Gun to Your Head

5 snips

Nov 26, 2024

Can extreme constraints spark creativity? Discover how high-pressure scenarios can lead to innovative problem-solving. The hosts explore the 'gun to your head' technique, sharing real-world examples like developing a debit card for children. They discuss the power of feature thinning to streamline projects and foster creativity. Plus, innovative thinking is encouraged through thought experiments involving alien spaceships! Learn how Oblique Strategies can help break mental blocks and enhance team creativity.

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ADVICE

Gun to the Head Heuristic

To spark creative solutions, ask your team: "If a gun was to your head, what would you do?"
This forces them to consider radical approaches they might otherwise dismiss.

ANECDOTE

Real-World Gun to the Head

Squirrel's team faced a real "gun to the head" situation when they had to disable a feature by Friday.
Driven by the deadline, they creatively found a solution in 36 hours, highlighting the power of constraints.

ADVICE

Feature Thinning

Consider "feature thinning": ask for B, C, and D versions of a feature.
This can uncover simpler, better approaches than aiming for the "A" version initially.

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Oblique Strategies

Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas

Brian Eno

Peter Schmidt

Oblique Strategies, created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt, is a deck of cards containing cryptic prompts designed to stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving. Each card presents a concise statement or question intended to disrupt habitual thought patterns and encourage lateral thinking. The cards are used as a tool to overcome creative blocks, generate new ideas, and approach challenges from unexpected perspectives. The ambiguous nature of the prompts encourages users to interpret them in relation to their specific context, fostering individual creativity and collaborative exploration. Oblique Strategies has become a widely used tool in various creative fields, including music, design, and software development.

Agile Conversations

Douglas Squirrel

Jeffrey Fredrick

Toyota kata

managing people for continuous improvement, adaptiveness, and superior results by mike rother.

Mike Rother

Mike Rother's "Toyota Kata" explores the practices and principles behind Toyota's success in manufacturing. The book focuses on the "kata"—a pattern of behavior—that Toyota uses to continuously improve its processes. Rother emphasizes the importance of scientific thinking, experimentation, and learning from failures in achieving continuous improvement. The book introduces two types of kata: improvement kata and coaching kata, which provide frameworks for problem-solving and developing leadership skills. "Toyota Kata" is a valuable resource for organizations seeking to implement lean principles and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

In this book, Daniel Kahneman takes readers on a tour of the mind, explaining how the two systems of thought shape our judgments and decisions. System 1 is fast, automatic, and emotional, while System 2 is slower, effortful, and logical. Kahneman discusses the impact of cognitive biases, the difficulties of predicting future happiness, and the effects of overconfidence on corporate strategies. He offers practical insights into how to guard against mental glitches and how to benefit from slow thinking in both personal and business life. The book also explores the distinction between the 'experiencing self' and the 'remembering self' and their roles in our perception of happiness.