We rarely capitalize on the power of the human imagination to leap forward and create a solution that makes sense in the business environment. We’re way too sophisticated. Business as usual means only examining the realities you see and confront every day. This mind-set typically halts a breakthrough before it begins. Opportunities to explore options using our imagination are often squelched by someone who had the "answer" already.

During most interactions, as thoughts and energy flow between the participants, you must know when to let loose and break out wildly, outrageously, and ridiculously and when to curb the whimsical, channeling your thought patterns and turning off your curiosity. It takes a delicate balance to create the optimal blend of both creative and analytical thinking. It is important to sense the point when all the pieces fall together: the group is at its peak, Thunderbolting (as I call it), and its momentum carries the group to a new plateau.

This can’t happen if the faucet shuts off too quickly, if the germs of ideas are trampled before they are given a chance to mature, or if people’s emotions are bruised because egos get in the way. Mastering the conversation calls for you to walk a tightrope, with both arms open and extended to keep your balance.

The flow of conversation usually starts with free-form idea generation and then moves on to point-by point analysis of each step. Being aware of both the conversation of possibilities (creative thinking) and the conversation of realities (analytical thinking) during the interaction, and being skilled , are essential to mastering the conversation.

Creative thinking, an expansive activity, takes what we already know and combines it into new relationships, bringing to life new images and new ideas. It is not orderly, reasonable, or predictable. We know creativity when we see it in art, science, and other fields, but it still seems like a mystery to most of us. Yet this ability to be inspired, innovative, or inventive has caused civilizations to evolve; no less businesses to be successful.

Analytical thinking, a narrowing-down activity, draws upon known facts and principles to produce conclusions. Logic causes us to ask, of all the known methods, which is best? It is a powerful tool for classifying and evaluating in formation, providing a way for us to pull our intuitive ideas together. Through analytical thinking, we connect the gems produced during creative, expansive thought.

Allowing participants to expand and develop all their fresh ideas before the final selection is critical. It takes courage to walk the tightrope over the vacuum of unknown solutions. For effective thinking to take place you need guts. Allow your people to have both the conversation of possibilities and the conversation of realities.

Remember, the key is to first expand and collect ideas, then direct your group members toward final selection of ideas. Listed below are tips that will assist you in directing a conversation. No matter who the group is or what size, these nine helpful rules apply.

Here are 9 ways to release the Group’s Creative Juices and Master the Conversation:

1. Always do something to loosen up the group.
2. Include a specific way to create team spirit.
3. Encourage the group to produce concrete ideas so you come up with solid suggestions and not vague ones. As people are talking, make sure to capture the verb when you write down the thought. The idea or thought will be more complete because it includes an action. And afterward, it will be easier to summarize the ideas that were developed.
4. Offer food that echoes the theme (not too much sugar). During a "Famous Partners" session, we served fish and chips, cream cheese and bagels, strawberries with cream, and peanut butter and jelly. The purpose of the session was to maximize the unique talents of the staff members by having them partner with each other.
5. Bring along a tape recorder and play lively music. We’ve had selections that ranged from Jane Fonda exercise tapes to custom-tailored music like "On the Road Again" for a group of commercial truck and bus drivers.
6. Move the break outdoors and encourage people to get fresh air.
7. Offer simple ways to stretch and increase blood circulation. A child’s jump rope adds a whole new dimension to a fifteen-minute break.
8. Call a break between the possibility and reality conversations. Don’t go more than ninety minutes without taking some type of break.
9. And don’t forget to bring along your F.I.S.H. - something to eat the attack thoughts; those Fatally Inappropriate Slimy Hits that slow or sometimes stop conversations. Using the F.I.S.H. has been the savior of more meetings (and egos) than I can possibly remember.

Back to Top

Thunderbolt Thinking, Inc.
427 River View Executive Park
Trenton, NJ 08611 USA
Tel: (609) 396-7941 Fax: (609) 396-6260

E-mail: thunderboltthinking@tecker.com
© 2001 Thunderbolt Thinking, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Thunderbolt Thinking^® is a Registered Trademark of Thunderbolt Thinking, Inc.