Phase 2: Engage

How should I prepare others to join me as a creative process partner?

If you are engaging others in the Reframe phase...

Recognize that reframing the problem is not what most people naturally do. Rather, they instinctively want to just dive in and solve the problem as initially perceived. To interrupt the pattern and address the objection up front (two principles of influence) you will need to show...

There is an overall problem that matters (provide data, facts and believable consequences).
The "obvious" solutions have been tried, but have not worked sufficiently (describe a history of sincere attempts).

This then allows you to suggest that maybe–just maybe–there is something here that we do not fully understand. Maybe–just maybe–we have been working on the wrong problem or have taken the wrong angle in approaching it.

It is good enough to get to "maybe." If you do not make this case and get your creative process partners to "maybe," you will most likely end up with them simply suggesting solutions, rather than reframing the problem.

If you are engaging others in the Ideate phase...

Here you want to give your creative process partners a chance to mull over the issues and be thinking differently even before they join in idea generation with others.

Consider updating and reusing the preparation materials from the Reframe phase–the data that indicates that there is a problem and the history of sincere efforts that have already been attempted.

Also consider crafting a short creative-thinking assignment for them to complete on their own to get the juices flowing. Ask them not to spend more than 10 to 15 minutes on the assignment, but know that once they start thinking about it their subconscious will continue to process it and they will likely notice things that they had not noticed before.

Possibilities for assignments include:

Give them some specific questions to think about. See Directed Brainstorming in the Toolbox.
Ask them to think about or research how other industries approach issues similar to the ones you are approaching. See Mental Benchmarking in the Toolbox.
Ask them to think about what they would do if they had a clean slate, full permission to do whatever they thought was right, and adequate resources to support that. See Idealized Design in the Toolbox.

If you are engaging others in the Select phase...

Update and reuse the preparation materials from the Reframe phase–the data that indicates that there is a problem, and the history of sincere efforts that have already been attempted.

Give them a sampling of the ideas that have been generated thus far, just enough to give the impression that there might be something here worth getting engaged in.

Let them know that you are inviting them to participate in making a decision about which of several ideas to test in the work environment. People are more likely to engage in something that they can see is consequential and meaningful. If nothing else, they might want to come in order to express opposition to some ideas. That is okay; it is all part of true engagement.

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Phase 2: Engage

How should I prepare others to join me as a creative process partner?

MI2 University

Creative Problem Solving

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