening to customers
3. Adapting from other industries
4. Actively looking for problems to solve
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