Hey Everyone! Welcome to my blog for Comm 388 Design Strategies for Business Innovation. On this blog I will post anything and everything related to Strategic Design and of course, my class topics and assignments. I hope you enjoy.
Our first assignment was to reflect on our own thinking process and the way we go about solving problems.
To be honest, I’ve never thought about my own thinking. I usually get a problem or task and just do it, without taking time to think about how I actually do it. I guess thats where this reflection will help me. In my opinion, Im a pretty straight-to-the-point kind of guy who likes to be practical at all times. I try to avoid things that aren’t necessary or beating around the bush when it isnt needed. And that is reflected in the way I do my work. For example, if I am given a problem, I like to look at my options, see which one will give me the desired results the fastest, figure out if its practical, and then do it. Also, Im not much of a planner. If I am given a topic for an essay, I will do my research, make a basic outline of my argument and then I just start writing. I always want to find the easiest, simplest and most practical solutions to my problems without having to think of some out-of-the box revolutionary idea; I just want to get the job done.
I think its safe to say I like being an in-the-box thinker, and that might be my downfall.
The thing is, the way that I think about topics or problems wont lead me to any new solutions; I will only come up with practical solutions or techniques that are most likely to give me the results I need.
After reading Dan Pink, I realized that there are many more people like me around the world. There are a ton of people out there with a business degree and most of them probably think like me. There is a lack of creativity and the so-called “Six Senses” of the right brain in the business community. That is where the opportunity to succeed lies. I feel that I have developed the “Six Senses” throughout my life but I have yet to introduce the right side of my brain to my left. When it comes to problem solving or my own thinking process, I fail to be creative. Roger Martin really hit the nail on the head when he spoke about barriers to innovation. Our culture has put such a heavy reliance on analytical thinking because it has always been reliable in producing positive results. I feel that is a large part of my lack of creative thinking. I have been wired in a way to block out my right brain when Im doing work and in my “business zone.” That is why I lack innovation and creativity. That is why I am such an In-The-Box thinker. I exploit everything that is available to me without making the effort, or even thinking about exploring the unknown. I stick to the facts, to the tangibles.
If I can find a way to rewire myself, to introduce my right brain to my left, then I think I will be able to differentiate myself. Hopefully I will be able to change the way I think, so that I diverge from the norm and develop out-of-the-box solutions. And when I achieve that, I believe that I will have changed for the better, with the ability to be innovative and come up with new ways of solving problems and creating bigger and better things.
That’s just my two cents.
-AK
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