The creative process and creativity in the organization. Methodology for organizing the educational process in creative studios. Organization as a competitive advantage

In a world obsessed with innovation, it's easy to fall in love with ideas. Creativity is in vogue today. For some of us, creativity is intoxicating. Our society has gone too far, dividing everyone into two camps - "left-brained" and "right-brained" people - based on the radical (and perhaps false) assumption that the halves of the human brain cannot work equally efficiently. In other words, great creators are incapable of being good organizers. But this is not true. Society moves forward when great ideas are combined with effective organization and implemented. The real problem is not how society treats creative people, but rather how they present themselves.

In 2007, Behance conducted a survey of more than a thousand representatives of creative professions. The question was formulated as follows: how organized do you consider yourself? Only 7% of respondents considered themselves “very organized.” Twice as many (14%) said they work in a state of “extreme chaos,” and the largest group (48%) said their lives have “far more confusion than order.” Further research showed that the disorder pointed out by the majority of respondents was regarded by them as a kind of good and did not cause any concern!

The fact is that the creative environment, like the creative nature itself, is by no means inclined towards rigid organization. We develop intolerance to various kinds of procedures, restrictions and rules. But organization is the engine of productivity. If you want to create ideas, you must have a method that allows you to do it.

The resistance of the creative mind to rules and regulations is understandable because there is no one universal and perfect process for the development and implementation of ideas. The process generally has a poor reputation; anyone who has worked in a corporation knows why. When a sequence of actions is imposed on you, it can be intimidating and reduce interest and willingness to act. Creativity is a deeply personal process, associated with taste and habit, and the more individual it is, the more effective it is. So rather than imposing on you an average, static process that works for others, I offer a number of key elements that will help you improve yours.

Organization as a competitive advantage

Organization streamlines the creative process. In addition to the substantive side of the matter, there are external circumstances, such as deadlines, budgets, and customer requirements. And while you develop, develop and implement your ideas, they all form different, sometimes contradictory combinations.

Often we try to ignore these circumstances, thereby reducing the likelihood that our ideas will ever come to life.

The most important element of an organization is structure. We tend to dislike structure that supposedly limits creative freedom. But without structure, our ideas are not able to “catch on” to each other, to form something holistic and, therefore, viable. Without structure, we are unable to focus on any one idea for long to find its weak spots. Structure helps us achieve tangible, material results from ideas.

Structure and organization are worthy of serious discussion because they provide a competitive advantage to a product or company. Only organization will allow you to benefit from creative potential. If you develop the ability to organize yourself and those around you, you will overcome many difficulties. Supply chain management is a difficult logistics aspect of business that rarely receives much attention. Companies such as Wal-Mart and Toyota are world famous for their distribution and supply management systems. There is no doubt that a company's machinery, especially its expertise in supply management, helps determine the cost, quality and utility of a product. Within large companies there are consulting firms and individual executives who are involved in supply chain management. They can be considered the embodiment of the idea of ​​the organization. To many of us, activities of this kind seem infinitely far from creativity. But that's not true.

Since 2004, AMR Research, a leading supply chain research company that helps many other Fortune 500 companies, has annually published a list of twenty-five companies with the best supply chain management systems.

You might be surprised to know that Apple came in second on this list in 2007 and beat out companies like Anheuser-Busch, Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble and Toyota to take the top spot in 2008. Why would Apple, a company renowned for innovation and the ability to “think differently,” fight to also become one of the best organized companies on the planet? The answer is: like it or not, organization is the main force in creating promising ideas.

Consider the following equation:

Creativity x Organization = Effectiveness of Ideas

Now let's imagine an incredibly creative, but completely disorganized thinker. The equation in this case looks like:

100 x 0 = 0

Who does this remind you of? Someone who generates a lot of ideas, but is so disorganized that he is unable to implement any of them. A person with half the creative potential, but a little more organized, turns out to be more productive:

50 x 2 = 100

This equation helps explain why some "less creative" artists were able to create more creations than their talented and inventive counterparts. It's sad but true: a person with very mediocre creative potential, endowed with outstanding organizational skills, will produce more impact than a disorganized genius.

If you've ever driven through a resort town in America (or another country), you may have seen storefronts designed in the style of Thomas Kinkade, dubbed the "Painter of Light" by the press. And if you're an avid reader, a fan of air travel, or a subscriber to club fiction, then you've probably come across at least one of James Patterson's many novels. Both Kincaid and Patterson are professionals in their fields, creators of many works. Both employ many people to help them create and distribute these works. In this sense, they are the heads of large companies.

They have something else in common. Despite the fact that each of them has a whole army of fans, both are constantly criticized for the lack of imagination, taste and the overly commercial nature of their work. Patterson, with his thirty-nine bestsellers, firmly holds the New York Times record. On his website you can read that in 2007, one in fifteen of the hardcover novels sold came from Patterson’s pen. The author has sold more than 150 million of his books around the world. Its busy promotional campaigns include marketing programs such as the James Patterson Fascinating Book Awards; in addition, dozens of his books formed the basis of plots for television series and films. It is not surprising that he founded his own company, James Patterson Entertainment, and, as far as we know, is working on five new novels at once.

The Publishers Lunch newsletter noted that as a publisher, Patterson's number of bestsellers in 2006 would have outstripped even the largest American publisher, HarperCollins. It's no surprise that critics have likened Patterson's creative process to a factory. Patrick Anderson, a columnist for the Washington Post, in one of his articles called his work “absolute crap, the worst example of cynical, dirty writing put on stream.” Others have sharply criticized Patterson for the similarities in the plots of many of his novels.

As for the author’s own reaction to such stunning success, he attributes it to “the inner content - the ability to feel what attracts a large number of people.” Patterson's incredible productivity as a writer may have its origins in his previous life. Before writing his first novel, he served as CEO of Walter Thompson, one of the leading advertising agencies. As he climbed the career ladder, he developed the qualities of a leader and organizer, which later came in handy as an author. Regardless of the critics' reaction, Patterson generates ideas with astonishing frequency. Whatever your views on his ideas, this man is undoubtedly very prolific and consistent. Its indicators according to our formula will look like this: 50 x 100 or even 100 x 100 - a truly outstanding result.

Thomas Kinkade is also a very productive person. The number of paintings coming out of his studio is amazing. Critics say that his works are not much different from each other, that he does not miss the opportunity to use the same ideas twice. The book Rebel for Sale describes Kincaid's work as being terrifying and having to be seen to be believed. There are even websites where parodies of his paintings are posted, consisting entirely of stereotyped images. If Kincaid's work lacks new ideas, its streamlined distribution more than makes up for it.

Both Patterson and Kincaid have a very high Organization factor in our equation, which is why they are so effective. In other words, the “Organization” variable deserves no less attention than “Creativity”.

Project method: action at the forefront

By brainstorming, we generate ideas. Once an idea is conceived, it is played like a trump card. Each move generates many alternative and often unrelated ideas. An intoxicating creative process begins.

But often brainstorming does not give the desired result. Promising ideas, leaving smart heads, fall into the “common pot”, where they are lost in the mass of others, perhaps less significant. Ultimately, what remains on the surface is either the last idea that arose, or a diluted version of the first one that comes to our mind again and again. A tangle of comments and sketches accumulates, often without understanding who should do what, what should be researched and when, and what actions should be taken.

An excess of ideas is just as dangerous as an ideological drought. The habit of jumping from one idea to another distributes energy horizontally rather than vertically. As a result, you are forced into unnecessary struggle to move forward. If you ignore structure when brainstorming, ideas will turn into an uncontrollable flow.

As you come up with one brilliant idea after another, you must approach your activities with a certain amount of skepticism at every stage and always strive for action. Brainstorming should always begin with a specific goal.

Randall Statman, a consultant to several top executives at major U.S. corporations, often says that the greatest leaders are “optimistic about the future but pessimistic about the challenges.” In the creative world, leaders are most concerned about the potential of new ideas, but they must also think about how to manage their ideas. Ultimately, every idea should become a project - personal (birthday party) or professional (launching a new product on the market). The term “project management” or “project management” makes most creative people smile nervously. But it all depends on the approach. Here are some tips to help you manage your project effectively.

Review your management method. The project method I propose will force you to question many of the established ways of managing. The attitude towards the project as a large and difficult to achieve goal “launched from above” is no longer relevant. Today, even in large and bureaucratic companies with complex, formalized management systems, the most advanced employees manage their own parallel processes.

Don’t use other people’s notes; prepare your work materials yourself. Ideas come and go, but the question of what to do with them often remains unresolved. It doesn’t have to be this way: every idea needs to have working steps outlined. You should not appoint one person responsible for managing all stages. Typically this is not very effective. During a brainstorming session or discussion, when one person takes notes and then shares them with others, the responsibilities of the others become vague and impersonal. Everyone should have their own understanding of work steps: when tasks are written down in their own hand and supplemented by their own notes, they are more understandable and more likely to be completed.

Don't waste your energy on overly detailed notes. Notes that are too detailed and long are rarely useful and can even get in the way. Excessive shorthand is counter to the action mindset that is essential to a productive creative environment.

When drawing up an action plan, focus on the project as a whole. You can work not only within the walls of the office. Therefore, you should not reduce process management to compiling a list of what needs to be done at work and what needs to be done at home. When planning and managing the process, it is necessary to focus on the project.

Primary Project Elements

It's no secret that the tricks with which magicians amaze the public have a simple explanation: levitation is not complete without pulleys, "floating" money requires a thread, and the "disappearing" coin rests in one of the secret pockets. The best project management techniques also tend to be simple and intuitive. They help you grab an idea and do something with it. This simple efficiency ties you firmly to the task.

The method to follow is based on a simple premise: treat everything like a project, whether it's a large advertising campaign or personal professional development (each of your subordinates is a "project" whose effectiveness you track). In short, whatever you have to do - preparing to move or buying a new car - treat it as a project.

Like most creative people, you struggle to succeed in all your projects, and the main obstacle in your way is precisely the number of them. But when you view your classes as projects, you can break them down into their primary components: work steps, additional materials, and secondary tasks.

Working stages- these are specific actions that slowly move you forward: edit and send some kind of reminder, pay the electricity bill, etc. Additional materials- any project-related brochures, sketches, notes, meeting minutes, manuals or websites that you might turn to for help. Finally, secondary tasks- these are considerations that have no practical significance at the moment, but may acquire it later. For example, some idea that you want to offer to the client when the necessary budget appears.

Let's look at a typical project for a client. Imagine a folder named after him. The folder contains a lot of additional materials: a copy of the contract, notes taken during meetings and conferences, information about the client. Work steps are what you need to do now, let it be a list on the cover of a folder. And finally, on its inner side there can be your secondary tasks, which will remind you of the ideas that arise during the work on the project and that you are saving for the future.

With this hypothetical folder in hand, you'll focus your efforts on the work steps listed on its cover. They are always visible, they call for practical action. This is what I call the design method. He translates plans and thoughts into the plane of active actions.

Personal projects can be broken down into the same three components. Take a look at your desk and you'll probably find a few reminders or comments you've made to yourself. This could be a utility bill (a work item in the Housekeeping project), a copy of your car insurance (more resources in the Insurance project), or a brochure about a city or country you'd like to visit on your next vacation (a secondary task in the “Vacation Planning” project).

Consider several of your projects - some are work-related, others are purely personal. The components of these projects are either in your head or somewhere around you: snatches of phrases in emails, sketches on your laptop, scribbles on sticky notes. The project method begins with the fact that you consider each of your ideas as a project and break it down into simple elements.

Let's say you have an idea for a script that you would like to write. If so, mark it as a minor task in the New Script Ideas project or in the larger Bold Ideas project that you review a couple of times a year. Some projects, due to reasons beyond your control, will not receive the attention they deserve, but they will help save your secondary tasks and additional materials. Of course, you hope that someday some of the minor tasks will be converted into work steps, which in turn will lead to a new and more active project - for example, producing your own screenplay. Work steps are the building blocks of your achievements. But sometimes you cannot afford to take certain actions. Therefore, in such a case, you need to stock up on “canned” projects filled with reference materials and secondary tasks. The time will come when some of them will “pop up” along with the work steps.

Whatever you are doing at any given moment (meeting, casual conversation), you must think in terms of the project: formulate work steps, collect additional materials and record secondary tasks.

Of course, in the computer age, projects are not always stored in folders, and their components come to us in the form of emails, downloads and the numerous connections we save daily. But the project method is still the same: look at everything as a project, act in accordance with the plan. With this in mind, you can use offline and online tools to organize information more effectively.

Working stages

Work steps are the most important components, the real “oxygen” for projects. There are no working stages - no actions themselves, no results.

One of the prominent leaders I met during my research was Bob Greenberg, CEO and creative director of the world-renowned advertising agency R/GA, whose clients include companies such as Nike and Jonson & Jonson. He is a dynamic man, “passionate” and “productive” - these are the main words that characterize his admiring friends and colleagues. Since 1977, Greenberg has followed the same ritual every morning to manage his work steps: he edits his work steps and his daily plan.

Greenberg said he uses two pens (both Pelikan brands), a thicker tip with blue ink and a thinner tip with green ink, to write down work steps, as well as a marker, which he uses to make diagonal strokes to the right of each step, indicating thereby its importance. “Three marker strokes and a black dot indicate the highest importance,” he explained. Greenberg also updates his daily routine in pencil and then, again in fountain pen, writes down the names of each significant R/GA milestone for the day.

“I have a two-page list of actions,” he explained. - On the left I indicate what I can entrust to my assistant, and on the right - what I must do myself. And even more to the right...” From the conversation it became clear that Greenberg sees the greatest benefit for himself in incredible devotion to his unusual home-grown system.

“My opinion is that if you don’t write something down, it won’t stick in your head,” he told me. “Every day I create a new option, remove outdated, irrelevant tasks from the list, and so on for a good three decades.” Greenberg is convinced that although his method is, by all accounts, a little manic, it still works.

Here are some details: the materials Greenberg uses, the symbols he uses to represent each task, and the morning hours in which he restructures his actions all tie him firmly to a particular system. In the end, any technique is effective only when applied persistently and consistently. Each productive person has his own system, each develops his own ritual down to the smallest detail, and this binds them even more strongly to the chosen method.

To make your own work step management system equally indispensable, each work step should be formulated clearly and concisely - to do this, start the formulation with a verb.

Call programmer to discuss...
Install new software for...
Research opportunity…
Layout sample…
Update document XYZ for...
Forward question…

Verbs immediately prompt us to action; the brevity of the wording prevents distractions. Imagine that we are at a business meeting. I talk about what I want to achieve and show diagrams that illustrate my idea in detail. In response you say, “I see what you are trying to do. There is one guy, a friend of mine, who has developed a powerful website with a suitable set of capabilities for us.” After that, I immediately write down the work step associated with this site:

Regarding such and such: a site with similar functionality.

One of my colleagues says: “Let's go back to the previous version. Maybe he was better after all? What do you think?" In this case, your working step is:

Print out an old project on the advice of so-and-so. Reason: alternative plan.

Sometimes you are waiting for someone's letter or call. It can be easy to forget about something that is not in your control. To spur yourself on and take some steps if there is still no answer, you can create a separate work step.

Work steps are outlined with each exchange of ideas. Even the smallest of them are important, because when a lot of them accumulate, they give the work some impetus, pushing them to make the next move. A missed work step may cause mutual misunderstanding and require unnecessary meetings. Here are the key techniques.

Always record work steps. Ideas are born not only in meetings, but also when you read an article, take a shower, dream about something, or get ready for bed. The same applies to work stages. If you're thinking about someone you met a month ago about a certain project but haven't gotten anywhere yet, create a step: "Do such and such regarding..." If you open your email and come across an invitation to wedding, your work step is clear: “Respond to the invitation.”

It should be convenient to record work steps. To do this, you must have everything at hand. Let's say our team developed an iPhone version of the online design method because users wanted the “anytime, anywhere” ability to capture work steps and integrate them into their project. Regardless of which system you choose, it should provide easy access to work steps and allow you to distinguish them from additional materials - regular notes and incidental thoughts that you may also have included in your logbook.

The ownerless working stage will never be completed. Each work step must be owned or assigned to one person. Different people can participate in the implementation of a particular stage, but one person must be responsible for its implementation. The team leader, having recorded the work stages, passes them on to his subordinates for execution. But whoever becomes the direct executor, it is not he who is responsible for everything, but the one who formulated and recorded the stages. Remember this when you delegate the execution of a particular stage to any of your employees. Sending a task by email does not guarantee that it will be completed. Therefore, work steps for which you are responsible should remain on your list until they are completed. It is enough for yourself to note that this stage is performed by your employee:

Print the old project. Occasion: alternative plan (does Oscar).

You approach managing work stages differently. Besides the work steps that only you can accomplish, there are three other types that you as a project leader should keep in mind. The first type is delegated work steps (we just discussed them). The second type is future work stages. This means that sometimes you will need to create a milestone that is scheduled to happen in the future. Instead of becoming a bore and constantly reminding your team about this, create a work step that begins with the word “Ensure.” For example: “Ensure that Dave edits the article with a new title.” If you record your work steps on the computer, you can always search for the ones you need by searching for "provide" and spend some time checking exactly how they were implemented. A “Provide Milestones” item in your notes is better than a hundred reminder emails addressed to team members.

The third type is the pending work phase. When you leave a voicemail for someone, send an offer to a prospect, or respond to an email and then delete it from your inbox, you're likely to forget about a follow-up, especially if the respondent doesn't respond for some reason. By creating a work step that begins with the word "pending", you can keep an eye on anything that is temporarily out of sight. When I email a prospect, I create the following work step: “Waiting for confirmation from Joe at Apple. Topic: consultation” - and save it in the “Consulting work” project. In my online manager, I set a specific date - for example, a week after sending the letter. After the deadline, I will receive a reminder that I need to do something about this issue. Sometimes I'll look at all the work items that begin with the word "pending" for all projects and spend another hour working through all the items.

Encourage a culture of action. To get things done, your team must embrace a specific culture of action. Some may find it somewhat intrusive to ask your employees to record work steps on paper every time. But it maintains a culture of action and helps ensure a clear understanding of its stages. Some of the productive teams I know do this quite well. In addition to a friendly question asking “Did you write this down?” Some of them give each participant a few minutes at the end of each meeting or meeting to talk about the work steps they have recorded. Thanks to this, you can almost always detect a stage that was missed or, on the contrary, duplicated by someone. This simple technique helps save time and prevents people from weeks after the meeting wondering who did what or what was left out in a hurry.

Give yourself pleasure

When it comes to the tools you use to record your work steps, remember that if you enjoy them, you'll be more willing and consistent in using the method you've developed. Therefore, the color of folders, the quality of paper and other seemingly insignificant things can actually significantly increase your productivity.

In The Substance of Style, journalist Virginia Postrel examines famed design guru Donald Norman's claim that attractive things work better. It is this attractiveness that Norman explains when purchasing the first color monitors instead of the standard black and white ones. Today the advantages of color monitors seem obvious, but in those days, before the advent of the Internet and color printers, a color monitor to display edited text seemed an unjustified luxury. “I bought a color display and used it for a week,” Norman recalls. “As a result, I made two discoveries: firstly, it had no practical advantages over the usual one, and secondly, I was not going to give up.” Analyzing Norman's discoveries, Postrel explains: "The difference was not in function, but in the feeling that people experienced from their work."

In other words, the aesthetic side plays an important role in the success of the business.

Secondary tasks. While brainstorming in the middle of a project, you may come up with ideas that you would include in your current project if you had more time or money, or ideas that you would like to develop in the future. If you don't record them and invent some mechanism that will force you to return to them over time, you risk forgetting them. You should not write down these thoughts as working steps, because they are still far from practical steps. It’s also not worth adding them to the list of additional materials, because it is unlikely that after a while you will look at additional materials for old projects. Let's call these materials, which may be useful and therefore should be reminded of themselves from time to time, secondary tasks.

Sometimes these fledgling ideas can be quite attractive. Rumor has it that the melody of the hit Sweet Baby James sounded in the head of its author, folk musician James Taylor, during a long journey from New England to North Carolina. Taylor always took a tape recorder with him on trips: he took it out, briefly outlined the concept, hummed a melody - and added a note: in the future, this idea should be thoroughly explored. So over time this song was born.

Find space for non-essential tasks. Make secondary tasks easy to find. Create a space next to your main notes or give them a separate page. I've often seen meeting participants draw a box at the bottom of each page and fill it with non-essential tasks. Then at the end of the day they move them to some folder or file on the computer. This creates a “warehouse” of secondary tasks that you need to look at regularly.

Create a ritual dedicated to non-essential tasks. Of course, putting material in the “Miscellaneous” folder does not make it useful. You should definitely review this folder regularly. Make it a habit. One agency creative director told me in an interview that he keeps minor tasks in a Word file. Every last Sunday of the month, he prints out this ten- to fifteen-page document and, holding a pen in one hand and a can of beer in the other, spends half an hour looking through and editing his list: crossing out some items, moving others to action steps, and leaving others unchanged.

Mark a specific day on your calendar for your monthly Minor Task Review. Record the time you spend revisiting raw ideas that could one day transform your work or life. The secondary is easily forgotten (and mostly it happens!), so you have to “throw wood” into this stove from time to time. And then one day, looking again at secondary tasks, you will find that some of them suddenly became quite realistic, while others lost all meaning. Often, a task that has lain dormant for a long time turns out to be a ready-made solution to some new problem.

Additional materials should be treasured, not idolized.

The third and final component of each project is additional materials. The skill of taking notes, sketches, and accessing reference materials is developed in elementary school.

For many, the process of writing down and organizing everything has become a time-consuming habit with no real payoff. We take notes in meetings and see them pile up on our desks along with brochures and handouts. We have to invent a special system for storing them.

Organizing helps us deal with clutter and gives us peace of mind, even if we rarely access these materials. Computer industry legend and leading researcher at Microsoft Research Silicon Valley Laboratory, Gordon Bell, took the management of what I call additional materials to the limit, deciding to completely record his personal data, automatically recording emails, telephone conversations, conversations with employees (using a head-mounted video cameras) and even biometric data.

The experiment resulted in the creation of an impressive archive of additional materials related to his life. As he writes in Phenomenal Memory, the main benefit of this “documentary” approach was that it freed up “extra” memory for him, which allowed him to tap into his creativity more fully. Having gotten rid of the “ballast” that burdened his brain, he began to act more productively. So how much effort should we spend on collecting and organizing additional materials? The answer is this: using modern technology, you must be rational about collecting and storing it, without wasting energy intended for working with more relevant things.

Excess materials prevent active action. It often happens that work steps are lost in piles of materials that are of no practical value. The more effort you spend on notes, the more likely it is that you will miss some important work step. Even if you manage to write down the steps in a timely manner, they are often obscured by various sketches, thoughts, and other notes. So even if the materials are well systematized, it is necessary to decisively reduce unnecessary writings.

Use a chronological principle. I've observed that some people, instead of separate project folders and intricate filing systems, keep a single log of notes taken during meetings. Today, with online scheduling, it's easy to store these materials in chronological order according to meeting dates. Add new content immediately after the meeting.

Each month, move them to a folder that corresponds to a specific date. With the help of a weekly journal, you can easily return to past notes.

The following steps will help you with this.

• Ask yourself questions:“Is it important? Why is it worth returning to this material in the future?” If you can't answer these questions, throw away the link and forget about it! Some people claim that they take notes in order to study a question and understand a concept. That's great, but wouldn't it be better to get rid of the notes and just keep the work steps? But what if this point is still important and will come in handy later?
• Take notes. Ask yourself, “How can I highlight those additional materials that I might have to look for later?” If your folder stores materials in chronological order, a date will suffice. If not, think about how best to indicate their connection to a particular project.
• Create an archive. If you're storing paper materials, place additional materials in the appropriate folder (or stack if you're keeping things chronological). There are many useful programs and Internet applications at your disposal. For example, Evernote is an application with which the user can take pictures, record text or voice messages and store them in the desired sections.

Application of the design method

The project method reduces project management to its fundamental elements so that you can focus on solving pressing problems. To begin, think of any project as a collection of three elements: work steps, secondary tasks, and additional materials.

Without delay, consider the two main projects in your life: personal, family-related, and work. Define action steps for each. Are they scattered throughout your email inbox? Or are they in a notebook? In illegible scribbles hastily scribbled on pieces of paper? Do you have any secondary goals for these projects? What about additional materials? Maybe they are somewhere nearby, within the walls of your office, or folded into folders where you will never find them?

Work steps need to be separated from email. You've probably had to re-read emails multiple times, trying to, as we now call it, identify work steps when it's time to implement them. Email often slows us down because the useful information it contains is almost always clouded by additional material. Work steps hidden in emails risk being “buried” under a flood of other messages. Therefore, work steps must have their own place. In the next section, we'll discuss how to add a milestone management system to email.

When you need to act, work interferes with your personal life. Usually people strictly separate their professional life from their personal life. At work, we are guided by formal to-do lists; colored stickers on the refrigerator remind us of household chores. But observations of the most productive people suggest the opposite: the attitude towards work stages should not depend on the context. Priorities may vary, but the most important processes are best managed within one system. In this case, you can arrange work steps in accordance with existing priorities and carry them out at any time and in any place. Additionally, you and your team will likely find that you can successfully complete professional work steps if they are somehow integrated with personal ones.

Work steps must be accepted and understood by those assigned to carry them out. Typically, project management boils down to creating “do this and that” lists that are handed out to employees. But they will treat these assignments responsibly only if they fully understand what is required of them and take responsibility for their implementation. This is also true for work steps. This conceptual handshake ensures accountability and eliminates misunderstandings.

In teams where orders are sent via email, you need to decide what exactly this confirmation will look like. If a work step your colleague sent you seems unclear or incorrect, you should reject it. This way you will avoid ambiguity. In teams that use paper-based documentation (to-do lists, wall charts, etc.), it is best for all project participants to write down their own work steps, even if they have been delegated to others.

Don't solve all problems at the same time. It is not possible to perform two work steps related to the same project. But you can easily focus on several projects if the work steps in them are clearly defined and organized. You must be able to quickly switch from one project to another, minimizing downtime. If each project is broken down into its components, you will be able to do this without much difficulty.

Save information and catch up

During meetings, you accumulate work steps, additional materials, and secondary tasks. There are press releases, random pages of notes, emails and social media posts all around you. Keep the work steps separate from them.

You will need time to review and organize all the notes and messages that have accumulated during the day. Those who still keep notes on paper, preferring "tangible" project management, can create an "inbox" - a general stack of materials designed to organize them. Sometimes they suggest organizing such a “box” to collect all materials that you cannot immediately process or archive. This "box" is not a destination, but rather a transit terminal where individual components await processing. During a busy workday filled with appointments and meetings, you simply won't have time to start taking action or organize all the materials into folders.

But what about the materials that come to us every day from the Internet? The first dam in their way is the email inbox. But information also leaks through other networks. While your computer's mailbox is yours alone, its online equivalent can be shared with other team members. You must set up settings on social networks to redirect messages coming from there to your email. This way, you will immediately understand which social network is worth joining. If you can't do this, then split your inbox into separate themed folders: for example, my inbox contains email (which receives messages from all other networks), the Twitter aggregator, and the inbox in the task management application. When there is time to systematize materials, you will need to visit all these electronic “storages” of information.

As you can see, the twenty-first century “inbox” is different for everyone. You must determine exactly what your collective mailbox will be before you begin processing the information. It will be easier and calmer for you if you know where everything is. A unified inbox seems to say, “Don't worry, all your documents (and the work steps, minor tasks, and additional materials it contains) are in a specific place, waiting for you, ready to be organized.”

In the age of mobile devices and the Internet, almost anyone can send us a message. An endless stream of calls, emails and text messages, not to mention spam, makes it difficult to concentrate. This is why it is very important not to become hostage to what I call “reactive work flow.” We are talking about a state when you, carried away by constantly incoming messages, cannot concentrate on the main thing. Being in constant motion, you find yourself further and further from real action. Processing information requires discipline and focus. Therefore, real leaders often do this at night and at other times when the information flow is noticeably weaker.

Time spent processing information is perhaps the most productive part of your day. As you work through the information, you put everything in order while highlighting work steps, minor tasks, and additional materials. By defining work steps, you decide what can be done quickly, what will take time, and perhaps what you are going to assign to employees. By looking through other materials, you will get rid of what you don’t need at all, and leave some of them for later.

Email as a project management tool is imperfect. It's difficult to keep work steps separate from extra materials and everything else. The situation is aggravated by the constant flow of letters. In addition to letters, you can also receive messages from Twitter, Facebook and other resources. Some of them are of practical interest, others are not at all relevant to your affairs. Therefore, it is better to record work stages separately from this incessant information flow. You can do this as a spreadsheet or to-do list with all the work steps sorted by project name and date. Or use more modern project management tools that can track work stages and store information about who was given this or that assignment and when.

If you manage work steps via email, you should tag emails that have practical value (for example, start the subject line with “to do”). Emails that contain additional material may be marked “for information.” By agreeing on keywords with colleagues, everyone can easily sort incoming messages.

So, as you process incoming information, breaking it down into work steps, secondary tasks and additional materials, relate each of these elements to a specific project, be it personal or business. You will see that while some of the most immediate activities are completed, long-term work steps are added to the list of tasks for a particular project. Minor tasks are added to the appropriate folder or list. In the meantime, tasks are either deleted or saved in the project materials.

Remember! During any discussion, you generate ideas, and those ideas will disappear if they are not broken down into actionable steps. Gather the steps together in a notepad or any mobile device, but try to keep them separate from other project-related materials.

Name and then combine all the files in which you store information received by mail. Spend a few hours a day (or a few nights a week) processing this information. Highlight what is practical.

Feel the process - from creative search to formulating tasks, processing them and managing the project.

• Note the working steps. Immediately carry out something that does not require much effort and time (short call, payment of a bill, etc.). David Allen calls this the “two-minute rule”: if something can be done in less than two minutes, it should be done immediately.
• Whatever project management system you use, work steps should be recorded sequentially and tied to the project and specific dates.
• Place secondary tasks in a separate folder, indicating the name of the project on it.
• Try to reduce the amount of additional materials as much as possible, because most of them will never be useful. For additional materials that still need to be saved, create special folders and arrange them in chronological order.

How to set priorities and distribute your strength correctly

Some time ago I spent a whole day with the publisher of the monthly Good magazine, Max Schorr, and his team. True idealists, they are constantly loaded with something and work with incredible tension, trying to accomplish everything and even more. As Schorr said, “At Good, we really don't want to miss anything or waste time. We have an abundance of ideas, the only thing we lose is tons of energy.”

If you have a lot of ideas, you probably tend to get involved in many projects, which can take a lot of effort. No matter who you are, your powers are not limitless.

When deciding where to focus your precious energy first, rank your projects in order of importance, from “extreme” to “zero.” How much effort do you need to put into each of them?

Rank projects in order of importance, and you will understand how much effort to spend on each of them.

So, the projects took their places according to economic and strategic importance, located along a kind of “energy line”. The one whose importance you consider “extreme” should be given the most energy and time. By placing current projects along the “energy line”, the team will be able to develop a common opinion on priority areas for work. Have team members gather at one table and write the names of their main projects on cards. These cards should be placed along the "energy line" according to their importance. At first, you may feel that too many projects are in the “emergency” zone. This is not surprising because different employees focus on different projects. Disagreements like this are a wonderful thing because they help the team collectively establish a system of priorities.

Having studied the sequence you have built, act decisively: transfer the least urgent projects to “backup” power, that is, postpone them. Remember: the order in which you arrange projects will allow the team to properly distribute their creative energy and indicate which work steps to start with.

Find a balance between urgent and important

The work process is full of surprises, which often cause us to deviate from our intended course. Leaders of creative projects usually strive to immediately solve all spontaneously arising tasks, even if they are entrusted to another person and generally go against the plans. I call this the “creator syndrome” - the instinctive desire to take care of everything in the world. But if you immediately respond to every new message in your inbox or every customer call, you're unlikely to be able to pursue long-term goals. Luckily, there are ways to manage urgent tasks without compromising long-term projects. When you visit Priceline.com, use an ATM or use your mobile phone, you are using technology developed and patented by Walker Digital. Primarily a research and development organization, this seventy-person company has developed and successfully patented numerous software products. It owes its success not least to the fact that its exceptionally creative management does not suffer from the “creator syndrome”, effectively distributing responsibilities between employees.

Half the company is constantly busy with inventions, while the other half patents them and markets them. One might fear that pressing business needs would quickly exhaust the resources allocated to years of R&D efforts. But this is not the case, as evidenced by Walker Digital's track record.

Its CEO, John Ellenthal, acknowledges how difficult it is to develop new ideas and run a business at the same time. “Creativity and business are completely different things,” says Ellenthal, “and current problems, unfortunately, always interfere with long-term plans.” In other words, there is great tension between operational tasks and more important but less urgent problems that can be repeatedly postponed. Without discipline and proper organization of the work process, a company risks drowning in everyday “urgent” tasks and drowning all its achievements.

Walker Digital's distinctive culture explains how the company stays focused on long-term projects. First of all, this company is private. “No normal investor would ever have the patience to patent ideas,” explains Ellenthal. The time and expense it requires would likely put off ordinary investors, but for Walker Digital employees it's further proof of the value of their ideas. “The amount of energy we put into turning ideas into commercial assets forces people to constantly develop their ideas, invent new things... Everyone knows how valuable a fresh idea is to us.”

Respect for potentially successful ideas helps people continue to work on them even when operational challenges interfere with the creative process. Chief Marketing Officer Shirley Bergin emphasizes, “The importance we place on clarity helps overcome our reluctance to discuss things we don’t think matter.” Such debates allow everyone to reach a consensus on how to properly allocate company resources. The structure of the company itself plays a big role in this. Employees working on long-term research can afford to conduct it without being distracted by short-term tasks that others are busy solving.

Whether you work alone or in a large team, you must first separate urgent tasks from those whose importance is visible only in the long term. Otherwise, constantly receiving questions from clients, bills, and various kinds of difficulties - all this threatens to become an insurmountable obstacle to achieving long-term goals. To prevent this from happening, be disciplined, prioritize and break down complex tasks.

Here are some tips on how to do this.

Keep two lists. Put urgent and important things on separate lists. Long-term goals shouldn't compete with urgent tasks that could easily take up your entire day. Once you have two lists at your disposal, you can focus on each one in turn.

Select the five most significant projects. Compromise is still necessary. Some narrow down the most important points to five. Very often one of these five points is family and besides it there are several other projects that require daily attention. The most important aspect of this list is what isn't on there. When urgent matters come up, a task that is not on the list needs to be postponed for a while. You might be surprised at how much energy you waste on issues that aren't on the list.

Identify a “focus area” for each day. About ten months after launching Project Method Online, one user suggested that our teams create a "focus area" that could be "pulled" into up to five work steps from any project that need to be focused on today. It was assumed that no matter what other issues might arise unexpectedly that day, everything that fell into the “area of ​​special attention” must certainly be completed. This would make it easier to continuously monitor throughout the day and ensure that you focus on the most important tasks.

Don't waste time on things that are not in your control. Urgent matters usually cause anxiety. We continue to think about what they are fraught with, even after we have begun to act. Worrying is a waste of time and distracts us from what is important. When it comes to time-sensitive items, break them down into workable steps and challenge yourself to redirect your energy once they're completed.

It is also useful to decide whether you can have any influence at all on certain circumstances or not. Often our worries are turned into the unknown, and we cannot influence the final result in any way. Once you've done everything you can to solve the problem, recognize that the rest is out of your control.

Don't save up urgent matters. Even if you delegate some tasks to your assistants, you run the risk of continuing to accumulate urgent tasks as they arise. Once you're deep into a project, you'll want to figure out a lot of things on your own. For example, an email comes from a client stating a common, routine problem. Even if someone on your team is responsible for solving it, you might think, “Oh, this is so easy to fix! I will do it myself". And gradually your energy is directed away from the long-term goal. The accumulation of urgent tasks is one of the most destructive tendencies I have seen in creative people who experienced early success. When this happens to you, delegate urgent matters to a subordinate.

Create a “grid of responsibility.” If you have a partner, be sure to decide who does what and who is responsible for what. Some teams create a “responsibility grid” to make it easier to break complex problems into simple components. At the top of the table (horizontal x-axis), write down the names of the team members. Then, on the left side (vertical Y axis), list all the common questions and problems that typically arise during the week.

Check the box that corresponds to the group member or question assigned to him. For example, if you are a small app development team, your list of questions might include “price reduction or group discount,” “user report of a virus or problem,” “report of lost data,” or “suggestion of a new product.” So, you fill out all the columns and check the issues for which a particular employee is responsible. Once the table is completed and agreed upon, it itself is a source of important information about who is (and most importantly, is not) responsible for certain problems. This simple trick will put an end to the do-it-yourself habit and make your team's work much easier.

“Responsibility grid”: who does what?

Use a “responsibility grid” to decide who should and should not be involved in solving current problems.

Find a time when no one bothers you. To implement your long-term plans in the age of high technology and mobile communications, you need to set aside time free from communication and entirely devoted to work. Let these be yours, and only your hours, when you are unavailable for a constant flow of information. Merlin Mann, founder of 43folders.com, once put it this way: “making time to do something.” He himself gave up email, which is not surprising: years of research on creative productivity and related issues have convinced him that the number of obstacles that impede the creative process increases, the more accessible you are to contacts.

It is most often possible to save time late at night and early in the morning, when there is a happy opportunity to resolve important issues without too much risk of being distracted by some urgent matter. Macintosh users have Spaces, an option that allows them to change the appearance of their desktop and show only certain applications. One method is to keep email and all other communication applications in one space, and when you need to use them, move them to another. You can do it even simpler: close all communication applications for a while.

Of course, this requires a certain discipline and a willingness to “jump out” of the reactionary work flow and stop responding to what is happening around. But this is the only way you will be able to focus on what is most important.

Prioritization

Of course, we are not always “equipped” enough to manage our energy and separate momentary matters from truly important ones. Especially when emotions get involved. Everyone around us - colleagues, clients, friends and family - can, if we take the time to do so, make the process of prioritization more positive. I call this “Darwinian prioritization” because natural selection plays a major role in it: the more we hear about certain things, the more likely we are to focus on them. You can call it more simply - “grumbling”.

Many teams rely on the natural power of nagging and peer pressure to better define their priorities and allocate energy. One of them is the New York design studio Brooklyn Brothers. The agency's senior partners, Guy Barnett and Stephen Rutterford, lead a small but prolific team that does a huge amount of work for clients, as well as a host of their own projects, from making chocolate to publishing children's books.

A good example is Legal Sea Food, a company with a capital of two hundred and fifteen million dollars and more than four thousand employees. Its CEO, Roger Berkowitz, explained in an interview with Inc magazine how exactly his style of work depends on "grunting." “People who want me to do something for them ... have to remind me repeatedly,” he said. “This is management through grumbling.” Grumbling itself may seem quite annoying at first. Constant reminders of certain deadlines or tasks cause irritation, especially if it prevents you from plunging headlong into a project. However, amid the chaos of meetings and attempts to put elements of numerous projects in order, the persistent nagging of some employees often helps, rather than hinders, the identification of priorities. When someone constantly bothers you about one issue or another, it most likely means that you have become something of a bottleneck in the team. When you allocate your energy to projects, you often don't know how your decisions affect other people. Some work steps on your list may turn out to be more important than you realized. Persistent attention to them from your colleagues helps you realize this. So nagging can be a force that can improve team productivity through collective prioritization—but only as long as it has support within the company.

One step ahead

Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison's famous expression rings especially true in the world of innovation. Fulfilling your plans is, of course, first of all hard work. Organizing the elements of each project, planning, distributing energy, and then steadily following the work steps - this is the lion's share of success. And yet, moving towards the intended goal, it is easy to get lost on the “project plateau”. The understanding that this is exactly where we are comes when we are overloaded with work stages and do not see the end of our project. Our energy and dedication, and therefore our willingness to overcome all the difficulties of a difficult work process, remain at the proper level only when the main idea of ​​​​the project is deeply understood. The “honeymoon” quickly passes, work stages accumulate and pile on top of each other, competing with other obligations and tasks. Our ideas become less interesting when we realize the weight of responsibility and the amount of work required to complete them.

The easiest, most seductive and at the same time the most dangerous way out of the “project plateau” is a new idea. New ideas quickly restore our energy and passion, but can lead to loss of concentration. As the new “star” flares up, work on implementing the original idea will first fail and then stop altogether. Result? The “plateau” is filled with the “remains” of abandoned ideas. Our love for new ideas is one of the factors that gets in the way of realizing our plans.

When developing new ideas, try to avoid temporary lulls on the “project plateau.”

As you move through the “project plateau,” you must develop self-control. The forces that are needed to correct the “sight” and replenish energy reserves will not appear by themselves. Meanwhile, neither in work nor in life should you delay pauses and stop actively acting. But why do we so often procrastinate and put things off? There are many reasons for this. In addition to the desire to produce more ideas, fear prevents us from implementing existing ones. Everyone tends to fear criticism, disparaging reviews, and refusals. Many writers and artists admit that they have a lot of “raw” ideas that they don’t want to share with anyone. Why? Because they consider their creations not ready for others to see. What if the feeling of readiness never comes?

Sometimes, to further delay action, we turn to banal bureaucracy. Bureaucracy was born out of the human desire to provide complete assurance of success before any action was taken. When we don't want to act, we look for reasons to wait. We use language such as “waiting for approval,” “following procedures,” “further investigation,” or “reaching agreement.” But even when the next step is not entirely clear, the best way to clarify it is to take action. Constant movement is the key to the implementation of the project.

Action without conviction

The truth is that creativity is less about raw talent and more about productivity. To find a few ideas that work, you have to try a lot of ones that don't work. It's just a numbers game.
Robert Sutton

The need to quickly take action when you are not 100% convinced that you are right or that you will ultimately succeed challenges the wisdom of “Measure twice, cut once.” But for creative minds, the cost of downtime can be too high. Downtime causes apathy and increases the likelihood that some other idea will take over our imagination and energy. Moreover, if self-confidence is the result of painstaking analysis, you may become too attached to a single course of action and be unable to “change course” if necessary.

Generally accepted methods (drawing up a business plan - generally not a flexible document, which will need to be amended if unforeseen circumstances arise) should not exclude the first, albeit reckless, steps in line with new ideas, even if they do not justify themselves. Action helps us understand faster and more accurately than observation or theoretical analysis whether we are on the right path.

During one of my visits to IDEO, a world-renowned innovation and design consultancy, I had the opportunity to spend the morning with Sam Truslow, a senior member of the department responsible for working with Hewlett Packard and other equally large companies. Like many IDEO employees, Truslow readily admits that the famed "idea factory" is widely misunderstood. “It’s not just the quality of ideas that keeps us ticking,” says Truslow. “When a person needs a new idea, he talks about something that he cannot yet implement.”

IDEO provides an incredibly efficient mechanism for realizing ideas, including those that its clients may already have in their heads. IDEO's established practice of implementing ideas, of course, includes corporate meetings, the purpose of which is to reach agreement. But the process is much more reminiscent of a curious child experimenting with Lego. When one of the teams has an idea about how something should look or function, they simply build a prototype and start experimenting with it, no matter what stage the project is at. Practicing working prototypes is part of IDEO's smart strategy to overcome the biggest obstacles to bringing promising ideas to life.

At IDEO, intensive searches are conducted even in the preliminary stages of a project. To do this, they use a unique set of resources that allow company employees to experiment even with the “fledged” ideas that arose during a brainstorming session. Firstly, everyone involved in projects has access to the “Workshop” - a special department (it cost the company several million dollars) equipped with the most modern equipment that allows you to quickly create life-size models from metal, wood or plastic. A short tour of the Workshop gave me an insight into the development of large and famous projects - for example, the standard mouse for Microsoft.

Truslow explained to me that a team whose members are empowered to take independent action requires much less coordination of any kind. Fledgling ideas are tested at the very beginning, when dead-end paths are identified and prototypes are created. The “workshop” is an important part of the infrastructure that ensures the rapid reproduction of samples. Some application development teams even create additional environments - “sandboxes”, which allow you to add and play with new features and adjustments outside of the standard framework. As the leader of a creative team, you must surround yourself with everything that allows you to take proactive action. Whether you work alone or as part of a team, take action even if you are not 100% sure of success.

Don't be afraid to kill ideas

If you learn to take action more quickly, you will gain the advantage of knowing about new opportunities. But being willing to deal with raw ideas will only help if you have the willpower to abandon them if necessary. When asked about their biggest career failures, many of the people I spoke with described how a new idea sometimes ruined the entire project. Such an idea had to be “killed” as soon as it became clear that it was a dead end.

Identifying the flaws or questioning the merits of a new idea is a critical skill for creative teams. Often, productive skepticism comes from members who tend to see ideas as flawed rather than potential. Some would call such skeptics boring, but their point of view is incredibly valuable. Those of us who work alone must ensure that we have this source of skepticism at our disposal. You can play the role of a skeptic yourself, you can entrust it to someone else, but doubt must certainly be included in your arsenal.

Walt Disney was known for his boundless creativity, not his skepticism. However, he did his best to ensure that his teams ruthlessly dismantled ideas and, if necessary, discarded them. Kate Trickey, a personal development specialist, in one of her articles talks about how Disney organized the process of working on feature films. As part of this process, there were three separate rooms where ideas were generated, discussed and subjected to the most rigorous evaluation.

Room No. 1. In this room it was possible to generate absolutely any ideas. The true essence of brainstorming - free thinking and the generation of an unlimited number of new ideas - received unlimited support here.

Room No. 2. The amazing (and sometimes crazy) ideas selected in Room No. 1 were sent here. Ultimately, script variations and general character sketches emerged from this.

Room No. 3. Known as the “sweat chamber,” it was a place where the team critiqued the project as a whole. Given that some ideas had already been accumulated in Room No. 2, criticism in Room No. 3 was never directed at an individual, but only at a specific element of the project.

Everyone needs a room like this No. 3. In the creative process, we tend to give whatever privileges we can to the windswept potential of Room No. 1. But the ideological bloodletting that occurs in Room No. 3 is just as important as the bursts of unbridled imagination in Room No. 1.

By cleverly using physical space and clearly articulating the purpose of each work step, Disney created an incredibly productive creative company that revolutionized the world of entertainment. Two major Disney animators, Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, wrote in their book The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation that "there were effectively three different Walts: the dreamer, the realist, and the 'wrecker.' You never knew which one was coming your way.” Apparently, not only did Disney put his crew through all three of the aforementioned rooms, but he himself served as their embodiment.

The examples given here are intended to show how valuable the role of the skeptic is in the idea generation process. When you or your team comes together around a completely new idea or takes creative approaches to a project, you must become a skeptic to better justify your judgment. You don't have to have three dedicated rooms, but you should build a period of critical reflection into your workflow. You must tirelessly get rid of unnecessary ideas in order to focus entirely on more fruitful ones.

In an interview with BusinessWeek magazine about Apple's innovation system, Steve Jobs explained that they actually have no system at all, that the crucial quality of innovation is spontaneity, but only as long as it does not contradict the ability to say “no” without hesitation.

“Apple is a very disciplined company where all processes are well established. But that's not all. Process makes you more efficient.

And all this comes from thousands of “No!”, expressed in order not to be on the wrong path or not to try to embrace the immensity. We always dream of new markets that we could enter with our ideas, but it’s by saying “No!” that we can focus on the things that really matter.”

In other words, a creative leader must understand that he should say “no” more often than “yes,” building a team that knows how to “kill” ideas when necessary.

Meeting effectiveness

It's no secret that most meetings and conferences are fruitless. How to learn to evaluate their results? Although some great insights are discovered during meetings, we are often unable to immediately organize them into a series of sequential steps. Ideally, the meetings should result in ideas translated into work steps. The stages must be assigned to specific people who clearly understand their content and deadlines.

Today, any meetings are extremely expensive. When a meeting begins, the work flow of each of the group members is interrupted, and there is a pause in their actions. To make this pause as fruitful as possible, any meeting should have an agenda. I draw attention to this because too often it does not exist, and if it does, it arises from a survey of participants in a future meeting, which in itself took away their precious time. The worst part is that most teams schedule their meetings as loosely as they schedule their coffee breaks.

As I've watched creative teams try to balance productivity with the imperative of getting together, I've found that the most productive ones plan their meetings sparingly, but make sure no one leaves the meeting room without important deliverables. Otherwise, the meeting comes down to just an exchange of information, for which email would be sufficient.

Here are some tips on this matter.

Don't have meetings just because it's Monday. Cancel a meeting unless there is a real, actionable agenda. Gathering subordinates and colleagues just because “today is Monday” (or any other day) is complete nonsense. Such planning meetings, which lack a normal agenda, risk turning into a banal “registration of participants”, when all those present only update the deadlines for completing their tasks and do nothing else. If you can't completely eliminate such regular meetings, then at least allow yourself (and encourage your subordinates) to cancel them without regret whenever the opportunity arises. During busy periods, when everyone is busy with their own business, such fruitless meetings become even more costly.

End the meeting with a review of committed tasks. At the end of the meeting, take some time to check which work steps your employees have recorded. This will take no more than half a minute for each person and will help you notice missed tasks or, on the contrary, tasks that have been recorded again. It also strengthens the sense of responsibility.

Cancel unnecessary appointments and meetings. If meetings end without defining work steps, be sure to highlight this and raise doubts about their appropriateness. Ultimately, you will earn the respect of your colleagues, your team's productivity will increase, and this will save energy and improve the tone of your team. Just for the love of God, don't schedule another meeting to discuss worthless meetings.

Hold standing meetings. Courtney Holt, former vice president of digital music at MTV and now head of MySpace Music, conducts what are called stand-up meetings. When everyone around you is not sitting, but standing, long and meaningless rants are hardly appropriate.

Don't call meetings because of your own insecurities. The real purpose of some meetings is for the leader to gain confidence. In some cases, bosses who are unable to monitor what subordinates are doing hold a meeting to find out what is happening in the company and who is working on what. In other cases, managers doubt their own progress or decisions and crave positive encouragement from nodding employees. The presence of group members in the office reporting on the progress of their work has a calming effect on managers. But such confirmation of one's own leadership status is too expensive. As leaders, we must recognize the cost of meetings and find other ways to build trust and accountability in our teams. True leaders always question the purpose of a meeting and always consider the critical value of time.

Don't stick to round numbers. Impromptu meetings, quick ones to go over a project or discuss a task, can take place in ten minutes or less.

However, if meetings are scheduled and recorded in calendars, then they are allocated thirty, sixty minutes, and so on. Why? Only because it’s customary! Default! Ideally, the start of planning meetings should be planned, but they should be completed as soon as possible. Some teams have experimented with calling meetings for ten to fifteen minutes and were surprised to find that they ended on time, even if they previously took at least half an hour.

Biology and Psychology of Performance

In April 2008, the Behance team, inspired by Thomas Edison's catchphrase in the epigraph, held its first “99%” conference. In our world there are countless conferences dedicated to inspiring ideas. We organized and held a unique conference, focusing the attention of its participants not on the ideas themselves, but on their implementation. The speakers were asked to refrain from talking about the origins of their plans, but instead to reveal to the audience the details of the struggle to realize them. It was a grand experiment, and we wondered: Would participants want to spend two whole days talking about the time-consuming and much-hated process of turning their ideas into action?

The “99%” conference was a great success, attracting a diverse audience. One of the speakers was marketing guru Seth Godin, a famous blogger and author of numerous books on marketing and leadership. Godin is a man of action. In addition to best-selling books, he created various products, founded companies, and also launched a unique six-month MBA course. Godin's successes have gathered a crowd of fans around him, who consider Seth to be a real genius. However, he has a different opinion about his own successes. He agreed to speak at the 99% conference to shed some light on his record.

Godin's electronic presentation consisted of just one slide - it was a collage of photographs in which he presented all the products and books created during his life. Pointing to the slide, Seth explained to the audience that the vast majority of his companies had failed. “But,” he said, “the reason I’ve had any modicum of success is because I keep shipping.”

“Shipping” happens when you create something—launching a new product, debuting your work in an art gallery, sending off a new manuscript to a publisher. "Shipment" is the final act in a play about new ideas. Godin emphasized active thinking rather than passively following circumstances. “When you run out of money or time, you make a shipment... If your mindset is set on it, then it actually becomes your obligation around which you build your work. Instead of becoming the owner of many beautiful ones, but - alas! - dead ideas, you are the one who invariably ends your process with shipping.”

The reason Seth failed so often was because of the large number of projects he had. But his unique style of thinking allowed him to create some truly amazing works - books that became bestsellers, new companies that captured the imagination of the masses. But in order to “ship” with such frequency, Seth had to overcome the main psychological barriers of the creative mind.

Godin believes that the source of obstacles to turning an idea into a product is the “lizard brain.” From an anatomical point of view, we all have a lizard brain - it is known as the “amygdala”. “Chicks and lizards have lizard brains,” Godin explains. - He is always hungry, he is afraid, he is selfish and sexually preoccupied. That’s all he can do... It turns out that we also have such a brain.” Of course, thanks to evolution, the human brain has developed into a complex system capable of more expansive - and creative - thinking. But the basic features of the lizard brain - the instinct of self-preservation, the desire to avoid danger and risk - are still decisive.

After his brief foray into biology, Seth said that "every time we get close to 'shipping' - every time a manuscript is ready to be sent to a publisher - the lizard brain wakes up... The lizard brain says, 'They're going to laugh at me,' or : “I’m apparently going to get into trouble...” It’s as if he’s letting out an internal scream, ahead of his lungs. So what happens then? Here's the thing: we don't do what we could do. We sabotage. We are holding back. We reschedule the meeting or schedule another one.”

The lizard brain interferes with execution by increasing our fears and making excuses for avoiding risk. Suddenly, work or personal responsibilities support the lizard brain's call to retreat. The lizard brain is silent when we get paid for the monotonous work we do stupidly every day, but it immediately “loses its temper” when we challenge our status quo.

According to Godin, creative people need a “quieter, calmer lizard brain.” Of course, it is very difficult to reject our inherent biological and psychological characteristics. To confidently overcome the resistance caused by the lizard brain, we must choose our projects more wisely and then execute them without any doubts. By making his “shipment” regardless of the success or failure that accompanies it, Seth is able to break through the barrier of excuses that he himself has built. He easily gets along with the risk of possible failure, because he knows: such calmness is the key to success. As a result, Godin generates one idea after another. The many failures that happened along his way are precisely the price that he gladly pays for his successes.

The art of getting things done

The ability to complete a task is directly related to perseverance and perseverance. In addition, in order to promote our ideas, we must listen to other people's opinions.

While playing for the Cornell University lacrosse team, Jesse Rothstein, the energetic and charismatic Procter & Gamble executive, exuded the enthusiasm and collegial spirit that had been cultivated in him as a student. While working for Procter & Gamble, Rothstein spent much of his time on the road, traveling from store to store along the East Coast and meeting with corporate buyers of his company's products. Many managers and customers at Wal-Mart and Costco knew Rothstein and genuinely liked him. He gained wild popularity for what he did when he didn’t know something. In such cases, Jesse persistently searched for an answer until he received it.

Simple, isn't it?

The next step is easy if you know that the answer will be a call. But what to do when you need to collect information from many people or find an answer that closes a long chain of unpleasant and tedious actions? Rothstein's undeniable advantage was his ability to confidently manage a team amid corporate bureaucracy, shifting time zones, and multiple rungs of the corporate ladder to find the right information and satisfy client requests. He had no MBA degree, no stock of ready-made solutions, no magic spells. His arsenal is perseverance and persuasion, and he uses these weapons with almost religious zeal, working like crazy.

“I’m slowly beginning to believe that life consists of developing and refining something,” Rothstein admitted to me on a hot August evening in one of the Thai restaurants in New York. - Once they brought a guy to me, with whom I was supposed to lead a recruiting project. Neither he nor I were born for this job, but sometimes in a company you have to perform other than your duties, replacing or helping out someone. The problem was that my partner didn't really care. I usually sent him emails and had to wait at least a week for a response. I once sent him a draft schedule for review, but never received a response. He obviously wasn’t too worried about the matter, but the task had to be completed like it or not. One day my patience ran out, and I sent him my first letter again, two days later again, on the third day I printed this letter and sent it by Federal Express, accompanying the package with a small note at the top: “I just want, for you to react. Jesse." He finally responded and, I must say, in the end he did his job, and completely independently.”

Rothstein's commitment to continuous development has set him apart in the eyes of clients and employers. He adheres to this idea in all his endeavors. For example, by founding a non-profit organization to raise funds for an annual dinner called the 21 Luncheon in honor of Rothstein's former lacrosse teammate, who died tragically on the field, he was able to find sponsors from among the famous people in the sports world, and as a result, for the first time year, the event raised $50,000. “Lunch 21” gained popularity and is now being held for the sixth time.

Rothstein later left a highly successful career at Procter & Gamble and found himself working for a non-profit organization called Coach for America. His ability to implement bold ideas allowed him to do so despite economic challenges.

To simultaneously promote multiple projects and succeed, you need to have something original in your arsenal. People like Rothstein force the question: How do great things happen? Through simple conviction, special methods or innate genius?

After all, none of Rothstein's actions, be it selling Procter & Gamble products, organizing the 21 Luncheon, or anything else, were out of the ordinary. The brilliance of Jesse is that he always clearly understands what steps need to be taken and then relentlessly follows his plan. There are many stories about successful idea generators like Rothstein. And in each we will find the same set of methods and beliefs. Each person’s system is very individual, but the mechanics of the work of most creative individuals have quite a lot in common.

Long live restrictions!

Sometimes I ask teams to tell me about projects that were particularly difficult to implement. Many stories start surprisingly the same: “The client turned out to be very passive,” “No specific budget was agreed upon. We were told that we didn’t have to limit ourselves too much,” “The assignment was vague and there were no deadlines.” In short, at the beginning of their most terrible projects, the teams felt too free. Sometimes such freedom actually indicates a lack of it. Perhaps the client is still hesitating, wondering which direction to take, or waiting for more information from his bosses. The more raw and open the brief looks at the beginning, the more unexpected conditions will come from the customer later. Most likely, something will have to be redone. But this is not the main reason why open source projects fail.

Restrictions of various kinds - deadlines, budget or specific creative tasks - help manage our energy and implement ideas. While our creative side intuitively seeks freedom and openness—that is, vague, detached, long-term projects—productivity and a focus on the end result desperately require restrictions.

In the summer of 2008, I was invited to join the cast of Engine Room, a reality television show co-produced by MTV and Hewlett Packard. The program featured four teams, each consisting of four creative people from Europe, Asia, South America and the United States. The teams competed with each other, receiving seven creative tasks. Once the next task was announced, participants were given one to six days to discuss, plan and implement their ideas.

I witnessed amazing collaborations limited to extremely tight time frames. The group discussion was short, ideas were quickly tested and, if necessary, eliminated without much hesitation. Good feedback was provided and time was allocated to focus on the most pressing issues. The ticking of the clock was a bit disconcerting for the teams as they gathered for meetings that had no practical need. Considering the short time allotted to the teams, the results were quite remarkable.

Clearly defined problems can also serve as useful constraints on the creative process. At the first 99% conference, legendary designer and Pentagram partner Michael Birat talked about how the logo for the new New York Times headquarters in Times Square was designed. As you know, any establishment in Times Square must adhere to certain requirements in order to match the character and appearance of this place. Specifically, this sign could be fifteen feet tall and should not obscure the interior spaces. Birat tried to look at these limitations not as insurmountable and annoying obstacles that make you feel unsure of your own abilities, but as help in your work. “The problem itself already contains a solution,” Birat explained. His innovative idea integrated rather than rejected existing limitations, and the result was quite impressive.

The Pentagram website explains: “The solution was to break the logo into its components - there were 959 of them. Each letter was rasterized, that is, divided into narrow horizontal stripes, numbering from 26 (the letter i in the word Times) to 161 (the letter Y in the word York) " These pieces were then mounted on ceramic rods and, when viewed from afar, formed letters. Critical response was generally positive, and the project remains one of Michael Birat's most significant achievements.

Constraints serve as a kind of spark that ignites a project. If you have not been given boundaries, you must find them yourself. You can start with resources that, as a rule, are often in short supply - time, money and labor. Additionally, the more clearly you define the problem you are facing, the more useful constraints you will discover. It remains to understand them better. Of course, when you limit your options too much by allocating too little time or accepting a meager budget, you will have to lower your expectations somewhat. Therefore, it is best to find a “golden mean”, that is, be able to realize your creative potential and at the same time not allow yourself to relax. Remember: restrictions are your “seat belt”.

Don't be afraid of change

One of the biggest problems that can arise during a project is change. Of course, you should remember about feedback and possible adjustments that arise in the process of comprehending the work. While we remain open to change, we must still ensure that it comes at the right time and for a purpose, because any of it can throw us off track.

Being attached to a project and investing a huge amount of time and effort into it, we are not too inclined to change course, which is quite natural. Passion, which helps us survive on the “project plateau”, develops perseverance in us. As we gain more and more confidence, we become more and more immune to change, even when we need it ourselves.

Order and regularity are mechanisms that help to cope with any changes in the process of creative research. Instead of discussing project changes at any convenient time, many teams hold periodic meetings dedicated to this topic. They welcome questions such as: “What doesn’t fit into the current plan?”, “What are we missing?” or “What needs to change?” Something similar happened in Room No. 3 at Disney. Change can also be unfavorable, especially when it is the result of anxiety. From Seth Godin, we learned about the lizard brain and how, as we get closer to completing a project, we begin to come up with different excuses to delay the moment of “shipping.” We often remember changes at the last minute. Godin called “slipping” the condition when everyone becomes a critic and begins to find fault with the plan, products or service. At an early stage in the development process, “slipping” is useful in order to identify shortcomings and correct the idea. But at the moment the project is completed, “slipping” becomes the main reason for endless delays and inflated budgets. Therefore, Godin suggests that you “slip” well at the beginning to avoid changes and amendments in the last minutes.

But what if, at the very end of the project, when everyone is focused on the finishing touches, some major flaw or defect is discovered that requires significant changes to the project?

In truth, the shortcomings of ideas usually become apparent long before the work is completed, but sometimes it happens that changes need to be made literally at the last minute. In this case, huge corporations tend to lose out to smaller, newly created companies that have much more flexibility. Suppose you want to limit the very ability to make changes to the project, but still, in case of emergency, do not refuse to do so. Everyone wants to limit as much friction as possible at the start of a project, but sometimes an incredibly important idea comes when you least expect it.

There is one very subtle and sensitive issue regarding last minute changes. What are they caused by: your insecurity or objective shortcomings? What is more profitable: completing the project on time in its earlier version or delivering an improved version late?

Taking advantage of the extreme focus that comes with the final stages of a project, you want to study the market to alleviate your doubts about the project's success. Some teams lay the foundation for the next generation of the product at this time. In such cases, they inform that all significant changes proposed at this final stage will be included in the next version of the product, thus promoting an improved version without jeopardizing the launch of the project as a whole.

Progress begets progress

As you overcome the next milestones on the way to your goal, you should always pay attention to your big and small achievements. Progress motivates us. But to use progress as a motivating force, you need to find a way to measure it. When it comes to a long-term project that you have already announced publicly, progress is embodied in the feedback, feedback and recommendations received from your audience. If the project is still not “declassified”, progress is expressed in a list of completed work stages.

Instinctively, you might ignore such “relics.” In the end, the work is finished. But some rightly savor these tasks as evidence of their progress. They seem to surround themselves with trophies.

The desire to generate ideas with inspiration comes easily, but inspiration itself often makes itself wait. In the midst of heavy, onerous projects with hundreds of work steps and important milestones, it's a good idea to display signs of progress. Why throw away or ignore your achievements when you can create a monument dedicated to a job well done? Some teams, including Behance, dedicate entire walls for such “monuments”, titled with the word “Completed.” They collect reports of completed projects of sorts: pages from notebooks with actions marked on them, index cards with changes made to them, and decorate one of the office walls with such “exhibits.” So, for the Behance team, the “Done” wall is one of our favorite paintings, a piece of art that reminds us of the successes we have achieved. When we feel that it is difficult for us and we are being pulled into the quagmire of insoluble problems, it is enough to look at the treasured wall and see what a difficult but fruitful path we have traveled and what successes we have achieved during this time.

We all need to see positive movement and growth to feel confident in our creative journeys. A simple analogy can serve as confirmation of this: waiting in line. If you find yourself in a long line of people, such as at the entrance to a theater, you will notice that everyone continues to stagnate or at least move a step behind the person in front as the line slowly moves forward. If the person in front is unable to move with the rest of the line, spontaneous irritation will occur. Even if you know that the person you are behind will move a little later and will easily catch up with the line, you are still upset because you see an empty space in front of him.

It is very difficult to feel progress while standing still. To feel productive, you want to move with your “queue.” Moving in a “queue” may not lead to the goal faster, but the process of moving itself makes us more patient. By moving, we are able to wait longer for a specific event. If you're naturally inclined to generate ideas rather than build on existing ones, surround yourself with signs of progress. This will help you concentrate better. When you achieve a really big success, celebrate it, make it meaningful.

Visual organization of space - advertising addressed to oneself

The idea is the most important evidence of productivity, a repository of meaning in the space of creative chaos. It is a valuable tool that allows us to eliminate gaps in our own ideas and guide our actions.

On a frosty February day in 2009, I visited John Maeda, the newly appointed provost of the Rhode Island School of Design. I wanted to find out how the head of one of the leading art schools in America organizes his work. Sworn in in September 2008, just months before we met, Maeda had already made waves in academic circles, both with his unconventional record and bold management strategies.

To begin with, he implemented a plan for radical "transparency" - a topic we will discuss later in the section "Social Forces" - in the relations between the school administration and its students. The administration has created a number of resources, including our.risd.edu, a forum where school community issues are discussed. John is a regular member, and all staff and students can also join the forum. Maeda then initiated the launch of a network of “digital signage” located throughout the campus. LCD screens with a diagonal of 52 inches displayed information about various school events, demonstrated student work, and posted announcements.

I was eager to meet with Maeda to talk not only about the school, but also about the impact his unique track record had on his ability to generate and implement ideas. John is a designer, computer technology specialist, teacher, and MBA holder. Before heading the school, Maeda spent twelve years doing research at the MIT Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He comprehensively embodies the 21st century artist/thinker/leader.

Maeda's office at school is a visual representation of what's going on in his head. Its walls are covered with stickers, sketches, plans, programs of recent and upcoming events, one way or another related to the school. This place is completely different from any other rector's office, and Maeda recognizes this. “If you walk into my office,” he says, “you will be shocked, but that’s the way I think... I don’t think the rector should decorate his office like that, but it’s not just decoration. It’s like sparkling, living thoughts splashing from everywhere... I want to see what’s going on in my head.” Maeda believes that in order to properly organize the events of your life, you need to truly understand what is happening. And to truly understand, you need to see it.

John believes that the ability of a creative person to self-organize is by no means implied and is not given to him by nature. On the contrary, it needs to be developed using various methods of visual stimulation, including walls covered with thoughts, plans and goals.

During our conversation, Maeda jotted down many of my questions and comments on pieces of paper, which he neatly laid out on the table in front of him. Even during casual chats, John still organized and structured his thoughts through visual means, creating a kind of visual “protocol” of the conversation - he approached all his projects in a similar way. “You can only organize something when you understand how it works,” Maeda explained to me.

The folks at IDEO, the legendary design consultancy we've already looked to, have also made visual organization a key principle of their creative process. Walk into one of their buildings and you'll be amazed by the array of haphazard desks and computers, each serving as a personal workspace. Employees' bicycles are suspended from the rafters, and glass-enclosed "project rooms" occupy the vast warehouse space. Each project room has a team of designers dedicated to a specific project. While most visitors to the IDEO campus were amazed by the unusual and creative nature of the spaces, I was intrigued by the objects and sketches on the walls in each of the project rooms. One of the group members, Jocelyn Watt, noticed my curiosity and quickly explained: “We thrive because we have things around us that require immediate action.”

Watt taught me a lot of new things, which made me understand the purpose of the project rooms much better. On small pieces of paper, employees write the names of those who are responsible for completing a particular task. Research results that need to be taken into account during the development of new products are hung on the walls or on large stands placed throughout the room. As I walked around these rooms, I imagined how every day I found myself on some kind of three-dimensional list of urgent tasks and psychological attitudes. Of course, when you're outside the office, it's like you're out of the game. But you will still agree: there is something worthy of emulation in IDEO's spatial approach to project management.

We all live in an era of choice. At any given moment, you need to decide where to focus your attention and how to use your time. But we tend to have our head in the clouds, and when it comes to productivity, this tendency works against us. Maeda, the creative teams at IDEO, and many others use visuals to organize information and motivate them to take action.

To help you focus, you must act as your own advertising agency. The same techniques that make you pay attention to billboards on the highway or commercials on the TV screen will help you become even more involved in your work. If you have a project that is accompanied by a beautiful drawing or an elegant album, it will be easier and more enjoyable for you to do it. Design your workspace in a way that forces you to focus on the project. You need to force yourself to believe that you absolutely need to solve urgent problems, just as an experienced merchant makes you believe that you are in dire need of a particular product.

A course of six lectures given by Igor Stravinsky at Harvard University in 1939. Note ed.

Thomas Kinkade is an American artist, "America's most collectible living artist." The main feature of his paintings were luminous highlights and rich pastel colors. He depicted luminous contours and idyllic objects such as gardens, streams, and houses in an impressionistic style. Note ed.

James Patterson is an American writer, known for a series of works about the American psychologist Alex Cross. Note ed.

Robert Sutton is a professor of engineering at Stanford University and an expert on motivation models, organizational structures, and creativity. Note ed.

“Sandbox” is a specially designated environment isolated from the rest of the system that limits access and use of resources. Here you can test software or check the behavior of potentially dangerous programs obtained from the Internet. Note ed.

Lacrosse is a Canadian national game of Indian origin, also common in the eastern United States. In men's lacrosse, a team consists of 10 people, in women's lacrosse - of 12. The game involves two teams: players, using a stick with a net at the end, must catch a heavy rubber ball and throw it into the opponent's goal. Note ed.

On Today, modern time management techniques are being actively “pushed” into the masses, which work, but only work for a certain category of people.

Therefore, let’s throw away the apparent “defectiveness” and try once again to get closer to understanding.

For me personally, most of these techniques turned out to be completely useless.

Where is the annoying problem hidden?
The whole problem is that I am an extremely disorganized person and the timing inexorably falls out of my overworked hands.

All of the above in no way detracts from the merits of individuals who have worked and are working on time management issues.

However, I was forced for a long time to look for another “magic” pill that would help me personally.
Although it is possible that you too, dear readers.

I can proudly say that I have already found something similar to a magic pill!

It is far from sweet, but extremely effective.

Organization of the creative process for disorganized individuals.

Well, are the kids ready to absorb information?

Then throw away your slippers, put away your frozen socks, turn off your favorite radio and listen carefully to the voice of reason. Remember the popular wisdom, which persistently pushes us to the obvious idea that the one who gets up early delivers texts to the customer on time.

A freelancer is spared the “happiness” of communicating with a direct or very mediocre supervisor, since he independently plans his working day. However, therein lies the catch that can hit a creative worker in the gut.

By the way, a portal to the world of dreams for a freelance copywriter can open only at 5-6 o’clock in the morning, or even much later.

It is easier for a hired employee to organize his work, since IT IS DONE FOR HIM: the head of the department, the head of the department, the deputy general director.

Everyone is not too lazy, but no one is too lazy.

What is needed for that?
Make a predatory expression on your face and pick up the whip.

Records on the monitor body

I worked in various modes and came to the following (unflattering) conclusions:

1. For me personally, the most effective time periods in terms of generating ideas and writing texts are from 08:00 to 12:00, from 14:00 to 18:00, from 20:00 to 00:00.

It is possible that this is due to the biological rhythm of the body. 7 hours of sleep is enough for me to rest.

Before work, be sure to: a dozen other push-ups, a light breakfast and aromatic tea.
Next comes checking the mail and turning on the afterburner - work.

On the contrary, the period from 12:00 to 14:00 is the most unproductive.

Therefore, I use these two hours for other purposes (lunch, a change of activity, a short walk).
The main goal: to give the brain a chance to rest.

Surprisingly, even in one period (4 hours), I manage to complete 60-65% of the work planned for the day.
The most important thing is that all textual verbiage pours out in a torrent, and without damage to one’s own brain and health.

2. One percent improvement method.

I borrowed this method from Igor Mann, a famous marketer, the main think tank of the Mann, Ivanov and Ferber publishing house.

What is the essence of the method?

Every day you complete the task you set yourself, by only 1%.
This method has proven itself well when carrying out large projects that cannot be completed in a week or month.

This method is more applicable not to writing texts, but to performing specialized tasks.
For example, the technique is great for improving the usability of a blog, maintaining physical fitness, pre-drawing, brainstorming ideas, etc.

Tell me, how far will we go without the above aspects, especially without health?

3. Sit down, lie down and DO.

Attention!

In any case, you yourself create boundaries for yourself, beyond which it is undesirable, but in some cases it is possible.
For example, when you are significantly ahead of schedule.

Any freelance copywriter dreams of writing easily, without stress, at the click of a finger.

Is this real?

Even contrary to popular belief, to activate your creativity you must wait for a seductive muse in a transparent robe.

At the same time, no one forces you to “roll” like a sack on the back of a chair or, hunched over a heavy table, to study the specks of dust on the surface of the monitor.

Is your work machine a laptop?

Then feel free to lie down on the sofa, naturally with your laptop (don’t confuse it with your wife) and start creating.
I'm not kidding, try the method, maybe it will catch on.

For owners of personal computers, this is an additional push towards purchasing a laptop.
Whatever you say, mobility is increasing.

I am sure that these methods will be enough for you to start an adrenaline-fueled, effective start.
Well, in the future, if something else comes up, I’ll definitely share it with you.

Organization of the creative process: a thrice effective copywriter

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At the moment, modern time management techniques are being actively “pushed” into the masses, which work, but only work for a certain category of people. Therefore, let’s throw away the apparent “defectiveness” and try once again to get closer to understanding. Understanding yourself beloved! The author of the post personally “tested” various time management techniques. Methods recommended for implementation by the following experts: Brian Tracy, Lothar Seitwert, Gleb Arkhangelsky. […]

Before considering the specific organization of the process of developing and making collective decisions, let us get acquainted with its general prerequisites, which first of all include the composition and character of the group.

Regarding the first circumstance, it is generally accepted that the best performance is achieved by a team formed of five people, in which decisions are made most quickly; in addition, it is the least conflicting. At the same time, a large team is able to solve more complex and varied problems due to the fact that its members have a much greater combined experience, knowledge and qualifications.

However, as a group grows, it becomes more difficult to coordinate its work, which reduces the consistency of its members; This circumstance has a particularly negative impact in cases where the problem under consideration does not have a clear and unambiguous solution. In addition, with an increase in the number of group members, the contribution of each person to the results of its activities decreases, since the processes of “social idleness” and “diffusion of responsibility”, the emergence of contradictory “status groups” begin to develop. All this inevitably affects intragroup relations, and therefore the performance of work. Depending on the nature of memory and type of thinking, the English scientist R. Gibson gave the following classification of people who can be, to one degree or another, participants in the process of collective development of management decisions.

Prometheans- creatively thinking individuals, in turn subdivided into several categories: some generate ideas in a general form; others pick them up, completely process them and make them usable; still others transfer from one area of ​​application to another. In general, it is believed that there are no more than 6% of such people, but only half of the abilities are actively manifested.

Erudites- they themselves are no longer able to create, but, possessing deep and comprehensive knowledge, good memory, they are the first opponents and tactical opponents of the “Prometheans”; Among the category of people we are considering, about 25% are erudite, among whom approximately a third are classified as active, and two thirds as passive. Systematizers of facts - their role is to initially process the flow of information and divide it into smaller “sleeves”; these people in general make up about 20%, of whom only about a third belong to the active category. Collectors and recorders of facts, masters of description; they are necessary for others to carry out the creative process as passive accumulators and keepers of information. Ordinary workers working to solve problems using templates and ready-made techniques. They mostly perform such actions as copying of material and primary calculations.

Thus, the number of creatively thinking individuals and active scholars does not exceed 15%, the remaining 85% are essentially artisans, waiting for instructions and capable of performing only auxiliary work, which, however, cannot be done without.

Russian psychologist E. Starobinsky cites the following characteristics of a creative personality: openness of mind; lack of conformity; assertiveness, tendency to self-assertion; desire to work according to your own schedule; ability for long, hard work; desire and taste for considering irrational ideas, everything unusual; tendency to solve complex, ambiguous problems; primary interest in the unknown; tolerance to situations of uncertainty; the need for new, unusual experiences; need for freedom; a penchant for humor; IQ level is above average.

In the USA, for example, 10% of managers are doctors of science, 25% have a master's degree, and another 25% have two university degrees.

Now let’s get acquainted with the organization of the process of collective solving management problems and its specific varieties. It must be borne in mind that any collective creativity is ultimately based on the individual thought process. Thus, when selecting and initially processing new information, the participants in the process act as “isolators” and only then jointly evaluate the ideas, opinions, and hypotheses proposed by each other and select the best ones that can be put into practice.

To make decisions, especially long-term ones of a strategic nature, forecasts are necessary. Often used for forecasting Delphi method:

The essence of the method comes down to the fact that experts independently make forecasts, which are subsequently summed up and generalized into a single version, which is passed on to them as the basis for further work. This is repeated several times until a satisfactory result is achieved, reflecting an overall balanced position. Those who have a dissenting opinion, significantly different from her, justify their views in writing, and after full discussion, a final decision is made.

It is now extremely widespread brainstorming method with the help of which, as practice shows, you can come up with up to 100 original ideas in an hour and a half. Here, for the success of the work, a number of conditions must be met:

limited number of participants (no more than 10 people); close social status (so that the difference in it does not “pressure”); poor familiarity with the essence of the problem being discussed for the majority (otherwise there will be no original approaches to solving it); a comfortable work environment that allows you to relax and immerse yourself in it completely; recording all proposals made; the passive role of a leader performing exclusively chairman functions.

The brainstorming procedure is as follows: the manager, in his speech (up to 15 minutes), introduces the rules of work, talks in general terms about the essence of the problem, its causes and the benefits that the solution found can bring, and then invites others to speak out. The ideas presented are either subsequently transferred to specialists (classic version) or evaluated by the participants themselves. A “reverse brainstorming” is also possible, when there is a search for weak points and criticism of the options proposed for discussion and, on this basis, the formulation of one’s own.

The basis of brainstorming is the idea that in order to become more active, a person needs to be placed in unusual conditions (in this case, in a game situation), which are in no way reminiscent of ordinary meetings, taking him out of a routine environment. This method is very fruitful, and its elements are present in one form or another in many others.

When things are not very urgent, you can use method of targeted discussions.

The essence of the targeted discussion method is an open discussion led by a facilitator, who directs it either to the development of new ideas or to the assessment of existing ones and the search for weaknesses in them. At the same time, the proposed ideas themselves can be pre-formulated based on a brainstorming session.

If, instead of individual isolated ideas, a holistic concept is proposed for discussion, revealing one of them in general terms, we are talking about the so-called incident method.

After listening to the concept presented by the presenter, the participants express their opinions about it and clarify some issues related to it; this helps to better understand the essence of the problem and quickly find ways to solve it.

New ideas can be generated using questionnaire method, which is based on a list of questions compiled in any form and related to one degree or another to the essence of the problem under consideration. The following can be used as universal questions in this case:

Is it possible to find a different way to use the proposed idea if something is changed in it;

can the idea be adapted and made better;

can the idea be modified (which elements and how?);

Is it possible to increase or decrease something (what and how?);

Is it possible to replace something (with what and how?);

Is it possible to rearrange or combine something (what and how?); swap everything.

Stimulating the activity of participants is largely ensured by the use of the method “fire on the leader.”

The essence of this method is that the leader formulates the concept in such a way that it contradicts the general opinion of the group, thereby trying to provoke a heated discussion that can significantly clarify the situation. Many methods of collective problem solving are based on analysis and comprehension of the notes taken, their addition, development, etc. So, free association method consists in the fact that the leader writes on paper a word or phrase related to the problem, and each of the participants supplements the entry with his own; This is how a thought chain arises that reveals the problem posed from various angles.

The analysis of the situation is greatly aided by the assessment and ranking of it as a whole and individual elements, carried out with the help of a creative group. Yes, within method of comparative assessments each participant gives the last (from 1 to 5 points) parameters such as the role and importance of the situation. Then the average score is determined, and the participants, divided into two groups (one with scores below the average; the other - above the average), try to prove to each other that they are right. Under the conditions of the method arranging the elements of the problem according to their significance participants rank them according to criteria such as importance, consistency, duration of the solution, etc. All proposals are written on the board and discussed in the form of a conference.

Can be very effective circular method suggesting that a group of 12-15 people is divided into several subgroups of 3-4 people, and work begins in them. Each of the participants writes down 2-3 ideas on a special card related to solving a given problem, and then runs it “in a circle,” during which these ideas are supplemented and developed. Then, based on the study, the best ones are selected from them, with whom the subgroup enters the general “tournament”. Here, all proposals are combined into a single list, the contents of which are put to a vote (each has 5 votes). The voting procedure may be repeated several times in order to select proposals that meet the given criterion.

The method has a lot in common with the previous one making proposals by name, the essence of which boils down to the following: the presenter poses a problem to the group members, and after 5-10 minutes everyone writes down their proposals for solving it on a card. The cards are passed around in a circle, and everyone gives these proposals the corresponding points, after which the solutions with the most votes are easily selected.

Having gathered together, a group of 6 people conducts 5 rounds of brainstorming on paper (the duration of the first is 5 minutes; the second - 6 minutes, etc.), writing out 3 solutions on a card and passing them around for evaluation. Thus, a total of 108 proposals can be made. A number of methods of collective creativity are used not so much to find solutions, but to analyze the problems themselves. First of all, here we can highlight method of decomposition by parts. The latter involves compiling a list of the main characteristics of the problem; the proposed list is thoroughly discussed and, if necessary, characteristics are considered for improvement.

The method associated with problem analysis, called metaplan. A group of 15-20 people is given the task of analyzing a problem, usually related to the expenditure of resources. Their losses and reserves are written out on separate cards, which are subsequently combined into groups depending on the time frame during which the reserves can be used and losses eliminated. Separate subgroups are given the task of identifying the causes of losses, ways to eliminate them and the possibility of using reserves, on the basis of which they are classified according to timing. The group reviews the information received, determines which of the losses and reserves are the most significant and sets appropriate goals, which are then included in the firm's operating plans.

Problem analysis can be carried out by a team based on matrix structuring method.

The method involves compiling a matrix, the columns of which form the options under discussion, and the rows form their attributes (what? where? when? how? etc.). Previously, these attributes are studied from different points of view and connections between them are established, which ultimately serves as the basis for decision-making.

A number of methods deserve to be noted because of their originality. These include, in particular, the method “ behind-against". A group of 15-20 people determines possible solutions to the problem and presents them in a schematic form to a special jury. At its meeting, each option is accused and each is defended by 2 people, whose arguments are recorded on a special board. At the second stage, they change roles, which makes it possible to identify additional arguments for and against. At the third stage, all these arguments are discussed by the jury (first in groups, and then jointly), which, with their help, improves the options and selects the best one. It is based on putting forward ideas that are unrealistic at a given time and in a given type. method of utopian games.

From the proposed ideas, rational grains are selected taking into account their prospects. To develop these ideas, a special group is created, consisting of 4-5 people, which prepares for 20 minutes and then presents to the jury its forecasts of the desired and undesirable future and possible options for action in these conditions.

By using forced relationship method innovative solutions are formed, which we have already discussed above, and using the method lateral (sideways) thinking all possibilities that go beyond the given area of ​​solutions are considered (here there is a similarity with the method of utopian games). Finally, one cannot fail to mention collective notepad method(We can equally talk about an individual notebook).

The group receives a notebook outlining the essence of the problem and writes down ideas related to its solution every day for a month, which are then discussed collectively (but everyone can also receive an individual notebook). In conclusion, we will consider some ways to increase the effectiveness of collective creativity and its most important conditions. The latter can be divided into general, organizational and personal.

To the general conditions include clear goals, optimal rhythm and intensity of the creative process, the absence of internal conflicts in the team that sharply reduce the activity of the participants, as well as their timely material and moral stimulation.

Organizational conditions more specific. Here we can highlight a number of defining points, including:

optimization of the number of participants;

correct conduct of the group meeting (stimulating the activity of making proposals so that their number is maximum, by eliminating preliminary assessments, giving the first word to the least knowledgeable and experienced, preventing the impersonality of people and results, ensuring businesslike discussion, etc.);

independence of participants from each other and from the leader;

creation of a parallel creative group. It must be borne in mind that during a discussion, not everyone can resist the pressure of general opinion, so in some cases it is advisable to ensure the anonymity of expressing opinions.

Finally, the effectiveness of a group’s work largely depends on the skill, character and attitude of the group itself. manager, his pedagogical abilities, attention to people, taking into account their psychology, the traditions of the company and the team, as well as his own attitude to creativity. From this point of view, psychologists distinguish five types of leaders.

Democrat- primarily cares about the emotional side of things and interpersonal relationships, without attaching importance to the level of intelligence of group members; the decisions made by the latter will be suboptimal under such conditions; Dictator- puts the professional training of the participants in the process in the first place, as a result of which decisions turn out to be correct, but “without flight”, and therefore also suboptimal; Pessimist- believes that working alone is better, and therefore applies the method formally, which affects the quality of solutions. Organizer - gives everyone the opportunity to demonstrate their individual abilities, even to the detriment of others; The decisions prepared under his leadership are also not optimal. Manipulator - reconciles positions and extinguishes conflicts; combines the features of the previous types, which allows you to most successfully cope with the assigned tasks. Depending on the psychological characteristics of the leader and the participants in the process, the decisions made can be very different in nature: balanced(they are put forward by people who soberly analyzed the situation, critically assessed it, and therefore quickly found the right path); impulsive(the promotion of ideas sharply prevails over their verification and clarification, and therefore the decisions themselves are made in a hurry, turn out to be ill-considered, hasty); inert(are the result of a careful search in which ideas are put forward in a general form, slowly tested and re-tested many times, and therefore the process itself is drawn out); careful(characterized by special thoroughness of assessments, the desire to avoid mistakes and achieve results; here, in essence, decisions are implemented twice - first in the form of estimates, and then as adjustments).

Self-test questions:

1. List the characteristics of a management team.

2. What is a quality circle?

3. How the process of collective creativity is organized.

INTRODUCTION

Scientific organization of the creative process

Algorithm for solving inventive problems

Literature

Applications

process creativity algorithm invention

INTRODUCTION

The topic of the abstract is “Scientific organization of the creative process. Algorithm for solving inventive problems” in the discipline “Fundamentals of Technical Creativity”

Scientific organization of the creative process. Algorithm for solving inventive problems

The creative process associated with the creation of new equipment and technology is very closely related to invention, which is the oldest human activity.

Actually, the process of humanization of our ancient ancestors began with the invention of the first tools.

From century to century, inventive problems became more and more complex, and the methods for solving them were hardly improved; as a rule, inventors went to the goal through “trial and error.”

Experts say it would be very convenient if inventions were the result of a logical and orderly process. Unfortunately, it is not. Inventions are the product of what psychologists call "intuition" - an unexpected flash of inspiration, the mechanism of which lies in the depths of the human mind.

Previously, the invention process represented the following process diagram:

The first act is an act of intuition and desire. Origin of the idea (statement of the problem).

The second act is the act of knowledge and reasoning. Development of a scheme or plan (solving a problem).

The third act is an act of skill. Constructive implementation (implementation of the task).

At the same time, this scheme is so vague that it gives the inventor practically nothing. Until recently.

Currently, the process of inventive creativity takes into account the complexity of the tasks of creating a technical object. The complexity of tasks can have five levels, and at each level there can be 6 stages (A, B, C, D, E, F).

In general, the process of inventive creativity consists of the following stages:

* choosing a task;

* choice of search concept;

* collection of information;

* search for an idea for a solution;

* development of an idea into a design;

* implementation.

In order to carry out all stages of the creative process during invention, scientists and specialists tried to develop a theory of invention and create the necessary methodology.

The theory of invention proceeds from the fact that the development of technology, like any development, occurs according to the laws of dialectics, and accordingly it is based on the application of dialectical logic to the creative solution of technical problems.

But to create a workable methodology, logic alone is not enough. The method of invention generalizes critically selected techniques of the greatest value and its main goal is the scientific organization of creative work.

Currently, the process of solving inventive problems can be considered as a technique for establishing a sequence of operations to identify, clarify and overcome technical contradictions.

Direction of thinking is achieved by focusing on an ideal method, an ideal device. At all stages of the solution, a systematic approach is used and it must be taken into account that any inventive problem can be solved as a result of systematic mental operations, while the correct organization of the creative process acquires the main importance.

Nowadays, a long search for an idea or solution testifies not only to the persistence of the inventor, but also to poor organization of creativity.

Creativity is completely compatible with a system, with planning. Creativity is characterized not by insight and inspiration, but by the result of work. If something new is created, it means the work is creative.

Creativity is a changing concept: its content is constantly updated. The whole point of the theory of invention, in essence, is that tasks that are rightfully considered creative today can be solved at the level of organization of mental work that will exist tomorrow.

It must be remembered that new machines do not appear “out of thin air.” Any modern machine (mechanism, technical system) accumulates tens, hundreds and thousands of successive inventions. Even for a pencil, more than 20 thousand patents and copyright certificates have been issued.

Each invention pushes the development of machines, with all this proceeding from the fact that the solution to an inventive problem is the case when there is no ready-made key (recipe) for this solution at all.

At the same time, it is known that machines do not develop “at random,” but in a certain logical sequence. They may appear in some medium size, and then in both smaller and larger sizes. This is clearly visible when creating trucks. They are available in small, medium and large capacity.

Each machine strives for a certain ideal, the “ideal machine.”

"Ideal car" », is a conditional standard and has the following features: the weight, volume and area of ​​the object with which the machine works (i.e. transports, processes, etc.) almost coincides with the weight, volume and area of ​​the machine itself.

An example of a non-ideal machine is a helicopter. He transports cargo, passengers, and himself, spending approximately 1/3 of the developed effort on this. When creating an ideal helicopter, it is necessary to ensure that more of the force developed is used to transport cargo.

When creating any machine you have to deal with technical contradictions. These contradictions arise between the most important indicators that occur in any machine: weight (mass), dimensions, power, reliability, etc. There are always certain relationships between these indicators, and in order to improve one of the indicators in ways already known in this branch of technology, you have to pay deterioration of another.

Because of these contradictions, an ordinary problem often becomes inventive in cases where a necessary condition for its solution is the elimination of a technical contradiction.

It is not difficult to create a new machine, ignoring technical contradictions. But then the machine will be inoperative and lifeless.

If the solved technical problem is novel and useful, and is above the state of the art, then this solved problem is recognized as an invention.

There are two concepts of “invention” - legal (patent) and technical.

The legal concept is different in different countries, and it changes frequently.

The legal concept strives to reflect as accurately as possible the boundaries within which legal protection of new engineering structures is currently economically feasible.

For a technical concept, it is not so much these boundaries that are important as the core of the invention, its historically stable essence.

From an engineer's point of view, creating a new invention comes down to overcoming (full or partial) a technical contradiction.

The emergence and overcoming of contradictions is one of the main features of the technical process.

Using the concept of an ideal machine and technical contradictions, one can significantly streamline the process of solving an inventive problem.

The ideal machine helps to determine the direction of the search, and the technical contradiction inherent in the problem indicates the obstacle that must be overcome.

Therefore, to solve a technical problem, you need rational tactics that allow you to carry it out step by step.

One of the scientifically substantiated and well-proven methods in the practice of mass technical creativity is the method of software solution of technical problems, created by the Soviet inventor and writer G.S. Altshuller. He called it the algorithm for solving inventive problems (ARIZ).

ARIZ is a clear example of the application of materialist dialectics and a systematic approach to the process of technical creativity. The technique is based on the doctrine of contradiction. An algorithm is a set of sequentially performed actions (steps, stages) aimed at solving an inventive problem (the concept of “algorithm” is used here not in a strict mathematical, but in a broader sense). The solution process is considered as a sequence of operations to identify, clarify and overcome a technical contradiction. Consistency, direction and activation of thinking are achieved with all this by focusing on the ideal final result (IFR), i.e. the ideal solution, method, device.

An improved technical object is considered as an integral system consisting of subsystems, interconnected elements, and at the same time being part of a supersystem consisting of interconnected systems. Before solving a direct problem associated with a technical object, they search for problems in the supersystem (bypass problems) and choose the most acceptable path.

When setting the problem in ARIZ, the fact that the source of psychological inertia is technical terminology and spatio-temporal representations of the object is taken into account. Therefore, it is recommended to formulate an undesirable effect or the main difficulty of a situation, rather than the requirements of what needs to be done.

The effect of psychological inertia is also reduced by using the RVS operator (Dimensions - Time - Cost), the essence of which is to conduct a series of thought experiments to change the dimensions of an object from a given value to 0 and then to?, the time of action (speed) of the object from a given value to 0 and then to? and the cost of the object from the given value to 0 and to?. The formulation of the conditions of the problem is given according to a certain scheme in terms accessible to a non-specialist.

The strategy for solving the inventive problem using ARIZ can be presented in the form of a diagram in accordance with Figure 1. It is as follows. Formulate the original problem (IP) in general form. It is processed and clarified, taking into account the action of the vector of psychological inertia (VI) and technical solutions in this and other areas.

State the conditions of the task, consisting of a listing of the elements of the technical system and the undesirable effect produced by one of the elements (processed task in Figure 1.-3O). Then they formulate according to a certain IFR scheme. It serves as a guideline (beacon) in the direction in which the process of solving the problem is going (when formulating the IFR, you do not need to think about how it will be achieved).

In comparing the IFR with a real technical object, a technical contradiction is revealed, then its cause is a physical contradiction (in Figure 1, the contradiction between the IFR and the 3D can be illustrated by the distance between them on the plane of the search field).

(ZI - initial task, VI - vector of psychological inertia; ZO - processed task; IFR - ideal final result).

Figure 1 - Scheme for solving an inventive problem using ARIZ.

The meaning of ARIZ is to, by comparing the ideal and the real, identify a technical contradiction or its cause - a physical contradiction - and eliminate (resolve) them by going through a relatively small number of options.

During the development of ARIZ, after analyzing 40 thousand inventions, it was found that about 1200 contradictions were overcome in them using mainly 40 standard techniques. It turns out that a certain type of contradiction is eliminated by a certain small number of “own” techniques.

This made it possible to compile a table of techniques for overcoming technical contradictions. Along its vertical line are parameters that need to be improved, and along its horizontal line are parameters that will unacceptably worsen if the problem is solved in known ways. In this case, the intersection of a row (an improving parameter) with a column (a worsening parameter) gives a combination that can be eliminated using the techniques specified in the corresponding cell of the table.

Appendix A discusses the basic techniques for eliminating technical contradictions and some technical solutions that are based on them.

ARIZ is a developing and constantly improving system. Its variants are known: ARIZ-59, ARIZ-61, ARIZ-64, ARIZ-65, ARIZ-68, ARIZ-71, ARIZ-77 and ARIZ-80. Let's consider one of them.

Appendix B shows one of the variants of the algorithm for solving inventive problems (ARIZ-77).

Using algorithms for solving inventive problems, you can quickly find a solution to the problem. To use the specified ARIZ, it is necessary to study their content in detail and strictly adhere to the parts of this algorithm.

The team of the laboratory of mathematical methods for optimal design of the Mari Polytechnic Institute (Yoshkar-Ola) under the leadership of Professor A.I. Polovinkin conducted an in-depth scientific analysis of more than 30 known methods for finding technical solutions, activating and rationally organizing creative activity. The result of the research was the development of a generalized algorithm for searching for new technical solutions (generalized heuristic algorithm).

This technique is a further development of ARIZ, which forms its basis, and contains a number of original developments by the authors, as well as rational techniques and procedures from some other methods, including: morphological box, functional invention, organizing concepts, etc. This combination, based on achievements of the methodology of technical creativity, makes the methodology quite complete, capacious, detailed and universal, applicable to solve a wide variety of problems in many branches of technology.

The generalized algorithm can be used to construct simpler but more effective private algorithms designed to solve specific problems (private algorithms should include the stages with the highest frequency of use for a given class). The methodology is focused on the synthesis of new rational technical solutions using a computer (for working in the “man-machine” dialog mode), but can be successfully used by a person, mainly in separate blocks, and in a machine-free search for solutions.

The algorithm consists of 17 stages, during the passage of which a large information apparatus is used, consisting of eight arrays of information. Storing them in the computer memory ensures a quick search for the necessary options at each stage of solving the problem.

Literature

1. Chus A.V., Danchenko V.N. Fundamentals of technical creativity. - Kyiv - Donetsk: Vishcha School, 1983-183p.

2. Polovinkin A.I. Fundamentals of engineering creativity. - M.: Mechanical Engineering, 1988.-366 p.

3. Alshuler G.S. Invention algorithm. - M.: Moscow worker, 1973.

4. Alshuler G.S. Creativity as an exact science. - M.: Soviet radio, 1979.

5. Alshuler G.S. Find an idea. INTRODUCTION to the theory of solving inventive problems. - Novosibirsk: Science, 1986.

6. Bush G.Ya. The birth of inventive ideas. - Riga: Lissma, 1976.

7. Bush G.Ya. Methodological problems of technical creativity. Abstracts of reports. - Riga: Latvian RS VOIR, 1979.

8. Bush G.Ya. Methods of technical creativity. Riga: Lissma, 1972.

9. Antonov A.V. Psychology of inventive creativity. - Kyiv: Vishcha school, 1978.

10. Gramp E.A. Functional cost analysis: essence, theoretical foundations, experience of application abroad. - M.: Informelektro, 1980.

11. Karpunin M.G., Maidanchik B.I. Functional cost analysis in the electrical industry. - M.: Energoatomizdat, 1984.

APPENDIX A

Basic techniques for eliminating technical contradictions and examples of technical solutions

1 Crushing principle. Divide the object into parts, make it collapsible, increase the degree of fragmentation.

The nut (art. no. 742639), in which the threads and the body are made as separate parts, is removed from the bolt without screwing - just remove the body and the threaded part itself disintegrates.

2 Principle of adjudication. Separate the interfering part (property) from the object or select the only necessary one.

3 Local quality principle. Move from the homogeneous structure of an object (process) to a heterogeneous one. Different parts of an object should have different functions and characteristics that are most appropriate to their operation.

Wear areas of machine parts and working tools (rolls of rolling mills) are overlaid with an expensive wear-resistant alloy, increasing their durability.

4 The principle of asymmetry. Go from a symmetrical shape to an asymmetrical one.

Rolling bimetallic strips in rolls of different diameters, rotated at different angular speeds, improves product quality. In this case, a roll of smaller diameter is installed on the side of the component with a higher yield strength (art. no. 508380).

5 Principle of unification. Connect (combine) homogeneous or adjacent operations (objects) in space or time.

A significant increase in the productivity of a long rolling mill is achieved by simultaneous rolling of several profiles from one billet (English Patent No. 1040119). For example, you can get two corner profiles from a channel.

6 Principle of universality. The object performs the functions of other objects (those that are no longer needed).

Instead of a separate electric motor driving the rotation of the pressure screws of the device for regulating the distance between the rolls of the rolling mill, it is proposed to drive them from the main mill motor rotating the rolling rolls (Czechoslovak Patent No. 120705).

The briefcase handle can simultaneously serve as an expander (art. St. No. 187961).

7 The “matryoshka” principle. One object is placed inside another, passes through a cavity in another object, another goes inside a third, etc.

The ballpoint pen-pointer, the body of which consists of retractable telescopic tubes, combines both the “matryoshka” principle and the principle of versatility.

The body of a dump truck-semi-trailer is made of two parts that telescopically fit into each other - the load falls out of such a dump truck better (car no. 712309).

8 The principle of anti-weight. Compensate for the weight of an object by connecting with other objects that have lifting force, or interacting with the environment (due to aero-, hydrodynamic and other forces).

9 The principle of prestressing. Give the object in advance deformations (stresses) opposite to the unwanted ones.

If, when winding the spring, the wire is simultaneously twisted around its axis, then the resulting pre-stressed “double” twist spring is much superior in its mechanical properties to those manufactured in the usual way (author's certificate No. 316509).

10 The principle of preliminary execution. Make the required change to the object in advance (in whole or in part), arrange the objects so that they can take effect with minimal time spent on their delivery.

In order to increase the emissivity of the torch in an open-hearth furnace, gas is supplied to the burner to a temperature of 600-700°C (author's certificate No. 235053).

11 The principle of a “pre-planted cushion”. Compensate for the low reliability of the facility with prepared emergency means.

In order to quickly heal the cut site on the tree, a compression ring is placed on its branch (before cutting), which is a signal of the accumulation of nutrients and healing substances in this “sick” place (author's book No. 456594).

Additives are added to toxic chemicals in advance during manufacturing to reduce the risk of poisoning (author's certificate No. 246626).

12 The principle of equipotentiality. Change working conditions so that you do not have to raise or lower the object.

A container carrier has been proposed (vehicle no. 110661), in which the cargo is not lifted into the body, but is only installed by a hydraulic drive on a support bracket. This allows you to dispense with a crane and transport taller containers.

13 The “vice versa” principle. Instead of an action dictated by conditions, carry out the opposite action; make the moving part stationary and the stationary part moving; flip the object.

The process of vibration cleaning of metal products in an abrasive environment is simplified if the vibration movement is imparted not to the environment, but to the workpiece (author certificate No. 184649).

In a device for training swimmers (art. no. 187577), the swimmer remains in place, and water is supplied towards him.

When casting large-sized thin-walled parts, as the mold is filled with liquid metal coming from above from a stationary feeder (bowl), the mold moves downwards (art. no. 109942).

14 The principle of spheroidality. Move from rectilinear parts of an object to curved ones, from flat surfaces to spherical ones; use rollers, balls, spirals.

A device for welding pipes into a tube sheet has electrodes in the form of rolling balls (German Patent No. 1085073).

15 The principle of dynamism. The characteristics of the object (process) must change so as to be optimal at each stage of work, divide the object into parts moving relative to each other; make a stationary object movable.

Rolling mill rolls are lubricated only when there is metal in the stand (pat. English No. 1287244).

16 The principle of partial or redundant solution. If it is difficult to get 100% of the required action, you need to get a little less or a little more.

When painting cylindrical parts, paint is applied to them in excess (dipped into a bath), and then the excess paint is removed by rotating the part (art. St. No. 242714).

17 The principle of transition to another dimension. Increase the number of degrees of freedom of an object; move from movement along a line, in one dimension, to movement in several dimensions, along a plane, in space; apply a multi-story layout instead of a single-story one, use the reverse side of the surface.

To store logs in water, it is proposed to form them into bundles with a diameter exceeding their length and install them in a vertical position (ed. St. No. 236816).

18 The principle of using mechanical vibrations. Bring an object into oscillatory motion; change frequency; use resonant and ultrasonic frequencies.

When hydroscaling, cleaning of workpieces occurs more effectively if a pulsating jet of liquid with an adjustable frequency and amplitude of oscillations is applied to it (author's certificate No. 611699).

19 The principle of periodic action. Switch from continuous action to periodic action, change the frequency.

In order to increase heat exchange in the combustion chamber, gas is supplied to a gas or oil-gas burner in pulses (art. no. 248131).

20 The principle of continuity of useful action. Work continuously, eliminate idle and intermediate strokes; move from reciprocating to rotary motion.

The productivity of hole machining can be increased by using drills (countersinks), the cutting edges of which allow machining to be carried out both during forward and reverse stroke of the tool (art. no. 262582).

21 Principle"overshoot". Overcome individual, including harmful and dangerous, stages of the process at increased speed.

22 The principle of “turning harm into good”zu". Use harmful factors to obtain a positive effect; strengthen the harmful factor to such an extent that it ceases to be such; compensate one harmful factor with another.

To speed up the restoration of flowability and reduce labor intensity, frozen bulk materials are exposed to ultra-low temperatures (edit. St. No. 409938).

23 Feedback principle. Introduce feedback, if it already exists, change it.

24 The principle of “intermediary”. Use an intermediate carrier object.

Fine scale and rust can be adsorbed by snow, which is applied to the surface of the strip, and then washed off with water (Japanese Patent No. 40-1721).

25 Self-service principle. The facility must maintain itself, perform auxiliary and repair work, and use waste matter and energy.

To increase the durability of the shot blaster body, its facing wear-resistant plates are made in the form of magnets that hold a protective layer of shot on their surface, which is constantly renewed during the operation of the unit (art. St. No. 261207).

26 The principle of copying. Instead of an inaccessible, complex, expensive, inconvenient or fragile object, use its simplified and cheap copies, including optical visible infrared and ultraviolet, at a modified scale, etc.

To study thermal phenomena in solid, liquid and gaseous media, photographs of a heated object or medium taken on negative film or plates sensitive to infrared rays are used (author's certificate No. 947734).

27 The principle of replacing expensive durability with cheap non-durabilityhness. Replace an expensive object with a set of cheap ones, sacrificing some qualities (for example, durability).

28 The principle of replacing a mechanical circuit. Replace the mechanical circuit with electrical, optical, thermal, acoustic or “smell”; use electric, magnetic and electromagnetic fields to interact with an object; move from stationary fields to changing ones.

The magnetic field, used instead of mechanical action to direct the movement of a thin strip coming out of a rolling mill (art. St. No. 501789), does not leave marks on its surface and does not spoil it.

29 The principle of using pneumatic and hydraulic structures. Instead of solid parts of the object, use gaseous and liquid ones: inflatable and hydraulically filled, air cushion, hydrostatic and hydrojet.

Quick installation and dismantling of tracks in hard-to-reach places can be achieved using guides - elastic hoses filled with compressed air, installed in intermediate supports (art. no. 247109).

30 The principle of using flexible shells and thin films. Instead of volumetric structures, use flexible shells and thin films, using them to isolate the object from the external environment.

You can speed up the drying of various products by using support forms coated with thin conductive polymer films through which current is passed (art. St. No. 183624).

31 The principle of using porous materials. Make an object or its parts porous, fill the pores with some substance.

Additives are added to the liquid metal using a refractory impregnated with the additive material (art. St. No. 283264).

32 The principle of color change. Change the color or degree of transparency of an object or external environment, use coloring additives, labeled atoms.

A transparent bandage allows you to observe the wound without removing the bandage (US Pat. No. 3425412).

33 The principle of homogeneity. Objects interacting with the data must be made of the same material (or properties similar to it).

To improve the lubrication of a cooled sliding bearing at elevated temperatures, the same material as the material of the bearing shell is used as a lubricant (art. St. No. 234800).

34 The principle of discarding or regenerating parts. A part of an object that has fulfilled its purpose or has become unnecessary must be discarded (dissolved, evaporated, etc.) or modified; consumable parts must be restored during operation.

Helical microsprings are wound onto a mandrel made of elastic material, which is then removed, immersed together with the spring in a composition that dissolves the elastic material (art. St. No. 222322).

35 The principle of changing the physical and chemical parameters of an object. Change the physical state of an object, chemical composition; concentration or consistency, degree of liquid, temperature, volume.

Drops of water introduced into a stream of cooled gas directed at the part instantly freeze and, turning into ice balls, treat the surface of the part no worse than shot (ed. St. No. 715295).

36 The principle of using phase transitions. Use the change in parameters that occurs during phase transitions, change in volume, release or absorption of heat, etc.

The plug for sealing pipelines and necks, in order to simplify the design, is made in the form of a glass with a low-melting metal alloy that expands during solidification and ensures the tightness of the connection (art. St. No. 319806).

37 Principleusethermalextensions. Use thermal expansion and contraction of materials, use materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion.

38 The principle of using strong oxidizing agents. Introduce enriched air or oxygen, expose them to ionizing radiation, or use ozonated oxygen.

To improve the quality and productivity of plasma cutting of stainless steels, pure oxygen is used as a cutting gas (ed. St. No. 185418).

39 The principle of changing the degree of inertia. Replace the usual medium with a neutral one, introduce neutral parts and additives into the object, and conduct the process in a vacuum.

It is possible to reliably prevent the ignition of cotton in storage by treating it with an inert gas during transportation to the storage site (art. St. No. 270171).

40 Principle of using composite materials. Move from homogeneous materials to composite ones.

The noise of a running engine can be muffled by filling the housing with water-based foam (art. St. No. 473843).

APPENDIX B Algorithm for solving inventive problems (ARIZ - 77) Part 1 Selecting a task 1.1 Determine the ultimate goal of solving the problem. 1.1.1 What characteristics of the object need to be changed? 1.1.2 What characteristics of the object obviously cannot be changed when solving the problem? 1.1.3 What costs will decrease if the problem is solved? ) acceptable costs?1.1.5 What is the main technical and economic indicator that needs to be improved?1.2 Check the workaround. Suppose the problem is fundamentally unsolvable: what other problem must be solved in order to obtain the required final result? 1.2.1 Reformulate the problem, moving to the level of the supersystem, which includes the system given in the problem. , included in the system given in the problem.1.2.3 At three levels (supersystem, system, subsystem), reformulate the problem, replacing the required action (or property) with the inverse one.1.3 Determine which solution is more appropriate - the original one or one of the workarounds. Make a selection. Note. When choosing, objective factors should be taken into account (what are the reserves for the development of the system given in the task) and subjective (what task is the target for - minimum or maximum). 1.4 Determine the required quantitative indicators. 1.5 Increase the required quantitative indicators, taking into account the time required to implement the invention .1.6 Clarify the requirements caused by the specific conditions in which the invention is expected to be implemented. 1.6.1 Take into account the implementation features, in particular the degree of complexity of the solution. 1.6.2 Take into account the expected scale of application. 1.7 Check whether the problem is solved by direct application of standards for solving inventive problems. If the answer is received, go to 5.1. If there is no answer, go to 1.8.1.8 Clarify the problem using patent information. 1.8.1 What are (according to patent information) the answers to problems close to this one? 1.8.2 What are the answers to problems similar to this one, but related to the leading branch of technology? 1.8.3 What are the answers to problems inverse to this one? 1.9 Apply the RBC operator. 1.9.1 Mentally change the size of the object from a given value to 0. How is the problem solved now? 1.9.2 Mentally change the size of the object from a given value to?. How is the problem solved now? 1.9.3 Mentally change the process time (or the speed of the object’s movement) from a given value to 0. How is the problem solved now? 1.9.4 Mentally change the process time (or the speed of the object’s movement) from a given value to oo. How is the problem solved now? 1.9.5 Mentally change the cost (allowable costs) of an object or process from a given value to 0. How is the problem solved now? 1.9.6 Mentally change the cost (allowable costs) of an object or process from a given value to ?. How is the problem solved now? Part 2. Building a model of the problem 2.1 Write down the conditions of the problem without using special terms. Examples A. The grinding wheel does not process products of complex shapes with depressions and bulges, such as spoons. Replacing grinding with another type of processing is unprofitable and difficult. The use of lapping ice grinding wheels in this case is too expensive. Elastic inflatable rings with an abrasive surface are also not suitable - they wear out quickly. What to do?2.2 Select and write down the conflicting pair of elements. If according to the conditions of the problem only one element is given, go to step 4.2. Rule 1. A conflicting pair of elements must include a product. Rule 2. The second element of the pair must be the element with which the product directly interacts (a tool or a second product). Rule 3. If one element (tool), according to the conditions of the problem, can have two states, it is necessary to take the state that ensures the best implementation of the main production process (the main function of the entire technical system specified in the problem). Rule 4. If the problem contains pairs of homogeneous interacting elements (A 1, A 2 ... and B 1, B 2 ...), it is enough to take one pair (A 1 B 1). Examples A. The product is a spoon. The tool that directly interacts with the product is a grinding wheel. 2.3 Write down two interactions (actions, properties) of the elements of a conflicting pair: the existing one and the one that needs to be introduced; useful and harmful. Examples A.1 The wheel has the ability to grind. 2 A circle does not have the ability to adapt to curved surfaces.2.4 Write down a standard formulation of the problem model, indicating the conflicting pair and technical contradiction. Examples And the circle and the product are given. The wheel has the ability to grind, but does not adapt to the curved surface of the product. Part 3 Analysis of the task model 3.1 Select from the elements included in the task model the one that can be easily changed, etc. Rule 5. Technical objects are easier to change than natural ones. Rule 6. Tools are easier to change than products. Rule 7. If there are no easily changeable elements in the system, "external environment" should be specified. Examples And the shape of the product cannot be changed: a flat spoon will not hold liquid. The circle can be changed (while maintaining its ability to grind) - these are the conditions of the problem. 3.2 Write down the standard formulation of the IFR (ideal final result). The element (indicate selected in step 3.1) itself (itself, itself) eliminates harmful interaction, while maintaining the ability to perform (indicate useful interaction). Rule 8. The wording of the IFR should always contain the word “sam” (“sama”, “self”). Examples And the Wheel itself adapts to the curved surface of the product, maintaining the ability to grind. 3.3 Select that zone of the element (indicated in step 3.2) that cannot cope with the complex of two interactions required by the IFR. What is in it - matter, field? Show this area on a schematic drawing, indicating it with color, shading, etc. Examples A The outer layer of the circle (outer ring, rim); substance (abrasive, solid). 3.4 Formulate contradictory physical requirements imposed on the state of the selected zone of the element by conflicting interactions (actions, properties). 3.4.1 To ensure (indicate the useful interaction or the interaction that needs to be preserved) it is necessary (indicate the physical state : be heated, mobile, charged, etc.).3.4.2 To prevent (specify the harmful interaction or interaction to be introduced) it is necessary to (specify the physical state: be cold, stationary, uncharged, etc.). Rule 9 Physical conditions specified in paragraphs. 3.4.1 and 3.4.2 should be mutually opposite. Examples A. 3.4.1 To grind, the outer layer of the wheel does not need to be hard (or rigidly connected to the central part of the wheel to transfer forces). 3.4.2 To accommodate curved surfaces of the workpiece, the outer layer of the wheel does not need to be hard (or not rigidly connected with the central part of the circle).3.5 Write down standard formulations of the physical contradiction.3.5.1 Complete formulation: (indicate the highlighted area of ​​​​the element) must (indicate the state noted in step 3.4.1) to perform (indicate the useful interaction), and must (indicate condition noted in step 3.4.2) to prevent (specify the harmful interaction).3.5.2 Brief statement: (specify the highlighted area of ​​the element) should be and should not be. Examples A. 3.5.1 The outer layer of the wheel must be hard to grind the workpiece, and should not be hard to accommodate curved surfaces of the workpiece.3.5 2 The outer layer of the wheel must and must not be. Part 4 Elimination of physical contradictions 4.1 Consider the simplest transformations of the selected element zone, i.e. separation of contradictory properties. 4.1.1 In space. 4.1.2 In time. 4.1.3 By using transition states in which opposing properties coexist or alternately appear. 4.1.4 By restructuring the structure: particles of the selected zone of the element are endowed with the existing property, and the entire the zone as a whole - the required (conflicting) property. If a physical response is received (i.e., the required physical action is identified), go to 4.5, and if not, go to 4.2. Examples A Standard transformations do not provide an obvious solution to Problem A, although, as we will see later, the answer is close 4.1 (4.1.2 and 4.1.4). 4.2 Use the table of standard models of problems and supole transformations. If a physical answer is received, go to 4.4, and if not, go to 4.3. Examples A. According to the standard solution, substance B 2 must be expanded into a su-field by entering field P and adding B 3 or dividing B 2 into two interacting parts. (The idea of ​​dividing the circle began to form in step 3.3. But if you simply split the circle, the outer part will fly away under the influence of centrifugal force. The central part of the circle should hold the outer part tightly and at the same time should allow it to change freely...). Further, according to the standard solution, it is desirable to convert the su-field (obtained from B 2) into the fe-field, i.e. use a magnetic field and ferromagnetic powder. (This makes it possible to make the outer part of the circle movable, changing and provides the required connection between the parts of the circle).4.3 Use the table for the application of physical effects and phenomena. If a physical answer is received, go to 4.5, and if not, go to 4.4. Examples A According to the table, it is suitable to replace “material” connections with “field” ones by using electromagnetic fields. 4.4 Use the table of basic techniques for eliminating technical contradictions. If a physical answer has been received previously, use the table to check it. Examples A According to the conditions of task A, it is necessary to improve the ability of the circle to rub against products of different shapes (adaptation). A known way is to use a set of different circles. Loss - loss of time for changing and selecting circles (reduced productivity). 4.5 Move from a physical answer to a technical one: formulate a method and give a diagram of a device that implements this method. Examples A. The central part of the circle is made of magnets. The outer layer consists of ferromagnetic particles or abrasive particles sintered with ferromagnetic. This outer layer will take the shape of the product. At the same time, it will maintain the hardness necessary for grinding. Part 5 Preliminary assessment of the resulting solution5.1. Conduct a preliminary assessment. Control questions: 5.1.1 Does the resulting solution ensure the fulfillment of the main requirement of the IFR (“The element itself ...”)? 5.1.2 What physical contradiction is eliminated (and is it eliminated) by the resulting solution? 5.1.3 Does the resulting system contain at least one well-managed element? Which one? How to carry out control?5.1.4 Is the solution found for a “single-cycle” problem model suitable in real conditions with many “cycles”? If the resulting solution does not satisfy at least one of the control questions, return to 2.1.5.2 Check (according to patent data ) the formal novelty of the resulting solution.5.3 What subtasks may arise during the technical development of the resulting idea? Write down possible subtasks - inventive, design, calculation, organizational. Part 6. Development of the received answer6.1 Determine how the supersystem, which includes the modified system, should be changed.6.2 Check whether the modified system can be used in a new way.6.3 Use the received answer when solving other technical problems.6.3.1 Consider the possibility of using the reverse idea received.6.3.2 Construct a table “location of parts - aggregate states of the product” or a table “used fields - aggregate states of the product” and consider possible rearrangements of the answer according to their positions. Part 7 Analysis of the progress of the solution 7.1 Compare the actual progress of the solution with the theoretical one (according to APIZ). If there are deviations, write them down. 7.2 Compare the received answer with tabular data (table of supole transformations, table of physical effects, table of basic techniques). If there are deviations, write them down.

Introduction

The topic of the abstract is “Scientific organization of the creative process. Algorithm for solving inventive problems” in the discipline “Fundamentals of Technical Creativity”

Scientific organization of the creative process. Algorithm for solving inventive problems

The creative process associated with the creation of new equipment and technology is very closely related to invention, which is the oldest human activity.

Actually, the process of humanization of our ancient ancestors began with the invention of the first tools.

From century to century, inventive problems became more and more complex, and the methods for solving them were hardly improved; as a rule, inventors went to the goal through “trial and error.”

Experts say it would be very convenient if inventions were the result of a logical and orderly process. Unfortunately, it is not. Inventions are the product of what psychologists call "intuition" - an unexpected flash of inspiration, the mechanism of which lies in the depths of the human mind.

Previously, the invention process represented the following process diagram:

The first act is an act of intuition and desire. Origin of the idea (statement of the problem).

The second act is the act of knowledge and reasoning. Development of a scheme or plan (solving a problem).

The third act is an act of skill. Constructive implementation (implementation of the task).

At the same time, this scheme is so vague that it gives the inventor practically nothing. Until recently.

Currently, the process of inventive creativity takes into account the complexity of the tasks of creating a technical object. The complexity of tasks can have five levels, and at each level there can be 6 stages (A, B, C, D, E, F).

In general, the process of inventive creativity consists of the following stages:

* choosing a task;

* choice of search concept;

* collection of information;

* search for an idea for a solution;

* development of an idea into a design;

* implementation.

In order to carry out all stages of the creative process during invention, scientists and specialists tried to develop a theory of invention and create the necessary methodology.

The theory of invention proceeds from the fact that the development of technology, like any development, occurs according to the laws of dialectics, and accordingly it is based on the application of dialectical logic to the creative solution of technical problems.

But to create a workable methodology, logic alone is not enough. The method of invention summarizes the critically selected most valuable techniques and its main goal is the scientific organization of creative work.

Currently, the process of solving inventive problems can be considered as a technique for establishing a sequence of operations to identify, clarify and overcome technical contradictions.

Direction of thinking is achieved by focusing on an ideal method, an ideal device. At all stages of the solution, a systematic approach is used and it must be taken into account that any inventive problem can be solved as a result of systematic mental operations, while the correct organization of the creative process acquires the main importance.

Nowadays, a long search for an idea or solution testifies not only to the persistence of the inventor, but also to poor organization of creativity.

Creativity is completely compatible with a system, with planning. Creativity is characterized not by insight and inspiration, but by the result of work. If something new is created, it means the work is creative.

Creativity is a changing concept: its content is constantly updated. The whole point of the theory of invention, in essence, is that tasks that are rightfully considered creative today can be solved at the level of organization of mental work that will exist tomorrow.

It must be remembered that new machines do not appear “out of thin air.” Any modern machine (mechanism, technical system) accumulates tens, hundreds and thousands of successive inventions. Even for a pencil, more than 20 thousand patents and copyright certificates have been issued.

Each invention pushes the development of machines, and it is assumed that the solution to an inventive problem is the case when there is no ready-made key (recipe) for this solution.

At the same time, it is known that machines do not develop “at random,” but in a certain logical sequence. They may appear in some medium size, and then in both smaller and larger sizes. This is clearly visible when creating trucks. They are available in small, medium and large capacity.

Each machine strives for a certain ideal, the “ideal machine.”

The “ideal machine” is a conventional standard and has the following features: the weight, volume and area of ​​the object with which the machine works (i.e. transports, processes, etc.) does it almost coincide with the weight, volume and area of ​​the machine itself? cars.

An example of a non-ideal machine is a helicopter. He transports cargo, passengers, and himself, spending approximately 1/3 of the developed effort on this. When creating an ideal helicopter, it is necessary to ensure that more of the force developed is used to transport cargo.

When creating any machine you have to deal with technical contradictions. These contradictions arise between the most important indicators that occur in any machine: weight (mass), dimensions, power, reliability, etc. There are always certain relationships between these indicators, and in order to improve one of the indicators in ways already known in this branch of technology, you have to pay deterioration of another.

Because of these contradictions, an ordinary problem often becomes inventive in cases where a necessary condition for its solution is the elimination of a technical contradiction.

It is not difficult to create a new machine, ignoring technical contradictions. But then the machine will be inoperative and lifeless.

If the solved technical problem is novel and useful, and is above the state of the art, then this solved problem is recognized as an invention.

There are two concepts of “invention” - legal (patent) and technical.

The legal concept is different in different countries, and it changes frequently.

The legal concept strives to reflect as accurately as possible the boundaries within which legal protection of new engineering structures is currently economically feasible.

For a technical concept, it is not so much these boundaries that are important as the core of the invention, its historically stable essence.

From an engineer's point of view, creating a new invention comes down to overcoming (full or partial) a technical contradiction.

The emergence and overcoming of contradictions is one of the main features of the technical process.

Using the concept of an ideal machine and technical contradictions, one can significantly streamline the process of solving an inventive problem.

The ideal machine helps to determine the direction of the search, and the technical contradiction inherent in the problem indicates the obstacle that must be overcome.

Therefore, to solve a technical problem, you need rational tactics that allow you to carry it out step by step.

One of the scientifically substantiated and well-proven methods in the practice of mass technical creativity is the method of software solution of technical problems, created by the Soviet inventor and writer G.S. Altshuller. He called it the algorithm for solving inventive problems (ARIZ).

ARIZ is a clear example of the application of materialist dialectics and a systematic approach to the process of technical creativity. The technique is based on the doctrine of contradiction. An algorithm is a set of sequentially performed actions (steps, stages) aimed at solving an inventive problem (the concept of “algorithm” is used here not in a strict mathematical, but in a broader sense). The solution process is considered as a sequence of operations to identify, clarify and overcome a technical contradiction. Consistency, direction and activation of thinking are achieved by focusing on the ideal final result (IFR), i.e. the ideal solution, method, device.

An improved technical object is considered as an integral system consisting of subsystems, interconnected elements, and at the same time being part of a supersystem consisting of interconnected systems. Before solving a direct problem associated with a technical object, they search for problems in the supersystem (bypass problems) and choose the most appropriate path.

When setting the problem in ARIZ, the fact that the source of psychological inertia is technical terminology and spatio-temporal representations of the object is taken into account. Therefore, it is recommended to formulate an undesirable effect or the main difficulty of a situation, rather than the requirements of what needs to be done.

The effect of psychological inertia is also reduced by using the RVS operator (Dimensions - Time - Cost), the essence of which is to conduct a series of thought experiments to change the dimensions of an object from a given value to 0 and then to?, the time of action (speed) of the object from a given value to 0 and then to? and the cost of the object from the given value to 0 and to?. The formulation of the conditions of the problem is given according to a certain scheme in terms accessible to a non-specialist.

The strategy for solving the inventive problem using ARIZ can be presented in the form of a diagram in accordance with Figure 1. It is as follows. Formulate the original problem (IP) in general form. It is processed and clarified, taking into account the action of the vector of psychological inertia (VI) and technical solutions in this and other areas.

State the conditions of the task, consisting of a listing of the elements of the technical system and the undesirable effect produced by one of the elements (processed task in Figure 1.-3O). Then they formulate according to a certain IFR scheme. It serves as a guideline (beacon) in the direction in which the process of solving the problem is going (when formulating the IFR, you do not need to think about how it will be achieved).

In comparing the IFR with a real technical object, a technical contradiction is revealed, then its cause is a physical contradiction (in Figure 1, the contradiction between the IFR and the 3D can be illustrated by the distance between them on the plane of the search field).

(ZI - initial task, VI - vector of psychological inertia; ZO - processed task; IFR - ideal final result).

Figure 1 - Scheme for solving an inventive problem using ARIZ.

The meaning of ARIZ is to, by comparing the ideal and the real, identify a technical contradiction or its cause - a physical contradiction - and eliminate (resolve) them by going through a relatively small number of options.

During the development of ARIZ, after analyzing 40 thousand inventions, it was found that about 1200 contradictions were overcome in them using mainly 40 standard techniques. It turns out that a certain type of contradiction is eliminated by a certain small number of “own” techniques.

This made it possible to compile a table of techniques for overcoming technical contradictions. Along its vertical line are parameters that need to be improved, and along its horizontal line are parameters that will unacceptably worsen if the problem is solved in known ways. In this case, the intersection of a row (an improving parameter) with a column (a worsening parameter) gives a combination that can be eliminated using the techniques specified in the corresponding cell of the table.

Appendix A discusses the basic techniques for eliminating technical contradictions and some technical solutions that are based on them.

ARIZ is a developing and constantly improving system. Its variants are known: ARIZ-59, ARIZ-61, ARIZ-64, ARIZ-65, ARIZ-68, ARIZ-71, ARIZ-77 and ARIZ-80. Let's consider one of them.

Appendix B shows one of the variants of the algorithm for solving inventive problems (ARIZ-77).

Using algorithms for solving inventive problems, you can quickly find a solution to the problem. To use the specified ARIZ, it is necessary to study their content in detail and strictly adhere to the parts of this algorithm.

The team of the laboratory of mathematical methods for optimal design of the Mari Polytechnic Institute (Yoshkar-Ola) under the leadership of Professor A.I. Polovinkin conducted an in-depth scientific analysis of more than 30 known methods for finding technical solutions, activating and rationally organizing creative activity. The result of the research was the development of a generalized algorithm for searching for new technical solutions (generalized heuristic algorithm).

This technique is a further development of ARIZ, which forms its basis, and contains a number of original developments by the authors, as well as rational techniques and procedures from some other methods, including: morphological box, functional invention, organizing concepts, etc. This combination, based on achievements of the methodology of technical creativity, makes the methodology quite complete, capacious, detailed and universal, applicable to solve a wide variety of problems in many branches of technology.

The generalized algorithm can be used to construct simpler but more effective private algorithms designed to solve specific problems (private algorithms should include the stages with the highest frequency of use for a given class). The methodology is focused on the synthesis of new rational technical solutions using a computer (for working in the “man-machine” dialog mode), but can be successfully used by a person, mainly in separate blocks, and in a machine-free search for solutions.

The algorithm consists of 17 stages, during the passage of which a large information apparatus is used, consisting of eight arrays of information. Storing them in the computer memory ensures a quick search for the necessary options at each stage of solving the problem.

Literature

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