Problem finding can be as important as problem solving. This is not a call for the misinformed managers who actively search for problems with employees. Those people need a different type of help.

I’m talking about problem hunting with the intention of understanding situations from different perspectives, and not only the original lens we saw the problem with. Searching for problems can highlight unwritten processes and ways of work as well as illustrate tacit knowledge of how people fix immediate problems. When someone faces a challenge at work, they try to fix it as fast as possible so that work can continue smoothly. This sometimes creates additional issues elsewhere or down the road. Without proper reflection mode, this cycle continues.

If we’re properly hunting for problems in the first place, we’re able to see this a mile ahead and fix it with a big-picture lens, so that people don’t loose time and energy looking for information that are not readily available. E. Paul Torrance called it sensing gaps in information. Others call it problem sensitivity, problem discovery, or problem defining. According to Einstein, “The identification of the problem is more important than the solution, which may merely be a matter of mathematical or experimental skills.”

Happy problem hunting,

Randah Taher

One of the classic theories of creativity has four categories; the creative person, process, product and press (environment) – known collectively as the “four Ps”.

They are interrelated in the obvious way: Creative products are the outcome of creative processes engaged in by creative people, all of which are supported by a creative environment. One could take any starting point and it would eventually include the others.

E. Paul Torrance, often called the father of creativity, likes to start with the process. He explains, “I chose a process definition of creativity for research purposes. I thought that if I chose a process as a focus, I could then ask what kind of person one must be to engage in the process successfully, what kinds of environments will facilitate it, and what kinds of products will result form successful operation of the processes.

It doesn’t matter where to start from, eventually you will cover all aspects. Personally, I chose the press (environment) as a starting point. It encompasses everything in it and contains it as a playing sandbox.

Where would you start in search for creativity?

The opposite of logical thinking is not illogical thinking.

Instead, see if you can point to one of the following alternative terms:

speculative thinking,
fantasy thinking,
analogical thinking,
divergent thinking,
lyrical thinking,
mythical thinking,
poetic thinking,
visual thinking,
symbolic thinking,
foolish thinking,
ambiguous thinking,
surreal thinking,
and others (inspired by Gary Davis).

Just like in medicine, when diagnosis is one of the most important steps to treat an illness, so is naming the thinking behind such courageous and “out-there” idea.

The more you do it, the better you become at it.

Enjoy your illogical thinking day.

Consider these examples of creative people who’s talents were not recognized by their teachers, parents or friends:

1. Thomas Edison was told by his teachers that he was too stupid to learn anything.
2. Abraham Lincoln entered the Black Hawk War as a Captain and came out as a much lower private.
3. Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was at the bottom of his class in one school and twice failed the entrance exams for another.
4. Louis Pasteur was rated mediocre in chemistry at the Royal College.
5. Albert Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read.
6. Charles Darwin did poorly in the early grades and failed a university medical course.
7. Fred Waring once was rejected from high school chorus
8. Enrico Caruso’s music teacher told him he can’t sing and doesn’t have a voice.
9. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he “lacked imagination”.
10. Pablo Picasso could barely read and write by age 10. His tutor gave up and quit.
11. Madonna got fired form her early-career job at Dunkin Donuts when she squirted jelly filling all over a customer.
12. Oprah Winfrey was fired from WJZ-TV as being “unfit for television news”. She showed too much emotions.
13. Steve Jobs was fired from his own company.
14. Marilyn Monroe was told by modeling agencies that she should consider becoming a secretary.
15. Stephen King’s renown and first book, Carrie, was rejected 30 times. His wife rescued the book from the trash and convinced him to re-submit it.
16. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
17. J.K. Rowling was a divorced single mother on welfare with 12 rejections from publishers on the Harry Potter books.
18. Sidney Poitier was told to become a dishwasher.
19. The Beetles were rejected by a recording company saying they have no future in show business. They didn’t like their “sound”.
20. Socrates was labeled as “immoral corruptor of youth” which lead him to his death sentence.

What more proof do you need to bring out the creative power in you? It doesn’t matter if others recognized it or not, especially at work. It requires you to recognize it.