Use this new interactive mind map to brainstorm savvy solutions
As someone with a life-long passion for creative problem-solving, I have a deep appreciation for the power of questions. To a surprising degree, they shape our ability to tackle and solve the big challenges we face. But if we’re not careful, they can blind us to amazing opportunities and elegant solutions.
If the questions we ask are too broad, they tend to be ineffective. If they’re defined too narrowly, they restrict the range of possible solutions we can envision. Ideally, they need to be framed in a very specific way to ensure they deliver the greatest creative benefit to us.
Another common problem is confirmation bias. Our brains tend to favor information that agrees with what we already believe. We tend to make assumptions, often unconsciously. We think we already know the “right” answer. If we ask questions, they tend to be superficial and often don’t take into account the changes that are affecting our businesses, environment and lives.
25 ways to reframe your challenges
To help us solve our biggest challenges, my friend Stephen Shapiro has written a marvelous book called Invisible Solutions. It outlines 25 mental filters or “lenses” that can help us systematically frame our problems, challenges and opportunities and release our best thinking. Each of them contains questions that help to direct our thinking in new directions, so we can consider new opportunities and possibilities.
I love this approach so much that I created an interactive mind map containing all 25 lenses, where each one is most useful and sample questions you can use to apply them to your challenges:
Download it as a MindManager mind map
Get these Invisible Solutions resources
For more information about this innovative creative problem-solving approach, check out Stephen’s Invisible Solutions resources web page. It will give you access to a two-page “cheat sheet” that contains all 25 lenses, instructional videos and much more.
I also highly recommend Stephen’s excellent Invisible Solutions podcast. During each episode, he uses the lenses to brainstorm solutions to a listener-submitted challenge. He calls it “the podcast that solves real-world business problems in real time.”
Using this practical format, he demonstrates how to use the lenses and their questions in a fun and highly accessible way. It’s an awesome way to immerse yourself in this innovative way of thinking.
Each weekly episode averages only 15 minutes in length, so they’re easy to consume. In the process, you’ll learn so much about creative problem-solving and how to use the lenses to master your own challenges. I highly recommend it!
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