While attending a traffic school class to insure that I did not have "points" added to my driving record I learned a valuable lesson about creativity. To emphasize her point regarding the importance of traffic awareness, the instructor held up a FedEx shipping carton and asked if anyone in the class saw the arrow in the logo.
No one in the class of sixteen saw it.
But hidden there— yet, in plain view— was a big bold arrow located between the E and X. Once pointed out, it was easy to see. Since that moment I never see a Federal Express truck, package or ad, that I don't clearly see the arrow tucked between the E and X.
The arrow image is always there but until it is pointed out, few people see it.
The $65 dollar fee I paid to attend the class turned out to be an excellent life investment. Like the "camouflaged or hidden arrow in the FedEx logo, creative solutions to problems often come hidden in the problem or disguised as ancillary problems.
From the FedEx example I learned that focusing on the problem often reveals the solution within the problem. The inquisitive mind can look at what everybody else looks at and see something that nobody else sees. In doing so, you have solutions that nobody else has.
The enemy of innovation attempts to deceive the problem solver. No wonder William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon company challenges people to, "Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there."
Creative solutions to problems are unearthed more quickly as the result of stating the correct or "real" problem. No wonder John Dewey said, "A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved." This thought is echoed in the words of Albert Einstein, "The formulation of a problem is far more often essential than its solution." More failures to solve problems can be traced to a fuzzy or imperfect definition than to any other cause. You can't solve what you can't define. And the better the definition, the better the potential solution.
By carefully defining the problem you not only ensure that you are solving the right problem. But frequently, you will find the solution is more or less obvious. The exercise of properly discovering the "real" problem often reveals the steps necessary to solving it.
The military dictum that "time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted" is equally applicable to problem solving. Take time and identify in a clear statement the true problem. Often this "reconnaissance" will lead you to the "arrow" in the problem.
Creating ideas that lead to innovation takes costly time and work. But the only thing more expensive than innovation is complacency.
The words of ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, written 2,500 years ago still ring true, "All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved." Creative people search for the strategy. Though it be hidden, once discovered it leads to success.
French novelist, Victor Hugo observed that "Nothing in the world is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." If you want your idea to bear fruit, have it at the proper time. Ideas don't wear a sign around their neck saying, "Here I am, take me."
I once read that people see what they want to see. Creative thinkers want to see the camouflaged "arrow" in the problem. They aren't fooled by a problem trying to disguise or hide the opportunity contained with the problem. Henry David Thoreau observed, "Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray."
HOG THOUGHT: Sometimes the solution to a problem is quickly found, other times we must spend sustained thinking time focused on the problem. Voltaire observed that "No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking." The ability to focus on the problem helps a good thinker discover the camouflaged solution hidden within the problem.
HOG QUOTE: "We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." —John W. Gardner
HOG ACTION: Step beyond your current paradigm—venture out! And look for the camouflaged "arrow" hidden with the problem.
No one in the class of sixteen saw it.
But hidden there— yet, in plain view— was a big bold arrow located between the E and X. Once pointed out, it was easy to see. Since that moment I never see a Federal Express truck, package or ad, that I don't clearly see the arrow tucked between the E and X.
The arrow image is always there but until it is pointed out, few people see it.
The $65 dollar fee I paid to attend the class turned out to be an excellent life investment. Like the "camouflaged or hidden arrow in the FedEx logo, creative solutions to problems often come hidden in the problem or disguised as ancillary problems.
From the FedEx example I learned that focusing on the problem often reveals the solution within the problem. The inquisitive mind can look at what everybody else looks at and see something that nobody else sees. In doing so, you have solutions that nobody else has.
The enemy of innovation attempts to deceive the problem solver. No wonder William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon company challenges people to, "Look for what is missing. Many know how to improve what's there; few can see what isn't there."
Creative solutions to problems are unearthed more quickly as the result of stating the correct or "real" problem. No wonder John Dewey said, "A problem well-stated is a problem half-solved." This thought is echoed in the words of Albert Einstein, "The formulation of a problem is far more often essential than its solution." More failures to solve problems can be traced to a fuzzy or imperfect definition than to any other cause. You can't solve what you can't define. And the better the definition, the better the potential solution.
By carefully defining the problem you not only ensure that you are solving the right problem. But frequently, you will find the solution is more or less obvious. The exercise of properly discovering the "real" problem often reveals the steps necessary to solving it.
The military dictum that "time spent on reconnaissance is seldom wasted" is equally applicable to problem solving. Take time and identify in a clear statement the true problem. Often this "reconnaissance" will lead you to the "arrow" in the problem.
Creating ideas that lead to innovation takes costly time and work. But the only thing more expensive than innovation is complacency.
The words of ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu, written 2,500 years ago still ring true, "All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved." Creative people search for the strategy. Though it be hidden, once discovered it leads to success.
French novelist, Victor Hugo observed that "Nothing in the world is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." If you want your idea to bear fruit, have it at the proper time. Ideas don't wear a sign around their neck saying, "Here I am, take me."
I once read that people see what they want to see. Creative thinkers want to see the camouflaged "arrow" in the problem. They aren't fooled by a problem trying to disguise or hide the opportunity contained with the problem. Henry David Thoreau observed, "Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray."
HOG THOUGHT: Sometimes the solution to a problem is quickly found, other times we must spend sustained thinking time focused on the problem. Voltaire observed that "No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking." The ability to focus on the problem helps a good thinker discover the camouflaged solution hidden within the problem.
HOG QUOTE: "We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." —John W. Gardner
HOG ACTION: Step beyond your current paradigm—venture out! And look for the camouflaged "arrow" hidden with the problem.
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