Mike's Monday Message
Innovator's Mindset #2
Problem Solvers/Finders
Although problem-solving is an important and desirable skill to possess for any of us, problem-finding is the primary driver of creativity and innovation. It is also a skill most of us don't utilize. We like a good problem that has a solution we can work on and check of our list of things to do. Approaching our work with a problem-solving mindset only can hinder our creative process.
"If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." - Henry Ford
Creative geniuses like Henry Ford and many others understood that true innovation comes from discovered-problems - problems that take curiosity, research, experimentation, reflection and evaluation.
Popsicle
The Popsicle was accidentally invented by an 11 year old boy by the name of Frank Epperson. Even though it was an accident, he recognized an opportunity and went with it. The rest is history.
Albet Einstein
The name says it all!
Alice Parker
Alice invented the central heating furnace. May not be real exciting but when you think about it, that invention has been very handy in keeping us warm.
Inventors
The inventors above used their creative skills to think of problems to solve or opportunities to take to make a our world a better place. As educators and parents we focus a lot on problem solving skills but it would be good for us to encourage problem finding skills as well. Finding the problem is an essential part of learning - one that students miss out on when we only pose the problem first to them.
Real Life
People using creativity and innovation to develop a win-win. You gotta watch this short video!
CNA - Speaking Exchange