There has
long been a debate in the Lean community about creativity. Clearly, a Lean
organization thrives on standard work, and it is easy to assume that following
standard work means that creativity must be curtailed. In her new book, Creatively Lean: How to Get Out of Your Own Way and Drive Innovation throughout Your Organization, Bella Englebach argues that creative thinking is
fundamental to Lean thinking, and that using tools and approaches from the
adjacent field of Creative Problem Solving makes for better Lean thinking, and
better Lean thinkers. Recently, I asked her: "What is Creative Problem Solving and how it can be applied to Lean thinking?" Here is what she explained:
Deeper
Thinking
In my book, I
tell a story that many of us in Lean have heard, or even experienced. A Lean
learner proudly presents their countermeasure to their coach or sensei, only to
be told, “Go back. Think deeper.” That
can be very frustrating. What does it
mean to think deeper?
Creativity Has a Natural Rhythm
I believe “thinking deeper” means to take
advantage of the natural rhythm of creativity, which requires developing skills
in both thinking broadly (divergent thinking) as well as thinking convergently,
which is to select and strengthen ideas.
Creative
Problem Solving
Creative
Problem Solving (CPS) is a proven method for approaching a problem or challenge
in an imaginative and innovative way, and it explicitly teaches convergent and
divergent thinking. Like Lean, the CPS approach has distinct steps for solving
a problem. Each CPS step deliberately uses divergent and convergent thinking.
In my work I have found that paying attention to the divergent
thinking/convergent thinking creative rhythm and using CPS tools with Lean
approaches like the A3 and the improvement kata drives deeper thinking, and
more innovative countermeasures. And who
doesn’t need more innovation?
What have
been your experiences with creativity and Lean? When you need an innovative
improvement, what approaches, and tools have you used?
