People in the creative field are no strangers to mental blocks. At best, they can be a mild nuisance. At worst, they can severely affect work output and throw one in a real quandary. Creometric, as part of its CreoTive Saturdays, had a session on overcoming mental blocks through lateral thinking, which was conducted by a senior member of the team. Given the creative nature of the work that the Creometric employees are constantly immersed in, a session such as this was certainly the need of the hour.
The key focus of the session was on an interesting concept known as lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is a term that was promulgated by Edward de Bono, a Maltese physician, psychologist, philosopher, author, inventor and consultant. It involves solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that might not be immediately obvious, and involves ideas that may not be achievable by using only traditional step-by-step logic. Lateral thinking purposefully distances itself from the standard notion of creativity as “vertical” logic, i.e., the classic method for solving problems.
Another concept, called the Six Thinking Hats which was another brainchild of Edward de Bono was also spoken about at length. It is a tool for group discussion and individual thinking involving six colored hats. Colours are assigned to six different directions
1) Blue (process control) – the organising hat; controls the use of the other hats
2) White (neutral and objective) – concerned with data, fact, figures and information
3) Red (the emotional view) – the intuitive view, hunches, “gut” and feeling
4) Black (logical, negative) – cautious, the “judgement” hat
5) Yellow (logical, positive) – optimistic, positive, sunny and hopeful
6) Green (creative) – associated with energy, fertility, growth, creativity and new ideas. Switches around the normal superiority of the black hat.
The team was also introduced to another helpful tool called ‘Empathy Maps’ which can be used to gain deeper insights into consumer behaviour. Empathy maps are split into four quadrants (Says, Thinks, Does, and Feels), with the user in the middle. They provide a glance into who the user is as a whole.
An activity that involved doodling, to encourage increased creativity and overcome mental blocks was also carried out, post which the team viewed some of the most successful Halloween ad campaigns by international brands.
The session has really helped members of the Creometric team by bringing about a different approach to problem solving. The next time anyone’s down with a mental block, they won’t be down for long!
“CreoTive is a brilliant session, that not only fosters creativity but also works out the road blockages faced by us. As a strategist, these sessions definitely make my week a little easier, mostly since it is a whole team throwing ideas at each other.”
-Employee, Creometric