There are many ways to address a problem, and often, people jump in without an adequate thought process to solve the issue. Creative problem solving has long been considered to be about brainstorming ways to solve a problem. However, Muhammad Al Naqbi explains it is more complex; it is a well-thought process that helps you understand the problem to find the right solutions.
One of the common mistakes most people make is trying to solve all problems at once. Muhammad explains that it is essential to adopt Richard Sloma’s approach of making the issues line up one by one. This helps keep you focused and better at solving each problem.
What does creative problem-solving entail? Below are three steps as detailed by Muhammad Al Naqbi:
● First, identify and clarify the problem
Muhammad explains that you cannot find the right solutions if you do not first understand the problem. Therefore, clarifying and identifying the issue is crucial to the creative problem-solving process. This entails finding out what the issue is and what is causing the problem.
● Secondly, research the problem and formulate creative challenges
Do your due diligence to research the problem, finding out what the challenge is and possible ways you can approach the issue. Muhammad explains that research is crucial to help you see potential hurdles you might face when solving the issue and what leaving it unattended will do. Be sure to contemplate the effects of each possible solution, so you don't make the problem worse.
● Finally, generate, combine, and evaluate creative ideas.
With an understanding of the problem and possible hoops you need to jump through in the problem-solving process, you are ready to start developing creative ways to solve the problem. Muhammad Al Naqbi says to begin with generating as many ideas as possible. Once you have the ideas, combine and evaluate them to pick the best out of them. With your ideas decided, draw up an action plan and proceed to implement them.
You might get it wrong the first time. The good news is that you can improve your creative problem-solving skills with time!