Before co-founding Charlotte Lit with Kathie Collins in 2015, I earned an M.S. in Creativity from Buffalo State University, and taught creative thinking and problem solving for a decade under the company name OmniSkills, LLC. Clients included Banner Pharmacaps, Capital One, Davidson College, Eaton, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Novant Health, Raytheon, UNC Charlotte, Vertex, and Wagner Chemical.

This page presents an overview of Creative Problem Solving, the core creative process I teach and facilitate. To learn more about the process, visit my full CPS site, creativeproblemsolving.com. To inquire about bringing me in to teach your team how to be more successfully creative, contact me.

What is Creative Problem Solving?

Creative Problem Solving (CPS) is a structured process for solving problems or finding opportunities, used when you want to go beyond conventional thinking and arrive at creative (novel and useful) solutions.

You can, of course, choose to solve problems in conventional ways. Indeed, most problems are solved using known solutions. Creativity is solving problems in new and better ways. Creativity is how your organization becomes truly innovative, and how it and uncovers new, different, and market-making opportunities.

WHAT DOES THE CPS MODEL LOOK LIKE?

I illustrate the CPS model using hexagons, where each hex is one process stage. Because the process is organic — how it’s used depends on the situation at hand — this illustration should be understood as a general representation of what happens when solving a problem.

Here’s a quick description of the process, as illustrated. Someone will facilitate the process, making process-related decisions, an oversight function that is used throughout the process. The first stage is to imagine the future state that is wanted, in statements that begin with “I wish…,” “I want…,” “I will…,” or “It would be great if….” Once a vision is decided upon, we find the questions that must be answered (or, problems that need to be solved) in order for the imagined future to come true. These questions will begin with “How to…,” “How might…,” “In what ways might…,” and “What might be all the….” Once we select a question we will work on, we generate ideas that will answer the question. Ideas tend to be rough notions – that is, not implementable solutions – so we select the best ideas and use them to craft solutions. We explore acceptance for our solutions, so that we will know who will assist and who will resist, and what to do about it. Finally, we plan for action,which takes us to the doorway of implementation: creating the future we imagined at the beginning of the process.

Is CPS a Creative Way to Solve Problems?

The word “creative” in the title refers not to the process itself but to the results you seek: novel and useful solutions, not just tried and true and traditional ones. But CPS has at least one key feature that makes it unique when compared to other problem-solving models: CPS uses both divergent and convergent thinking at every stage of the process. Most other processes reserve the divergent thinking for the generating ideas stage, but use it nowhere else. CPS multiplies the power of divergent thinking by making it part of the entire process. Related to this: CPS separates divergent and convergent thinking, so that you’re not trying to generate and choose at the same time.

Thus, we have to confess that using CPS has an interesting side effect: it makes you re-think the way you think, and not just when you are solving problems.

Is CPS Right for You?

First, let’s consider problems and opportunities. CPS is a great choice if you want new thinking, new ideas, new solutions. It’s a great choice if you find you are stuck, if you can’t solve a certain problem (or problems), even if — especially if — you’re not sure what the problem is. CPS is a great choice if you are missing opportunities, or if you want to take advantage of the opportunities before you.

Second, let’s consider leadership. Creative thinking and innovative vision are core leadership competencies. CPS provides a structured way for leaders to harness creative thinking, to lead the way to breakthrough innovations, to envision desired future states, and to determine how to get there.

Now What?

Discover it. At creativeproblemsolving.com, you can uncover the basics of Creative Problem Solving and CPS facilitation.

Learn it. There are many places to learn how to use and how to facilitate CPS, including from Paul; at the annual Creative Problem Solving Institute; through the Center for Applied Imagination at Buffalo State University; and others. Also, I co-authored a book, Creativity Rising, that covers the essential why and how of CPS.

Download it and use it. Creativeproblemsolving.com offers free quick reference guides and worksheets. Try things out and see how it goes. What’s the worst that could happen?

Talk to me. I’m available to answer your questions and help you in whatever way you need. Email me here.