#89 Houston, we have a problem
Do you ever wish you – or your team – could “think outside the box” more?
Functional fixedness is a psychological phenomenon that limits our ability to innovate and creatively solve problems – basically, once we know what something is for, it’s harder to imagine 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 uses. Interestingly, children under five show little functional fixedness, but it begins developing around age six. That is why young children solve this candle and tacks experiment more quickly than adults.
As explained by Decision Lab, we can break free from this mental block by:
“Uncommitting” to the problem by eliminating the details about it, reducing it to its core challenge
Drawing inspiration from unexpected places like other sectors
Gathering insights from diverse disciplines via crowdsourcing
And, as recommended in this podcast, remember this line from Apollo 13: “I don't care what anything was designed to do, I care about what it can do."