Facilitating Creative Brainstorming sessions at work I use different techniques to guide the group away from over focus on finding the “right answer” to a particular problem/opportunity and towards coming up with new mental connections to generate fresh thinking and perhaps novel and untapped solutions. Spending time with my nieces (ages 1 and 2) recently I was struck by how diverse and rich in possibility their way of playing is (and how much fun!) As they effortlessly and playfully maintained a state of almost continuous discovery and creativity I thought of that well known Einstein quote: to stimulate creativity, one must develop the childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition. In 1968 a test, designed to measure creativity and divergent thinking and used by NASA to select innovative engineers and scientists was distributed to 1,600 5-years olds; they were re-tested again at ten years of age and at 15 years of age. The results were as follows: the 5 year olds scored 98% or “Creative Genius” level; five years later, as ten year olds, they scored 30% and as 15 year olds 12%. The same test was also given to 280,000 adults who achieved a 2% score for their creativity. The conclusion was that all children are innately creative and non-creative behaviour is learned. As we grow up and progress through the educational system and take on society and cultural norms and expectations, we’re more likely to focus on getting to the “right answer” and this in turn causes us to be increasingly uncreative. So, how can we take some of that innate creativity and playfulness of the child’s world back to the adult world to elegantly uncover innovative solutions to challenges? Or what is that children do that makes them creative geniuses? Below are some suggestions: Immerse yourself in the challenge, situation at hand-give it all your focus and see what fresh insights and possibilities arise. Ask open ended and speculative questions rather than questions that imply you already know what the answer should be. Be mindful and aware in the present moment rather than living in the past or worrying about the future. Find as many new/interesting/different connections between seemingly unrelated elements as you can. How would you consider a problem/opportunity if you had a completely different role or you were someone else? What perspective would you now have? Imagine your ideal outcome. What would that look like? What are the first steps you might now need to take? What are your limiting assumptions about yourself or about a particular situation? If you reversed or removed those assumptions (so that the opposite was true or they no longer existed) how would the situation be resolved? Sleep more or at least allow yourself 5 minute mental vacations. If you’re feeling a bit stuck or unclear about a situation try generating as many different ideas as possible; they don’t need to be feasible/sensible/appropriate (at this point); in fact, the more and the wilder the better! And finally have fun and regain your own sense of playfulness. What do you think? Can you apply these techniques to your professional (or personal) life to achieve different results? What other creative techniques do you favour to get a new perspective and fresh ideas on problems?