Summary: If you could come up with that one killer idea, that one moment of brilliance, what would it be worth to you? Probably a lot. And that is why Chris Griffiths wrote GRASP The Solution; to give you the strategies that will help you use the most powerful tool you have for making big things happen—your mind. Every great innovation began as an idea in someone's mind. But even though there are a lot of minds in the world, not enough of them understand how they work or what strategy or process to use to get the most out of them. Chris Griffiths shows us how the mind can approach an idea from different angles, using distinct categories of thinking. Once we understand those categories and know when to use them, we will have access to an invaluable process for creating solutions to our most perplexing problems. Golden Egg Think About Your Thinking "The killer ideas and solutions that drive your business forward don't just simply fall from the sky. They come from using the power of your mind - your thinking." GRASP The Solution, page 36 It seems that we have no problem thinking about various aspects of our life to make them better—we think about our diet, we think about our fitness, we think about our appearance—but how often do we think about our thinking? Griffiths says that if you take just one thing away from his book, it would be to think about the strategies you employ for your thinking. Our minds are at the core of everything we do, all our reasoning, problem solving, planning, motivating, communicating, and actions. It's the starting point for every possible pursuit or task. So the more effectively we utilize and strengthen our minds by increasing our thinking skill, the more successful we'll be in everything we do. In other words, it's all mental. And Griffiths lays out principles and a system for training your mind to generate solutions to any problem or need. Innovation blooms from the soil of your mind. GEM #1 Practice Purposeful Creativity "Strategy is what makes creativity purposeful so we can promote unconventional and original thinking, but with practical relevance." GRASP The Solution, page 53 Creativity isn't just an artsy ambiguous concept for those who make crafts or paintings. Creativity is foundation from which anything new is born, and therefore deserves our most serious treatment. Griffiths offers a solid functional process for applying a purposeful strategy to your creativity. He calls it 'The Solution Finder', and explains how it combines three operative thinking modes to create the most productive environment for your mind. The three modes are: Generative - we generate a wide range of possible options. Analytical - we analyze these options and gather information in order to converge to a single solution. Selective - we strengthen and reinforce our chosen solution and decide how to take it forward. Two additional modes of thinking, Reactive and Proactive, are added to create a memorable acronym: GRASP. Each mode is described in detail and helps the reader conceptualize why their minds think in certain ways. With these modes as the foundation, a 4 step process is laid out to find your solution. Define the problem using 'Five Wives, One Husband, and a Map' (a creative way to remember the technique.) Generate ideas using the correct brainstorming strategy and multiple tactics for looking at the problem differently. Evaluate ideas using convergent thinking. Build your solution and convert it into reality by making plans and taking action. "When you provide structures, processes, and systematic techniques, you dramatically increase people's potential to think creatively so that it becomes a regular, everyday prospect" (page 270). 'Purposeful practice' of creativity will help you develop the skill of creating new ideas, just like the practice of any skill is necessary to become proficient. GEM #2 Daydream Productively
