After learning about conceptual blocks, I learned about conceptual blockbusters. Conceptual blockbusters are techniques to avoid conceptual blocks.
In the reading “Solving problems analytically and creatively”, it was said that giving the self relaxation time, talking to other people about ideas, and asking other people for suggestions on problems can rid a problem solver of conceptual blocks. The reading also presented the idea that to be creative, one must pull people together and pull people apart, monitor, and reward different roles.
Looking at tips prior pull people apart and pull people together, I realized that they are obvious yet proven strategies. But even if the tips are proven, they are not usually used.
Take the case of resting. Resting is good for the mind. When we work without ceasing, we lose energy and creative juice. Resting replenishes whatever we lose. But when work load is high, people tend to see resting as a waste of time. They force themselves to work and end up not finishing a thing.
In terms of talking to others to solve a problem, people do this (but in the personal, not the professional context). Perhaps, such happens because people in work want to look smart; it is shameful to ask what to do so people just do what they feel is right.
A thought came to me. If we really are to be creative and eventually effective problem solvers, we should be humble enough to admit our weaknesses. When we can no longer think, we should rest and replenish. When we cannot be satisfied by our ideas on how to solve a problem, we should ask for opinion. More opinions provide more alternatives, and more alternatives allow us to arrive at a very good solution to the problem as alternatives can be combined to make up one sensible remedy to what we are solving.
We have to work alone, then work with teams -- pull people apart, pull people together to come up with the best outputs (the more people there are in an assignment, the more chances there are to rectify mistakes that one person or two may overlook and miss to correct); we have to know the expectations, we have work on them; we have to follow rules, we have to break rules to develop better work processes and reward ourselves (if our efforts to develop novel processes work). In this way, we are motivated to keep being creative.
Source:
Prentice Hall. (2004). Solving problems analytically and creatively. (Chapter 3). Retrieved from: http://cte.rockhurst.edu/s/945/images/editor_documents/content/All%20documents%20in%20PDF%20require%20Adobe%20Acrobat174;%20Reader.Whette/Whetten_CH03.pdf.
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