How do you know you have one?

A friend recently gave me an interesting example. A mental block is like a computer programme. You will get the same old responses from the computer if you give the same old instructions. If you want a different response, you must change the instructions.

If your document doesn't look any different, you must change the font or its size or the layout.

So how does one break a mental block?

Let us assume you have to print a wedding card. You are told that you cannot change the colour scheme, or the basic text of the card. You are told that you cannot change these because of an age-old tradition.

You are about to go ahead with the printing, when your client says he wants something different.

"But you cannot change anything. Neither the colours nor the text. How can you make it different?"

"I don't know. But I don't like the standard card."

"Can I then change things?"

"You have to remain within what is prescribed. In any case, if I knew the answers why would I come to you? So stop asking the same old questions and get on with it."

Now you are stuck. "What to do, where to go and whom to ask?" you wonder.

Here are a few things you can consider:

The first step for you to do is to understand your challenge.

Is it "How can I design the card without changing colour and text"?

Or is it "How can I redesign the card keeping the traditions intact"?

The second option seems more flexible.

Now write down all the givens and the assumptions in this case.

You cannot change the colour

You cannot change the text.

There is more to the card than these two elements.

Take a look at this list:

The size of the card

The paper on which the card is printed.

The colour of the font

The size of the font

The illustrations on the card

The way in which the card is folded

What you can add to the card

As you do all this, your mind is beginning to ask a few questions.

What if I change the size of the card? Make it a little bigger? Or smaller?

What if I used a vertical (portrait) card instead of a horizontal (landscape) card?

What if I change the text colour from green to rust brown?

What if I improved the quality of the illustrations?

What if I get new illustrations done by a good, talented artist instead of using the standard overexposed illustrations?

What if I get the card written in good script, instead of some standard font?

What if I removed the folds of the card? What if it was one flat open card?

What if I changed the paper on which the card is printed? What if I changed the texture of the card?

What if I added an appropriate Sanskrit sloka to the card?

What if I simplified the outer envelope?

If you carried out any of these ideas, your wedding card would look different, yet retain the traditional colour scheme and text which are mandatory.

You can get into this train of thought if you allow yourself to accept the constraints as a given and not resist them. Once you have done that, your mind starts exploring new possibilities.

It is somewhat like accepting the fact that you have a small flat. Once you have done that you can start working on making it look the best.

In most cases people get into a `mental block' because they do not accept the facts in a given situation.

I know a friend who heads a BPO outfit. His problem: a very high attrition rate.

On analysis he found that 80 per cent of his people were in the age group 22 to 26. They are young, they will jump for money. Nothing could stop them or build loyalty.

My friend and his top management accepted that high rates of attrition are a given in the BPO business. Why did the attrition problem worry them so much? Because their customers were constantly complaining about inconsistent standards and discontinuity.

The challenge, therefore, was defined as "How can we provide business continuity to our customers in spite of high employee attrition?"

This got them out of their mental blocks and made them look at some really effective break-through solutions. Some of the best suggestions came from customers and ex-employees.

Here are a few tips for you, if you think you have mental blocks:

Now go ahead and bust that `Mental Block.'

(The writer is a creativity consultant and Partner, Ideas-RS.)

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page