Have you ever noticed that often the more we concentrate on a problem; the more elusive the solution seems to be? We all know that focus is critical to problem solving, but it can also be its worst enemy. At Gordon Blocker and Associates, when we are seeking a solution to a problem, when we are looking to develop a new system, strategy or method, we begin by casting a large net.
The world is a complex, often messy, place where nothing is quite as simple
as it seems. No problem, no idea, no process is an island unto itself.
As in the natural environment, everything is connected.
We may be seeking a new digital device capable of doing what has never been done before, but to
find the solution one must think far beyond computer science and consider other disciplines including economics, sociology, history, psychology, biology, history and even our own life experiences. It requires an understanding of the past and the probability of future events in the flow of human endeavor. It requires an analysis of past and present trends in order to extrapolate future trends. It requires a study of what others have done to solve the problem, why they failed, what factors they missed, where they went wrong. Once we have cast our large net, we look at all these miscellaneous ideas as if they were floating around in a dream. We open our minds to the complexity, to find pathways, connections. Often these pathways reveal themself; more often they require an analysis of what is possible, what is probable. But the final pathway leads to what is preferable – to our goal – to a product or technology or system that meets or exceeds the results we desired. It is a way to look at the problem and its possible solutions with new eyes. Let your imagination run free.
According to Gordon Blocker, CEO of Blocker Publishing, ideas for solutions do not arrive in 1, 2, 3, 4 order. They often arrive in x, 8, e, 3, 7, 9, Z order, and it all begins with thinking like dreaming.
