Creativity is obvious?

So, when invited to a silent disco* recently, I couldn’t resist (they’re back on trend apparently!).  And it didn’t disappoint – I danced until my toes tingled and my Macarena moves ran dry. It was downright ridiculous and a heck of a lot of fun.

But what really gave it an edge was the alternative approach.

Take all rubbish bits of a disco – attempting to communicate drinks orders over a relentless beat, tracks that kill your groove, ringing ear drums…and simply ditch them. It’s obvious really. So why didn’t we think of it before?

If you read my last blog, you’ll know that creativity is about tricking your brain to create new patterns. But the trick to a novel answer often lies in first identifying the right problem.

You see if we started with ‘how do we create a disco that’s a bit different?’ we’d probably have ended with one of these (Oh, hang on…!). But actually, silent discos were the answer to ‘how do we keep partying beyond the noise curfew?’. Ask the right question, and suddenly, the answer is obvious.

So next time you need a novel approach, stop and make sure you have identified the right problem first. Ask questions of your question, until you’re sure you know exactly who or what you need to impact.

You might find the answer is more obvious than you think.

P.S. If you’re still struggling for ideas, I recommend boogieing with headphones on in the office. That should shake things up a bit.

*It’s silent-ish. You listen to music through headphones and the plus points are you can flit between DJs, control your volume or have a break without leaving your carefully-preserved dancing spot.