Ogilvy & Mather
Creative Problem Solving
Ogilvy & Mather
Creative
Creative is the thought process which goes beyond existing structures, patterns, ideas and realities and results in the production of ideas that are new and challenging and inevitably disruptive to the pre-eminence of existing ideas.
Professor Judith Robinson Valdez
The Study and Development of Creative Thinking 1987
Ogilvy & Mather
Key Mechanisms
Opening up Divergent thinking
Closing down Convergent thinking
Defer judgment
Think of as many ideas as you can
Be receptive to all ideas
Look for ways to modify or otherwise combine ideas
All ideas to incubate
Be systematic
Clarify and make known your evaluation criteria
Avoid premature closure on data
Be realistic about your problem
Avoid killer instruct in evaluating data
Don’t lose sight of where you are going
1
2
2
No change
Ogilvy & Mather
Focus Challenge Search Harvest Evaluate Solution for Front
Alternatives Runners
?
Ogilvy & Mather
Patterning
The system pushes us we must break the patterns
The right answer - The second and the third right answer
That’s not logical - it doesn’t have to be
Follow the rules - Challenge the rules
Be practical - be a magician
Avoid ambiguity - use ambiguity as a development tool
To err is wrong - failure creates opportunities
Play is frivolous - play is essential
That’s not my area - what can I learn by analogy
Don’t be foolish - challenge group think
I’m not creative - I’m creative if I think I am
Ogilvy & Mather
Where do People Find Most of Their Ideas
Sitting on toilet
Showering or shaving
Traveling to work
During a boring meeting
During leisure reading
While exercising
On waking in middle of night
While in church
While performing manual labor
Ogilvy & Mather
Type of Solution
“Previous Problems”
What
We
Need
To
Know
What
We
Can
Only
Guess
What We Know Now
What We Could Know Now
“New
Problem”
More of
the same
More and
Better
More and
Better
Something
Different
Ogilvy & Mather
Moving The Window of Our Experience
“Previous Problems”
What
We
Need
To
Know
What
We
Can
Only
Guess
What We Know Now
What We Could Know Now
“New
Problem”
Ogilvy & Mather
Types of Problems
Opportunity: A chance to do think better or differently. You Know where you want to be. it is now a question of working out how to get there.
An opportunity is also called a clear brief.
Difficulty: You know what needs to be done but the execution is demanding, exacting or intricate. Usually involves the chance of upsetting people, including yourself.
Ogilvy & Mather
Dilemma: You seem to have to choose either one way or another, neither of which is likely to get you to where you really want to be
Mess: A series of interconnected problems that you don’t fully understand. There are probably many right answers but you need to unravel complexities and uncertainties
Mystery: Unexplained and often ambiguous deviations from what you expected. you don’t know why
Ogilvy & Mather
What Is
The
Problem?
Have we come
across the same
problem before?
What are the
success criteria
for the solution
Have we come
across a similar
problem before?
What are the
constraints?
What data do
we have and
where are the
gaps?
Ogilvy & Mather
How Are We
Going to
Approach The
Solution?
What sort of
blockbusting
help do we need?
How many alternative
solutions are we going
to look for?
Who blocks are
we likely to hit?
How long will
we allow for
incubation?
Can we
redefine the
problem?
Ogilvy & Mather
Is This A
Potential
Solution?
How can we
improve it?
does it meet the
success criteria?
What parts of
the problem does
it solve and not
yet solve?
Does it meet the
constraints?
Does it hold
together?
Ogilvy & Mather
Which Is
The Right
Solution?
Can it be
implemented
easily?
Can it be
measured easily?
Is it
effective?
Is it
efficient?
Does it give us
an edge?
Ogilvy & Mather
Better Questions
The greater the degree of turbulence and change, the more we need to rely on a process of better questions and less on experience available for the answers.
If we did not do this already, would we go into it now knowing what we now know? If no then what do we do now?
Is there anything you might expect me to know already and which therefore you haven’t told me
Ogilvy & Mather
Reframing
Stating a problem in a different way by using terms that are more convenient for your own understanding
Reframe 1 Rephrasing the problem in your own words so you can get it organized in your mind
Reframe 2 putting the problem in words you can work with
Reframe 3 Making the problem come to you
Reframe 4 Making the strange familiar
Ogilvy & Mather
Reframing
I want to persuade my client to accept our proposals
How to persuade my client to accept our proposal
How to win her confidence
How to show her what is better about the new approach
How to arouse her enthusiasm
How to find the right bait to hook her interest
How to reduce her fears of change
how to break down her resistance
ETC. ETC
Some feel that “How to (H2)”as an approach points too much at one right answer and prefer to reframe with “In what ways might we”(IWWMW)
Ogilvy & Mather
Wishing
Is important as the first step
Allows for expansive thinking
Avoids the needs to defend, by passing the self censor
Allows bits & pieces of ideas to be voiced
Help guard against evaluation
Increases level of speculation
Invites further thinking
Ogilvy & Mather
Why Chaining at Toyota
1. Why has the machine stopped/
A fuse blew because of an overload.
2. Why was there an overload?
There wasn’t enough lubrication for the bearings
3. Why wasn’t there enough lubrication?
The pump wasn’t pumping enough
4. Why wasn’t enough lubrication being pumped?
The pump shaft was vibrating as a result of abrasion
5. Why was there abrasion?
There was no filter, which allowed chips of material to get into the pump
Broken down machine
Install a filter
Ogilvy & Mather
Why Chaining at Ogilvy & Mather
1. Why?
There are too many “got a minute”’s in my day
2. Why?
I have an open door policy
3. Why?
I want my people to have my input when there is a crisis
4. Why?
We work as a team and I’m the most experienced
5. Why?
Teamwork and sharing make O&M productive
Never enough time to complete to do list
Plan for interruptions in your to do list and time management
and feel good when your people ask for your opinion
Ogilvy & Mather
Think of Ways to Improve A portable Radio
Think of ways Think of ways to
to improve improve something
something portable
Make it larger Put wheels on it
Polish it Make it easy to pick up
Add more features Remove features of parts
Use more expensive parts Have lots of pockets for accessories
Make it smaller Simplify its operation
Make it more flexible Make it easy to store
Stainless
Steel
Add
spotlight
A rubber radio
that bends
Add storage
compartments
for extra
batteries
Ogilvy & Mather
Attribute Assocation Chains
List all major problem components and their subcomponents
Read one of the subcomponents and write down the first word that pops into your mind
Use this work association as a stimulus - 4 chain associations
Use word associations as stimuli and generate ideas
Ogilvy & Mather
Two Word Method
List alternative word meanings for 2 key words in problem statement
Examine combinations of two words, one word from each list
use combinations to suggest ideas
Ogilvy & Mather
Fish Bones
Ogilvy & Mather
Building The Brand
Ideas Concepts Directions Focus
* Meter the water * Increased efficiency of use
* Charge for water us * Less wastage
* Raise charge for use * Discourage use
* Water only at certain times * Education
* Put a harmless bad small in it
* Restrict use for gardens
* Publish names of heavy users
* Threaten to ration .
* New sources
* Recycling
* Less wastage from sources
* Stop water using process
* Substitute other substances
* Avoid need to use water
Reduce
consumption
Increase
supply
Do without
Coping with
a water
shortage
Ogilvy & Mather
Building The Brand
Ideas Concepts Directions Focus
More frequent
purchase
Buy more per
purchase occasion
Take from
competitive brands
Recruit new user
to market
Increase
usage
Increase
users
Increase Brand
sales
Ogilvy & Mather
Assumption Reversal
IWWMW improve a refrigerator
Write Down All Major Reverse Each
Problem Assumptions Assumption
Keeps food cold * Heats food Build in a small
microwave oven
Opening door lets out * Opening door helps Opening door triggers a
cold air retain cold air inside boost cold air until door
closed
Requires electricity * Requires no electricity Make it battery powered
Capable of freezing most * Frozen food always Install a timedautomatic
foods melts in a freezer defroster
Ogilvy & Mather
Six Thinking Masks
Ogilvy & Mather
White Neutral, information, facts & figures
without comment
Black Negative, logical, why it won’t work
why it can’t be done, why it does not
fit patterns of experience
Yellow Positive, speculative, why it might work, what is hoped for, what the benefits might be
Ogilvy & Mather
Red Pure emotion without any need to
explain or justify. A plain surfacing
of current feeling on the matter
Green Fertile, generative and creative, playful, new ideas, suggestions & provocations
Blue Overview, to control the use of other colors and to act as an organiser of the thinking itself. process.
1
2
2
No change
