Why don’t we do it earlier?
Then we’d have to change all the invites and finish earlier which would mean changing the schedule too and that’s a hack and a half.
What if we got the Excelsior package?
We don’t have enough money for that and it’s too late to upgrade.
Ok what if we separate them into groups of 4 and …
No it has to be 2 groups, that’s the way the tables are already set.
Well why don’t you think of something so?!?
…
As George Land speaks about in his TED talk the trick is to separate convergent from divergent thinking.
We often run into problems when we do convergent and divergent thinking simultaneously.
Which leads us to feeling like there is no solution and everything’s hopeless and we’ll just have to accept we’re doomed.
So the key is to suppress judgement for long enough that proper wholesale idea generation can take place.
Tie the critic up and let the ideas flow in the thousands.
Good ideas, bad ideas, silly ideas, impractical ideas – let them all out!
Then, when you’re feeling fatigued and your list of ideas is exhaustive, then you can let the critic back into the room and let him hack away at the list.
That way you get your creative juices flowing long enough to reach the good ideas and your practical side can take over and ensure proper execution.
Then if needs be tie up the critic again and let the muse have her way with pen and paper.
Rinse and repeat until your find an idea you’re satisfied with.
There’s a reason why it’s called a shitty first draft.
One voice at a time.
Thomas Duggan 