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September 29, 2003

11:03 am | 0 recommendations | 1 comment

The Urge to Converge

| posted by Heath Row

As a followup to the previous entry about divergent thinking, today's edition of the InnovationNetwork's email newsletter touches on convergent thinking as a problem-solving method.

Convergence can help make sense of an overwhelming number of possibilities to narrow down choices to make an intelligent decision. Here are five action principles:

  • Sort Ideas need to be grouped into meaningful categories.
  • Order Possibilities can be ranked against pre-established criteria to create an order of preference.
  • Adapt Once likely possibilities have been identified, they can be expanded and adapted to create even better ideas.
  • Refine Likely possibilities need to be bullet proofed to find the weak spots and possible failure points.
  • Select Ideas are only ideas until they are implemented, and to be implemented, they need to be "owned."
Tags: Innovation, innovation + creativity
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Recent Comments | 1 Total

September 30, 2003 at 12:16pm

Ted Johnson
Anyone interested in refining this model of "divergent ideas" and creating actionable projects, should take a look at a book entitled "MY Budget is Gone, My Consultant is Gone, WHat the Hell Happened?!?!" by Robert Flores He goes into great detail describing how to ensure that brain-storming sessions and idea generation are tied directly to corporate goals and objectives and how to ensure that that effort is not wasted on projects that will not contribute to the bottom line. It's a great reference for anyone interested in Organziational Development and Operational Effectiveness. Ted
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