The BBC website has a fun page about Leonardo Da Vinci, with a short quiz that you can take that determines what kind of thinker you are. Answer the questions honestly, now.

It turns out that I am a “Linguistic Thinker”. Hmmm. I didn’t see that coming.

What kind of thinker are you?

Planning an Attack | The Natural Planning Method

In part three of The Art of War, Sun Tzu writes of the unity and focus that are required in every part of the army. In the Art of Productivity we will discuss an incremental approach to planning a project.

Proper planning involves following a process that allows one to create a plan after fully defining the problem to be solved. Attacking a problem without focus or unity leads to disaster. In a typical environment, most difficulties are met with an increase in action - work harder, get busier, hire more people. When this doesn’t work, the response is often to rearrange things, and people, in the belief that we just aren’t organized enough.

Finally it will dawn on someone that we are approaching the problem from the wrong direction, because it is still here. Now it’s time to brainstorm those “creative” solutions, think outside the box, draw outside the lines. At the end of this creative session, when we have generated a few ideas that may or may not be related to the problem, we will come to the realization that we really do not know exactly what the problem is. How can we solve a problem that we have not properly defined?

Feel free to discuss and share your thoughts in the comments. I am looking forward to the conversation. A public domain version of the Art of War can be downloaded here(.txt file, .html file). (from Project Gutenberg)

Master your words.

Master your thoughts.

Never allow your body to do harm.

Follow these three roads with purity

And you will find yourself upon the one way,

The way of wisdom.

~from The Dhammapada

Via the Innovation Tools newsletter (subscribe here)

An article by Mitch Ditkoff and Val Vadeboncoeur about unleashing the creativity of those left-brain thinkers. The authors start with a humorous intro:

For the past 21 years, we have been working closely with a wide range of savvy organizations who have identified the need to raise the bar for innovation and creative thinking. One thing that’s become abundantly clear to us is this: 95% of all the people who end up in our sessions are predominantly left-brained. Hmmm… They want to “get out of the box,” but first they want to define the box, measure the box, compare it to other boxes, and/or send the box up to corporate to make sure that everyone signs off on the collective vision of non-boxiness.

The 32 tips on this list are broad-ranging, from simply “establishing credibility” (always useful) to “consult with the tough people on the breaks“. I recommend that you read the whole thing, here are a few of my favorites:

1. Establish your credibility
If you do not already know the participants in the session you’ll be facilitating, get your bio to participants before the session begins. Include anything that will help people understand that you have the experience and expertise to be a valuable resource. If this is not possible, introduce yourself early in the session and describe your qualifications. Your goal is to reassure participants that you just didn’t walk off the street with a magic marker in your hand. This effort is not driven by the need for you to pose as a superstar, but to diffuse any lingering doubt in the room that you are the one to facilitate. Doubt kills creativity. You want to do everything possible to remove doubt from the room.

[…]

5. Break the ice.
Most people who end up in your creative thinking session will probably not be in a creative mindset when they enter the room. On the contrary, they are likely to be hurried, multi-tracking, overloaded with information, overwhelmed with tasks, and/or feeling underappreciated. One way or another they are likely to be dwelling in the logical, linear, analytical side of their brain. What they need is some kind of transition – a bridge from the world of “human doings” to the world of “human beings.” A well-facilitated icebreaker is the best way to do this.

[…]

7. Don’t think, do!
Brainstorming sessions, understandably, are “head sessions,” requiring a significant amount of thinking, cognition, and mentation. But that is not the only way to get at good ideas. In fact, one of the best ways to quicken the appearance of good ideas is to “not think.” Mozart used to exercise before he composed. Yakahura Nakamatsu, the holder of the most patents ever, liked to swim underwater before he invented. Socrates used to take his students for a walk. Somehow, these seemingly mindless excursions free up brainpower. The best and fastest way to accomplish this, we’ve discovered, is with hands-on, interactive problem-solving activities that have high relevance to the brainstorming challenge or group dynamic.

[…]

15. Encourage participants to follow their fascination.
Whenever possible, allow participants to choose (and continue choosing) the challenge, opportunity or idea they want to brainstorm. Fascination is one of the key drivers of creativity. Sometimes, of course, it is not possible as to shape a session around individual fascination, since a person’s expertise may be needed in a particular sub-group or your client may have a need to have participants address specific, company-wide challenges. Also, sometimes, when you give participants the choice of which topic/challenge they want to brainstorm, everyone will want to address the same one, leaving essential topics “orphans.” Should this be the case, ask participants if they have a second fascination or if they would be willing to “take one for the team” by addressing a topic that needs attention (but has no “takers.”)

[…]

28. Disappear from time to time.
That’s right. Disappear. Don’t always stand in the front of the room being the facilitator or brainstorm leader. Move out of the way and let someone else lead the session for a while. Circle round to the back of the room and let the group have their own discussion. You don’t always have to be an advertisement for “creative thinking.” It gets tedious after a while. Indeed, sometimes the most effective way to diffuse a heavy dose of the left-brain mindset in the room is to back off and let one of the left-brainers take center stage.

[…]

30. Get people talking about “ahas!” they’ve had in their own lives.
No matter how conservative, risk averse, or linear any participant in your session will be, it’s likely that all of them – at some time or another – have had a really great idea. “Creativity” really isn’t all that foreign to them (although they may think it is). All you have to do to get participants in touch with that part of themselves is to get them reflecting on a past moment in their lives where they were operating at a high level of creativity. Get them talking about how it felt, what were the conditions, and what preceded the breakthrough. You’ll be amazed at the stories you’ll hear and how willing everyone will be to participate in the process to follow.

[…]

32. Consult with the tough people on the breaks.
Every once in a while, a really tough person shows up in a session – someone who is probably very smart, extremely competent, experienced, with a big BS detector, and just enough arrogance to make you feel uncomfortable. These people can be big influencers in a brainstorm session, especially if they hold positions of power in the organization. In the best of all worlds, these folks would always be on your side. But they’re not. Sometimes, in fact, they become “corporate hecklers,” even if they don’t say a single word. Every time you look at them you get self-conscious or filled with doubt about your expertise. Don’t play to these people in a neurotic attempt to get their approval. You won’t get it. But do seek them out on breaks and engage them. Get them talking. Pay attention. See if you can pick up any useful feedback or clues about revising your agenda or approach. Even though you wouldn’t choose to be trapped on a desert island with them, these folks may turn out to be a huge blessing for you – because they are carriers of a particular insight or sensibility that needs to be honored. More than likely, some of the other people in the room are feeling the same thing, but have been too polite to show their true colors. So, don’t be afraid of these people. They can be a very valuable resource.

What are some of your favorite brainstorming techniques? Please share with us in the Comments.