Awakening the Collaborative Spirit & Making a Novel Experience

Hi everyone,

I'm excited to go over my last two strategies, and I want to thank you all for being part of my journey and reading my my blog..

As said before, I am part of a Creative Business course at the University of Florida. I took the course because I will be an entrepreneur in the future and I want to open an online business that will sell handmade products made in Nicaragua. Sharing my culture is the main goal of my business and working through this strategies has allowed me to revise and perfect my business blueprint.


Let's get started with the first Creativity Strategy:

"Awakening the Collaborative Spirit"

The strategy is the notion that open and honest collaboration allows thinking to grow as collective phenomenon. Something that can be traced to Ancient Greece.
In the strategy, we need to consider the makeup of the participants, the collegiality, and most importantly, we need to suspend all assumptions.

Quantity breeds quality, which leads to me the Brain-Writing Technique.

The technique is as follow:

• Write the problem in a location visible to all
• Distribute index cards, and silently write ideas
• Pass the cards to the person next to you
• Read the cards, and regard them as stimulation. Write down new ideas
• After, collect them, and tape them to the wall and organize them. 

Evaluate the ideas by having participants place dots on their preferred ideas. 

For this technique, I decided to explain the steps to the technique, and then on the side, work the technique out with two friends. It was hard to get them to participate, but they were willing to help me out. 

This is my experience: 

The problem that we wanted to solve is how to import products from Nicaragua to the United States in a cost effective and eco-friendly way. I allowed the participants to be as creative as possible. 

• One of the most creative ideas was hiring SuperMan to transport the products. The most eco-friendly option.  
• Rocket launching from the capital of Nicaragua to Miami. Not the most eco-friendly but it was an idea that was brought up. 
• But the idea that was preferred by the majority, aside from SuperMan, and I would not hire Superman because is my least liked superhero, but going back to the most preferred, it was partnering with an eco-friendly importing business
• This solution will allow me to leave the eco-friendly portion to another individual knowing that I will get my products in an eco-friendly way. There is a downside that I am willing to accept. The downside is a higher price for eco-friendly transport.

Since the strategy incentivized collective thinking, the solution to partner with an eco-friendly business was decided collectively, and brought and perfected as we went through the problem. 

As a student, and individual who disliked group work, I enjoyed this activity, even though it was with people I am comfortable with. Since they were my friends, I had to put my bias aside, and work together.

Now..to my last strategy: 

"Making a Novel Experience"

According to Psychologist Dean Keith Simonton, a genius is a person who makes combinations. They are able to form combinations from something that is already existent. 

Creative thinking is often forming new associations. Rather than something new, we utilize what is already existent in the world. 

Since I have used this blog as my way of sharing my experience is the strategies, I will be honest, and say that this strategy was the most difficult to do. But nevertheless, I gave it my best try, and I do hope you enjoy the outcome. 

The technique I utilized was the Combinatory Matrix, in which I specified a challenge, separate parameters of the challenge, below each challenge I listed as many variations as possible,  and when finished, list and make random runs through each variations. 

The matrix itself complicated to create, I was able to finalize it. There were many combinations that I was able to create such as the following:

• Pop Up Shop of Knowledge
• Website of Languages
• Candy Shop

The combinations may sound a little strange. But with the matrix, I was able to combine a Website of Knowledge, which you are wondering what it is. 

Let me explain, in Nicaragua, there are different languages that are spoken. So the website will connect individuals from the around the world to connect via video with Nicaraguan natives whom they wish to learn a new language from. They will converse on a regular basis, and the individuals can exchange their languages. 

This is what creative thinkings allows individuals to do. Thinking outside the box may sound cliche, but it is true. As a person who is comfortable in my own box, I had to really think of many ways to do the matrix and not give, because giving up, was giving up on my goal. 

I want to thank everyone who read my blog, and pease stay tune, I will be posting another blog in regards to my overall experience with Creative Thinking :) 

Best Regards, 

Ana Guevara