Page 67 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

58 CHANGE YOUR THINKING ABOUT CHANGE

Change Creative
Problem
Causing
Problem

Creative Change
Problem
Solving Problem

Why be a creative problem solver?
Leaders are creative problem causers.

the answer is. Aha, you have the primary condition for creativity—
wonder.
As this diagram of the creative problem-solving cycle points out,
change causes problems that trigger creative thinking. And that brings
us to a place where creative things happen.
But what does creativity do? Creativity changes things, which
causes problems. This triggers the cycle to go on indefinitely. The
question is where are you playing in the cycle?
Change is inevitable. It’s going to happen or someone’s going to make
it happen. We all have to play on the creative problem-solving playing
field. If you play on the reactive side (the left side of the diagram), where
you address change by responding to the problem caused by change
(usually effected by others, often competitors), you are forced to be cre-
ative, and at least you’re playing. And you don’t survive in business
unless you’re playing the creative problem-solving game.
But leaders are proactive. They cause change. They create. They
don’t just start with the problem caused by change; very often, they pro-
vide the initiative to create something new, to change things.
Whereas the left side of the above creative problem-solving cycle,
left of the creative burst, is creative problem solving, one could argue
that the right side of this playing field is creative problem causing. And
most high-achieving people, in business and elsewhere, are creative
problem causers—they change things. Which, of course, causes prob-
lems for the competition.