Table of Contents   

Introduction   

Using The Activities   

Index of Activities   

Time Checklist   

The Activities:

1. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral   

    This is a brief activity that can help to give new and often deeper insights into feelings and perceptions about  a situation.

2. Attributes   

    A creative technique that examines each attribute of characteristic of an object, thus opening up the chance of developing further uses for it, and creating new possibilities by changing or improving the characteristic.

3. The Problem   

    This activity requires individuals to develop a personal identification wit a problem and through that analogy investigate possible solutions

4. Blindfold Builders   

    This activity demonstrates the effect of different leadership styles in problem-solving groups. Two or more teams compete to construct a child's doll house, blindfolded, with the leaders being directed to follow a participatory and supportive style or an authoritarian and controlling style

5.  Blocks to Creative Thinking   

    This activity is designed to help people discover what is stopping or slowing down the process of creative problem-solving within a group.

6. Brainstorming   

    Brainstorming is a method of collecting a large number of ideas from a group of people in a short period of time.

7. Choices   

    This is a method of selecting one option from several.

8. Clusters   

    This is an activity to develop a common group insight into the factors associated with a problem or situation.

9. Collage   

    Collage allows a group t o express itself visually. By using the stimulus of images and worlds created by others, the activity avoids the need for t he group of individuals to have an artistic ability.

10. Creative Pictures   

    This activity encourages a group or individuals to express feelings and ideas graphically. It allows people to express feelings and ideas that they cannot articulate.

11. Desert Island   

    This is an activity in which participants use their creativity in determining alternative uses for everyday objects and people.

12. Egg Drop   

    This activity is a practical and entertaining demonstration of creative problem-solving in a group. It provides an experience dealing with problem analysis and competition among teams within a larger group.

13. Fast Tracks   

    Fast Tracks is designed to help a group generate a number of ideas and possibilities from random associations.

14. Fear of Failure/Fear of Success   

    This activity is useful when individuals are hindered by a "playing it safe" attitude toward problem solving. This could be due to a fear of failing or fear of success.

15. Features   

    This activity will help individuals and groups to look at a product, idea or problem in new ways.

16. Fishbone Diagram   

    The "fishbone Diagram" is also know as the Ishikawa diagram after its inventor, or as a cause/effect diagram, and is a means of separating the many causes from the effects when analyzing a situation.

17. Foblo   

This activity enables people to identify whiter they have concerns about being left out of a decision-making process.

18. Force Field Analysis   

    "Force Field Analysis" is a change implementation technique widely used in group problem-solving situations. It can also be used on an individual basis to highlight the process at work in attempting to make a personal change.

19. Forced Connections   

    Forced Connections breaks normal conventions of thinking about a product by deliberately making random additions of other products or items to it, thus creating "new" products.

20. Group Sculpture   

    This activity enable people to feel and experience the process that a group uses to solve problems.

21. Guided Fantasy   

    This activity is designed to help individuals to solve problems by listening to the advice of an important person in their lives.

22. Heroes and Villains   

    This activity enables participants to look at their own problem solving approaches from a different perspective.

23. How We Could Really Fail   

    This activity helps people to look at all the potential problems a project may have. By thinking about these ahead of time, some of them can be prevented.

24. How? How?   

    This activity introduces a process for identifying the necessary steps to implement a possible solution.

25. I Don't Understand You   

    This activity is conducted in pairs or in larger groups to help people in not understanding each other as a way of recognizing differences that may lead to new solutions to problems.

26.  Idea Transfer   

    This activity helps to development of innovative solutions

27. Ideal Bathtub   

    This activity is a practical and enjoyable demonstration of creative problem-solving within a group. It provides an experience on problem analysis, developing new options for familiar settings and potential for competition among teams within a larger group.

28. Impact Analysis   

    This activity discovers what impact a situation has on people.

29. Innovation Dialogue   

    This activity is conducted in pairs, and provides a quick and powerful way of developing an innovative solution to a problem being experienced by one of the pair.

30. Inter-group Comparison   

    This activity is designed to help build a bridge between two groups who have conflicting ideas or perceptions, but who need to work together. The outcome will help to create a new working relationship and understanding.

31.  Lifetime Problem   

    This activity is conducted in a group and enables people to concentrate on both immediate and long-term tasks.

32. Megatask   

    This is an activity that involves teams who are, or have been, working and learning together for extended periods...It is designed as a means to embrace a number of themes and issues relevant to the task

33. Metaphor   

    This activity uses the power of metaphor to help in understanding an idea or problem

34. Mini-retreat   

    This activity enables people to step away from a problem for a while so that they can come back to it with renewed energy.

35. Morphological Connections   

    Morphological Connections breaks down a complex problem into its component parts, then generates possible solutions by companioning alternatives to the original components.

36. Paired Ranking   

    Paired Ranking is a decision-making method which consists of comparing each alternative with each other one on a win or lose basis. Each alternative ends up with a total amount of points that determine its rank order.

37. Paper Clips   

    This activity illustrates a  common block to creative thinking - following normal rules and conventions. The process used in crating a number of different possibilities can be applied to many situations.

38. Pareto Analysis   

    Pareto Analysis is a process that graphically shows the relative importance of a small number of factors. It helps to focus attention on the "vital few" factors as opposed to the "trivial many."

39. Perception Puzzles   

    This activity introduces a series of visual puzzles to illustrate some of the personal perception blocks to creativity.

40. Performance   

    In this activity, groups are limited to acting out their feelings and responses to a particular problem, situation or solution

41. Problem Consequences   

    This is an association activity which participants are asked to write down an idea triggered by a previous statement. The eventual lists are compared and analyzed.

42. Pros and Cons   

    This is a simple way of making decisions that can be conducted individually or in groups.

43. Raft Building   

    This activity is a practical and enjoyable demonstration of creative group problem-solving in an outdoor setting. It provides an experience in problem analysis and competition among teams within a larger group

44.  Red and Blue Spot Trading   

    This activity provides practical experience in the effects of confidence and trust in developing win-win solutions in a competitive problem-solving situation.

45. Robin Hood   

    This activity provides a powerful and enjoyable alternative to typical problem-solving approaches.

46. Selection Grid   

    The Selection Grid is a method for selecting on option from several

47. Six Serving Men   

    This activity is a problem-analysis tool that uses the six words - What, Why, When, How, Where, and Who to brainstorm in different directions.

48. Stakeholder Mapping   

    Stakeholder Mapping is a process of identifying who is involved and affected by a particular change.

49. Why? Why?   

    The Why? Why? process is a systematic and enjoyable means of investigating the causes of a problem.

50. Wildest Ideas   

    This activity encourages a group to consider the wildest ideas to solve a particular problem, and then use them as springboards to develop possible solutions.