Creative Problem Solving: 5 Tips for Creative Problem-Solving

Creative problem-solving (sometimes abbreviated as CPS) is a collaborative work ethic that aims to discover and create innovative solutions to unique problems. This problem-solving process involves brainstorming innovative ideas, gathering data, and testing solutions.

Advertising executive Alex Osborn (1888–1966) and academic Sid Parnes (1922–2013) developed and popularized the CPS process, which various professional sectors (marketing, technology, et cetera) use as a problem-solving technique to find fresh perspectives on current issues, gaps in the market, or customer needs.

In the CPS process, thinkers move away from speedy answers to problems and use critical thinking to identify solutions. Follow these steps to build creative problem-solving skills:

1. 1. Define the problem. Before any decision-making, teams must first articulate a problem. This problem definition will be the engine for creative thinkers to begin the innovation process of ideating.
2. 2. Gather data. After defining the problem, teams collect data via research, surveys, and existing statistics to determine where a need lies in the market, its specific factors, and possible solutions for consumers.
3. 3. Brainstorm ideas. Unusual ideas and out-of-the-box thinking are part of the CPS process. During this step, teams explore ideas for potential solutions to the issue.
4. 4. Find creative solutions. Brainstorming will lead to discovering possible avenues for practical solutions, which teams can then test on the market or in trial groups. Creative problem solvers can analyze results and identify the best solution possible.

When employing the creative problem-solving process with team members, consider the following tips:

1. 1. Pose problems as questions. In creative problem-solving, a problem is not an obstacle but an opportunity for exploration. Posing problems as questions, then, opens your mind and allows you to experiment more fluidly. The more specific you can make the problem you are trying to solve, the easier it will be to determine solutions that are particularly pertinent to your brainstorming work.
2. 2. Use different types of thinking. Divergent thinking generates numerous ideas in response to a problem, while convergent thinking narrows down plausible answers, helping teams quickly come to concrete solutions. You might also try design thinking, a methodology for identifying and solving problems seen through a consumer, user, or participant’s eyes.
3. 3. Explore potential solutions through completion. Test or talk out each solution from its starting point to its conclusion to see where the holes are and to find keys that may unlock other potential solutions.
4. 4. Keep an open mind. Suspend your judgment or any limitations that money, resources, or other elements may put on your work. It is essential to keep an open mind and brainstorm without constriction.
5. 5. Step away from the process. Breathing room is crucial to let ideas marinate and new ones emerge. Step away now and then, take walks, and get fresh air. Constant work can be stifling.
6. 6. Create an encouraging environment. Team members should “yes, and” each other’s proposals and play off of them, and the physical environment should be similarly comforting to engender a creative space.

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