Have you ever seen a clever ad and thought, “How did they come up with that??”

When we see the end result of creative processes, it can be easy to be awed, or even intimidated.  That’s when it’s important to remember that what we’re seeing is the finished product, not the original idea.

Very often, the original idea was clumsier, awkward, or a bit weird or “out there.”  Put another way:  the original idea was almost any adolescent in middle school.  The finished product might be that same person at their university commencement.

What happens between middle school and college commencement?  A whole lot of development.

The same is true for ideas that eventually become solutions.

Ideas are only the beginning.  They’re usually rough and imperfect.  They need some refinement, polishing, and tending to move them from good to great.  In short, they need to be developed.  

The Creative Problem Solving Process

Welcome back to our journey through the creative problem solving process! 

There are four distinct stages to creative problem solving.  

1. Clarify:  Identifying the issue, expanding understanding with related data, and formulating the real challenge to be addressed.

2. Ideate:  Generating ideas that may address the challenge.

3. Develop:  Evaluating, strengthening, and selecting a solution to be implemented.

4. Implement:  Exploring acceptance and identifying resources and action steps to implement the selected solution.

Last week, we dove into the Ideate stage and generated a flurry of ideas. Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and move on to the Develop stage. 

Develop

The Develop stage is all about taking the creative ideas generated in the Ideate stage and fleshing them out into solid plans.  This is where we refine our raw ideas into practical, workable solutions. Today, we'll walk through this stage and apply it to one of the ideas for my garden makeover.

As a reminder:

My original problem was that my garden was overrun with weeds.  

Once we clarified the problem, the challenge was phrased as “How might my yard become a place that is neat, colorful, and low maintenance?”

From the Ideate phase, I generated several ideas that are worth considering, including creating a paved area for my hammock, adding a patio, using container gardens, planting only hostas, and hiring a landscaper to re-do the yard.

Each of these is a distinct idea that needs further evaluation and development.  But the top idea that I’d like to further develop is the possibility of hiring a landscaper to do the work.  I know there are pros and cons to this idea, so I think that going through the work to develop the idea would be worthwhile and would help me decide how to proceed.

As with all of the other stages, the Develop stage requires both divergent and convergent thinking, ensuring we look at all possibilities before narrowing down to the best solutions.

Diverge 

First, let’s refresh our memory on divergent thinking. In this stage, divergent thinking focuses on expanding ideas, exploring their potential, and identifying opportunities for improvement.  We’re generating options to strengthen the idea(s) so that we can create a more effective solution.

There are several tools we can use to help us with the divergent thinking step in the Develop stage, but one of my favorites is called “the PPCO method” – short for Pluses, Potentials, Concerns, and Overcoming Concerns.  This tool invites divergent thinking in four different categories and gives us a comprehensive evaluation of our potential idea.

Here's what a PPCO might include for my idea of hiring a landscaper to re-do the backyard.

Step 1: Pluses – I start by listing the positives of the idea. This helps highlight its strengths and the immediate benefits it might bring.

• Expertise: Professional landscapers have the knowledge and skills to transform my backyard effectively.

• Time-Saving: Hiring a professional will save me countless hours of DIY efforts.

• Quality: The result is likely to be higher quality and more polished than if I did it myself.

• Design: Landscapers can offer creative design ideas I might not think of.

• Add-ons:  Many of the other ideas I brainstormed (e.g. hammock, patio, hostas, container garden, etc.) can be incorporated into a new, professional design.

Step 2: Potentials – Next, I think about the potentials. I consider questions like, “What future benefits could arise from this idea?” and “What could this make possible?”  This step allows me to envision the long-term advantages and opportunities.

• Sustainability: A professional can recommend sustainable, low-maintenance plants and designs.

• Enjoyment: A beautiful backyard can become a relaxing retreat for my family.

• Social Space: It can create a great space for entertaining guests.

• Resale Value: Professionally landscaped yards can increase the property value.

• Personal Growth: I might learn a lot about gardening by observing and talking with the landscaper.

Step 3: Concerns – Now, I get real about potential concerns. What could go wrong? Identifying concerns early allows me to address them before they become problems.

• Cost: Hiring a professional can be expensive.

• Communication: There might be misunderstandings about my vision.

• Disruption: The process could be noisy and disruptive.

• Maintenance: Will I be able to maintain the new design?

• Usage:  Will we utilize the space enough to warrant the investment?

Step 4: Overcoming Concerns – For each concern, I brainstorm ways that I might overcome it. To do this, I rephrase each concern as an open-ended question.  

• How might I afford this project?  or How might I keep this cost-effective?  

• How might I communicate my vision clearly and ensure it’s understood?

• How might the disruption be minimized?  Or How might I handle the disruption?

• How might I ensure that we maintain it?

• How might we maximize its usage?

For any significant concerns, I then spend time generating ideas (more divergent thinking!) that could address that concern.  Identifying several ways to address concerns helps to strengthen the idea and increases its chance of success. 

For the sake of brevity, I’ll leave out the detailed work I’d do here, but it’s important to note that some of these questions might need to go through the Ideate stage themselves.  I’d generate lots of ideas for ways to overcome the concern and then choose the idea(s) that seems most workable.

Converge

Now that I’ve expanded the idea and addressed potential concerns, it’s time to use convergent thinking to refine and select the best elements of our plan. Convergent thinking helps us make decisions by evaluating options, organizing ideas, and prioritizing actions.

Step 1: Review and Refine – I review the enhanced idea with all the pluses, potentials, and strategies to overcome concerns and I refine the idea to ensure it’s as strong as possible.

After considering the benefits, potentials, and solutions to concerns, the idea of hiring a landscaper is looking solid. I will need to set a clear budget, a communication plan, and strategies for managing disruption and maintenance.

Step 2: Evaluate and Prioritize – I evaluate the refined idea against my goal and criteria. I then prioritize the steps and elements that are most critical to success.

My goal is to create a beautiful, low-maintenance yard. Hiring a landscaper seems to fit this goal well. More research will be needed to ensure that it meets my criteria around cost, timeline, and needed maintenance.

Step 3:  Create a Solution Statement – I draft a statement that incorporates the most important elements of the PPCO to describe the proposed solution that starts with “NOW what I see myself doing is…”

I began with a “challenge question of “How might my yard become a place that is neat, colorful, and low maintenance?”  

NOW, what I see myself doing is developing a vision and budget to guide a landscaper to improve my backyard.  (And I have lots of ideas for that vision from the Ideate stage!)

Conclusion

The Develop stage is essential to creating truly effective solutions.  Ideas are great raw material, but all ideas need to be shaped, poked, prodded, tested, and enhanced.  

Next week, we’ll explore the final stage of the process:  Implement.  In the meantime, I hope you’ll try a PPCO on an idea of your own.  

• What’s great about it?  

• What might it make possible?  

• What problems need to be addressed for it to work?  

• How might you overcome those problems?

Let me know how it goes and what you discover by doing the process!

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