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A few days before the program, Carolyn gave attendees the option to take an assessment that assigns one of these profiles to the participant.  Those that took the assessment arrived to the program knowing which profile most accurately reflected their problem solving style; those that did not take the assessment had the opportunity to self-identify a “best fit” profile as Carolyn described the four categories:

• Clarifier: Someone who wants a clear understanding of the issue, enjoys exploring challenges and opportunities and prefers a methodical approach to solving problems.  However, this type of individual has a tendency to get stuck in “analysis paralysis” mode.

• Ideator: Someone who enjoys generating ideas and exploring possibilities, likes to look at the big picture and think globally and likes to generate novel concepts or ideas.  However, this type of individual may overlook details.

• Developer: Someone who enjoys transforming a good idea into a workable solution, likes to examine the pros and cons of an idea and enjoys planning the steps to implement an idea.  However, this type of individual may get stuck in the pursuit of developing the perfect solution.

• Implementer: Someone who is a driver, turns ideas into tangible outcomes, enjoys putting structure to ideas and creating a plan of action, and is persistent and decisive with a results-oriented approach to innovation. However, this type of individual may become impatient and leap to action too quickly.

Carolyn explained that when an individual is self-aware of his/her talent strengths and weaknesses, workflow can be more effectively aligned and team members can better understand and leverage other team members’ capabilities.

Carolyn then delved into the second part of the creative problem solving program: The Thinking Skills Model.  This model relies on the principles of divergent thinking and convergent thinking.  Divergent thinking refers to brainstorming ideas while deferring judgment and convergent thinking refers to refining ideas while applying affirmative judgment and staying focused.  These principles are utilized throughout the four-step Thinking Skills Model, illustrated below:

• Step 1: Clarify Situation – Using divergent and convergent thinking, formulate the challenge into a question that requires the team to explore where the new or innovative ideas might be.

• Step 2: Generate Ideas – Using divergent and convergent thinking, come up with a large quantity of creative ways for solving the problem.

• Step 3: Develop Solutions – Evaluate your potential solutions by identifying each one’s pluses, opportunities and issues and how it can be turned into a workable solution.

• Step 4: Implement Plans – Create a plan of action, taking into account all of the factors discussed in Step 3 and how change will be perceived by those affected.

The final phase of the program involved attendees breaking up into groups and tackling a law firm marketing scenario using the CPS Thinking Model.  Afterward, the groups discussed how they found this model to be different than traditional problem solving techniques and what they discovered by leveraging into their team members’ thinking profiles.  As Carolyn explained, when you are able to tap into your team members’ thinking styles while using an established model that provides structure but also encourages creativity and innovation, problem solving turns into a highly effective and enjoyable experience that leads to happy and successful teams and creative and usable results.