Card #44 – ”Be Indirect” from the Creative Whack Pack

Available on the iOS App Store and as a physical deck of cards

Tip: Pose problems in an indirect way.

A good method for getting people to drop assumptions is to pose problems to them in an indirect way.

This is a technique that the Canadian architect Arthur Erickson uses to stimulate the imaginations of his colleagues and students. Here’s an example of one of his exercises:

Take a blank piece of paper.

Now sketch a picture of yourself in a position of movement.

Finally, provide a device (made out of plastic, wood, paper, or metal) to support that position.

At the end of the exercise, he points out to his participants that they have been designing furniture. As Erickson puts it:

“If I had said to the students, ‘Look, we’re going to design chairs or beds,’ they would have explored the design on the basis of previous memories of chairs and beds.

“But by approaching the model from the opposite and essential direction, I was able to make them realize the vital aspects of furniture.”

The American general George S. Patton had similar ideas on how to stimulate people’s creativity. He said:

“If you tell people where you want to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results.”

Patton knew that posing a problem in an ambiguous way would give more freedom to the imaginations of the people who were working on it.

— How can you redefine your “problem” statement?

— What different places will it lead your (and other people’s) thinking?