Peanut butter and jelly. Ham and cheese. Milk and cookies. We all grew up with these, didn’t we? They’re familiar to us.
That’s why we do a double-take when someone throws in something unexpected … like peanut butter and mayonnaise (yes, there are some who actually like that, my husband being one of them). Or ham and jelly. And so on. You get the picture.
This post focuses on something so basic to creativity, I almost overlooked it: unusual – sometimes even absurd – combinations. You’ve experienced it yourself if you’ve ever heard Bach being played on an electric guitar. Or tasted bacon-flavored ice cream.
Throwing unlikely things together helps us look at things in new ways. And it’s often how we get our inventions. Did you know the first printing press came about because someone thought of combining the technologies of a coin punch with a winepress? Thanks to this combination, we now have books – something we now take very much for granted.
The resources I’ve listed at the end of this article will help you get used to “thinking
outside the box” and will hopefully encourage you to come up with your own unique
combinations for your business as well as your personal life.
* * *
Since most new ideas are really combinations of other ideas, coming up with unique and unusual combinations – of ideas, products, or services – can become one of the most important foundations for creativity in your own business.
Look for possible ways in which you can mix your products or services with those from completely different sources.
Paul Sloane, expert on lateral thinking in business, believes that working a puzzle is one way people can exercise their brains to become more creative. Because of that, he’s written 18 books on lateral thinking puzzles (several of which were co-authored by Des MacHale).
Here are a couple of examples from his book, Brain-Busting Lateral Thinking Puzzles:
THE FORGER
A forger spent years studying the U.S. $100 bill until he produced what he felt was a perfect forgery. However, he was arrested the first time he tried to pass one. Why?
LIGHT SAVING
In the subway of a major American city, the stealing of light bulbs was a common occurrence and a major problem. The sockets for the light bulbs were within easy reach and could not be moved. How did the city authorities solve this problem and practically eliminate the theft of light bulbs?
(See answers at the bottom of this article.)
Thinking Outside the Box
Of course, solving puzzles isn’t the only way to come up with creative ideas. As I mentioned in my post on brainstorming, Roger von Oech offers a variety of tools to help people stretch their thinking to encompass new thoughts. He even has some available as apps for the iPhone and iPad!
RESOURCES
In addition to the iPhone and iPad apps mentioned above, these two resources from Paul Sloane can help you dramatically improve your “out of the box” thinking skills:
The Leader’s Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills: Unlocking the Creativity and Innovation in You and Your Team (by Paul Sloane) According to one review, “This book teaches leaders how to transform creativity into meaningful innovation.” It also contains lateral thinking puzzles that encourage new ways of approaching problems, and includes case studies showing that “this stuff does work.”
Cunning Lateral Thinking Puzzles (by Paul Sloane and Des MacHale) This book is filled with lateral thinking puzzles that will help you develop mental flexibility – an important “building block” of creativity.
PUZZLE ANSWERS
The Forger – When the calendar was adjusted in England in 1752, 11 days were skipped. The date on this document was one of the 11 days that never existed.
Light Saving – The sockets were adapted so that bulbs with a left-hand screw were used. Unlike most other bulbs in sockets, they had to be twisted clockwise to be released. When would-be thieves tried to unscrew the bulbs they were unwittingly tightening them.
