Edward de Bono coined the term “Lateral thinking”. He has published a lot on thinking and creativity. Per Dr. de Bono, the majority of mistakes in ordinary thinking are mistakes in perception. Our traditional emphasis on logic does little for perception. If the perception is inadequate no amount of excellence in logic will make up […]
Barriers to Creativity in Medical Product Development 12/03/2013
Why is it so hard to generate creative ideas? Three reasons: perception, rules, logic. Perception: It’s difficult to see things in ways we’re not used to Rules: We box ourselves in by assuming rules that really aren’t there. Logic: Our emphasis on logical thinking works well for helping us navigate most of the problems of […]
Self-Monitoring Devices Adding Medical Expertise 11/21/2013
The next significant development in the self-monitoring arena is going to deal with service, not hardware. What Alivecor is doing with their iphone ECG device presages what other companies will be doing with their monitoring devices in the near future. Alivecor has added a service whereby a person’s ECG can be read and interpreted by an […]
Problem Finding Techniques for Medical Product Development, part 2 11/20/2013
My last post discussed a technique called “laddering up the benefits”. Another technique that will help you see problems from a different view point is to rephrase the question putting emphasis on different parts. Consider this problem statement: “How can a surgeon apply surgical sealant with maximum control?” Normal emphasis is on the word, “how”. […]
Getting Paid to be Healthy 11/15/2013
Here is a fresh article from Treehugger about a clever idea out of Russia: Do 30 squats and get free subway fare. It seems like a great way to incentivize people to exercise. I would certainly exercise more if I got paid for it.
Problem Finding Techniques for Medical Product Development 11/13/2013
In my last post I wrote about how problem finding is an important precursor in solving medical product development problems creatively. One technique you can use to better understand the true problem you are facing is to “ladder up the benefits”. The technique involves examining a problem in a step-wise fashion by asking, “If I […]
Are You a Problem Solver or a Problem Finder? 11/05/2013
In research done more than 50 years ago, Jacob Tetzels and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi at the University of Chicago demonstrated that people who focused on FINDING problems were more creative (and were ultimately more successful in their creative endeavors) than those who focused solely on SOLVING problems. Their test was to have a group of art […]
Creativity for Medical Product Design, Part 2 09/19/2013
What makes some people more creative than others? Is creativity innate or can it be learned? Why are children so creative? Why do we seem to lose our creativity as we grow older? Those were some of the questions we explored in our workshop at MDM Chicago 2013. I love this quote, attributed to Albert […]
Creativity for Medical Product Design 09/13/2013
This past week we conducted our workshop, “Break on Through to Creativity”, at MDM Chicago 2013. Workshop participants learned that, in medical product design, problem finding was as important as problem solving. They learned about the three barriers to creativity: perception, rules and logic. And they learned a number of techniques they can use to […]
A Taste of Creativity 08/30/2013
The workshop on creativity that we will be conducting at MD&M Chicago is coming up in less than two weeks. Here’s a preview: Are you a problem solver or a problem finder? Why does it make a difference in your creative approach? Why do most people find it hard to be creative? Three reasons. Think you’re […]
