Obstacles of Innovative Thinking => Design Thinking — Day 10
1.0 Recap
Yesterday, I wrote about a wicked problem regarding an examination taken in Nigeria. I described this problem using some of the 10 characteristics of wicked problems. You can check it here.
2.0 Assignment
Today, I’ll be doing yet another assignment on barriers to innovation.
2.1 Question
Please describe a situation or project, from your personal experience, where barriers exist and where they hinder a solution to the problem. Then think about how you and others could remove those barriers. Alternatively, describe an example from your own life where you and your team, friends or family already have experience in challenging assumptions and removing existing barriers in a way which allowed you to come up with innovative or surprising solutions to an existing problem.
A barrier I would like to describe is a personal one. Early this year, I almost quit my job because I was doing so many things at the same time. I became so overwhelmed that I wanted to let everything go. At that time, I had a VR Nanodegree I was doing, and at the same time, I needed to focus and be more productive at my day job. Nothing was working 😔.
I was always late to submit my Nanodegree projects and I had also failed a promotional assessment during this period.
So I found out that the obstacles or the reasons that made me feel overwhelmed and prevented me from innovative thinking were:
- I was being too hard on myself
- I wasn’t taking it one step at a time
- I needed to “breathe”
I could have removed these barriers by just doing the opposite of what I listed above.
3.0 Resources
4.0 Conclusion
You can participate in describing a barrier that has prevented you from thinking in an innovative way. Do you remember that there are no incorrect answers here, so do share!
The best way to learn is by asking questions and letting people know how you understand the topic. Feel free to leave a comment, we will definitely learn from it
