Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to problem solving and decision making creatively. My name is Ross Maynard, and I'm a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Here in the UK. We all know that we need to be more creative in our problem solving and decision making. But it's sometimes difficult when we're within an organization with specific role to play. This course will help you be more creative.
What will we cover? We'll cover why organizations need to be creative and their problem solving and decision making. Process cover the different thinking styles that people use when making decisions. We'll look at a step by step method to creative problem solving and decision making. We'll have a look at tools to help develop creative problem solving and decision making. And finally, we'll look at the benefit realization approach to problem solving.
Why do we need to be more creative in our problem solving decision making? Well, marketplaces and business practices are changing fast. We have AI and machine learning, big data, the Internet of Things, quantum computing, robotics, 5g, the blockchain, all of these things are swirling towards our business, like a tsunami. Business, as usual is no longer an option. We need to be more creative in our problem solving and our decision making. So that we can evolve and our organizations can evolve to meet these challenges.
There's a saying that you may have come across and I don't believe it has an original source. But it is if you continue to think like you've always thought you'll continue to get what you've always got. In short, if you continue working the way you always have, then you're not going to be able to get out of the rut and the tsunami of change is going to swamp you, as well. Your business, and it is easy to get stuck in a decision making rut. We all do it. We can gather the same old group together and come up with the same old solutions to problems that we have done before.
The danger is that our competitors are thinking more creatively. For example, here's two innovations that have been recently developed the scooter suitcase. I'm not at all sure how it would maintain balance if the suitcase was full. And USB rechargeable batteries are a brilliant idea in my view, and the first step in creative thinking is to think differently. In his book coping with difficult bosses, Robert bramson identifies five thinking styles that categorize the modes of thinking and problem solving. We use most frequently they are Cynthia assists, idealists, pragmatists, analysts and realists and we're usually a blend of two These thinking styles, according to Robert bramson, the synthesis are creative thinkers who perceive the world in terms of opposites.
When you say black, they think white. When you say long, they think short to connect with since Sophists bramson suggests, listen appreciatively to the speculation and don't confuse their arguing nature with resistance. idealists says bramson believe in lofty goals and standards to connect with idealists. bramson suggests, associate what you want to do with these goals of quality service and community good, pragmatic thinkers, flexible, resourceful folk, who look for immediate payoff, rather than for a grand plan that will change the world. To connect with pragmatists, bramson suggests, emphasize short term objectives on which you can get started with resources at hand. And all quotes here are taken from coping with difficult bosses by Richard Branson.
Analysts thinkers equates accuracy thoroughness and attention to detail with completeness. They are likely to gather data, measure it, categorize it, and rationally and methodically calculate the right answer to any problem you come up with. To connect with analysts, Brampton suggests provide a logical plan replete with backup data, and specifications. And finally, realistic thinkers are fast moving doers who know that reality is what their senses sight, sound, taste, smell and touch. Tell them it is not that dry stuff that one finds in accounting lectures, or the insipid pages of a manual of operations. To connect with realists, bramson suggests focus on the challenge and on your solution.
Take some time now to look at those definitions and see which categories you think that you fit in. I believe that I'm a pragmatist and an analyst with a colleague who's a synthesis, an idealist. Sometimes that can be a difficult relationship. But when it works well, it works really well. So what are you? And what are your colleagues and managers, and remember when you're dealing with others, try and understand what thinking style they're coming from.
Seek first to understand their point of view and their position, and their thinking style, and then to be understood, establish rapport with their thinking style, and learn what rubs them up the wrong way. And remember that groups with a mix of thinking styles are more creative, and will come up with better solutions and ideas. But they can also be more fractious, because of the different styles making people behave and process information in different ways. as Richard Branson says, If you communicate with realist bosses, as if they were analysts, you will never get their attention. In summary, Then, if we always think of problems in the same way, using our preferred thinking style, we're not going to be able to develop innovative new solutions. A mix of thinking styles is essential and particularly essential in problem solving groups.
I don't know about you, but I've certainly had occasions in groups where my thinking has been completely changed by the different viewpoints of other members of the group, or the different approaches to the issue. Let's look at some of the ways that new thinking has been applied to old problems. For example, in the insurance industry, most customers buy insurance with the knowledge that they'll get little value out of the relationship. two solutions have been brought along to try and tackle this first using artificial intelligence to make underwriting and claims processing faster and easier for the claimant. And secondly, one insurance company is offering that unclaimed insurance money will be donated to the charity of the customer's choice. I'm not sure how that works.
Practice given that insurance is meant to be pooled risk in retail the problem of long queues at tills or pay points has long been an issue. Now automated order points and self service pay points are practically everywhere in every shop. One of the issues with buying clothing online is that sizing is not consistent between different brands and even between ranges within a brand. This leads to a higher level of returns, which obviously costs the retailer money which is very frustrating for the customer. As a solution to this, Amazon have now introduced a service where you can try a product for seven days before paying for it and return it for free if it doesn't fit. My wife has just discovered the service to my great concern.