Chuck Frey
Sep 7, 2018 · 1 min read

This is brilliantly distilled and written. Yes, indeed — if we don’t spend enough time in deep thought and information gathering, trying to understand what the core of the problem or challenge at hand is, we’re likely to run off and try to solve one of its easily visible “symptoms.” That’s why Albert Einstein famously said that if he learned that the world was going to end in an hour, he would invest 55 minutes understanding what the true nature of the problem was, and only 5 minutes actually solving it.

The other common mistake that we’re all prone to is to stop brainstorming as soon as we have generated the first “right answer.” Often, the first ideas we generate are of relatively low value — the overburden that lies above the seam of pure gold, so to speak. To get to the groundbreaking, exceptionally valuable solutions, we must keep at it longer, trying on different perspectives, breaking down the problem into its elements and manipulating them, and so forth. Creativity experts say you need to stay in brainstorming mode for at least 30 minutes to get this “chaff” out of the way to reveal the truly elegant, high-value ideas.

    Chuck Frey

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    Thought leader in mind mapping, visual thinking & creativity. Content strategist & digital marketer. Relentless learner & explorer. Seeker of ideas that matter.