Creative problem solving and collaboration are two vital talents that organisations value. Time and again, these capabilities rank high on surveys amongst employers, C-suite execs and educators.

Moreover, with rapid technological advances shaping new customer experiences and disrupting businesses, creative problem solving has never been more critical.

How can you foster creativity and collaborative problem solving to meet these challenges?

Reframing

Many business teams have specialist knowledge around their category/ sector - which is great for managing business performance.

However, with this expertise comes a set of unwritten rules and beliefs on how to do things - which constrain creativity.

Because they adhere to conventions, many products/ services in most sectors – from carbonated drinks, air travel, wine, to healthcare – become indistinguishable from each other.

One of our first jobs as innovation practitioners is to break down these norms, customs, acronyms and playbooks the team know so well because they limit people's capacity to be creative and break the rules.

“Creative problem solvers step out of these norms by asking a simple, provocative question: ‘How might we...?”

For instance, by asking 'How might we treat our customers like Rock Stars?' would no doubt have led Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays to devise unique premium travel experiences.

The issue with many 'problem statements' common to innovation challenges is that they don't inspire unexpected solutions. Dull problem definitions lead to dull ideas. 'How might we stem the decline in heavy users?' Inspiring? No. Likely to result in a breakthrough? No.

Getting innovation teams to reframe a problem is at the heart of transformational shifts in innovation, and these tend to fall into three strategic areas:

REFRAME THE BUSINESS MODEL

Reassess the value you offer to your customers and how you make money. Classic examples of this are subscriptions models. From software (Microsoft), media (Netflix), to razor blades (Harry's, Dollar Shave Club), and food (Hello Fresh) many brands no longer sell single one-off products but offer a range or system of products for a monthly/ annual subscription which offer the customer choice, value and personalised experiences.

REFRAME THE JOB TO BE DONE

By understanding the broader context in which people use your product or service, you can step back and reconsider the needs of your customer. An example of this is how Pampers reframe the benefits of nappies to help babies and parents achieve a good night of sleep – a key concern for parents over and above category ‘hygiene factors’ of comfort and absorbance. By reframing product superiority aligned to more motivating customer benefits, Pampers maintain their category leadership.

REFRAME THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Leading innovators shift the emphasis from product-centric innovation to examine how to innovate the broader customer experience. Adobe – the makers of Photoshop and other leading design and video editing products for creative professionals – focus on how to make creative tasks more straightforward, and offer extensive 'how to' inspiration, tips and tricks, so designers can concentrate on being creative and spend less time figuring out how to use the software. At the heart of their product system is technical excellence and superiority, but it is the community of information sharing which engages the user with a distinctive brand experience.

TO SUM UP:

Creative reframing points the team on a new trajectory.

It inspires people to source unexpected, and frankly more exciting stimulus. Hunting for inspiration for Rock Star experiences would have provoked questions like 'How might we offer a limo service to and from the airport; massage and hair cuts in airport lounges – how could that work?'

A pedestrian challenge statement would never have sparked such creativity.