Why your company needs creative problem solving

by James Feldman

Innovation is the quickest, most effective and most lucrative path to success. Waiting for some other firm to introduce a product first and then playing catch-up may be fine if you are IBM or Coca-Cola and can afford to wait. 

But such companies are notable exceptions in the game of competition. For the majority of businesses, real success comes from their own efforts and from timing – their ability to be there first, not from feeding off the ideas of others.

So how does a firm or an individual innovate and think creatively? First, understand that creativity isn’t always about inventing products from scratch. Thousands of successful products or services are used in a radically different manner than originally intended; the creativity is in the new method of application rather than in the unique nature of the original concept.

For example, a creative solution may take the form of redirecting your excess capacity or processes to support your most profitable products or services. Thus, innovation is any creative solution people can use. Innovation is also how we make money from creativity; we sell the idea and show others how to apply it to solve a variety of problems.

Case study: Toyota
We can see an example of innovation from Toyota, one of world’s top car manufacturers. For many years, it was suggested that Toyota focus on used car sales as a profit source. Traditionally, Toyota viewed these sales as profitable only to dealers, with very little left over for the corporate office.

However, Toyota still wanted to increase its profits in used car sales. It was suggested that an incentive plan be implemented for  the sales staff, offering used Rolex watches to the top performing salespeople as a way to increase sales in general.

Used watches for used car salespeople? Toyota thought the suggestion was unworkable. However, it was obvious that traditional incentives (commissions, spiffs and so on) were not working well. Since the used car salespeople were typically materialistic, flamboyant and aggressive, they needed a status symbol of success. Rolex watches were precisely that. And earning one for selling more of what they already sell was a way to widen the highway of success and remove the roadblocks.

Toyota thought the concept was so unusual that it took three years for anyone at the company to embrace the concept. When they finally did, the results were extraordinary. Sales efforts raised sales averages to more than 150 percent of their anticipated results, while individuals reached 300 percent. Clearly the timing was perfect.

Here are a few suggestions for your company to use in creative problem solving.

Think beyond the profits; think “what if?”
Solutions may be possible, but are they profitable? Often, we don’t always know until after the fact. Sometimes profitable solutions are not developed with the intent of making a profit.

For example, take the story of a youngster who was having a birthday party. Her father was taking photographs, and the girl wanted to see the pictures now. The father thought: “Well, why can’t she have the pictures now?” That father was Edward Land, and his solution was to invent the Polaroid camera. Perhaps we all need to think more like a child and imagine that we can have that picture now.

Embrace innovative disasters
Innovation can occur where you least expect it. Imagine a scientist is trying to produce super-glue. He tries and tries, but the glue just does not stick. His product is a complete disaster. Or is it? Every office in the world now has glue that does not stick. The scientist, who worked at 3M, had just invented the raw material for the PostIt note. The PostIt note is now one of the most profitable products at 3M.

Even Christopher Columbus, one of the great innovators of his time, could not have been much further from his intended destination of India when he discovered America. But that disaster became what we now regard as the land of opportunity. So even though the results you get may not be what you expected, continue to think innovatively. Disasters can sometimes become rare opportunities, and unintended results may very well have a silver lining.

Look for inspiration everywhere
Think everywhere. Think when you are out walking, when you are in the shower, when you are listening to a boring speaker. Switch your mind off and think about that problem that has been bugging you. Don’t bother with contrived brainstorming sessions and working parties, because you cannot plan to create on demand. But you can organize your mind to be constantly receptive to new ideas wherever you happen to be.

For example, in 1941, a scientist went hunting with his dog. When he arrived home, he found that wood-burs were stuck to his woolen jacket and trousers. He decided to examine them. Carefully inspecting the burs under a microscope, he found hundreds of little hooks engaging the loops in the material. The scientist, George de Mestral, made a machine to duplicate the hooks and loops in nylon. He called his new product Velcro, and the rest is history. Today thousands of uses for Velcro Fasteners exist, all thanks to a man hunting with his dog in the mountains.

Plan your luck
Chance discoveries do not really occur by chance. Rather, an environment must be one that allows new ideas to be conceived, recognized for their potential contribution, expanded into tailor-made solutions, and then finally developed into products for other customers. And the best way to arrive at innovative solutions is to use innovative thinking.

To that end, encourage your employees to ask questions, such as “Why do we do it this way?” If management does not have a good answer, consider this an invitation for fresh ideas. Nurture the new ideas and welcome the questions as a way to open the channels of communication and keep the stream of possible solutions flowing.

Create, then innovate
Innovation requires more than creative thinking. It is also dependent on the development of ideas into products and services to keep your company on the creative edge. In the end, your determination to succeed is the ultimate stimulus for achievement. Although many people can come up with innovative concepts, only those who are determined to implement those ideas achieve success. Once you nurture your ideas into being, charge ahead with the innovative spirit that all successful companies possess. Remember that innovation combines effort and timing, our desire to be first. Using this approach, your business has every opportunity to achieve success.

James Feldman is an author, television and radio personality, and motivator recognized worldwide for his innovative business techniques. James is an expert on innovation, customer service and creativity. James is also a Certified Facilitator, a Master Incentive Professional and a Certified Incentive Travel Executive. He is founder of James Feldman Associates, Inc., a successful business consulting firm and Incentive Travelers Cheque Int’l Inc. He has also worked to improve innovation, sales and communications with companies like Toyota, Xerox, Apple, Walt Disney and NBC.  He can be reached at .

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