Course Details

This course is appropriate for a wide range of professionals but not limited to:

• Teams involved in idea generation or product development
• Managers seeking to boost team creativity
• Marketing and Research Professionals
• Anyone who needs to move beyond incremental ideas

• Expert-led sessions with dynamic visual aids
• Comprehensive course manual to support practical application and reinforcement
• Interactive discussions addressing participants’ real-world projects and challenges
• Insightful case studies and proven best practices to enhance learning

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

• Apply fundamental creative problem-solving methodologies (e.g., Osborn-Parnes).
• Master techniques for divergent thinking to generate volume and novelty of ideas.
• Utilize Design Thinking principles to solve problems from a user-centric perspective.
• Develop effective methods for evaluating and refining novel ideas (convergent thinking).
• Create an immediate environment that fosters psychological safety and encourages creative risk-taking.
• Integrate creative thinking into their daily workflow and meeting structures.

DAY 1

The Creative Mindset and Foundations

• Welcome and introduction
• Pre-test
• Defining creativity, innovation, and the thinking process
• Identifying and overcoming mental blocks and assumptions
• Introduction to the four stages of Creative Problem Solving
• Cultivating curiosity and ambiguity tolerance

DAY 2

Techniques for Divergent Thinking

• Advanced brainstorming and brain-writing techniques
• Applied methods: SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse)
• Using analogies, metaphors, and random input for idea generation
• Techniques for challenging assumptions (Assumption Busting)

DAY 3

Design Thinking and User-Centricity

• Empathize and Define: Deeply understanding the user's needs and pain points
• Problem reframing: Moving from symptoms to root causes
• Applying the "How Might We" framework for ideation
• Rapid idea clustering and initial selection methods

DAY 4

Convergent Thinking and Prototyping

• Developing criteria for evaluating ideas (Feasibility, Desirability, Viability)
• Tools for convergent thinking: NUF Test, Idea Screening Matrix
• Introduction to low-fidelity prototyping and rapid testing
• Pitching ideas effectively to gain internal buy-in

DAY 5

Integration and Sustainable Creativity

• Structuring meetings and workshops to maximize creative output
• Creating a "safe-to-fail" environment and celebrating learning
• Developing a personal creative practice and action plan
• Post-test
• Certificate ceremony