{"id":9766,"date":"2016-04-12T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T06:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/?p=9766"},"modified":"2023-11-21T14:39:53","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T13:39:53","slug":"ridiculous-scenarios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/en\/ridiculous-scenarios\/","title":{"rendered":"How ridiculous scenarios can make your team more creative"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1658909575422{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]When thinking in a group, the gravity of a subject often keeps participants from suggesting ideas that are too unusual. As this limits the number of truly creative ideas in a session, it is a problem that needs to be taken seriously. Luckily, a simple warming up exercise can do wonders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Solving problems in a group can be tricky. If a problem is very serious, people might feel like it\u2019s inappropriate to suggest crazy ideas. There is often an enormous pressure to solve the problem and if you suggest something unorthodox, the other participants might conclude you don\u2019t take the situation seriously. In large organisations with a strong hierarchical structure the situation can be even worse. After all, the \u2018boss\u2019 might condemn your frivolous behaviour! (and although the latter is usually not the case, the thought alone might very well keep people from sharing good ideas)<\/p>\n

A thinking session with people who are not willing to suggest unusual approaches is not very likely to produce innovative ideas. If you want to avoid wasting your time in a session filled with \u2018safe\u2019 (and obvious) ideas, action should be taken.<\/p>\n

The warming up<\/strong>
\nCreative thinking is a workout for the mind. Like any other exercise, a thinking session needs a warming up. To release the pressure, it\u2019s advisable to get people\u2019s minds off the main topic. Make them think about something entirely different. Preferably something ridiculous…<\/p>\n

After the braindump<\/a><\/strong><\/span> (in which participants can share all the logical ideas they already have), make your team think about an odd scenario like:<\/p>\n

\u2022 What if children would be invisible?<\/em>
\n \u2022 What if everybody was a spy?<\/em>
\n \u2022 What if people had giraffes as pets?<\/em>
\n \u2022 What if all people looked exactly the same?<\/em><\/p>\n

Ridiculous as these questions may seem, their effect is very real. The people in your group who are too self-conscious to think freely, will suddenly have to think about something trivial. The crazy question has nothing to do with the serious issue that the group is trying to solve and there are no right and wrong answers.<\/p>\n

In other words: during the warm up exercise it\u2019s safe to come up with whacky ideas. No one is going to be upset about it.<\/p>\n

The ridiculous question is designed to spark people\u2019s imagination<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. At the same time, it gets their mind off the heavy main subject for a moment. It gives them a break from the tense situation and the worrying<\/p>\n

Thinking about something crazy like \u2018what if children would be invisible\u2019 leads to a playful atmosphere. It leads to a high energy situation in which people are free to laugh and goof around. Something that would probably not happen if everybody was busy looking for a solution to a gloomy problem.<\/p>\n

And the best part? After having shifted their attention to a funny, nonsensical question, participants will bring their mindset of thinking in possibilities to the real challenge. People will be more open to unusual ideas if they have \u2018practised\u2019 with uncommon thoughts for a bit.<\/p>\n

By confronting participants with an unusual and unrelated challenge, you catch them by surprise. They will lower their \u2018shield\u2019 and forget about their \u2018yes, but\u2019 mode.<\/p>\n

After having thought about a neutral and funny subject for a while, the energy in the group will be higher and people will generally be more loose.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at an example:<\/strong>
\nA while back we had a session in a factory. The company was on the brink of a big reorganisation. Participants were not really in the mood for \u2018outside the box\u2019 thinking. A group of frowning men was looking at us suspiciously. Funny suggestions would not have landed well in this group.<\/p>\n

Understandably, these people were rightly very concerned and not at all in the mood for some creative thinking. We needed to do something. We needed something to get their minds off the gloomy future and in a problemsolving state. We decided to use a light-hearted warming-up exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if children would be invisible?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

After a moment of stunned silence, the first factory workers started grinning. A few moments later the entire group was fantasising wildly about the implications of this crazy scenario. \u201cIf my children would be invisible there would be no limits to the mischief they would do!<\/em>\u201d It was hard to imagine that these laughing, joking men were moments earlier closer to leaving than to sharing any thoughts. After 5 minutes of hilarity, the men started working on their challenge. During the two-hour session that followed, they shared the wildest ideas (without judging each other for it). The spell of seriousness had been broken.<\/p>\n

Remember this simple trick the next time you hold a brainstorm session. Before you ask your team to find solutions to a serious problem, make them think about something ridiculous. You\u2019ll be surprised by the shift in mindset and the rise in energy you\u2019ll witness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Want to know more about the creative process and structuring innovation? Join us for one of our workshops<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in Rotterdam and become an unstoppable problem solver.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If a challenge is very serious, people might feel it’s inappropriate to share unusual ideas. A simple trick can save the day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[44,43,721,42],"class_list":["post-9766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brainstorming","tag-creative-muscle","tag-exercise","tag-mindset","tag-warming-up"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow ridiculous scenarios can make your team more creative<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If a challenge is very serious, people might feel it's inappropriate to share unusual ideas. 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