Thinking of the Usual

A good creative thinking strategy is to question the rules. That may be why Rudolph Flesch said, “Creative thinking may simply mean the realization that there’s no particular virtue in doing things the way they’ve always been done.”

Some would say, “if operation ‘X’ is done in a certain way, it will get certain results.”  ‘X’ can be a management technique, a marketing strategy, a fund-raising technique, or a way to stuff a turkey.

The creative thinker will play with “X” and look for results outside the usual rules and guidelines. What worked last year is probably valid this year, but you won’t know for sure unless you challenge it.

The creative people will evaluate “X” and look for results outside the norm. What worked before is probably valid now, but only change will let you know for sure.

Every right idea will eventually be the wrong idea. Being innovative means escaping from obsolete ideas and generating new ones.