Issue link: https://industrialengineer.epubxp.com/i/777540
18 ISE Magazine | www.iise.org/ISEmagazine I Windshield time By Kevin McManus performance If you spend any time trying to solve problems and improve processes, then you are familiar with the Einstein quote: "A problem cannot be solved by the consciousness that created it." Unfortunately, our organizational er- gonomics – how our jobs are designed – often do not provide us with much time for creative thinking. How much time do you take to just think – really think – without any dis- tractions breaking your unfettered train of thought? How often do you make time to try to achieve a different level of consciousness? To make things worse, many of us had our capacity for creative thinking throttled at an early age by people who pushed us to con- form, at least to some degree, to some mix of rules and closed thinking. Noncreative organizational designs, along with behaviors, serve to help achieve the same counterproduc- tive purpose. How does your company culture encourage creativity and in- novation? Which word describes your workplace better – creative or conform- ing? Like any skill, the capacity for cre- ative thinking can diminish over time if nothing is done to nurture it. What types of mental exercises do you practice regularly to keep your creative neural networks in shape? The answer for many, if not most of us, is "none." If this is true, you should not worry. There is a competitive edge awaiting those who develop the capacity to exceed the expectations of their cus- tomers creatively in a sustainable man- ner. How does an organization, or a work group for that matter, become more creative? One of the first steps involves becoming more aware of our personal, team and organizational mental models. These perceptions affect our biases, the choices we make and how we examine problems. I learned a key question from systems scientist Peter Senge, a query I ask my- self regularly: "In what way could my assumptions be wrong?" Simply asking this question will help you identify and further explore such mental models. Perhaps more importantly, we sim- ply need to create the time for creative thinking. I use treadmill time and windshield time for this purpose. Many of us spend a fair amount of time daily in our cars, but often we don't try to use this windshield time effectively. Traffic and other distractions often can prevent us from getting into the right mental state for open-minded thinking, but at other times it probably is quite easy to shift into that state. Can you tell when you are in the right state of mind to think creatively? How easily can you spot those old, limiting mental models that might be holding you back from finding more effective solutions? Learning to think creatively is not that easy to do at first simply be- cause we have so many limiting beliefs to work through about the ways that things "should be done." Plus, if you, like me, are naturally inclined to be a left-brained thinker – primarily logical and analytical – it takes even more work to begin effectively us- ing the right side of your brain, where creative thinking lives. I have made progress over the years, so it is possible. The need for more windshield time spans all generations. We might not be looking through actual windshields as we explore creative options, but we rarely will solve our most pressing problems if we can't identify out- of-the-box solutions to explore. Unfor- tunately, our brains often work against us when we are trying to be creative. Letting go of existing mental mod- els can be stressful. However, perceived certainty must be left behind in order to become more creative (which also in- volves accepting more uncertainty). Do you need more windshield time in your life? Kevi cMa us is a performa ce improve- me t coach based i ai ier, Orego , a d a 34-year member of IISE. He has writte workbooks about perso al a d team effective- ess. McMa us is a lum i exami er for the Malcolm Baldrige Natio al Quality Award. Reach him at kevi @greatsystems.com. We simply need to create the time for creative thinking.