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Tools And Tricks To Overcome Creativity Block

Phil McKinney
Phil McKinney
— 1 min read
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Segment 1: Tools And Tricks To Overcome Creativity Block

  • Talking Pictures
  • Concept Fan
  • Drawing
  • Brutethink
  • Thril
  • Problem Reversal
  • Circle of Opportunity

Segment 2: Killer Question Of The Week

Redefine the problem

  • ‘There is usually more than one-way of looking at problems.  You could also define this one as ….’
  • ‘… but the main point of the problem is …’
  • ‘What I would really like to do is …’
  • ‘If I could break all laws of reality (physical, social, etc.) I would try to solve it by …’
  • ‘The problem put in another way could be likened to …’
  • ‘Another, even stranger, way of looking at it might be …’

Segment 3: Closing Thoughts

“The best way to escape from a problem is to solve it” Alan Saporta

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Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.


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