Creative Problem Solving (2 Days)

 

Overview
Welcome to the Creative Problem Solving workshop. In the past few decades, psychologists and business people alike have discovered that successful problem solvers tend to use the same type of process to identify and implement the solutions to their problems. This process works for any kind of problem, large or small.
This workshop will give participants an overview of the entire creative problem solving process, as well as key problem solving tools that they can use every day.

Workshop Objectives

Research has consistently demonstrated that when clear goals are associated with learning that the learning occurs more easily and rapidly. With that in mind, let’s review our goals for today.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand problems and the creative problem solving process
- Identify types of information to gather and key questions to ask in problem solving
- Identify the importance of defining a problem correctly
- Identify and use four different problem definition tools
- Write concrete problem statements
- Use basic brainstorming tools to generate ideas for solutions
- Use idea generating tools, such as affinity diagrams, word chaining, the box method, the six thinking hats, and the blink method
- Evaluate potential solutions against criteria, including cost/benefit analysis and group voting
- Perform a final analysis to select a solution
- Understand the roles that fact and intuition play in selecting a solution
- Understand the need to refine the shortlist and re-refine it
- Understand how to identify the tasks and resources necessary to implement solutions
- Evaluate and adapt solutions to reality
- Follow up with solution implementation to celebrate successes and identify improvements

Target audience
All Sales Professionals and Business Professionals

Course Outline

Module One: The Problem Solving Method 
What is a Problem? 
What is Creative Problem Solving? 
What are the Steps in the Creative Solving Process? 
Case Study 

Module Two: Information Gathering 
Understanding Types of Information 
Identifying Key Questions 
Methods of Gathering Information 

Module Three: Problem Definition 
Defining the Problem 
Determining Where the Problem Originated 
Defining the Present State and the Desired State 
Stating and Restating the Problem 
Analyzing the Problem 
Writing the Problem Statement 

Module Four: Preparing for Brainstorming 
Identifying Mental Blocks 
Removing Mental Blocks 
Stimulating Creativity 

Module Five: Generating Solutions (I) 
Brainstorming Basics 
Brainwriting and Mind Mapping 
Duncker Diagrams 

Module Six: Generating Solutions (II) 
The Morphological Matrix 
The Six Thinking Hats 
The Blink Method 
Case Study 

Module Seven: Analyzing Solutions 
Developing Criteria 
Analyzing Wants and Needs 
Using Cost/Benefit Analysis 
Case Study 

Module Eight: Selecting a Solution 
Doing a Final Analysis 
Paired Comparison Analysis 
Analyzing Potential Problems 

Module Nine: Planning Your Next Steps 
Identifying Tasks 
Identifying Resources 
Implementing, Evaluating, and Adapting 

Module Ten: Recording Lessons Learned 
Planning the Follow-Up Meeting 
Celebrating Successes 
Identifying Improvements 

Module Eleven: Wrapping Up 
Words from the Wise 

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The ideal group size for this course is:

• Minimum: 5 Participants (10% corporate Discount)

• Maximum: 15 Participants (10 and above participants 20% Corporate Discount)

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Live Workshop: 2 Days (Recommended) or 1Day (Compact)

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Course Delivery Format

Face to Face (@ Client's Premises) or Zoom