Creative Streak

Right v Left Brain

Here's a test to identify if you're more likely to be a Left Brain or Right Brain thinker, courtesy of the Art Institute of Vancouver.

http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

Levels of Problem Knowledge

In his book The Concept of a Problem, Gene Agre defines a problem as “The gap between the current state of affairs and the desired state of affairs.” In other words, the “current state of affairs” is “the present”, or Point A. And, the “desired state of affairs” is “the future”, or Point B.

As it relates to communications, Point A is what the target audience thinks and behaves today, which is a result of their history, experience, expectations and background in relation to our company, reputation or product. Point B is what we want the target audience to think, believe or act. What prevents or dissuades the target audience from moving from Point A to Point B is the “problem.” The bridge between Point A and Point B are messages carried by the creative idea. (See the first, top.)

To solve a problem with creative thinking, it’s often helpful to understand what stage you are at in the problem-solving cycle. In one of the best books on creative thinking – Creative Thinking in the Decision and Management Sciences – author James Evans uses a simple chart to explain how problem solving occurs. (See the second chart, below.)

The Little Voice

In every conversation, there are two voices. The first voice is what you 'hear' from someone else: a friend or acquaintance, an e-mail or text message, or perhaps 'communications' from an organisation or spokesperson. The second voice is the one inside your head.

Psychologists call this your 'inner voice.' It’s more commonly known as 'that little voice in the back of your head.' This voice tells you what is real, regardless of truth or accuracy.

Your creativity must generate an idea to convince the target audience of a different truth, or fulfil a need or a void, or address a problem they might have. If your idea is something they want to respond to, and it comes from a credible source, their inner voice will be favourable. However, if your idea is irrelevant, inappropriate, unbelievable, not credible, or at odds with their perceptions, their inner voice will be negative.

Before you can convince your audiences to buy, vote, support or influence others on your behalf, you must determine 1) what the collective inner voices of the target audiences is saying, and 2) what the voice will think upon witnessing your idea.

The Definition of Problems

Ironically, the problem for many people is the word "problem." Another problem is the volume of definitions.

Here's a few of the better definitions. Perhaps the most common: a complaint, misgiving or objection. One of the most simple: a condition that's not acceptable. One that's more specific to problem solving: a situation, matter or person that presents perplexity or difficulty. A fourth that's aligned with creative problem-solving: A question to be considered, solved or answered.

In The Concept of a Problem, Gene Agre defines a "problem" exactly: The gap between the current state of affairs and the desired state of affairs. If we take Agre’s definition a step further, the problem simply defines what is or might be standing in the way of the goal being achieved. In other words, the ideas must help address, minimise, neutralise or eliminate the problem.

The Problem with Problems

Details vary depending upon which ancient Greek storyteller you prefer, but there once was a poor peasant named Gordias who decided to sell his wares from his ox cart in the nearby city of Phrygia.

Unbeknownst to our protagonist, an oracle stood in front of elders at the high council pronouncing that their years of civil unrest and war would soon end because their future king was coming – and arriving by ox cart!

As these type of fortuitous events seem to only happen in folklore, the townspeople immediately proclaimed an incredulous Gordias their new king as he rode into city, and in gratitude, the world’s newest royal dedicated his cart to Zeus (the supreme God in Greek mythology) as a symbol of his gratitude.

The city built a large shrine at its acropolis, and Gordias tied his wagon to it using an exceptionally complex Turkish knot. As years and decades and eons passed, it become an enticing legend throughout the Mediterranean that whoever could untie the knot would become leader of all Asia.

Consumer Does Not Exist in Isolation

As important as demographics, psychographics and values can be to characterise and understand the target audience, their needs and wants, it's also important to remember this end user exists in a world where your topic, product or service is a very small part of their every-day world.

A few years ago, I did a brainstorm for a major bank in Asia. We spent a considerable amount of time interviewing women – we called her ‘Jill’ – to learn about their grocery habits as well as their general interests which were influenced by her food and nutritional concerns. We put the specific food insights in a blue circle, and lifestyle insights in a white circle. (The chart is a simplification of our final report.) During the brainstorm, we started brainstorming in the blue circle – our ideas were specific to food, making dinners, eating, her kid’s dislikes about food. None of the ideas were particularly interesting. So, we moved into the white circle and began generating ideas which transcended the food category and spoke to her wider interests – her desire to exercise more and her kid’s school activities were the two big areas. These ideas interested the client more, and generally, were more engaging.

Universal Values

Experts believe there are a universal set of values which all people, no matter their gender, race or culture use worldwide. While there may not be a ‘universal list’ of universal values, you should find the list below appropriate for most brainstorms.

1. Accomplishment – Achievements, meeting goals, competence that shows results

2. Belonging and Acceptance – Feeling accepted, fitting in with a group, being a part of something, not feeling different, social recognition

3 Concern for Others – Concern for fellow human beings, altruism, compassion, empathetic

Defining the Audience, Part 2 (Values)

I just sat through a brainstorm where the sponsors unloaded volume after volume of tree-killing reports – each bursting at the seams with statistical data about their audiences. But among all this PowerPoint plethora, there was not a shred of information about the audience's values.

Understanding the primary audience's values are extremely helpful in idea generation: they are the ultimate tools to connect your product or service to your key audiences. While advertising has always used values as an integral part of its campaigns, most people in communications rarely consider them – that is, if they have any notion of what they are.

By definition: Values are deeply rooted principles or standards which are universally accepted among the target audience, and which explicitly guide what they believe, their attitude toward a specific topic, and ultimately, how they behave. They are created in all of us by a wide-ranging number of influences during our lifetime, such as (and certainly not limited to) family, culture, society, race, gender, education and socio-economic background. Because they are so ingrained in our psyche, they are – not surprisingly – the most powerful of motivators.

While values are unique to the individual, there are also 'universal values,' which Sir Isaiah Berlin defined as “values that a great many human beings in the vast majority of places and situations, at almost all times, do in fact hold in common, whether consciously and explicitly or as expressed in their behaviour.”

With a trace of irony, there is no agreement on a universal values list. Shalom Schwartz developed the first list of universal values at the University of Michigan in the 1980s. Since then, others have expanded the list to more than 100 values, others to as few as 15. I generally consult a list of 22 values – originally developed by Wirthlin International – which I’ve included in a separate posting.

So why are values – more so, universal values – important to creativity?

Universal values are helpful when trying to define an audience by its attitudes or behaviour, specifically to identify what values they may use or tap into when making a decision about a subject, issue, product or service. If you can somehow translate the persuasive value into the idea, it makes the idea that much more compelling and engaging for the audiences.

For example, if you look back to the post on 15 July 2009, you’ll see our original team identified – through focus groups – that our primary audience (Australian wine drinkers) connected to premium wines through two primary values. The dominant value was “accomplishment” – that is, “the wine I serve says everything about me.” The sub-dominant value was “belonging and acceptance,” – that is, “I want to be seen as knowledgeable, so I can impress my friends.”

These values helped us create ideas, they helped to set the tone and style for the campaign, and we used wording in the campaign messages which leveraged these themes to reinforce them to our audiences.

The only way to determine another’s person value is to ask them directly or, less so, indirectly. A focus group is probably the most common method in business, although there are many other effective methods such as questionnaires, surveys, voting and polling.

What you should never do is assume.