Creativity Challenge 39

Let's expand our thinking and idea generating skills this week with Richard Fobes' help. In his book Creative Problem Solver's Toolbox he describes a process for generating alternative ideas called....

A Radial Outline of Alternatives

You start with your challenge or problem. Ask yourself or a group what is one way I/we might do/improve _______?

Then you ask yourself or group what are 2 or 3 ways we might do that?

Then ask what is a way I/we might also do that?

And so on and so on.

The visual depiction of this is similar to a spider web or section of tree branches or a "decision tree".

I.E.

You grow a small patch of vegetables on your property and your neighbor raises chickens. The chickens are wandering around in your garden eating your vegetables.

You might start with

          get animal
          to scare
          chickens .........borrow from zoo
         /      \
       dog       cat...bobcat
       /          \
  Bull Dawg        tiger
     /             |    \ rent from circus
   use               |
   noise of       build tent
   bull           around garden

Your challenge this week is to try this alternative or idea generating technique on a problem of yours and share a small sample of the Radial Outline your produce.

(It can work very much like a "Mind Map")

To add dynamics to the process write your ideas on index cards, or Post-It notes, etc so that you might be able to rearrange them.